14. Tasting Savior

THALIA'S POV

"I am not done with you yet," said Savior, yanking my head back with my hair.

I was far too weak to fight back, so I just allowed him, my tears soaking my hair.

"Next time my wolf summons you, reject him, is that clear?" He yelled in my ear.

"Ye-yes, sire," I choked out.

Savior released me with a shove. "Get out and don't you dare speak a word of this to another soul or I will cut off your head myself."

With tears blurring my vision, I struggled to find the doorknob, but Savior was not patient. He opened it and pushed me out of his room, causing me to fall on my face.

The guards outside the dimly lit corridors pretended not to see my suffering. They all ignored me as I used the wall as a guide out of the living quarters.

My legs trembled with every step, and I occasionally fell to the ground, but knowing that no help would come, I always rose and continued.

The only good thing that came out of my good-for-nothing encounter with Savior was the return of my partial sight, just as my wolf had predicted. My senses were also heightened more than before, and for the first time in my life, I felt more connected to my wolf side.

I did everything within my powers to avoid people until I eventually reached my room. Surprisingly, Ellie was in.

She immediately rushed to my aid. "By the goddess!" She exclaimed. "Lia, what happened to you?"

I forced a smile, fighting against my tears. "Billies," I said. I didn't want her to know about my affair with Savior because it would only put a target on her back.

"Lia..." Her voice sounded heavy with emotions. "This is getting worse every day. If I didn't know better, I would have said you were..." She gasped as she lifted my dress. "Lia, did someone—"

I immediately covered myself, shame shimmering. "It is nothing, Ellie, just pass me the wet rag so I can clean myself up."

Ellie's voice trembled as she pulled me in for a sudden hug. Her tears fell on my neck. "Those lycans are barbaric and evil, I am so sorry, my friend. I am too weak and useless to help you."

I chuckled softly, patting Ellie's back. I was the one in physical pain, but she was the one crying more than I was. "It is not what you think, Ellie, I will be fine in a few days, stop crying already."

As I consoled my emotional bedmate, there was a knock on the door. Ellie looked at me, apparently confused. "Are you expecting someone?"

I shook my head, although I could vaguely guess that it was probably one of Savior's trusted errand guards, and I wasn't wrong.

The sound of the shaking of a liquid in a small bottle reached my ears as Ellie approached me.

"Who was it?" I asked innocently.

"A guard," Ellie replied, her voice a mix of confusion and uncertainty. "He said to relay this message to you; the physician instructs that you drink this at one go."

I nodded and attempted to take the bottle from Ellie, but she withdrew her hand before I could grab it. "Thalia, tell me the truth, the bastard that hurt you is a high-ranking lycan, right?"

I chuckled at Ellie's ignorance. If only she knew she just called the King of Moonrise kingdom a bastard, she would probably wish for a quick death. But I didn't want her to know the details, so I nodded, agreeing to her assumption.

She clenched the bottle tightly as if she wanted to crush it. "I hate those bloody lycans, I pray they all die painfully in battle one day."

I bet Ellie was remembering her past. A past that her small pack was raided by Moonrise Warrior knights. They killed her alpha and brother brutally, just like they killed my mother, but they took her in as a slave since lycan males rarely murdered females.

For years, she had been praying to the goddess for the death of all lycans, innocent or not, and I completely understood her pain. Just like me, she lost everything in a single bloody day.

I carefully collected the potion and drank it at one go as per instructed. Strangely, it wasn't as bitter as I expected; I even felt the urge to lick it.

Almost immediately, I began to feel my wounds heal.

My eyes widened. "Lila, is this what I think it is?" I mind-linked my wolf.

"I can't tell what the other herbs mixed in it are, but I know that our mate's blood is in it," Lila replied.

My brows furrowed, earning me a question from Ellie, "are you fine, Lia?"

I stifled a smile. "I am fine."

With a shrug, Ellie continued to help clean my body, but she couldn't help but testify, "your wounds seem to be healing at a very fast pace. If it continues like this, you might be better before the end of the day."

Yes, I would be better because the blood of a purebred lycan alpha was in my body. I bit my lips as I got drowned in thoughts; sometimes, I didn't know what to feel for Savior.

I wanted to hate him with all my heart, but then his conduct over certain things made it hard for me. Or was I too delusional to see through his acts?

My questions remained unanswered. Ellie had to leave me eventually to attend to her mistress, the beta's wife, who was worse than a serpent.

I thought I could use the rest of the day to rest, but when my stomach grumbled, I had to leave my room. But as I opened the door, I met Matilda standing there with her cane.

She didn't hesitate to use it.

I cried, "may I know my offense, housekeeper?"

Matilda hit me again before replying with a voice laced with venom, "you left your sick mistress to starve, you vile bat."