Myron hadn’t willingly been to a hospital in his life. The last time had been when he was twelve and broke his arm falling off his horse. Even then, he’d tried to convince his mother just to let him set it with a ruler so he didn’t have to go in and get fussed over. The fussing was even worse than the shots.

It seemed that his childhood experience had done nothing to prepare him for the amount of fussing that came with “heroics.” Not that Myron considered himself a hero for taking a bullet for his destined mate, whether Charles wanted to admit that’s what he was or not. Of course, the media was going to spin it in the most obnoxious way possible.

It had been a day since Myron had woken up, and the drugs they had him on for the pain kept knocking him out. The nurses ignored him when he told them he wanted to talk to his boss. People tended to dismiss the concerns of any omega who’d been through a remotely unpleasant ordeal as “hysterical,” and they wondered why he hated going to doctors.

For once, he was finally lucid enough to stay awake for more than a few minutes, and he intended on finding Charles. At the very least, he needed to make sure the Alpha was alright. He tore out his IV and cursed the cotton gown he was wearing since it kept coming open in the back, but first things first. The second he opened the door, a nurse at the desk across the hall caught sight of him and dove out of her chair.

“What the hell?” she cried. “Get back in there.”

Myron parked his ass in front of the door and scowled, daring her to try to move him. “Charles Metcalf. Eccentric Brit, long black hair, about yea high, usually runs around wearing socks that don’t match. Seen him?”

The nurse’s eyes narrowed, but she barely came up to his shoulder and she seemed aware that he was aware of it. “He’s not a patient anymore, they dismissed him last night, but he tried to come in to see you and your brother gave explicit orders that he wasn’t allowed. And as for you, I saw what you looked like when they brought you in, and I don’t need some crazy monster cat running around.”

“Monster what?” Myron asked, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

“You shifted. Into what, I don’t know, but I run a tight ship in this ward and I don’t need you scaring my other patients. Or eating them, for that matter.”

“I don’t understand. I can’t shift.”

“Well, you did,” she scoffed.

He didn’t remember. He just knew he’d been watching from backstage when his eyes happened to drift away from Charles and he’d seen the shooter. From there, everything was hazy. “You said my brother was here?”

“Your whole family is. Well, your brother and two omegas, at least.”

Myron groaned, slumping against the door. Now that he knew Charles was alright, he was running out of energy. “Let me guess. One’s an adorable femme with curly brown hair and the other’s already asked to see your manager?”

The way the nurse’s expression darkened confirmed that Beverly Myer was in the house without her having to say a word.

“Where are my clothes?”

“You’ll get them back when you’re fit to leave. If you like, I can tell your family you’re up for visitors.”

“I’m not visiting anyone with my ass crack visible to the world.”

The nurse rolled her eyes. “I’ll see about bringing you some pants, but you’d better sit that bum down.”

Myron reluctantly decided to do as he was told. He didn’t take shit from Alphas, let alone betas, but he knew better than to cross a nurse. At least she held up her end of the deal and brought him some less embarrassing clothes to change into. A few minutes later, Nicholas and Avery came into the room and Beverly almost took them both out.

“My baby!” she cried, already sobbing theatrically as she threw her arms around him.

Myron winced as she jostled his stitches. “Ma. Gunshot wound.”

“Oh!” she cried, covering her face as her eyes welled with fresh tears like she was able to see the wound through his shirt. “Does it hurt?”

“It didn’t,” he said flatly, looking over at his brother and brother-in-law. “When did you guys get here?”

“This morning,” Avery answered, his eyes shining with concern. He didn’t make half the scene Beverly did, but he could fret as much as she did. Now that he and Nicholas were parents, Myron knew it was only going to get worse. “How are you feeling? They told us you weren’t awake.”

“That’s because they had me doped up on morphine, not because I’m dying,” Myron muttered, embracing the smaller omega with his good arm.

Nicholas came over, and Myron knew from the guilt he saw in his younger brother’s eyes that he was going to be an even bigger pain in the ass about all of this than their mother. “We were watching,” he said hoarsely. “We saw you get shot, Myron. And since when do you shift?”

“Guess I became able when the job required it.”

Nicholas frowned. “You could have died. Myron, what the hell were you thinking jumping in front of a goddamn Alpha like that? Did Charles put you up to this? Because you were supposed to be his spokesperson, not his fucking bodyguard.”

Here we go, thought Myron. “Charles didn’t put me up to shit. I saw that asshole taking the shot and I stopped it. Same as you would have done.”

“That’s different and you know it.”

“Why?” Myron gritted out.

Nicholas stared at him. Even Avery seemed confused by the hostility, so Myron forced himself to dial it back and remember that his family didn’t know who Charles was to him. The Alpha probably didn’t even want them to.

“I need to see him, so go call off the nurse I’m sure you paid off.”

“He’s not coming anywhere near here!” Beverly cried. “That man was trying to kill him and God only knows when he’ll try again.”

Myron felt his throat tighten with rage. Deep breaths. “That’s exactly why I need to know where he’s at. It’s my job.”

“Avery had the same damn job you did and he never got shot,” Nicholas snapped.

Avery’s eyes widened as he looked between Myron and his mate. “Come on, Bev,” he said gently, taking the older omega’s hand. “I think they need some time to talk.”

Beverly reluctantly let Avery lead her out of the room, casting one last pitiful glance Myron’s way. With another sob, she let the door close behind them.

Myron rolled his eyes. “Does she ever turn it off?”

“For once, the dramatics are warranted,” Nicholas said, folding his arms. “What the hell is wrong with you? You almost died and you’re acting like nothing happened.”

“Actually, I’m not. I just don’t have time for you right now,” Myron said, trying to move past his brother.

Nicholas blocked him. “You’re not going anywhere and you’re sure as hell not going to Charles. Mom is right, being around him is too dangerous.”

“Being around me is about to get dangerous if you don’t move out from in front of that goddamn door,” Myron seethed.

The shock on Nicholas’ face was one thing, but the worry just pissed him off. “You’ve been here for two months. Are you brainwashed, or something?”

“I’m just not in the mood for your bullshit today, Nick.”

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed. “That’s it. You’re coming home now.”

“Says fucking who?”

“Me,” Nicholas answered. “And if you won’t accept that from your brother, accept it from your Alpha.”

“You don’t wanna pull that card, little bro. I’ll leave the pack so fast your head will spin.”

That seemed to get through. “What has gotten into you? You didn’t even want to take this job. I had to fight you just to get you to go to the interview, and I spent the last twenty-four hours beating myself up over it. Now, you refuse to come home?”

“I am home,” Myron growled. “And right now, you’re the only thing standing between me and the only person I actually want to see. Move.”

Nicholas stayed where he was, but understanding slowly crept into his eyes. “Oh, my God…”

“What?” Myron asked, his tone short.

“Charles imprinted on you. That’s why you shifted.”

Myron sighed. Of course, that was the simplest possible explanation and it explained nothing, but it was the only one that would make sense to Nicholas, or anyone else, for that matter. “I’m not talking about this with you.”

“The hell you’re not!”

“Fine,” Myron gritted out. “You wanna talk? Charles is my mate, and as far as I know, he’s still in danger. I took a bullet to protect him, and I’ll take a thousand more if I have to, but I’m not going anywhere without him.”

Nicholas listened, even if it was only because he didn’t know how to respond. He finally said, “I thought you were only interested in omegas.”

Myron rolled his eyes. “He’s my exception, okay? You of all people should understand that.”

“He’s an Alpha, Myron. If anyone should be protecting anyone, it’s —“

“Finish that sentence, and Avery is going to be bringing you home in multiple bags.”

“Snark if you want to, but it’s the truth. If Charles is worthy of your devotion, then he’ll understand why I’m bringing you back.”

“Fine. I’ll go, but only if he comes with me.”

Nicholas frowned. “Are you insane? I’m not bringing a target into our pack.”

“And I’m not leaving him. No one has to know where he is. That’s kind of the point.”

“The answer is no, Myron.”

“Then you already know mine,” Myron shoved past him and when Nicholas tried to grab him, the omega grabbed him by the elbow and flipped him.

It took Nicholas a moment to recover, even though Myron could tell he was more shocked than injured. When he finally did, he looked at the omega like he’d lost his mind. “You’re serious.”

“I don’t care if Charles is an Alpha,” Myron said, needing to make things as clear as possible to his brother. “And I don’t care if my behavior fits your standards for an omega or not. He’s mine, and I will do whatever it takes to protect him. I don’t have room in my life for anyone who has an issue with that, so if you’ve got a problem with it, I don’t need you as an Alpha or a brother. Is that clear?”

Myron could sense that his claims had hit their mark, but the matter was too important to mince words. The Alpha’s gaze darkened, but his tone was one of resignation. “Both of you are coming home, then. But you get to be the one who explains this to mom.”

“I’m not interested in explaining the dynamics of my love life to Beverly Myer,” he muttered.

“Love life?” Nicholas arched an eyebrow. “So this is official.”

“No,” was Myron’s reluctant response. “He’s been avoiding the subject and refusing to talk until the summit was over.”

“I guess at least you have something in common.”

Myron glared, but he couldn’t really defend himself. Charles was only doing what he’d done to every one-night stand he’d had since Inara. Unfortunately for the Alpha, he was up against someone even more stubborn than he was.