I squeezed my eyes shut, holding my breath, waiting for anything, something to feel different.
"Nash, it was a good idea," Nana said, but I wasn't finished trying.
"It can't work unless the energy flows from him," I said. "Phin isn't like Riley—his power doesn't just spring from him by touch. He has to make it happen."
How did I get my unconscious mate to try to heal me?
The front door opened: the others coming in. In a while, Riley would come back to relieve me. Aver would take the last shift before I came back for the night. I'd sleep, wake up, and be forced to act as if there wasn't a gaping hole in my body for another day.
I touched Nana's arm again, laying my head down on Phin's chest. "Please, mate. I'm broken without you. I need your healing. I know you said you can't heal hearts, but I need you to try. My heart is broken, Phineas. It's broken for you, my omega."
How could I have thought I felt Phin's power earlier when the real thing was so awe-inspiring? Was this how Phin felt when he healed? This peace, calm… and oh, ouch, my hand was hot. It burned brighter. Nana winced. She was feeling it too.
She didn't move but gritted her teeth. "Keep talking, my boy. It is working, I can feel it!"
"That's right, baby, you're doing it. You're healing my heart because you are my heart. Come back to me, Phineas. Just a little more."
My hand felt like an iron, but I hung on, watching Phin's face. His mouth twitched, his eyes rolling rapidly beneath his lids. There was more movement from him than I'd seen since I opened my eyes, healed from my omega's sacrifice.
Then it stopped. The heat disappeared. Phin's face calmed once more.
His eyes opened.
He smiled.
"Phin!" I pulled him toward me, burying my face against his neck. I kissed him there, up to his chin and his mouth. Nana ran out and returned with Riley, Branson, and Aver. I was pretty sure they all started to cry, but I wouldn't hold it against them.
"That was strange," Phineas croaked, his words tickling my ear.
"What was, mate? Where were you? What did you see?"
He blinked, his gaze going from each person in the room until he circled back to me. He smiled. "I don't know. I don't remember. Is everyone okay? Did everyone make it out?"
I laughed, hugging him to me again. "Everyone who deserved to."
Phineas nodded. My mate wouldn't be pleased about what had happened to Charles, but he'd understand why it needed to happen. "How long has it been?"
"Over two weeks." Two weeks of torture, of watching my heart beat outside my body.
Phin's eyes bugged a little. "Reg and Bun must be so confused," he said.
I sucked in air between my teeth. "Actually, they aren't. Also, they know everything now that I told them."
That time, Phin's eyes bugged a lot. Maybe this conversation needed to wait until a little later. He'd just woken up. But his expression said we weren't leaving this topic for a later time.
"Well, you see, Aver was doing all that research because he felt sad you were in a coma."
"And I kept logging into the chat to make sure there weren't any clues we missed in your history. Which got me to wondering about your other friends," Aver added.
"So they wanted to hire another investigator," Riley butted in. "At which point I informed them how rude that was to do unless you were absolutely sure someone's safety was at risk. And that they should do what any normal person would do when they want to find out about someone. Stalk their social media."
"We did that," Aver took over, giving Riley a brotherly glare. "And then I called the investigator anyway because safety was at stake. Anyone, long story, your friends, those two, they're clean."
"And you decided to tell them everything then?" Phineas asked, looking very confused.
I grabbed his hand. "Well, since we knew they were clean, so to speak, and I was looking for ways to wake you up, we got to talking. Oh, and I promised them I would tell you the moment you woke up that I am a dirty tool for logging into your chat room undercover and I will never do it again."
Phineas smirked. "That sounds like them."
My heart swelled at the gentle banter. I was afraid to blink, scared this would all go away. "They are pretty nice. And you were right. Chat friends can be real friends. But they can also be obsessed stalkers."
My Phin rolled his eyes, and I'd never been happier. "They are going to be such a handful when I get back online."
Everyone but Phineas looked at me like they were on a safari about to watch the zebra—me—be chased by the lion. "Actually, they are going to be a handful in a week when their planes land in Seattle."
"When they're what—what?"
I dropped down, clasping my hands like I was begging. "I'm sorry, Phineas. They are persuasive and so worried about you. I couldn't keep away people who are worried about you! Those are my favorite types of people!"
Phin's lip twitched at the corner, and I knew I would be forgiven. "Anything else happening that I should know about?"
"Just that Wyatt and I will be forever thankful to you for forcing us to see our mother. She's… well… she didn't have the role I'd thought. She isn't forgiven," I added sharply. She knew that; this wouldn't be a shock to her if she were in the room. "But she moved off pack lands, out of my father's house and in with Nana. I call them the Silver Girls." I cupped my hand around my mouth. "But you can only use that term in front of Nana. My mom found a gray hair the same day she first heard me call her that, and I think she's holding a grudge."
Phin laughed. "I think I can handle all that."
Fuck, I wasn't sure I wasn't floating off the ground, I was so damn happy. "You don't have any more questions, love?"
"Just one," Phin said. "Where are my babies?"
***
The next morning, my mom came over, and so did Paul. Wyatt had come home after closing and spending the night in the bar—he hadn't slept at home a single night while Phin had been in his coma.
But no one left. Branson and Aver cleared their day, Riley called in, and we all relaxed now that our pack was full again. Phineas hadn't stopped holding his children.
"They've just grown so much," Phin said again, growing more teary-eyed each time it was repeated.
"They haven't grown that much. But they will soon." I leaned in, giving father, daughter, and son a kiss on the forehead. "Shifter babies grow fast early."
"Yes they do," my mom muttered. Her face snapped up, noticing us looking, and her hand twitched to her mouth, but she stopped it halfway. "You boys did, anyway. I think Nash was taller than me at seven."
"Not Wyatt too?" Phineas asked.
My mom laughed. "I suppose, yes. They were identical in everything but personality. And even there they have overlap. I mean… they could have changed, in that time."
That time, when we'd been torn up by grief and hating her guts. I didn't think I could change what had happened if I could. Wyatt and I had needed that time. But we'd also been wrong in assuming our mother's equal part in it. She'd been against the challenge. Against it all. But our father could be charmingly persuasive. And when he hadn't been able to do it charmingly, Wyatt and I had presumed he'd done it in other ways. We didn't know for sure because our mother wouldn't tell us. Probably because she knew our father wouldn't be able to walk when we finished with him if we knew for sure.