Chapter 27
Sandra
My stomach churns in a whirlwind of nervousness and anxiety.
Today. It will be today. I will tell him the truth.
My mind insists on tormenting me with possibilities.
What will he say?
How will he react?
Will he hate me or will he accept me?
And when everything is revealed and I am freed from the prison of my cat's body...
What will become of me?
If I could, I would never return to that miserable flat.
I would stay here, under the Beast's care.
As his wife.
I know I should return to my harsh reality, humiliate myself by asking Lucy for financial help. She would help me without hesitation, even if it meant touching the dirty money from the inheritance, that money stained with the death of her parents.
I could start over. Save every penny until I paid back what I borrowed. It would be the right thing to do. The sensible thing.
But I don't want to.
I want to live here.
I want Mark...
Time passes slowly, and I wait. After the call he received yesterday afternoon, moments before I swore he would kiss me, I decided it wouldn't be right to keep playing with this leash. I can no longer call him whenever I want and disrupt his work just to satisfy my desire to see him.
So I wait. Thinking about how I will reveal the truth.
As soon as he walks through the door?
Should I wait in human form or transform right before his eyes?
While I ponder, I remain a cat, saving my essence for the moment of revelation.
I need all the time I can get to explain myself.
To say that I never meant to deceive him, but I was afraid to tell him the first time I managed to control the transformation.
That I'm afraid I'll never be able to break this curse. That I need his help.
Night falls. And he still hasn't returned.
My heart sinks. I walk to the open window sill, overlooking the back of the cabin and the forest. I lift my face to the sky, breathing deeply as I see the full moon.
Then I remember the duel.
Was it today?
The minutes drag on.
Hours pass...
He's taking a long time.
Suddenly, a howl pierces the silence of the night. My hair stands on end. My muscles tense, and my gaze fixes on the forest.
And then I see him.
Staggering.
As soon as he crosses the protective barrier, he stops and turns to face the wolves that were chasing him. Something is wrong. Very wrong indeed.
Mark looks injured.
And I have my confirmation when his knees give way and he collapses.
Instinct takes over. I don't think. I just act. I force my transformation and run, naked, with no time to worry about modesty.
He needs me.
I see him fall face up, force my legs and close the distance in seconds, kneeling beside him.
"Mark!"
His face is unrecognisable, a mask of fresh blood, his features part human, part beast. His hands still display sharp claws at the tips of his elongated fingers, his fangs are out and pressed against his lips. His eyes are unfocused, glazed over, he seems on the verge of losing consciousness.
My heart pounds against my chest.
The deep cuts on his arms make me gulp. His shirt and trousers are soaked with blood — and not just from his enemies.
The scarlet stains spread too quickly, dripping from him incessantly.
He is not healing. He should be healed by now.
He should have been able to transform completely. But something is stopping him.
"Mark..." My voice comes out shaky.
No response.
His eyes close. He is unconscious, his breathing uneven.
My hands tremble as I lift his shirt, exposing his wounds.
The air leaves my lungs. The deep cuts glow in a strange, unnatural way.
Among the blood, there is a black liquid oozing from the wounds, mixed with small particles.
The edges of the cuts are dark, and the stains spread across his skin like. .. poison.
"No," I gasp.
Sweat glistens on his skin. My throat tightens. I put my hand on his forehead and curse softly. It's too hot. Burning with fever.
He needs help immediately.
What do I do?
"Stars in the sky and Mother Moon, please help me!"
I don't want to leave him there, but he's too heavy, too badly injured for me to move him. But I can't just stand here. My thoughts are in chaos, panic tearing me apart inside. I run into the cabin, my whole body shaking with fear and despair.
Think, Sandra. Think!
My eyes scan the room, looking for anything that might help him.
Then I remember.
The healing cream Mark used on me! I saw him put the leftover in the bedside table.
I climb the stairs two at a time and throw open the drawer. My fingers close around the tube and, without hesitation, I run back outside. Tears blur my vision, causing me to stumble and fall, but I get right back up.
I don't care about the pain, the nakedness, anything.
Only him.
I fall to my knees beside him, feeling my skin scrape against the floor, but I don't even notice. The only pain I feel is despair.
"Please, work... Please..." I whimper, opening the lid and spreading the cream over the larger wounds on his torso.
But it's not enough.
The blood stops flowing, the skin closes minimally, but the wounds are still there. Deep. He continues to bleed.
"You're not going to die, do you hear me?!"
I jump up and run back inside, straight to the bathroom.
I grab all the towels I can find, pressing them against his chest as I return to him.
I can barely breathe as I tear the fabric into strips with my own claws, improvising tourniquets.
I wrap one around his arm, then the other, tear his trousers and do the same with his leg.
Then I press another towel against his abdomen and ribs, trying to contain the worst.
"Help!" I yell into the void, my voice breaking. "He needs help, help! Ethan!"
Mark lets out a weak, almost imperceptible sigh.
His chest barely moves.
"No... no, no..."
My eyes drop to his trousers, and a flash of insight hits me.
With one hand, I continue to press on his wound, and with the other, I begin to feel his pockets. In the left one, I find what I was looking for: his mobile phone.
I place the device on the grass, hold his hand and press his thumb against the screen. As soon as it unlocks, I waste no time. I go straight to his contacts. The last call was to Ted. I press to call, praying he'll answer quickly.
"Beast, the sentinels have killed the monsters..."
"Ted!" I interrupt, my voice squeaky. "Mark is seriously injured, I need Ethan! Something's wrong, he's not healing! I think he's been poisoned or it's some kind of magic..."
"Who are you? Why are you using Mark's mobile phone?"
"There's no time for questions! He's dying, Ted! Send help to the cabin, please, please!"
"Damn it!" He takes a deep breath. "We're on our way."
"Hurry!"
I hang up and turn my full attention to Mark.
"Please don't give up..." My voice breaks.
I cradle his face in my hands, he doesn't open his eyes, he barely breathes.
"You can't just die now! I didn't even have a chance to reveal myself to you, we didn't have time."
I lower my face and press my lips against his sweaty forehead. When I pull away, a tear rolls down my cheek and drips between his pale lips.
"Please, I'll do anything. Just... don't you dare leave me."