The Taint of Wolves

Delicate

Chapter 26: Delicate

I set tentatively on the edge of the hospital bed.

Easton stood by the bouquet of flowers that broke up the oppressive white, scanning the line of blooms. He had discarded his coat, but large blotches of rainwater darkened his shirt. I had changed and sat in a thin strapped sundress that exposed the vicious, liver-purple scars that marred my visible skin. They would be gone in two weeks – just a bad memory.

I kicked my legs out, eyes on my hands. My nails were chipped, my fingers mottled and aching. The run had wiped it out of me and now that I was sitting and warm, I felt the throb of protesting wounds.

"Here."

I looked up. Easton stood before me, the stem of a soft pink rose held delicately out to me.

"Thank you." I took it, tracing the pad of my thumb over the soft petals. "Did you bring all these flowers?"

He swallowed. "I thought you wouldn't like to look at all this white."

I pressed the rose against my cheek, biting down a small smile at how the softness tickled my skin. I focused on that feeling as I spoke. "The room they kept me in was white. Their clothes were white. Their lights. Their tools. I wanted just a splash of colour, something to look at in those long, lonely days but it was always white. Just white."

"Is that why you wouldn't sleep in that first bedroom?"

"Too white." I looked at the flower again, trying to muster the courage to ask about the one person who I had shoved away in the wave of lightening. That pain was better than the image of her crumpled body. "What about...Lux? Is she..."

"Alive."

The relief brought a wave of emotion. "Is she okay?"

"Bruised. A broken leg and collarbone but she is being well-taken care of. Nicolas has been steadfast in her care."

I pursed my lips and tried to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. "I'm sure he has."

The door opened and I tensed, a growl rolling in my throat. I recognised the young face first. Darren. A nurse. A boy once in the Mad Maze. Then there was Blav, his shoulders hunched and his dark eyes wary. They both knew.

"Nova." Blav looked at me differently. I could sense the way our relationship had changed. I wasn't just a broken, damaged woman that was his friend and Alpha's mate. I was a monster. I refused to be ashamed.

"Blav."

"You're the Omega."

A snarl rolled in the back of Easton's throat. Blav's mouth twisted and he faced his Alpha unblinkingly. "She is the Ravi's weapon. You read the Ravi's reports. Saw their videos. She attacked a farmer and killed a guard."

"I did." I said, my voice as clear as a bell. "But don't address those accusations to him. I'm the one of did it. I can take it, come on Blav. Give me your disgust."

Blav looked back to me. His fists were curled tight. "You tricked us for weeks."

"How?"

"You knew we were looking for the Omega and you lived right under our noses. Right in the heart of our home."

"How did I trick you? You never asked if I was the Omega. I said I knew it. I didn't lie about that."

"Manipulating words to make you sound better isn't going to help."