Page 49 of The Dragons' Healing Mate

“I’ve had a revelation, is what! Profound! Earth-shattering!”

I clamped my hand over his mouth, ending all talk Bastian might want to indulge in before he made more of an ass of himself.

“That’s quite enough, Bash. Let’s get you upstairs.” I turned back to Ben, lowering my voice. “Hey, I’ll make it worth your while if you can keep people away from here. Our boy here needs his rest, and I don’t want to hear any rumors about what’s going on. Can you handle that?”

Ben’s eyes flared wide, and he nodded quickly. “Of course, Alpha. I’ll make sure you have privacy. I won’t say a word. Promise.”

Clapping him on the shoulder, I nodded back. “Good man.”

Bastian was getting heavier by the second, so I hiked him onto my shoulder again and darted as best I could for his room. His head wobbled like a constantly swirling gyroscope, and he dragged his feet as he walked.

“I swear to God… you fucking owe me big, fucker.”

“How much? I can pay you back. I just have to ask my dad. I’m good for it, though.” Bash was so insistent, so obviously worried, brows pinched together over his wide, dilated eyes. “You know… You know…!”

He got so loud but didn’t bother to continue, so I shouldered him farther up the steps until we got to his room and stood in front of the door. I leaned him against the wall. Immediately, he started pitching forward, almost collapsing into a heap on the floor.

“She’s just so pretty.” Bash sniffled, almost like he was crying. I shot a look at him, shocked to see the distraught expression on his face as I opened the door wide enough to get us both through. “Like,sooopretty. God, I love her. But she hates me, and I fucking deserve it!”

“What are you going on about?” I pulled him over my shoulder again and got him inside, closing the door with my foot. Bash’s bedroom was opposite the main living space. I did everything I could to avoid dropping him as I crossed the room, ready to put this fucker to bed.

“Rowan!” Bastian called out, way too fucking loudly in my ear, making me flinch. “I love her! God, it’s terrible. I love her, and shehatesme!”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, Lord. Come on.”

Shaking my head, I pulled him deeper into his room, literally dropping his heavy ass the moment we got to the bed. He bounced on it as the mattress responded to his weight. With all the coordination of a drunk baby deer, he tried to pull his limbs under the comforter.

“You could always try to be nice to her.” He shot me a sleepy look. “You know, stop treating her like she has the plague? Hell, with how much of a joy you’ve been, some groveling isdefinitelyin order.”

Bastian was a bundle of confusion as he blinked, clearly trying to focus on me through the increasing fatigue. “Groveling?”

“You know, get down on your knees, kneel at her feet, and beg forgiveness for being such a dick.”

“A dick… Right, right…” Sleepiness got the better of him, and Bash rolled onto his back, his breathing going deep. “At her feet…”

All I could do was laugh as his snoring got louder and louder. I patted his foot, leaving the room, shaking my head. “Nighty night, Bash.”

From his room, I hurried down to find one of the others. They needed to be in the loop. I’d had my fill of dealing with him. It was their turn. When I entered the quiet kitchen, blissfully empty of people, I found Orsen sitting at the small table, picking at some leftovers.

“Dude, you should probably check in on Bash,” I said, grabbing a can of soda from the fridge. “And before you ask, I already put my time in.”

Orsen set down his fork. “Why?”

I took a long swig, contemplating my next words as I sat across from him. “Because he’s high as a kite and mumbling about how much helovesour mate.”

A spluttering sound escaped Orsen, and he shoved his bowl away, shaking his head as he blinked repeatedly. I understood his disbelief. Of all our clan, Bastian was the last one I would expect to end up in this situation. But leave it to painkillers to fuck his ass up.

“What? He’s…high?” I nodded back at him. “Is he okay? Is something wrong with him?”

“I mean, sure, but nothing new.” Orsen glared, but we both knew I had a point when it came to the stick that was permanently lodged up Bash’s ass. “He just had a headache, and because Jenkins is gone, he had to go to Rowan. Well, naturally, the two butted heads. Or should I sayBastianbutted heads with his own stubborn attitude? And I guess Bastian, being the impatient idiot he is, grabbed the headache medication out of Rowan’s hands and took a shitload before she could give him the proper dosage. Which, for the record, was like a thirtieth of what he took.”

Orsen’s mouth dropped open. “Is that safe?! Do we need to pump his stomach or some shit?”

I nodded with a snort. “Yeah, it’s safe enough. Rowan said it shouldn’tharmhim. He just needs to sleep it off. So I managed to get him upstairs. He was already snoring before his head hit the pillow.”

“Fuck me.” Orsen sagged in his seat, rubbing his temples. “He’s his own worst enemy right now, isn’t he?”

That was a massive understatement. “Yep. If he doesn’t get his head out of his ass soon, Rowan is going to run in the other direction. Though I don’t think he was very receptive to my suggestion in his current state.”