He was still in wolf form as he lay still and intubated on the sterile infirmary bed. His chest rose in shallow breaths as they were pumped into him through the ventilator, my heart clenching with every stuttered exhale. His fur was much cleaner now, clearly having been somewhat detangled and de-contaminated during the surgery, and as my blurry eyes roamed over every blood-stained bandages that covered a substantial percentage of his body, I heard – more than felt – my own cries grow significantly louder, rattling the walls within the small room.

He was such a massive wolf, one of the largest I had ever seen. And yet, in his current state, he somehow seemed so fragile, so small.

That thought alone sent my trembling hands hovering over his prone form, my breaths quickening. Without even realizing it, I began to rambly, my every thought pouring out in a frantic rush.

"Is he going to be okay? Does he feel any pain? Can he hear me? What happened during the surgery? When will he wake up?" My questions shot out of me at light speed, all in one breath. And somewhere along my endless spiral of anxiety, I spotted his limbs, each of which were... tied down onto the bed?

My eyes widened, a burning, angry sensation simmering to life within my chest as I leaned forward, tugging at the offending straps at once with a mixture of desperation and indignation.

"Why is he still tied down?!" I practically screeched, disgust bubbling like bile as it churned hot in my stomach. He was injured, in a coma for God/dess's sake; he couldn't possibly pose a threat to anyone!

"Take them off, they're probably hurting him!" I demanded, the unfamiliarly harsh nature of my tone clearly portraying the primal instincts of Sana as he raged within me, urging me to protect our Alpha at all costs. 

Frustration boiling over, I found myself unable to take it any longer. My fingers reached out, fumbling with the tight knotted restraints that bound him, desperate to tear them away. But before I could even begin to loosen them enough to unravel, a pair of soft hands closed around both of my own, squeezing gently as they guided my hands away with the gentlest of touches. 

Suddenly, the reality of my surroundings flooded back into the peripherals of my consciousness. And as I lifted my head to identify the person who had intervened so gently, I jumped back a bit in surprise.

"Who are you?" I exclaimed, giving the small Omega who stood on the other side of my mate's bed a bewildered look that definitely betrayed my confusion. 

As the son of the Alpha, I knew practically everyone in our pack, especially the other Omegas. But this Omega... he was a complete stranger. He was cute – short like me but much more slender – with adorable, curling blonde hair that framed his ears in a particularly endearing way. When he smiled softly at me from across the bed, his blue eyes sparkled with warmth, crinkling up at the sides.

"You must be Ecko," he started, his voice high-pitched, but still somehow tranquil, soothing like a knitted blanket, "I have heard so much about you. My name is Kai. I'm Sebastian's husband, and I have been taking care of your mate since Sebby and Benji finished up his surgeries."

No matter how cute he was, I regarded him with suspicion. "So, you're the one keeping him restrained? Why?"

"I am not the one restraining him, sweetie." Kai released a soft sigh as he glanced to the side, taking in a quick glimpse of the labored rise-and-fall of my mate's chest.

"Well then why won't you let me untie him?" I asked, utterly baffled.

Kai's smile flickered, "I am just a nurse. I can only follow orders given by those in charge."

I blinked. "Isn't one of the people in charge your husband?"

"Well, yes, in some ways," Kai admitted, suddenly looking a little nervous. He avoided meeting my gaze, as if it physically hurt him to maintain it. "But these orders didn't come from the medical staff."

My face screwed up a little then, confusion gnawing at me even harder. "Then who else could have possibly–"

Kai probably didn't intend to reveal it, but all it took was for him to take a quick glance over my shoulder for all of the puzzle pieces to fall into place.

Ripping my hands out of the other Omega's, I whirled around at once. And just as I caught a gaze of the only other person in the room with us, a whole new slew of tears threatened to overwhelm me.

"P-Papa?" I stammered, still unable to believe, "Why is he still tied up like this? Did you forget to give Kai the order to release the restraints?"

It had to have been a mistake, some kind of misunderstanding, an oversight. Papa was always so overwhelmed, getting caught up with so many things that he'd definitely just forgotten!

... Right?

The tears choked their way further up my esophagus when, after a long moment of waiting, Papa only stared down at me silently, his stony face even more unreadable than it usually was.

"Papa?" I began to choke, the harshness of reality slowly sinking in.

"Sebastian has informed us that his biology is unlike that of a typical Feral wolf. Until we are able to determine his identity and affiliations, we must keep him restrained as he heals."

The silence that followed once Papa finished explaining was suffocating. And then, the entire world blurred when my tears finally reached their breaking point.

"Pumpkin," Papa began, taking a step closer as if to comfort me.

"No!" The word tore its way from my throat harshly, a mixture of a growl and a command as I pushed Papa's hands away from me, rejecting his touch. If I were in my right mind, I would never speak to my father, let alone my pack Alpha this way, but right now what he was doing just wasn't right. "He's my mate, Papa!" I exclaimed through an angry sob, "How would you feel if someone tied Dad up while he was hurt and told you that you couldn't do anything to ease his pain?!"

Papa's jaw ticked with irritation at that, and for a split second I thought maybe – just maybe – I'd gotten through to him. But of course, even though I was technically the second oldest in the family, my perpetual baby status would always win out in his mind.

"I understand your frustration, and I am sorry that has to be this way. But I am doing it to protect you, Pumpkin."

"Oh my goodness, I'm not a child anymore! I'm nineteen years old, for fuck's sake! God/dess, don't you think it's time for you to stop smothering me to death and give me at least one chance to make my own decisions?!"

The moment that my impassioned words faded into the air between us, my lungs still heaving with passion, I was instantly hit with a pang of regret. Had I really just said those things to my Papa? The one person who has always had my back throughout my entire life?

Of course, there was some truth in my outburst, but right now, I had no way of expressing myself with poise while my emotions felt like they'd been obliterated. It was to the point where I could barely tell one from the other, each emotion fighting for dominance. There was just so much... anger, so much confusion, so much fear, so much love. 

How could anyone be expected to keep this storm trapped inside all of the time?

"I'm sorry, Papa," I whispered, my voice barely more than a tremor before silence hung again, filled only with the sound of my sobs and the beeping of medical devices. 

"Pumpkin..." Papa's voice broke through after a moment, a mix of sad determination.

"Papa, please," I begged, my voice barely a wheeze now as I gave my final bow. Another tense beat pause followed.

"My decision stands," Papa finally declared, his words landing like a crushing weight upon already heavy shoulders.

I sank to my knees, strength failing me as my body succumbed to being wrung out like a sponge over the past few days. The sound of Kai's short gasp followed by the sensation of his arms around my waist, lifting me into a nearby chair, were all that I could comprehend.

"Kai, please take good care of him while I am gone." Papa instructed, his voice carrying a solemn weight, "I will send for Jax. He is better equipped for... delicate matters." 

"Of course, Alpha." Kai replied, his fingers still tracing soothing circles along my trembling spine, even though I barely felt them.

Everything about this situation was just so, ridiculously unfair – not only for me, but also for my mate, whose uncomfortably, restrained position on the bed still pierced my heart every time I so much as glanced in his direction.

Kai remained right next to me throughout the next hour or so while I bawled my eyes out. But as the tears gradually subsided, and Kai muttered soft encouragement while handing me tissue after tissue, he proposed something that left me glancing up at him with interest.

"How about I teach you how to give your mate a bed bath? And then, maybe I can show you all of his medications so that you can fully understand how we are treating him. How does that sound?"

Kai's radiant smile alone was enough to calm my nerves by a significant degree. At that moment, I decided that I quite liked him.

So, summoning my best attempt at a joyful expression, I offered a half-hearted grin back up at him as I rose from the chair, eager to learn how to take care of my Alpha. Yeah, my body could definitely manage to scrounge up enough energy for that. "That sounds absolutely wonderful. Thank you."

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