Beta Complex-Chapter 63: Why Treat a Lowly Beta?

Chapter 63: Why Treat a Lowly Beta?
Why is the ceiling moving? Ethan’s vision blurs, his world spinning, and he blinks rapidly, trying to get rid of the haze around the edges of his peripheral vision. He groans, the pounding in his head coming back in full force as the motion of him moving comes in full force. The wheels of his gurney squeaks, making his stomach churn and he holds in the urge to gag. If he throws up now, he’ll end up choking on it since he can’t move his neck. He’d rather not die like that.
"He’s waking up." An unfamiliar voice says, the tone soft in the quiet hallway. Where are the nurses? Or the other doctors? It sounds distant, as if something is between them and muffling the sound. Even the beeps of his monitor sound like it’s underwater. Ethan’s eyebrows furrow, but he can’t move his head to look around him, the damned cast limiting his range of motion. Are the nurses moving him to a different room? Why didn’t they notify him ahead of time? What is his mother comes and he’s not there waiting for her? She’ll be worried. The nurse will tell her where he is, right?
He winces when a light on the ceiling passes by. The glow nearly blinding and making his vision worse.
"Give him a sedative." Says someone else. Again, another unfamiliar voice.
Ethan licks his dry lips, his mouth parched. Then he tries to speak, a croak escaping his roughened throat, but something cool enters his blood stream. The sedative. Why does he need it, again? His eyes grow heavy, his headache soothing to numbness.
With muddled thoughts that no longer make sense, he falls into darkness again.
***
"You’ll get sent to prison you fucking dumbass!" Zalia throws her hands up in the air, her acrylic nails gleaming against the lamp on the bedside table a few feet away. Her long black hair is pulled up into a ponytail on the top of her head, and her make up is done to perfection. When she came over to Zander’s place, she didn’t expect to see a comatose beta in his bedroom.
Then again, Zander hadn’t expected her at all. He’ll have to scold the bellhop for not informing him of her arrival. He would’ve kept Ethan a secret if he could. But it seems the cat is now out of the bag. How tedious. Now he’ll have to convince her to keep her mouth shut, which will hopefully be easier than he thinks, though he doubts it. He may love his dear sister, but she can’t ever seem to keep a secret. A flaw that he despises about her. How hard is it to just not say a thing?
When she found out that he called their family doctor to treat said comatose beta, she already knew that this was the man Zander had been seeing. Which makes no sense to her. Why treat a lowly beta he barely knows?
Ethan winces at the shrieky voice, and Zander frowns. The alpha shifts closer to him, the mattress dipping underneath his weight, and runs his hand over Ethan’s cheek, trying to ease his discomfort. His skin is damp with sweat, his hair sticking to his neck and forehead. When the man he sent to trail Ethan told him about the accident, he almost lost his temper. Almost. The urge to go to Chris and rip his throat out was stronger than ever, but the urge to get Ethan away heavily outweighed that. Now that the beta is laying in his bed, he feels better, if only barely. Having to see the cast around his neck and arm doesn’t help much.
"Will you tone it down?" Zander mutters, a dark edge in his voice. Zalia winces but continues to stand her ground. "You’re going to wake him up." The male alpha runs his fingers through Ethan’s brown hair and he smiles when the beta sighs.
"Maybe he should." Zalia says, this time much softer than before. She gazes at the man in the bed with a frown, unable to see what about him has appealed Zander to him. "You kidnapped him from a hospital."
"I didn’t kidnap him." Zander rolls his green eyes, before turning to glare at her, "His doctor signed off on it."
"But did he?" She gestures to the beta, "Or his mother?"
Zander purses his lips, his finger twitching on Ethan’s head, "Well, no. But it was better than the alternative."
"What alternative?" Zalia scoffs. She crosses her arms over her chest, and begins to pace in front of the door. "What the hell is going on in that head of yours that-"
Ethan groans, his eyelids clenching shut in discomfort. Zander clenches his jaw. When he gets his hands on that selfish omega, he’s going to make him feel so much worse than what Ethan is going through. He reluctantly lifts his hand away from Ethan’s head and stands up from the bed.
"Let’s talk somewhere else." He murmurs. He gestures Zalia out of the door and he gently shuts it behind him. Zalia stomps into the open living room, no longer bothering to hide her irritation.
Zander moves over to the island bar and pours two fingers of whiskey. He’s going to need it if he’s going to deal with his sisters nagging. "You want one?"
Zalia wrinkles her nose and then shakes her head, "No. I have to drive back soon."
"Missing your omega already?" He attempts to tease her but it falls flat. He finishes the rest of his drink and clears his throat.
"Does mother even know that your lover is in fact not an omega?" Zalia accuses as a perfectly shaped eyebrow raises.
Zander sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "No, not yet." He answers. He pours another glass of whiskey and swirls it in the glass. Then he peaks at her through his eyelashes, "And don’t you dare tell them either. I’ll do it. Eventually."
"Eventually?" Zalia lets out a heavy breath and then chuckles, but the sound is full of amusement. "Father is set on you seeing this," She waves at his bedroom door where Ethan is, "Omega." Then she paces along the floor, her three inch heels clacking against the wooden floor and her arms crossed over her chest. "Explain to me, in detail," She enunciates, "Why you took him from a perfectly well hospital. Because nothing is making sense to me."
Zander purses his lips and glares at her. "Florence is trying to get a drug, medicine, whatever, distributed. There’s a high chance it can turn betas into a different dynamic."
Zalia’s eyes widen, her steps halting as she drops her arms. "I thought father scrapped that project? And Florence is just a politician-"
Zander sighs, it’s no surprise that she knows about it as well. The only secret in their family is probably the one in his bedroom. "He did, and you know how politicians are, they’ve got their hands dipped in everything."
He knocks back the whiskey and sets the glass down on the bar. "It’s that fucking snake Peter Young, who ran away to Florence and now they’re in the final stages of completing it." He scoffs, his finger tapping against the surface of the bar. "Chris went on a whole tangent about causing Ethan injuries," He waves a hand towards the bedroom, "And getting him to sign off on the drug. He wants to turn Ethan into an alpha and bond with him."
"That’s why you kidnapped the poor beta?" Zalia leans against a wall and tilts her head back to look at the high ceiling. "Just let him, it’s not like mother will let you mate with the beta. Better yet, why don’t you turn him into an omega?"
"Do you hear yourself?" Zander nearly growls out. "I don’t care what dynamic he is, he’s mine." He curls his hands into fists and resists the urge to throw his glass at the wall. "But I’m not going to change him behind his back." No matter how much the idea appeals to him. It would make things easier, he’s sure about that. But what if Ethan hates him forever?
"Since when have you been so self righteous?" Zalia scoffs. She pushes off the wall and walks around the island bar. She grabs another glass, ignoring Zander’s raised eyebrow, and pours herself some alcohol. Talking about this has made her want some. Maybe it will make more sense to her then.
"I’ll never forgive you if you tell our mother, Zal." Zander says, his voice low and threatening. "Never."
"You’re really serious about him?" She asks, her thin eyebrows furrowing. It’s strange to see him all hung up on some nobody. She still may not understand, but she can see the fire in his green eyes, the one she after sees when she looks in the mirror when she thinks about her mate.
"Deadly." Zander says firmly.