Faith & the Dead End Devils (Sweet Omegaverse, #8)(38)

The woman in the chair had thick, dark hair threaded with silver, and warm golden skin crinkling at the corners of her eyes. She was attractive, older, and my chest panged at the look on her face as she stared back at me in double. I hadn't seen an expression like that since my second foster home and the older woman who'd cared for Adam and me with real gentleness, actual compassion. This woman had all the kindness and sympathy King seemed to lack, and she waited patiently while I shook through my nerves, a soft whine clinging in my throat.

"The boys say you hit your head a while back. Do you remember how long ago that was?" Molly asked, her eyes drinking in every detail of me as I struggled to hold her gaze. Chance's grip squeezed mine with the rhythm of my breaths, and Bear's hand landed on my thigh, anchoring me.

"I think…a week before…before they found me," I whispered out, trying not to let my head drag me back to those moments.

"Were you unconscious?"

I nodded.

"Same amount of vision loss the whole time?"

"It started off just a little blurred and…I couldn't track time well, but I think it took a couple days before everything was just foggy colors," I said.

"And it's improving again?"

The questions were gentle and also clinical, and I found it easier to breathe the longer we spoke.

"Better since Bear convinced me to take ibuprofen for the headaches."

"And is your vision still foggy or clearer?"

"Almost clear."

"That's good. And the ibuprofen helps with the headaches?" Molly asked, leaning forward.

I nodded again, finally lifting my chin, frowning through the confusing picture of two identical women blinking back at me.

"A severe concussion can cause swelling that presses on ocular nerves," Molly said softly, glancing briefly at Bear and Chance before returning her focus to me. "The improvement from intense obscuring to this point is promising. Seeing results from an MRI would help, but almost two weeks out from the incident…the worst would've happened by now, if it was going to. As long as your headaches keep lessening, you should be okay, but I'd really like to double-check everything at the hospital."

My heart hammered and my head shook, the whole room topsy-turvy in double as I shook. "I can't…I can't go to a hospital."

"Butterfly," Bear started.

The whine in my throat was annoying and frantic, and I fought through it to speak. "No. You don't… As soon as I put my name down, anything, security footage—" My words cut off, eyes wide and frantic before squeezing shut with a huff of frustration.

"The double vision is worse than blurring," Molly said to me, ignoring my fit of panic to speak to me calmly.

The doctors or whatever they were who worked for Omikron had spoken around me, consulting with handlers and each other, never me. Molly was not like them. Bear trusted her. I caught my breath, closed my eyes, and settled before nodding in agreement.

"I might be able to get you some lenses that disrupt that. How was your vision before the injury?" Molly asked.

"Fine. Normal, I think," I said, shrugging my shoulders, as if I were capable of being casual in this state.

"I'll see what I can do," Molly said with a nod. She licked her lips, glancing at the men to either side of me and then over her shoulder at King, who was pale and silent. "If it's all right with you, honey, I'd like to speak to you alone."

"No," I whispered immediately, even as King rose from his seat. "Not alone."

Bear's hand patted my thigh. "How about Chance stays with you? That way, Molly doesn't have to deal with us alphas?"

I frowned and swallowed, but leaned into Chance's side. "Okay." I would've preferred to have them both, but Chance would keep me safe.

Bear kissed my head and followed King out of the room.

Molly was silent for a moment, and I risked a glance at her, finding her staring back at me so long, I wanted to press her into speaking.

"Are there others?" Molly murmured at last.

The soft, hopeless cries in the night. Scratches against the wall. Unfamiliar perfumes that made me anxious and uncomfortable.

"Yes."

"And my hospital, it's not—"

I licked my lips and interrupted her, aware of how extreme my worries sounded, the idea that some monstrous limb might reach into a hospital to find me. "I don't know. I don't know for certain but they—It's—I'm not crazy!"

"Hey," Chance soothed, stroking my shoulder, squeezing my hand. "No one thinks that, birdy."

"No, you're not, honey. Chance is right—that's not what I'm thinking. Just wasn't sure if I needed to be worried about my patients," Molly said, scooting forward, testing a careful hand on my knee, smiling at me when I didn't flinch. "I've got some medication for you. Just to keep your blood pressure down. King mentioned your heat is coming in. I also have suppressants, which I'll leave if you decide you want them."

I remained silent, and Molly glanced at Chance warily.

"I also…want to make sure you're comfortable being here," Molly said to me, in a low voice. "If you need an alternate—"

"No!" I gasped, realizing she was offering to take me away, away from Bear.