Claws

Chapter Fifty-Three

The first two familiar faces I saw when walking inside the infirmary were Corsett and Elliot's. They were standing by the front desk, talking to a thin blonde receptionist with tired looks on their faces. Dark bags hung under their eyes, and their clothes were messy and worn out. As Zale and I approached them, I noticed they had a couple of fresh bruises on their arms and knuckles. 

"Hey, Elliot! Corset!" I called out to them, picking up my pace. The moment they heard my voice, they turned their heads in my direction with surprised eyes.

"Mae! Zale! You got here faster than I thought you would," Elliot was the first to speak once we reached them. He looked even more disheveled and tired up close, as did Corset.

"Really? Considering that insane flock of people that I just dealt with out there, I thought you'd expect us to be late," I sighed, grabbing both of their wrists to inspect their arms. "Geez, what happened to you guys?"

"We just got a few bruises," Corset smiled, gently pulling her arm out of my grasp. "I'm not sure if your parents told you, but we offered to go with the betas on their retreat for extra protection. We figured we should take precautions since there have been so many incidents with the Southerners recently, and your mother and father agreed. Everything went great on the way to the beach, but on the way back, we got ambushed. Luckily, some of us made it out with just a couple of bumps and bruises, but most of the beta trainees are in pretty bad shape. They will luckily all make a full recovery, though."

"That's what Xavier told us," Zale nodded, brushing the back of his hand against my trembling one. "Were they all alphas? If none of our members were fatally  wounded or killed, it must be a statement strike."

"We honestly have no idea. The two of us were too busy fighting to check the attacking group out, but the ones we were fighting were alphas. We debriefed your parents on what we'd seen, and they've been interviewing each conscious beta able to recall what they'd seen. I think they should be the ones to debrief you two on everything since they might know more of the story than us," Elliot said, placing his hand on my head. "Go to room 1046, and you'll find your parents. I believe they're discussing the matters with Beck and Jade at the moment."

"Thanks, Ell," I sighed with a relieved smile, gently squeezing Corset's hand. "You too, Corset. You guys put some ointment on those bruises, okay?"

"Will do. Now go on. I believe Beck has been whining about seeing you since he got in, and it isn't very pleasant to the staff. We have to finish gathering the information on all of the betas admitted and make sure everyone's accounted for," Corset smiled, shooing us away.

I gave her a grateful smile as Zale grabbed my hand and began to tug me in the direction of room 1046. I frowned and looked up at him as we passed a couple of nurses holding a clipboard of what seemed to be client paperwork in their hands. Zale's jaw was slightly clenched, and his eyes were set on the frenzied hallway.

"Hey. What's with that face?" I sighed, stopping as we reached the door of room 1046. I gently tugged my hand out of his when his tense gaze met mine. "You were fine just a minute ago. Did something Corset or Elliot say set you off?"

Zale stepped closer to me and pressed his hand up against the wall beside my head. I stumbled back, immediately pressing my hands against his chest to push him away. "What the heck are you doing?"

Zale didn't budge when I tried to shove him away. To be honest, I didn't have the guts to push him hard, which was even more concerning. "You don't like that beta, right?" Zale's voice was on edge as he gently grabbed my wrist, pressing my hand back on his chest.

I flushed, looking away from his intense gaze. What a drama queen.

"Beck is just a friend. Even if I did, nothing can happen between us. You said so yourself," I sighed cooly, ducking under his arm to grab the door handle. When I turned the knob, I caught a glimpse of his satisfied smirk and rolled my eyes. "Don't give me that look."