Chapter 15 Chapter 15
I woke to the slow drip of water and the sting of something cold pressing against my skin. My body felt like stone, heavy, uncooperative. My eyes blinked open, the ceiling above me painted in muted grays and shadows. Stone arches. A flickering lantern. The scent of herbs, blood, and clean linen. My head as I tried to recall where I was and then little pieces started coming.
I was alive. Barely or not. I couldn't tell again.
A groan escaped my lips before I could stop it, hoarse and raw. The movement sent white-hot pain lancing through my side. My hand instinctively flew to it and met thick, clean bandages wrapped tight around my torso. I wasn't in my room.
Was I in the infirmary? The bed didn't feel like a bed in the infirmary.
The bed beneath me was softer than the cot I'd grown used to, and the blanket draped over me was too warm, too careful. Someone had tended to me. Someone had cared enough to stop the bleeding.
But why? But who? My memories bled back fully. Everything coming at once. The chaos, the fire, the rogue, the child, the boy. I gasped, struggling to sit up.
"Don't." A firm hand pressed my shoulder down.
My gaze snapped toward the voice.
The Alpha'a voice. Was this his room? I tried to call out to my wolf and she answered weakly.
He sat at my bedside in the lone chair, broad shoulders hunched forward, eyes rimmed with sleepless shadows. His jaw was tight, mouth set in a grim line. And those eyes, those dangerous, dark eyes held something I couldn't name.
He looked tired. He looked angry but not at me
"Where—?" My voice cracked.
"The boy is safe," he said quietly. "You got to him in time."
Relief hit me like a wave, softening the edge of the pain. My body relaxed, head sinking back into the pillow. I closed my eyes.
"Good."
"You nearly bled out." He growled quietly.
"I've had worse," I muttered, forcing a smirk I didn't feel. He didn't return it.
"You shouldn't have gone off formation." the alpha tone was back again. My eyes snapped open again, this time sharp.
"He would've died."
"I know but still you could have called for help" I remained quiet.
His voice was quieter now, but it wasn't a reprimand anymore. If anything, there was something that almost sounded like... pride. No. That couldn't be right. I studied him for a moment, then looked away.
"Is everyone else safe?" I asked. I was thinking about Lina especially.
"We lost two," he said. "A few injured. But it could've been worse." The silence that followed was thick with things unsaid.
"Why are you here?" Finally, I asked,
"I wanted to see when you woke up and I wanted to know if you're alive."
"That all?" His eyes narrowed.
"Should there be more?" I looked away, biting my tongue. Here I was thinking, he wanted to be close to me
He rose from the chair and walked toward the small table by the wall, his stride silent despite his size. He poured water from a jug into a cup and brought it back to me. I took it carefully, fingers brushing his as I drank. Cold water flooded my dry mouth, and I drank until it was gone.
He took the cup from my hand, set it aside, and returned to his seat.
"Why'd you do it?" he asked. I blinked.
"Save him?" He nodded once.
"I didn't think about it," I said truthfully. "He was small. Alone. I couldn't watch him die."
Lucian studied me in silence as if trying to decipher something buried deep in me. I shifted beneath his gaze.
"You were reckless," he said. "But you were also brave."
I stared at him. For once, no coldness in his tone. No suspicion, just truth.
"I didn't expect that from you." The words cut deeper than I thought they would.
"I'm not what you expect," I said, voice low.
"No," he said, and something darker passed through his eyes. "You're not." A beat passed.
"Rest. You'll be here for a few days." Then he stood. My heart sank.
"I need to train—"
"You need to heal." His voice was firm, brooking no argument. "You saved a life. That buys you time." I clenched my jaw.
"I don't want time. I want strength."
Lucian paused at the door, looking back at me. His gaze softened just barely.
"You're earning that, too." Then he left.
And I lay there, staring at the ceiling, unsure what to do with the warmth blooming in my chest.
The next day was worse. The pain had settled deep into my bones, and the healer, a stern older woman named Maeva refused to let me stand. Lina visited, nearly in tears, calling me crazy and brave in equal measure. They laughed. They cried. They shared silence.
But I couldn't shake the feeling in my gut. I'd bled for this pack. I'd protected one of their own. So I would be accepted right? Still, I didn't feel like I belonged. Not really.
Dahlia hadn't visited. None of the other warriors had.
I didn't expect Lucian to return either. That moment we shared, strange and warm, had probably been fleeting. A lapse in whatever hatred or restraint he used to keep me at arm's length. I couldn't let myself want more. I couldn't afford that kind of hope.
Still...
When the door creaked open on the third day and boots crossed the stone floor toward my bed, my heart stuttered but it wasn't him.
It was Aiden. The Beta gave me a once-over and offered a rare smile.
"You look better alive than dead." I huffed.
"You have a strange way of complimenting people," I said with a small smile.
"I'm told that often."
He pulled up the chair Lucian had used and sat down.
"I wanted to thank you," Aiden said. I blinked.
"You don't need to."
"I do. That child was my nephew." My breath caught. He nodded.
"His name's David. He likes to sneak out of the nursery. His mother's still yelling at him." I laughed softly, wincing at the ache in my ribs.
"He was brave."
"You were braver."
A pause.
"I don't know what Lucian sees in you," Aiden said I wanted to protest but he cut me off before I could even say a word
"But I'm starting to understand it." That caught me off guard.
"He sees something? Are you sure about that I think he hates me"
Lucian leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I can assure you the alpha is not even close to hating you. He fights it, whatever it is. But it's there. I've known him my whole life. I see the way he looks at you. The way he watches when you fight. When you fall and get back up." I didn't know what to say to that.
"You terrify him," he added with a crooked grin. I snorted.
"Good." Another silence fell between us. Comfortable, this time. Not like the last time.
"I'll leave you to rest," Aude said, rising. "But when you're healed... they'll want you back on the field." I nodded.
"I'll be ready. I'm ready to train tomorrow"
Aiden gave a slight bow of his head and left. Ans for the first time, I allowed myself to believe it. Maybe I was becoming something. Not just a survivor. Not just a rogue but a warrior.
I smiled softly at myself but the pain in my ribs was too much. I was becoming a warrior. I wanted to become the best warrior and show everyone else that I was not weak. For a moment, I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come by. I was anxious to see what they had to say to me on the field.
Would they still taunt me or would they accept me?
'Don't tell me you're thinking of training tomorrow?' My wolf asked weakly.
'Of course, I am'
'We are weak, I can barely move my body. That goes for you too. If you go to training tomorrow, you'll be on the ground in seconds and you'll be laughed at
'I don't care. It's better if we start getting used to the pain and training with it because we are now part of the warriors'
'Lucian said we should remain here and rest'
'I don't care what the alpha says. It's my body and I'm going for training. There's nothing he or anyone else can do about it
'For your sake, I hope you think about what you want to do' she cut off the link.
I was left to my thoughts but I had already made up my mind. I was going to train, I couldn't stay indoors anymore. I need something to keep me busy and keep my mind off a certain person and training was the perfect thing to do.
“I will not listen to anything he tells me” Those were the thoughts in my head as I drifted off to sleep.