Escape is Only Temporary [boyxboy]

Chapter XXIII

 ~Saturday 22nd July 2016~

What the fuck was that smell? It was cloying and thick and sticking to Reece's throat. It made him feel nauseous, causing his face to screw up despite the subtle pain that was sent through his aching muscles. He forced his eyes open, squinting in the bright light around him, finding that his vision wasn't what it should have been. Everything was out of focus, blurred lines and swimming colours. Of course, that made Reece panic. Was it a side effect of the fight? Had he hit his head? Was this his reality now, a mess of mismatched shapes and unidentifiable beauty?

Reece grunted as he sat up, blinking over and over, hoping that that might be enough to bring clarity back to his world. The effect was absent. All that had changed was the level of pain plaguing Reece. It was worse when he was sitting up. Through the haze, he could see that there was a thick bandage around his stomach, more over his hands and arms and legs too. They were everywhere. He was a mess of white, yet there was no blood to be seen. Even after that night, the night that was stained so red in his memories, he looked clean. And the reminder of blood only had his heart thundering.

"Shep-" Reece's hoarse speech dissolved into a fit of coughing. His throat was dry, his lips even worse. It burnt when he spoke, and that hideous scent of coconut was only making it all the worse. Despite all that, Reece didn't care. He had to find Shepherd, he had to make sure his mate was OK. No matter the pain he put himself through. His agony would be soothed when he found the man.

"Hey, Reece, calm down. Calm down," suddenly, there were hands on Reece, preventing him from swinging his legs over the side of the bed, confining him there, "you're alright, you're safe. Just take a breath," the voice didn't sound worried, it was actually familiar to Reece's ears. Not the voice he craved, but one he trusted. Cameron.

"Where is he?" Reece croaked out, narrowing his eyes in the hopes that the haze around Cameron would dissipate. Once again, he was still stuck seeing through a blur, and it was only angering him more as the minutes passed. It was bizarre. Reece found himself following Cameron's instruction, leaning back against the headboard to support his injured torso and sipping the water she provided for him slowly. Normally, Reece would ignore Cameron for the most part, that was their friendship, a continuous cycle of ignorance and irritation. Yet, for some reason, he felt as though he should humour her, to keep her happy.

"Shep's outside. He's doing checkups on the pups, he's completely fine, alright?" When Cameron was in the room, Reece felt calmer. It was the same effect that Shepherd had on him, something about her soothed his wolf. He had never felt that kind of connection with her before, not even when they were pups themselves. He sniffed the air, keeping his eyes on the blurred form of her perched beside him on the bed. Cameron had a distinctive scent of white jasmine, something that ran in her family. Normally, Reece disliked it. He could bear it because she was so careful not to scent when in his house, however, that morning, it was different. Creamy and thick almost... Milky.

"You're pregnant," Reece interrupted whatever Cameron had been speaking about, unable to see the reaction on her face from his statement. It wasn't a question, Reece knew Cameron was pregnant. It was obvious when he made the connections. Even though Cameron wasn't his mate, his wolf wanted to protect her. The beast had calmed, despite it's initial panicked state, not wanting to hurt Cameron or the pups growing within her. And there were definitely more than one, Reece could just sense it.

"What is it with you and Shep stealing surprises from me?" Judging by Cameron's light tone alone, Reece knew she wasn't angry. He probably could have returned a smile to her if he could see hers. But she had mentioned Shepherd again, and Reece was too distracted with thoughts of his mate. He had to see him. He couldn't wait another second.