Ransom didn’t take his eyes off that wall but he felt his brother’s stare, felt the hand on his shoulder and that was enough. Enough to tell what Maddox was trying to say without saying much at all.
“Thank you.” Was all he whispered—which he knew Maddox took as “I love you too, dickhead.”
The younger bear nodded, let Ransom’s shoulder go and sat back. “Of course you do know that your she-wolf is going to be impossible to deal with while she’s healing don’t you?”
He looked up to see the winces of every shifter standing or sitting in that space and chuckled just a little because he knew his brother was right. But he didn’t care because if Fallon was growling and snapping it meant she wasn’t constantly reliving her brush with death.
A black bear in scrubs came strolling through the crowd of people, a smile in place. “The baited breath can stop now. Your girl’s good as gold and even while heavily drugged, pretty cranky.”
Makya nodded from his place a few feet away. “Seems legit.”
Laughter went up and Ransom stood. “When will I be able to see her?”
The doctor shrugged. “In another day or so. We want to make sure no infection sets in at her wounds. Those bites were pretty deep.”
He shook his head. “I’m not waiting another day.”
“Mr. McKenna—”
“You don’t want to finish that sentence.” Maddox stated, standing also. “I’m telling you now that you should just move and let the man see his mate.”
“It’s in Miss Wilder’s best interest that she not have too much activity while she’s in recovery for the first few hours.” The doctor argued.
Maddox sighed. “I tried to help you. I really did.”
***
Someone was gently running fingers through her hair and...humming? They were humming.
Fallon’s lids slowly opened. The last thing she remembered was snapping at some cheetah who was getting way too familiar under her hospital gown while checking for other possible wounds that needed to be stitched up.
The sound of Barry White drew her attention to the right side of her bed and the smile that she received the moment her gaze landed on her grizzly’s face made her heart stutter in her chest.
“Hi.” Ransom murmured, those gorgeous eyes crinkling at the corners as his grin widened with the simple words that had stolen her breath the first time she’d stood in front of him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like baby poo.” Fallon answered. He started to laugh. “And not even solid baby poo but the mushy formula induced green stuff.”
“Aww, my poor she-wolf.” Strong fingers ran across her jaw. “You don’t look like baby poo.”
She made a face. “Don’t lie to me, man.”
“I’m not.” His stare softened. “You look beautifully ruffled.”
“And this conversation is over. Where’s Cree? She’ll be the only one brave enough to simply say, ‘You look like shit.’”
Ransom snorted and sat back in the chair beside her bed. “She’s making sure everyone else is taken care of since her fearless leader is out of commission at the moment.” He suddenly swallowed and put his eyes on a wall across the room. “They were uh...they were really worried about you.”
Fallon tilted her head. “Ransom?”
“Yeah?” His gaze stayed on that wall.
“Look at me please?” She reached out to touch the hand lying beside her. “Please?”
When he finally did she felt hot moisture prick the backs of her eyes. “Ransom...”
“He had you.” Her mate bit out. “And I couldn’t...” He exhaled.
“Hey,” Sitting up, she bit the inside of her cheek when her stitches pulled. “You’re not taking this on. You protected my pack, you protected me. I’m the one who failed here. I should’ve kept my eyes on Mason but I got distracted and it—” Fallon stopped when his brows lowered.
“Don’t.” He shook his head, silver tipped hair swaying about his shoulders. “Don’t you fucking dare sit there and tell me this was your fault, that you’re responsible for that son of a bitch trying to hurt you.”
“But I’m the alpha here. I should’ve—”
Ransom leaned in until they were nose to nose. “Stop.”
She closed her mouth.
“What makes you a good alpha is realizing that you can’t do everything on your own. You know that, I know that, and your pack knows that. You’re always fighting, constantly fighting, for everyone but yourself.” His hands fisted in the sheets. “So this time we fought for you. Do you understand that?” One palm came up to cup her cheek. “This time we fought for you. I don’t ever want to hear you say that you failed again. Because you didn’t.” He pressed his forehead against hers.
Fallon chewed her lip and closed her eyes. “He made me feel so weak.” She admitted softly. “For the first time in my life I didn’t have a solution, I couldn’t fix what was wrong.”
“You’re not weak. I don’t even think you understand what that word means, baby.” Ransom brushed his lips over her brow. “Even with his hand wrapped around your throat all you gave him was a deep fuck you.”
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she allowed her stare to meet his again. “Because all that kept filtering through my head was how much I love you. And I wasn’t about to let what I believed was my last thought be about anything but you.” Fallon smiled a little at the astonished expression on his face. “I’ve been so quiet lately because I was trying to figure out why you hadn’t said the words and in that moment I realized I really didn’t need you to because you had shown me. You haven’t tried to change me. You haven’t tried to stop me from being alpha. You haven’t batted an eyelash at the insanity of my pack mates. All you’ve done is love me and God knows how grateful for I am.” She pressed a kiss to his mouth. “God knows how grateful I am for you.”
His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. “I can’t touch you right now without the possibility of hurting you but if I could...”
Fallon smiled against his lips. “I know.”
“I love you too.” His jaw clenched. “So fucking much.”
Her smile widened and she once again repeated, “I know.”
There was a knock from the doorway that had them both looking up as her doctor came strolling through with Brody behind him. “Miss Wilder someone else insisted on seeing you.”
The black bear glared at Ransom. “Perhaps you’d like to give them a minute.”
The grizzly blinked and said with the same patronizing inflection, “And perhaps you’d like me to make you softly sob again.” He leaned forward. “Maybe there wasn’t enough embarrassment involved the first time. Tell me something doc, did you use concealer to cover up the fact that your lower lids are puffy?”
Brody looked seconds away from laughing as Fallon rolled her eyes. “Lord on high...” She squeezed her mate’s hand. “Baby?”
He stopped his glaring contest with the doctor long enough to look at her.
“Could you please go make sure Cree hasn’t killed Maddox...or anyone else who’s annoyed her?”
Ransom’s face said that he wanted to argue but the slow shake of her head stopped him. With a sigh, he rose and started past Brody but suddenly pulled to a stop. The pair stood there for the longest time, staring at one another and Fallon had the brief fear that they were about to go for each other’s throats when Ransom suddenly grunted—or was that a chuff? She could never tell the difference!—and muttered, “Thank you...for what you did.”
Brody looked uncomfortable then he gave a curt nod. “Yeah...whatever.”
Then with what was definitely a chuff directed towards the doctor, Ransom finally left the room.
The black bear gave Fallon a soft smile. “I’ll be back to make sure your skin doesn’t heal over your stitches.” He closed the door behind himself but not before she could hear him bellowing, “Mr. McKenna, put my nurse down!”
She started to laugh but caught sight of Brody’s
face and her amusement sort of died.
“I uh...I wanted to say...well...” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and she bit back a small growl. Shirtlessness agreed with the wolf. He was, quite honestly, one of the most ruggedly gorgeous men she knew and if she weren’t well on her way to being marked... Fallon shook her head. I’m a married spud! I’m a married spud!
“I wanted to say sorry.” Brody managed to get out.
Her brows lowered. “Sorry? For what exactly?” He’d killed his own brother to save her. What did he have to be sorry about?
“I shouldn't have just pushed Mason out of the pack. I should’ve made a more...permanent decision sooner but I let arrogance cloud my judgment and it almost cost you your life.” He took the seat Ransom had just vacated. “Maybe if I had acted quicker—”
“Stop.” She cut him off the same way Ransom had done her minutes ago. “You are not responsible for your brother.”
He looked confused. “I am. I should’ve—”
“No.” Fallon cut him off again and raised a finger to stop any further argument. “You. Are. Not. Responsible.”
The fight seemed to go out of him.
“Your brother—may his soul hit the gates of hell with the speed of a bullet and the weight of an elephant—was a dick. You are not a dick. I’m sure you can act like a dick. But actually being the very definition of a dick? No. So don’t play martyr because your younger sibling was, in fact, the biggest dick this side of the mid-west.” She locked gazes with his. “You saved my life dude. Thank you.” He needed to know that she was grateful for what he’d done. He also needed to know that she understood that moment of self-doubt, of feeling like a failure on some level because of one split second decision.
“Well,” Brody cleared his throat. “That was uh, that was eloquent.”
Fallon smirked. “I’m all about the class, my friend.”
He smiled a little. “I can see that.” Standing, he gazed down at her for what seemed to be the longest time. “I think you should know that if it weren’t for that bear, I’d be well on my way to standing outside your window and howling until you finally noticed me.”
Her brows winged. “Wait...what?”
Brody grinned and sauntered to the door. “Now that I’ve seen you naked, I’m a little regretful that I didn’t make a move sooner.”
“Wait...what?”
He tossed her a wink over his shoulder. “But I kind of like the fact that my arms are attached to my body. I need them for stuff. Important stuff.” His smile softened. “You have to know by now that not every male would run scared from you, Wilder. That bear is lucky. I hope he knows it.”
When he was gone and Ransom finally re-entered the room, all Fallon could do was look at him and go, “Wait...what?”
Chapter 19
She hadn’t had sex in a week and she was starting to lose her mind. Not to mention since she’d come home from the hospital everyone was acting...strange. And that was saying a lot because Fallon’s pack mates were hardly normal but they all seemed to be on edge about something.
Anytime Fallon entered a room everyone stopped talking. Or the moment she walked by they quit whatever it was they were doing to stare. Even Anoki and Maddox, the two mouthiest people she knew, suddenly had nothing to say whenever she was near. It was starting to drive Fallon batshit.
When she’d mentioned it to Ransom he’d simply grunted, without taking his attention away from his macbook, and replied, “Maybe you’ve finally put the fear of the Lord in them, baby.” Then he’d kissed her on the forehead, blatantly ignoring her hints for him to put his lips somewhere else, and went back to work like she wasn’t lying within an arm’s reach half naked!
What the hell was going on?
Ransom had kept her secluded and resting for days on end because he seemed to think she was now made of spun glass. After a lot of howling and barking she finally got him convinced that she needed to get things together for the reopening of the lodge since it had been pushed back due to her injuries.
Her pack mates had been pulling their weight, even Brody had begun to help out with a few small tasks—which Fallon appreciated greatly. The alpha and the rest of the Jericho pack had pretty much become an extension of loud, obnoxious, anxiety causing family members. She and Brody had a talk at one point where she’d asked him how he knew what Mason’s plans were and he revealed that Aaron had actually been the one to warn him. The next time Fallon saw the pup she’d thanked him. And although he still looked a bit frail and seemed really jumpy, Aaron had blushed and shrugged it off, saying, “I should be thanking you for not stomping me into the ground.” After that he’d scurried off, leaving Fallon to wonder exactly how long Brody had before the kid lost that seemingly pliable disposition and grew into his paws.
Life, at the moment was calm and incredibly surreal. It was also sexless. Really sexless. And that shit needed to end like yesterday.
“Cree!” Fallon bellowed from her office, waiting until she heard the telltale sounds of her best friend’s footsteps before she got up, made it across the room and snatched her inside. She locked and slammed the door, leaning against it and effectively cutting off Cree’s only means of escape.
Her friend’s brows rose. “I’m sensing you want something, M’lord.”
“Everyone’s acting like they suddenly respect the fact that I can rightfully slap them around at any point. Why?”
Suddenly Cree couldn’t meet her stare. “Uh...because you can?”
Fallon’s eyes narrowed. “You know something don’t you?”
“I know nothing!” Cree waved her hands about. “I’m completely blank!”
Which of course meant that Cree knew exactly what was going on. She had always been, and would always be, a horrible liar. “Start talking.”
“About?” That slow innocent blink had never gone very far with Fallon and it wouldn’t now.
“I can almost assure you that if you don’t explain why everyone is tiptoeing around me like I’m made of glass I’m going to start hurting things.” Fallon lowered her head, gaze focused on her friend. “And I’m starting with you.”
“Do what you feel you must!” Cree cried out dramatically, flinging out her arms. “But I’ve made a vow of silence and—”
“I will put fleas in your underwear drawer...again.”
That interruption got Fallon nothing but a loud gasp. “You bitch! You told me it was Anoki the last time!”
“Because it was fun for Cade, Makya and me to sit and watch you give him an obscene amount of injuries.”
“How can I ever trust you again?!”
“Cut the bullshit Cree and start talking!”
“No!” The other woman bellowed; jabbing a finger into Fallon’s shoulder. “It’s a fucking surprise and by God you will wait for it even if I have to put you in a fucking kennel! You’re going to wait! And you’re going to fucking enjoy it! Then you’re going to fucking thank me or I swear by all that is holy and righteous I am going to fuck up the very essence of your being! Are you grasping what the fuck I’m saying right now?!”
Fallon completely deflated. Mainly because she was laughing so hard that she couldn’t stand upright anymore. “I...you...holy...oh God!”
Cree’s annoyed growl rang out loud and clear before she stepped over her and swung open the door, yelling, “I hate you!”
“I know!” She yelled back, still laughing.
Then her chuckles died when she realized what Cree had just said. There was a surprise. A surprise that apparently involved her but...what was it? Why did it need to be a surprise in the first place? And why did she suddenly feel like Ransom was to blame for all of this?!
Annoyed now, Fallon picked herself up and headed out of the main office, making her way past pack members and pups as she tracked Ransom’s scent and found him standing around with Anoki and Maddox...talking and laughing as though he wasn’t the reason she was losing her mind!
“You!” She barked, st
omping straight for the group.
Anoki and Maddox took a look at her then a look at Ransom before they both ran in the opposite direction, leaving him on his own.
The big bastard didn’t even have the decency to look startled or afraid! He just stood there with his arms crossed, legs parted and this dumb soft smile on his face. What was this shit?!
Fallon jammed her finger into his chest. “I wanna know what you’re up to and I wanna know right now.” She poked him again. “Because if you don’t tell me, someone is going to die.” Another poke. “And it just may be you!”
She went to poke him again just for good measure and he clearly saw it coming—how could he not with the other three times she’d just assaulted him with her index finger?—and grabbed her hand. “Calm. Down.”
His quietly spoken order demanded nothing other than immediate obedience and it annoyed Fallon to no end that her wolf simply rolled over and did just that. Useless! You’re absolutely useless! She mentally hissed.
“You really have to work on your patience, baby.” Ransom ran one huge palm down the side of her face. She could remember asking him weeks ago during their getting to know you phase how his hands got so rough when he was a desk jockey and he laughed before telling her that he was on construction sites more than he was in his office. That particular answer did some funny things to her insides. The same way the sensation of his hand sliding against her skin did and he knew it! Which was why he was touching her!
“Stop that!” She slapped at said rough-response-eliciting hand. “And answer me!”
He gave one of his put upon sighs. “Are we doing this? Are we having one of our days where canine anxiety makes us crazy?”
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