Page 56 of Marc
She started cutting off my T-shirt with scissors. “Marc.” She said my name in her mom tone. Beside me, Zeke winced.
“I don’t want to be fucking stuck in the infirmary.”
“Marc.” This time it was Colbie.
I glanced her way.
“Listen to your doctor and your mom. You almost died.” Emotion vibrated in her voice. “You’re staying.”
I huffed out a breath and sank back against the pillows. “Fine.”
Dad eyed me, then Colbie, a speculative look in his eyes.
“Colbie.” The doors flew open and a pretty redhead rushed in.
“I’m all right, Mom,” Colbie said.
Colbie looked a lot like her mom. I watched as Lia leaned over and hugged her daughter. Finn stood close to them, then slid an arm around his wife.
Then Jameson stepped up to the foot of my bed. “We need to talk about the threaders.”
I lifted my chin.
“Can’t this wait?” my mom asked.
Jameson shook his head. “Sorry, doc. The generals are on their way. We need to debrief.”
My mom sighed.
A moment later, the doors to the infirmary opened again, and General Roth Masters and General Avery Stillman walked in.
They both wore navy-blue jackets with their rank insignia in gold on their chests. Both had done their fair share to help in the fight against the Gizzida, and now to keep our growing towns safe.
Roth’s salt-and-pepper hair was cut short, while Avery’s was dark and glossy, up in a no-nonsense ponytail. Roth had a hand to his wife’s back as they stepped into the infirmary.
“I hear you and Colbie had quite the adventure,” Avery said.
I flicked a glance at Colbie.
In an instant, I knew she was thinking about my hand on her ass, because her cheeks turned pink.
I cleared my throat. “We did.”
“And you saw cocoons and threaders?” Roth asked.
“Dozens of both,” Colbie replied.
The generals shared a glance.
“There were lots of cocoons,” I said. “Different sizes, some looked really old, some brand-new.”
From nearby, Jameson muttered a curse.
“One…” I sucked in a breath. “There was a young man inside. We cut him out, but he was in a bad state.”
“He had black patches of skin, and one eye was…” Colbie shook her head. “He was dying.”
“Then, he tried to attack Colbie. He had a mouthful of fangs.”
