Pack Mentality: Wild at Heart

Chapter 8

After spending so many years on the road, Seth was used to waking up—and going to sleep—in unfamiliar, uncomfortable places: cars, airport lounges, friends' couches. He had even fallen asleep in hospitals once or twice while waiting for a friend to get patched up or be checked out, but the harsh scents usually didn't let him rest for long. Vida's hospital was state of the art but also strangely cozy, so it hadn't taken much for him to succumb to the stress of the past few hours—it wasn't even a full day yet—and get some sleep in an empty patient room Isabelle had found for him.

When he woke, hands curled tight under his chin, Seth nearly tumbled off the bed. It was a generous size, likely able to fit him and Becky side by side if they were cuddling, and surprisingly comfortable, but no matter how nice, all hospitals seemed to have an aura of unease. "You're fine," a steady voice said, underscored by a rhythmic clacking. "You were only asleep for an hour."

Seth squirmed around until he could find the person talking and found Vida in one of the padded visitor's chairs, knitting what appeared to be a shawl. Taking a sniff, Seth could only smell cleaning chemicals and a faint whiff of coffee, but when he reached up to push hair out of his face, he could smell Becky on his hands, even though Isabelle had insisted he clean up when they arrived at the hospital. "Becky?" he asked, sliding off the bed. "Where is she? How is she?"

Vida stopped him with a gentle look. "Sit down. Wake up." Then she gestured at the small table that separated her chair from another. "Have some coffee. And yes, it's the good stuff."

He would have rather gone to find Becky, but Seth lowered himself into the chair and poured himself a cup of coffee from the sleek carafe. "Thank you. I just—I'm worried...."

"And understandably so." Vida turned to look at him without pausing in her knitting. "Zenna stopped her bleeding and has her stabilized. When you're ready, you can see her."

Seth figured that Vida would be the judge of when he was ready, so he let himself savour his coffee. She was right about that, at least: it was good. Perhaps not a peak Cesaro choice, but definitely above the standard cafe offering. "What's the prognosis?"

Vida bowed her head a bit. "I think that should come from Becky or my sister. Zenna only told me some basic details to preserve Becky's privacy."

Doctor-patient confidentiality, Seth thought. Normally it was a concept he appreciated, but just this once, he wished the doctor in question had slightly less integrity. "But Becky's... stable now?"

"Stable, yes." Vida didn't sound particularly confident.

"I'll have to call Roman after to let him know. I... shouldn't have called him when I was on the plane," Seth admitted, wrapping his hands around his cup, "but I just needed...."

"Comfort. Solidity. There's no shame in that, Seth. Roman's part of your pack," Vida said simply. "That's what packmates do for each other. They hold us up when we can't do it ourselves."

It would have been the perfect time for her to chastise him for not joining her pack or to make another attempt to get him to, but Vida did nothing of the sort. "Thank you for not saying I told you so," he murmured.

Vida lifted her knitting needles and smiled. "Thank you for not asking why I'm doing an 'old lady craft'." She set her project in her lap so she could sip at her coffee. "When I told you our offer was open, Seth, I meant it. Unless you give us good reason to rescind it, it will always be open. Rigid packs hurt us more than they help us, and that structure has harmed so many of our kind. I can't stop it, but I can do my part to combat it. And, to be honest, in this case, I don't think being in our pack would have helped. It likely would have made things worse if Maggie had been around you all the time."