Alone • Liam Dunbar

Thirty-Five

"We'll be in here, if you guys need us," he dismisses himself politely, taking after Scott.

I don't linger in the Alpha's attitude. I adjust the blanket Hayden was wrapped in, curling the ends of the wool fabric under her. She may have had an intense fever, but her endless trembling was a sign that she was convinced she was freezing.

She thanks me softly as her eyelids start to droop, all of the events from the past day drawing her into unconsciousness.

"You should sleep," Liam tells me. "I'll take the first watch."

I shake my head, resistant to being under for even a few hours. My mind had a tendency to be overactive in times like this and I knew there would be a string of nightmares waiting for me, or some vivid dream I could barely understand. I also didn't want to leave us vulnerable because I needed a nap. The faceless hunter and frozen woods could wait, as could my rest.

"I want to stay up for a while, make sure the IVs are working," I claim, brushing him off. Liam still seems resistant, though.

"You sleep," I insist further. "I'll wake you up in a few hours and we can switch."

It's a lie, as I had no plans to do such a thing, but it's enough for him to give in.

"Okay," Liam concedes lightly.

He steps away from me, going over to the chairs we had brought in from the waiting room last night. They were against the far wall, but he carries one over to me so I can be at Hayden's side. He repositions his chair, too, aiming it in my direction. Sleep finds him soon enough after he sits, and his endearing snores mix with Hayden's labored ones.

I take the opportunity to admire him as he slips away. His slumber softens the lines of stress that had been digging into his features for days, giving an illusion of peace that I wish would remain in his waking hours.

As desperately as I want to save Hayden, I resented that I was dragging him into this. He was going against his Alpha and being hunted by insane parascientists to protect her, all because I asked him to. That's not to say he wouldn't help her outside of this, I was sure he would in his own way, but his devotion was stronger because I was the one he was really trying to protect. He understood that I couldn't lose her like I had lost so many before. Though, my fear now was that in the midst of all of this chaos, I would lose him.

I only stop studying his path of breathing when I realize Melissa's watching me.

I default to staring down at my lap instead. I avoid her eyes, scared of what I would find within them. If she gave me even a fraction of the reaction her son had to my secrets, I would crack.

Melissa doesn't speak, only approaches me at a non-threatening pace, and brings her own chair with her. Using my peripheral vision, I observe her as she places it directly next to mine. She happily takes her seat at my side, sighing contently.

As if she's some horrid beast, I slowly lift my head to peek over at her. Melissa snorts in response to my childish actions, much to my relief. Her amusement is a sign she's not disappointed in me. Evidence of that only continues to stack up when she wraps her arm around my back. She pulls me toward her and starts to rub soothing circles into my arm where her hand rests.

I stiffen at first, but eventually find myself dropping my head onto her shoulder.

Melissa's actions are that of a nurturing mother, which makes me think of my own, and how much I wished she could be here.

Tears prick my eyes at the thought, but I don't bother to wipe them away. Melissa doesn't mention my discreet sniffling or the teardrops that darken spots of her purple sweater. She simply presses a light kiss into my hair, telling me that though my mother was gone, she was still here.