Page 9 of Such a Brave Omega

“You’ll never be just a memory if I have any say in it, omega. I need to go take care of some things but I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“You don’t…” I started to protest, but he leaned over me, nailing me with a stare that had me locked down in the best way possible. My sentence lodged in my throat.

“I will be back later with better food than what they are offering here. Is there something else you would like? Anything?”

Him.

Naked.

“No. I suppose I need to rest.”

His gaze dipped to my lips, and I wished he would lean down a bit more and press his mouth to mine. “Rest up, then, omega. I’ll be back.”

Yeah, I’d heard those words before.

Chapter Nine

Bronson

I visited the omega every day, watching him and wishing I had the ability to lend him the strength he needed to get well. The doctors, who by now assumed I was either his next of kin or his partner, although for some reason nobody asked, said he should pull through.

Once he woke up, he was very weak but perfectly able to manage his own medical decisions, so there was no need for me to give them any kind of formal paperwork or prove my relationship. Tate was happy to see me and treated me like he’d known me for decades instead of days.

I came in every morning for an hour or so before work, bringing him nourishing and tasty food from the café bakery near my home. Then I returned in the evening with more food and anecdotes from my day to share. Most of what I did was pretty boring for anyone outside the law world, but I managed to make it more colorful, very pleased and excited if I could get a laugh or smile from him.

We were both concerned about the fact that this was a human hospital, and eventually someone was going to figure out that he was not an average person with the anatomy that entailed. He also had a sketchy history in terms of paper trails and no insurance. Few if any shifters paid for such things. Nearly anything that went wrong with us could be healed by one simple thing.

A shift.

Our animals possessed healing powers that could only be used in their forms, so as long as Tate was too weak to make the change, he was no better than the average human recovering from traumatic injuries and neglect.

He was also worried about the circumstances that led to his accident. While in the hospital, he was probably all right, but when he got out, he faced the dangers that he’d barely begun to explain to me.

But every day he was a little better, and we were both watching and waiting for him to be strong enough to make the shift that would complete the healing process. Honestly, even with the worries, the time we spent together was the best hours I could remember. We talked about all sorts of things, from the weather to animals to growing up shifters in a human world. I brought him everything I thought he might like to eat and drink, although he protested.

We were biding our time until we could leave the human world and return to the real one.

Chapter Ten

Tate

“You can’t be serious.” Contrary to my words, I threw the sheet off my legs and instantly felt the soreness seeping in from that easy movement.

Oh man, this was going to suck.

“I’m absolutely serious. I’ll watch the door.”

“Thanks.” I slid my legs over the side of the bed and then realized we had another predicament. A small one since shifters were more accepting of nudity, but this was Bronson.

Bronson, the alpha of my dreams.

“I’ll turn around. Don’t worry, sweetheart.” He moved to face the hospital hallway while my chest exploded from that term of endearment.

I wasted no time, since I had none to waste with humans all around. I tore off the gown and shifted right there, barely containing the howl from my wolf. Not only was I shifting for the first time in a long time, I was in front of this delicious alpha. Once I saw Bronson through my animal’s eyes, there was no doubt in my mind.

My wolf had fought me over Ryder, over being with him.

He was begging me to bond with Bronson. Begging.