Chapter 22 Could This Be Love?
Isabella’s POV
“What happened to my brother?” Clara’s voice cuts through the air like a whip, echoing across the entire room. “What the hell happened to him?!”
I flinched at the tone of her voice, moving back into the far corner of Landon’s massive bedroom as if I could melt into it and vanish completely.
The room reeked of blood and sweat, the scent so strong that it filled everyone’s nostrils without mercy. Landon lay unconscious on the huge four-poster bed, his once-powerful physique looking weak now.
“I don’t know, Clara,” Beta Owen Riley’s voice snaps me back to reality, his tone low and careful, like he was trying not to make Clara even more upset.
“You don’t know? Are you fucking kidding me!” Clara barks. “How can you not know anything? He’s the Alpha for fucks sake!”
Owen Riley stood close to the bed, his face drawn tight with worry as his hands kept rubbing the back of his neck. “W…we found him like this. He staggered into the mansion, the second he crossed the threshold into the main hall he just…collapsed.”
Clara stopped mid-step and turned to face him the instant he spoke, her eyes wild with a mix of fury and raw fear that made my stomach twist.
“Have you called the healer yet? Why isn’t he healing? Landon has always healed fast…faster than anyone. This… this isn’t normal, Owen.”
“Yes, I have.” Owen replied, nodding once to Clara’s question.” The healer’s already on her way, we sent word the second we got him inside.”
For a moment, I stood there, glued to a corner of the room, my heart pounding so loudly I swore they could hear it. My eyes kept drifting to the bed where Landon was lying, no matter how hard I tried to look away.
He looked so pale, his usual tanned skin was drained of color, fresh blood dripping down his clothes and staining the bed.
What must have happened to him?
A small, treacherous part of me felt a wave of pity for him on seeing how badly he was hurting. Who could have done this to someone as strong and cruel as Landon?
Before I can think too much about it, I quickly shove the thought down hard, burying it deep. He deserves it. The words rang in my head over and over again like an annoying bell.
Landon had shown me zero mercy from the very beginning. No ounce of kindness or mercy. He had collared me like an animal, used my body like a sex toy, so why the hell should I feel even a flicker of sorrow for him now?
This was probably his past sins finally catching up with him—all the enemies he had made, the pain and suffering he must have caused to others. But still, the pity still lingered deep inside me, stubborn and annoying, refusing to die completely.
Stop thinking about him, Isabella!
He doesn’t even—
CREAK!
The sound of the door creaking open suddenly shattered through my thoughts. An elderly woman stepped inside, her experienced eyes looking around the room before stepping inside fully.
A heavy leather bag slung over her shoulder, bulging with jars of herbs I’d never seen in my entire life as she moved straight to the bed without uttering a single word, already rolling up her sleeves with practiced efficiency.
“It’s high time you finally arrived,” Clara turned towards her instantly. Then, she turns towards the rest of us, her face a mask of command and barely contained rage as she parts her lips to speak.
“Everyone should leave! All of you! I want only in here right now. Leave. Now!”
Everyone in the room began moving at once, including me. But Owen remained there, giving one last reluctant glance at Landon before nodding and heading for the door.
Oh, thank God!
I didn’t want to see any more of his blood or hear any more of Clara’s annoying shouting. Without hesitation, I quickly turned towards the door, ready to slip out with the others.
“Isabella.”
Clara’s sharp voice stops me mid-step, and I freeze. One hand already reaching for the doorframe before her voice made me stop.
Shit!
What the hell does she want from me right now?
“You’re the only one staying with me.”
I turned slowly, unable to believe what I’d just heard right now. “M…me?”
“Yes. You will stay behind with me.” Clara replied, nothing funny about the look in her eyes the moment it lands on me.
Owen paused at the doorway, frowning deeply on hearing what Clara had just said. “Clara, is that wise? She’s—”
“I said it’s final,” Clara snapped, her tone leaving no room for debate. “The only people I want in this room are me, Isabella, and the healer. Everyone else, get the fuck out! Now!”
For a moment, Owen opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, like he wanted to argue. But he must have seen the look in her eyes because he closed them back.
With a heavy sigh, he stepped fully out and closed the heavy door behind the last person. The room suddenly felt much smaller, and it was just the three of us left now.
I remained still at the far end of the wall, while Clara was standing like a vigilante beside an unconscious Landon on the bed, and the healer was already bending over him, examining the injury with careful fingers.
“Do everything you can to save him,” Clara turned to the healer, her voice dropping into something low and dangerous. “Use every god damn herb, every spell, every trick you know. Hold nothing back…”
Then she leaned in, her eyes flashing with pure wicked venom. “….because if my brother doesn’t survive this… I will rip you into shreds. I will tear you apart piece by piece until there’s nothing left of you, do you understand me?”
“Yes,” the healer doesn’t flinch at her words, and neither does she pull away, but I noticed her hands moving faster now as she began cleaning one of Landon’s deep wounds.
“I understand, Miss Clara. I’ll do all I can to save his life.”