Chapter 44: Treatment

“Alpha, she must stop using the wolfsbane from now on, or else her foundation will be completely ruined and she won’t be able to shift anymore. Not only will her wolf be affected, but her body won’t be spared and her health will begin to deteriorate gradually until her body can no longer hold on.” Albert explained seriously and Damien went completely silent.

He seemed to think of something and let out a sigh before saying, “But as your slave, it doesn’t matter if she’s dead or alive, right?”

Although that was what he said, he was also studying Damien’s reaction.

Damien stared at Hazel's sweaty and rosy face and did not say anything for a while.

Yes. Hazel was his slave and using a wolfsbane pill in her was mandatory. He should not be worried even if she dies, but why does the thought of her dying made his heart tighten?

Was it because of the mate bond?

Or was it because of something else?

Damien could not understand, but he knew that he didn’t want Hazel to die just like that.

“I will have Matilda stop giving her the pill, is there anything else?” He finally replied, his eyes calm and successfully hiding the complicated emotions he was feeling inside.

However, his response still pushed Albert into a state of utmost shock. Damien was never one to compromise, but for a mere slave, he did.

Albert almost could not believe it. He glanced at Damien in shock and did not know what to say for a while.

“Albert?”

Albert quickly reacted and nodded, “It is my first time witnessing such a condition, so I didn’t come prepared. Hazel will need a tranquillizing serum which she would have to take daily, but the serum was produced by my master and I only know the ingredients and not the procedure. Therefore, you have to wait for his arrival.”

Damien’s eyes flickered, “Master Grito will be back in the pack soon?”

Albert nodded, “I think so. He should be back in a few days.”

Then Damien frowned, “So what will happen to her in those few days?”

Albert was also stumped by that question and it took a while for him to reply, “The best I can do is give her fever-reducing pills, but that won’t help completely. She will have to battle with intermittent and intense fever for the next couple of days, I’m afraid.”

Damien’s expression did not ease, but Albert was busy rummaging through his small box to notice. Well, it wouldn’t matter if he did because there was nothing to see with that mask on Damien’s face.

Hazel seemed very uncomfortable in her sleep and kept whimpering.

Albert quickly mixed the pill into a small porcelain cup, added a few drops of water and approached Hazel with the cup.

He sat close to her, raised her head and was about to place the cup on her lips when a voice stopped him.

“Wait.” Damien called out, his eyes dark for some reasons Albert could not understand, but he still obeyed and stopped. “I…I will do it.”

“What?” Albert felt like his ears were playing tricks on him.

Why would the great Alpha Damien volunteer to feed a mere slave medicine?

It must be an illusion.

“Leave it, I will do it.” But Damien repeated, his tone so calm that Albert almost thought he was speaking to an imposter.

But when Damien took the cup from him and pushed him away, he finally reacted.

“Goodness, are you really willing to feed her? A mere slave?” He asked out loud, watching Damien’s awkward movement as he placed the cup in Hazel’s lips.

Thankfully, Hazel was not completely unconscious, so feeding her was not so difficult. But for Damien who had never done such a thing before, he looked as though he was in the middle of some Great War.

In all the few years of staying beside Damien, Albert had never seen him act towards someone in such a manner. Although Damien remained cold, Albert had known him for far too long to know that there was something different about him.

And this difference only emerges when Hazel was involved.

“This fever will not subside easily even after the pill is administered.” Albert finally said, his tone serious again after a moment of shock. “Have the maids wipe her body to prevent the temperature from rising even further. Tell them to make sure she drinks water whenever she stirs too, it will keep her hydrated.”

Damien’s grip on the empty cup tightened briefly before he nodded.

“You can leave now, I will call you if there’s anything else.”

Albert nodded, “I will come back into the morning to check on her condition again.”

With that said, Albert gave one last look at Hazel, sighed internally before packing his things to leave. As the doors closed behind him, the chamber lapsed into silence.

Damien glanced at Hazel's features and stood up slowly.

He had been the one to order for her to be cleaned up tje first time they had something together, but now, probably because of how fragile she looked, he suddenly didn’t want the hands of the maids touching her.

The thought shocked him more than it surprised him.

But in the next second, he found himself ordering a maid to bring him the necessary things.

Soon after, a short and average looking maid entered the chamber with a lathe water basin in her arms together with a clean fabric.

Fearful of Damien’s presence, she did not even glance around the chamber and after dropping the two things, she turned around and fled the chamber as though being chased.

Damien did not even look at her.

With stiff and awkward movement, he grabbed the clean cloth, soaked it in the water, squeezed it gently before he began to wipe Hazel's body, starting from her arms.

Her skin was still hot under his touch.

As the damp cloth touched her wrist, Hazel suddenly stared and Damien froze for some reason.

But instead of opening her eyes, Hazel's finger twitched and she hooked her index finger around his pinkie.