by Jackie Nacht
“I didn’t want him anywhere near Colin.”
“You know Colin?” Malach stood up straight.
“Well, no, but I heard you talk to him last night. Watched him.”
“Creepy.” Malach chuckled softly.
“Thanks. It’s not like I feel weirded out by it or anything. Guy probably thinks I’m some sociopath.”
“No. I think Colin was worried when we dragged your ass off. Now, go and rest. You know it's protocol that we have to keep you in lockdown all day. Try to meditate and calm down.” Malach stood back and closed the door, leaving the steel bars between them.
“You know that meditation shit doesn’t work for me. Never has and never will.”
Malach eyed him in concern. “Then, try to think of something that will calm you and your wolf down to prepare for tonight. Don’t want this incidence to cause you any more pain than you are already going to have to go through.”
Sloan had nothing to say to that. He wasn’t sure if this incident would cause his body to feel like it was being ripped apart. Walking back to his mattress, he slumped down onto it, lying on his back and scrubbing his face with his hands. Man, he was so tired of all this shit. Tired of knowing he was going to feel like hell the next two days, tired of this place.
“You okay?”
Sloan jerked to a sitting position. There, standing at his door, was Colin. Concern filled the cerulean eyes. Behind him stood the three Omegas and Knox. Knox shook his head.
“Ugh, huh?” Wow, his first words to Colin, and he sounded like he needed to reenter the first grade.
“Come here.” Colin reached through the bars, beckoning him.
Standing slowly, Sloan walked toward Colin as if in a daze. There was something so strange about this.
Gripping the bars, Sloan stared down at Colin. So many emotions swirled within. Excitement, desire and a beautiful soothing calm that made it seem like maybe tonight could be okay for once. Sloan watched as Colin slowly reached up and touched a tender spot on his cheek.
“You’re bleeding,” Colin whispered.
Sloan leaned into the touch. Colin’s hand was so soft to his sensitive flesh. “I’ll be all right.” Sloan mumbled.
He felt like turning his head and kissing that soft palm. Slowly, he leaned back, troubled that a thought like that would even pass through his mind. What in the hell was happening to me? Maybe I’m going feral. Who knew, but I don’t want Colin to see and hear the things that are going to transpire tonight. Walking back to his floor vault, he opened it up, retrieving his iPod. Sloan went back to face Colin whose brow was furrowed in confusion as he handed it to him.
“What’s this for?” Colin asked, staring up at him.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Sloan answered, “So you don’t have to hear me and the others scream tonight.”
* * * *
Colin couldn’t believe the words that had just passed Sloan’s lips, and for the remainder of the day, they haunted him, much like everything else had haunted him the last two days.
The rest of the day was a blur. So many damn fights broke out, and each time, Dalton, Oren and Brendan were there to move him out of the way or just stand next to him as he had to watch the violence that was now going to be a part of his life.
After dinner, the guards finally gave up and sent them all in for lockdown. For whatever reason, this month was worse than usual.
Glancing to his side, he saw the iPod that Sloan had given him. Is it really going to be that awful? He had seen his pack shift so many times, and it seemed so second nature, he couldn’t possibly fathom how it could be bad enough to shield his hearing. Then, he had been told numerous times by the pack how painful it was in the beginning and how those talks had grown into a great fear.
He stared out the small window; the sun was showing its last rays. Soon. Getting up, he walked to the steel doors. Colin noticed that many of the Alphas were pacing in their rooms. He couldn’t see the Omegas, because like him, they were on the west side of the hall. Some of the Alphas were rolling their necks while others aggressively rubbed different body parts.
“You need to go back inside.”
Colin’s head whipped around to see that Sloan was death gripping his bars. Staring at him. His hazel eyes shone bright, reflecting something more to them than earlier. Is his wolf already surfacing?
“Colin!”
Colin jerked. “Sorry.”
“For what? There’s nothing to be sorry for. Go inside and put the headphones on now.” Sloan’s voice was turning guttural toward the end.
“Sloan,” Colin whispered.
Sloan was taking great heaving breaths now. “Go, please.”
“Good luck. I’ll see you in the morning.” Colin reached through the bars, holding out his hand before tucking it back inside.
Sitting on the bed, Colin started to hear the moans. He should put on the headphones and tune this out, but curiosity was getting to him. Colin wanted some heads up as to what he was going to go through in the next couple years, wanted to know just how bad it was going to be for him.
Five minutes later, the groans were growing louder. Colin hugged his legs as he sat with his back against the wall, staring blindly at the brick wall ahead.
Another five minutes and the screams started in. Colin rocked as he heard the other shifters shout out, not being able to tell who was saying what.
A snap sounded, causing Colin to jump. “Fuck! My leg, gods, my leg!”
Another scream. “I’m dying!”
“Shit!” followed by a loud crack.
“Help, oh gods, please help!” The pleading cries caused Colin’s lip to tremble and tears to pool in his eyes. As more pleas filled the air, the tears began to drip down his cheeks unchecked.
Several more screams came, overlapping one another as the sounds of bones breaking, bodies falling on the hard floors, then finally, the growls began.
More growls and howls started up, and then, the bodies started to hit the bars of the doors. Gods, would they be able to break through? Colin was freaking the hell out and reached for the iPod just as he heard footsteps walking down the hall.
Standing but staying back as far from the door as possible, Colin noticed several guards standing along the center of the hallway. Each of them was holding a cattle prod in each hand while two more were strapped onto their belts. Malach stood in front of his door, facing toward Sloan.
In all the screaming, he had not once heard Sloan. For sure, he would have heard his voice above all the rest.
Slamming against the bars began, and he watched in the darkness as several of the guards had to use the cattle prods. Yelps joined in, and shakily, Colin slid back over to his mattress, dropping down onto it.
This could not be…
Nervously grabbing the iPod, he made two attempts to put the buds on his ears. Finally, he got them on and anxiously started the music, drawing his knees up once again.
Just when Colin thought it couldn’t get worse, his life had turned into a nightmare.
The next morning was even more chaos. Colin woke early to the sound of pitiful groans and people running around back and forth. He got up and made his way to his door, peering around. Nurses, doctors and guards were running from room to room, some wheeling men out on gurneys. Others were carrying a med pack as they checked on all the new shifters. A few replaced torn-up mattresses from a pile of new one that stood stacked in the middle of the hall.
The hall looked like a damn war zone. There was blood, a lot of blood. A medic walked out of Sloan’s room, shaking his head as he walked away.
Moving quietly, almost feeling like an intruder, he crept to Sloan’s door.
Gods, he looked bad. Pale as paste and blood covering the floor, Colin almost turned away. But he just couldn’t leave Sloan like this.
What wasn’t pale on Sloan’s body was bruised with dark purple and blues. Even both eyes were black. His feet reacted before his brain, and he found himself kneeling before
Sloan’s bed.
Sloan turned to stare at him with pain-filled eyes. “You shouldn’t be here,” Sloan hoarsely whispered.
“I want to help you. Tell me what I can do.”
Sloan flipped the sheet down to his waist, revealing his angry bruises on his naked torso. “There’s not much you can do.”
“Are you thirsty?”
“Yeah,” Sloan groaned. He kept moving as if he was trying to find a spot he would be more comfortable in.
Colin seriously doubted he would find one with all the wounds Sloan was sporting. Running out, he kept going to the cafeteria where there was a very small group of people getting breakfast. They all had puffy, haunted eyes. Colin made his way over to the buffet area where he grabbed a bottle of water and some hot oatmeal just in case Sloan wanted something soft.
Making his way back swiftly, he walked in while another doctor was checking in on Sloan. Colin maneuvered around him and sat back down next to the mattress. The guy checked Sloan’s vitals before leaving once again.
“Come on up here. You don’t need to sit on the floor,” Sloan mumbled.
Colin gently perched onto the mattress, making sure the pressure of his weight didn’t move Sloan and cause him any more pain than he was already in.
Uncapping the water, he lifted Sloan’s head and brought it to his lips. Colin watched Sloan’s throat work as he drank in great gulps. The man was more than a little thirsty as he drank the bottle down in just a few gulps. Colin wished he would have brought another bottle or two.
“I brought oatmeal too. Are you hungry?” Colin petted Sloan's soft black hair.
“I could eat. Can you help me up?”
Colin reached forward, at a loss as to what spot to touch without hurting the poor man. Finally, he reached under Sloan’s arms and helped him to a sitting position, back resting against the wall.
Sloan swallowed, eyes squeezed shut as he moaned in pain.
Reaching forward, Colin once again stroked Sloan’s hair that had fallen over his eyes.
Sloan opened his eyes slowly. “Kiss me, please. I just want to feel something good right now, and I can’t think of anything better than your lips,” Sloan whispered to him.
Leaning forward, unable to resist, Colin gently pressed his lips to Sloan's. Fire ignited, sending a rush of heat over his body at the chaste kiss. Sloan’s full lips worked over his and nibbled on the plump lower lip. They only kissed for a moment before Colin leaned back, staring at Sloan. His eyes were drooped, and for the first time, no pain showed in them.
Colin wasn’t sure what was going on, but in the meantime, Sloan was the one bright spot in his life. He would hold onto that dearly and take care of the man.
“Why’d you come?” Sloan asked.
“I’m not sure. I feel like I need to take care of you. I reacted before I thought on it. Worried about you more than the others around here even though they went through the change too. It’s like we’ve been friends forever, and I just…know you. I sound crazy, don’t I?”
Sloan shook his head. “No, ever since you walked through the doors, I’ve had this instinct to protect you. I thought it was just the full moon coming on, but even flat on my ass, I want to make sure no one comes near you.”
“You ever have this happen to you?” Colin scooped a spoonful of oatmeal and fed it to Sloan.
Sloan shook his head, swallowing the mouthful. "No, you?”
Colin glanced down, scooping more up before answering, “No."
“Then, we’ll just have to figure this out, all right?” Sloan reached up with the rough pads of his fingers and stroked Colin’s jawline.
The feeling sent sparks all over his body. Colin leaned in and gave the Alpha one softer kiss. “I’d like that.”
Chapter Four
For two days, Colin had gone to Sloan’s room, tending to his needs. Never in all Sloan’s years there had anyone shown him such affection. Yeah, everyone worried and cared for him, but none ever took the time to sit with him as he healed slowly from the horrible shifts.
Sloan had promised himself that the night of the full moon he would not utter a sound of pain with Colin so nearby. Colin had already had to hear everyone else, and he didn’t want to add to the horror that Colin would encounter. So he'd remained silent, almost chipping his teeth from grinding them so hard.
Sloan stood and left his room, making his way across to Colin's cell. Thank gods they were no longer in lockdown and the doors were open twenty-four/seven. Glancing in, he noticed that Colin was nowhere to be seen.
“He’s with his brother. Peyton woke this morning.” Dalton stood off to the side of him with Oren and Brendan coming up from behind.
Sloan’s appreciation for these young Omegas went up greatly since they'd taken Colin under his wing. During the last two days, they'd made sure Colin ate and took care of him when Sloan couldn’t. Shaking his head, he wondered what the fuck. Why was he thinking like this?
The whole thing was crazy; the strange protectiveness for Colin. Over the last two days, he had questioned Colin on why he was there and why he had come in injured. Colin had lost everyone. Sloan had seen it with his eyes when the man shut down and started thinking about his pack.
For those two days while flat on his back, he’d done the only thing he could, he'd listened. Colin talked of his entire pack. Talked about how loving his parents were before they had died when Colin was only sixteen years old. And the simple life he had tragically been ripped from. He found that Colin was just as interested in hearing about his pack and found they were pretty damn similar.
Knowing Colin had been yearning to see his brother who had come in injured made Sloan come to a standstill in the hallway. Did he go and support Colin, or did he go about his morning and leave him alone?
“Come on; he wanted to make sure we took you to breakfast and got you a good dose of protein.” Brendan grabbed him by the arm before tugging him toward the cafeteria.
Smiling, Sloan couldn’t believe, even with his brother waking up, Colin made sure to tell his friends to take care of him. Of course, if the roles were reversed, he would be doing the same thing, had done the same thing the night of lockdown.
These walls had chilled him to the bone for the last three years. At one point, he even thought he might be on the edge of going feral. But with Colin there, warmth was beginning to seep back into his core.
Knox met them along the way, and Oren flirted with his best friend outrageously. That was Oren for you, and Sloan almost felt the need to tell Oren that he didn’t stand a chance with Knox. The man was as close as you got to a lone wolf. The man might be fun, but he probably would never have a mate.
Mate. Just the word had Colin coming front and center in Sloan’s mind. He wasn’t sure what was going on between the two of them. Is Colin my mate? He had always been told that you couldn’t keep your hands off your mate—you would immediately want to climb all over them. Fuck them all night long. That wasn’t the case here.
The first thing that Sloan felt was protectiveness and a clawing need to help him through his losses. Sure, Sloan was extremely attracted to him, but he had always heard the desire was all-consuming when it came to mates. Do I want to make love to Colin? Hell yes. Frowning, Sloan wasn’t sure what in the hell was going on. He thought about asking Malach but felt a little embarrassed to talk about Colin to someone else.
Walking into the cafeteria for the first time since his shift, he noticed most were back, but a few brand new shifters were still missing in action. Definitely to be expected.
On the far side sat Cass and Duke, glaring at them.
Knox nudged Sloan. “Those two are going to be a problem.”
Shrugging, Sloan scooped up a pile of bacon. “They’re always a problem.”
“Yeah, but you never had anything they could use against you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Sloan was getting irritated.
“It means they know you guard Colin. They’re assholes,
and they’ve been watching for a weakness of yours for a long time.”
Dalton stepped forward, angry. “Colin is not a weakness, Knox. I promise you that. Let him know how the situation is, and he will be able to handle himself.”
“But he’s—” Knox was cut off abruptly.
“He’s an Omega. We are not a weakness, I assure you.” Dalton walked away, steps angry.
“What’d I say?” Knox held his arms out, a piece of bacon falling off his plate.
Oren walked by. “You underestimate us just like all the other assholes in here. That’s what.”
Brendan followed, giving both the Alphas sympathetic glances before he hurried to catch up.
“You really need to work on your social skills, Knox.” Sloan shook his head, but as he sat down, he couldn’t help but roll over the words the Omegas had said. Could Colin handle himself against an asshole like Duke? Duke was born and bred in an awful pack. His shit went bone deep, and his hate resonated onto the remainder of the residents at the compound. Rubbing his hair aggressively, he decided he wasn’t sure his Alpha instincts would ever let Duke get close enough to Colin to get the answer.
* * * *
After three days of being there, Colin was able to navigate around the damn place. Leaving the ICU, he made his way over to the cafeteria. He couldn’t wait to tell his friends that Peyton was awake and better. Rayce and Lewis had been with Colin as he gently told his brother what had happened to their pack. Peyton was clearly upset—crying. He was second guessing telling his brother when he woke up, but the Elder assured him he had to know the reason for being where he was at. The sooner he adjusted, the quicker he would heal. Colin highly doubted the black and white statement.
Colin stayed until Peyton fell back asleep, then Rayce ushered him out. He could come back the next day, but Peyton needed all his strength to heal right then. That damn pushy guard was getting on his last nerve.
