The Dark Side of the Moon

F I F T Y - S I X

"That wasn't funny!" I scream at him, not sure whether to be relieved or completely livid when he scared me so much. I'll settle for somewhere in between.

Axel seems to have settled for being completely livid. Without a word, he storms out of the room without a second glance at his healthy mate.

"Ax, come back!" Cooper yells after him with a guilty smile. "I thought only Thea would be fooled! Couldn't you hear my heartbeat?!"

Axel is long gone by the time Cooper finishes his explanation. 

Grayson shakes his head, then seems to come back to his senses enough to remember that I'm standing when I shouldn't be. His eyes widen before he gently yet swiftly lifts me into his muscled arms and returns me to the stupid wheelchair that I already despise.

"Thea could have been injured more with your little stunt," he growls out, grumpy once again. It seems that he is just as excited about Cooper's prank as Axel was.

"Shit, sorry! I thought it would be funny... I now realize that maybe that wasn't the best prank to play right now." He frowns once he gets a good look at me. I probably look horrendous- I have bruises all over my neck and arms, and I know I have a nasty purple splotch on my face thanks to Elina.

"You look like shit," Cooper says. 

I glare at him, but he glares right back at me with mock anger. We stare at each other until the corner of my mouth tilts up ever-so-slightly. Cooper intensifies his glare and smirks at me, seeing his moment to break through my failing anger.

I finally lose the battle and grin at him, shaking my head. I'm so weak. I should stay mad at him for his cruel prank, but all I want to do is stand up and hug Cooper. One look from Grayson makes me mumble under my breath as I begrudgingly wheel myself over to the side of the hospital bed instead of disobeying him.

When Cooper scooches to the side of the bed and pats the empty space next to him, I smile and decide that occasionally disobeying Grayson just keeps him on his toes. I grunt in pain as I lean forward in the chair and try to rise to my feet. 

Gray makes a noncommittal sound stemming from his throat at my attempt to stand on my own.

"What the hell are you doing!?" he grumbles as he lifts me onto the bed. Not gonna lie, it's nice having Gray carry me and help me move around. It means he has to touch me more and I'm definitely not disappointed about that.

"I wanna sit here," I mumble when I'm seated on Cooper's side. Cooper then lifts his arm so that I can hug his side. When I lean in, I almost miss his short intake of breath. I immediately take my weight off of him.

"I'm fine", he answers with a grin I can see right through. He's obviously not fine. "Just don't lean right here," he motions to his abdominal area where the magic hit him the strongest.

I nod my head and lean very lightly on his shoulder.

Grumpy just stands in front of us while crossing his arms. 

"Should I just go and cuddle with Axel, then?" he groans while staring at every part of my body that touches Cooper's. He's so dramatic, sometimes.

"Yeah, you should," I tease him. "He looked pretty upset earlier. I think your cuddles could really cheer him up."

Cooper snorts at the thought of our mates snuggling up together while Gray throws his arms up in the air.

"That's not what you're supposed to say!" he raises his voice, but I only see a pouty toddler that's upset because someone stole his toy.

"You know I love you," I grin, then lean my head back on the bed and close my eyes. The smell of cedar and pine fills my nose, and I don't need werewolf senses to know that Grayson is right in front of me.