Blood Legacy

19

"Who were you talking to?" Whoever it was, they had been talking about me.

"Oh, Kai." She chewed on her bottom lip. "He's on his way over here. I hope that's okay." "She's still hurting," Liam growled as he took my hand in his.

"I'm feeling better." I forced a smile. I wasn't lying, but it wasn't like I was feeling normal either.

"I'm actually hungry."

"What do you want?" Liam pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I can order you something and pick it up."

"A pizza with all the meats sounds good." My stomach rumbled at the thought. Apparently, I hadn't eaten in four days except for toast and some saltine crackers a few hours ago.

"Okay." He stepped toward me and brushed his lips against mine. "I'm on it. Go sit down and rest." He headed toward the kitchen.

Bree watched him. "It’s like he’s a different person."

"What do you mean?" He wasn't as angry as he was when we first bonded. It was something I'd been noticing a lot more the last several hours.

"He apologized to me and was nice." Bree shook her head and then focused on my left shoulder.

"Is that the one that's shot? It still smells like it's bleeding."

I was exhausted but wasn't ready to lie down again, especially if Kai was going to be here at any moment. "It is a little, but not like it was. It's starting to scab over, so that's a good thing." I should be back to normal in the next three to four days.

"We've all been worried." Bree gave me a small smile.

"I didn't mean to cause problems." I headed over to the recliner and sat in the seat. It still hurt to move; granted, it was a lot better than yesterday. I hadn't realized how often I used the muscles in my shoulders until now.

"It'll be ready in fifteen minutes." Liam breezed back into the room and stopped beside my recliner. "Do you need anything now?"

He'd been pushing me to down liquids all morning, so I wasn't thirsty. Just the thought of drinking more water right now made my stomach hurt. Honestly, I couldn't figure out how I was still hungry seeing as my stomach was filled with water. "No, I'm good. Thank you." There was a brief knock on the door.

Liam stiffened ever so slightly as he took a deep breath. He hurried over to the door and opened

it, revealing both Kai and Tripp standing there.

Tripp's eyes widened when he saw Liam. He lifted both hands in the air. "I never tried dating her."

"Really?" Kai rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "You're going to throw me under the bus?"

"It's not like he doesn't already know." Tripp pointed to Liam. "You openly dated his mate right in front of him."

"You know, you two are making it hard for me to not want to hurt you right now," Liam growled deep.

"I didn't do anything. It was all him." Tripp pointed to Kai and raised both hands in the air as he slid past him and into the room.

"Wow, remind me never to tell Tripp something that could get me in trouble." Bree snorted and glanced at me. "He'll rat you out without any hesitation."

"Hey, he can kick my ass." Tripp pointed back at Liam. "I'm going to make it clear that my face doesn't need any rearrangements with his fist."

A laugh escaped me, and I cringed. It hurt so damn bad.

"Knock it off," Liam growled at him. "You made her hurt."

"It doesn't take much to get on his bad side." Bree winked at me. "Especially when it comes to

Mia."

"How are you feeling?" Kai stepped to the side so he could see me, but he stayed in the entryway. "I've wanted to check on you but knew it probably wouldn't be good to come until you got back here." "I'm okay." I tried to force a smile.

"She's lying. She's still hurting like hell." Liam shook his head and looked at me tenderly. "She doesn't want anyone to worry about her." He glanced at his phone and took a deep breath. "I'm going to go grab a pizza for her. Does anyone else want anything?" Bree's eyebrows shot up, and Kai shuffled his feet.

Why is everyone looking at me all weird? Liam locked his eyes with mine. I'm trying to be nice.

A huge grin filled my face. That's why. "So, is that a no?"

"Oh, uh ... I wouldn't mind a pizza," Kai spoke his words carefully as if he was waiting for some type of punch line.

"I ordered five, so we should be good." He stepped out the door and waved Kai in. "I'll be back in a few minutes." His eyes focused back on me. "Let me know if you need anything. I won't be long."

I love you. I gave him a smile. He was trying for me and leaving Kai here without being an asshole. He was putting me before his own needs.

At this moment, I think it's pretty obvious how much I love you. He shut the door, and I could hear his footsteps down the hallway.

"What the hell just happened?" Tripp looked at me and then back at the door. "He just left you alone with us."

"He wasn't thrilled with it, but he did." Bree grinned at me. "I'll be honest. I had a gut feeling that you two were mates for a while, but I was happy when he left you alone. I was afraid he'd change you. Make you into one of those elitist bitches, but I can see now that isn't going to happen. You're bringing him back down to earth."

"I haven't asked him to change." Anything he was doing was all on him. I didn't deserve any of the credit.

"I hate to agree with Bree, but maybe fate did have it right after all." Kai sat on the recliner right across from me. "I can't believe you're up today. Hell, you were shot just a little over twenty-four hours ago."

"You do look like shit." Tripp frowned as he sat on the other end of the couch. "You may be even paler than that huge heir that he hangs out with."

Bree leaned over and smacked Tripp on the arm. "That's not helping."

"No, it's fine." I didn't feel great, so I could only imagine what I looked like. I couldn't wait until my shoulder healed a little more so I could take a really good shower and maybe breathe without constant pain. "I don't feel the best though."

"How'd you get shot?" Tripp's eyes sparkled. "I've never known anyone who's gotten injured like that. I am officially a badass."

"How are you badass?" Kai scoffed and shook his head. "You're not the one who took the bullet."

"I'm a badass by association." Tripp patted himself on his chest as a proud grin spread across his face. "Everyone will fear me because they know I have an ace in my pocket."