Alden's POV
I woke up in a hospital bed with pain radiating through my entire body. My ribs ached, my face felt swollen and tender, and when I tried to sit up the room spun around me. Through the pain and medication, I tried to piece together what had happened after the bar.
The memories came back in fragments. I remember being escorted out by security, my friends trying to calm me down and get me to go home.
Then a group of strangers appeared in the parking lot as they surrounded us. I had barely registered what was happening before the first punch landed.
They had taken us to a private room somewhere. I was not even sure where anymore, and they had beaten us… not killing blows but enough to make a very clear point. One of them had leaned close to my ear as I lay bleeding on
