Forced To Love You

Ow

The smell of pure alcohol hitting my nose was strong. It didn't take me long to realize I was at the hospital. The beeping noises of machines, the sound of my heart beating on a monitor, the squeaking of wheels on gurneys and wheelchairs as they passed in the hall. It was all dead giveaways for where I was.

I forced my eyes open against my head's wishes and instantly regretted it. The bright lights nearly blinded me. It made the already dull ache in my head just intensify that much more.

"She's awake."

I turned my head in the direction of where I heard the voice and saw Harmony sitting in a chair beside the bed I was in. It was the first time I had seen her outside of work. She was wearing a salmon-colored sweatshirt and jeans. And she was staring at me.

"Hey, Blair. How are you feeling?"

I pushed myself into a sitting position and winced at the pain in my shoulder. "Ow."

"Yeah, 'ow'. The doctor said you dislocated your shoulder. You should probably take it easy." Zeke spoke from the other side of the room. He stood near the door with his arms crossed over his chest. From where I lay in the bed, I could see the wrinkles of worry on his forehead.

"I can't do that. I have to find Christian. Do you know where he is?" I swung my legs over the side of the bed and took the oxygen tube out of my nose.

Harmony looked at Zeke before she got up and stood in front of me to block my view and prevent me from getting up. "Blair, you need to take it easy. Lay back down."

I pushed her arm out of my way. "No, I can't. I need to go find him-"

"Blair, stop."

I felt the same Beta force I had hours before hit me. I stopped in my tracks and glared at Zeke. "Quit doing that."

"Then quit trying to leave."

"I have to go see if Christian's okay."

Zeke walked over and stood on the opposite side of me from Harmony. Between the two of them, I was completely blocked from getting up. "You're not helping things by leaving prematurely. You need to stay here so you can get better."

I sighed. "I can't... I can't just sit here."

He picked up the oxygen tube and held it out for me. "Once the doctor says you're healed, you can go see him. Until then, you need to stay right here."

I huffed and grabbed the tube from him. "Fine. But this is ridiculous. Doesn't anyone here realize who Christian is? Who I am?"

Zeke held back a smile. "Only the doctor and a select number of nurses know."

"It's safer if less people know." Harmony reached towards me and placed the oxygen tube behind my ears so it would stay in place. She pushed back the sheets on the bed and helped me sit back against the pillows.

Zeke looked over at Harmony. "Are you okay to stay with her? I won't be gone long."

Harmony put her hand on his arm. "We'll be okay. Don't rush."

I looked between the two of them. What were they talking about that they couldn't tell me? I hated being out of the loop.

Zeke leaned down and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you."

Zeke gave me a pointed look before he walked out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him.

I turned my attention to Harmony. "Where's he going?"

Harmony sat down in her chair once more. "He went to go check on Christian. You know, he's worried, too. You're not the only one."

"Why didn't he say anything?"

"And have you try to run out of here and go after him? Not a chance."

I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't do that."

"Blair, he's your mate. I wouldn't expect anything less. Hell, I would do the same if I were in your position."

I rested my head on the pillows behind me. "How did you and Zeke meet?"

"We went to school together. Pretty much everyone in Twisp goes to school together. We didn't really get to know each other until middle school. We've sort of been inseparable since."

"How'd you get lucky enough to mate with each other? I was told it was random."

"I guess the goddess just thought we were meant to be together." It surprised me how thankful she was for someone like Zeke. She knew him better than anyone so she would know what he was like in private. And, just like Madison and I had talked about, maybe he was different around her than everyone else. Hell, even Christian liked him. Maybe he was just good at putting up a front to get those around him to like him.

Didn't seem to work too well on me.

"You and Christian are good together, too. He needed someone like you to help him be a better Alpha."

"Are you saying he wasn't a good Alpha before I came along?"

She laughed. "No, that's not what I'm saying. I just think you help clear his head and make him a better decision-maker."

"It hurts my head to think about that. I feel like he'd be worse because he'd be worried about me or thinking about me. I know I did that when Zeke found us. I wasted so much time because I couldn't stop trying to protect him."

"I wouldn't be any different. You love Christian and you did everything you could to protect him."

She wasn't wrong. I did everything I could to keep him safe. I might not have known what I was doing but I tried by best. I had to do what I could to help Christian.

Because I did love him. And I hated that I never had the chance to tell him.