“How long have I been out?” I demanded.
She snorted. “I really thought my sister was going to end up with the prim, buttoned-up type. You biker dudes are a much better fit for her, though.”
“Your sister?”
Ignoring me, she gestured to the other side of the room. “Doctor, check him over.”
I swung my head to look at the doctor in their white coat, and that sure as fuck hurt my neck.OK, not healed after all.That meant I couldn’t have been unconscious for that long.
“Follow the light with your eyes.” The doctor didn’t bother introducing himself before putting me through a series of random tests.
I wanted to complain and demand to know who he was and who else was in this room with me, but it seemed like a typical enough hospital room. I was laying in a proper bed, but had beeping machines hooked up to me. A stainless steel sink graced one wall, hand sanitizer and boxes of gloves right beside.
Maybe this doctor could fix what was wrong with my head and make sure it never, ever came back.
I complied with his tests, wanting them over and done with so the woman could tell me what the fuck was happening here. He collected a sample of my blood at the end, putting one droplet onto a test strip and watching as it soaked in.
“He still has the hormones in his blood,” the doctor said to the woman, “but not in high enough concentrations to be of immediate concern. All the field tests show that he’s completely in control of his faculties.”
“Thank you very much, doctor.”
Unhooking me from the machines and packing up his equipment, the doctor left the room. Only this odd woman—an omega, I’d deduced by her scent of magnolia and cherry blossoms, once I’d gotten all the water out of my lungs—and her bodyguards remained.
“Will you answer my questions now?” I asked.
“Very patient. I do see why she chose you,” she said. “You’ve been out for a long ass time, and my sister Talia is waiting for you to wake up.”
My feet swung off the bed and I stood up, only to find I wasn’t stable at all. One of the guards came over and let me lean on himas I sat back down on the bed. “You’re Talia’s sister? What’s with all the bodyguards?”
“Comes with the territory of being Alfieri daughters.”
I stared at her.
She smirked. “But I guess my sister didn’t tell you about her real family name, did she? Fuck, I wish I could have seen the looks on the other guys faces when they found out. I’m glad I was left in charge of dropping the bomb to the final alpha on her roster.”
“Talia is… an Alfieri? Like,theAlfieris?”
“Yep. And I’m Mira. One of her four sisters. The nicest one, in my opinion. You should be grateful you had me to watch over you.”
“You dumped a bucket of ice water onto my head.”
“Because you looked like you were having such a terrible nightmare. Also, your nap had gone on a bit too long. Talia is getting antsy.”
I had to get to her.
It didn’t matter if she was an Alfieri or anything else, so long as I could see her again.
My legs weren’t working at full capacity, though. Or even half capacity. I looked pleadingly at the guard who’d helped me sit, my arm still slung around his shoulders. “Help me get to her?” I asked.
He looked to Mira for the order, and she didn’t stop him from helping me.
Another bodyguard came over, helping me lift myself from the bed. I felt weak, every limb shaking with the effort of moving. I couldn’t tell how much weight I was holding up myself versus how much the bodyguards were helping me, but I doubted there was much I was doing.
We’d only gotten out the room’s door and taken one step into the hallway when it hit me.
Cranberry and roses.
She’s nearby.
