Chapter 30 #2
"The stitches have come open," he murmurs, his fingers already picking up the necessary tools from his bag. "I'll have to redo them."
My head drops instantly, a wave of guilt boiling inside me.
"He turned and hugged me while he was sleeping," I confess in a whisper. "He didn't moan in pain or anything... I didn't realise he was hurting himself."
Ethan looks up at me, his eyes soft despite his exhaustion.
"It's not your fault."
This time, unlike the night before, he applies a local anaesthetic before starting work, allowing Mark to continue resting without discomfort.
The suture is redone with precision, the movements careful.
When he finishes, I help apply the bandage while he explains how to do it.
I want to learn, to take care of Mark when Ethan isn't here.
"He's stable."
"That's the least I can do after the lives I paid the old witch," I murmur, crossing my arms. "But the bitch refrained from healing him because I bargained. She just removed the cold iron from his system and said he would recover on his own... in time."
The silence drags on. When Ethan looks at me again, his eyes are shining, moisture glistening at the edges. He swallows hard and, in a hoarse voice, whispers:
“ I can never thank you enough for what you did for him... for the sacrifice you made to save him.”
My chest tightens. I shake my head, feeling my throat close up.
“There's no need to thank me. I'd do it again. And again. As many times as it took. He saved me first. If it weren't for him...”
I can't finish. I don't need to. Ethan understands.
We go downstairs; he needs to get back to work, but he seems reluctant to leave. At the door, about to leave, he stops and looks at me once more.
"How are you feeling? Is your animal trying to get out?"
I take a deep breath before answering:
"I don't know how, but I still feel in control. My essence is still strong enough. I think I have at least an hour. Maybe more."
He nods.
"Mark needs to feed, can you give him the potion?"
"Of course, as long as I'm in control of my body, I'll take care of him," I promise.
"I'll stop by later, straight from the clinic, to see how he's doing." Ethan sighs, pressing his lips together as he draws air through his nose. "His supernatural regeneration is still weak, but with the stitches and our care, he'll be fine."
He gives me one last look before leaving.
In the kitchen, I find ingredients for some porridge and force myself to eat, even though I'm not hungry. My stomach is churning with anxiety and worry, but I swallow each spoonful. I need to stay strong to take care of Mark.
Then I go back up to the bedroom with the nourishing potion Balthazar has prepared to keep him fed while he remains unconscious.
I kneel beside the bed and carefully tilt Mark's head, pouring the liquid onto his lips. He swallows without waking, his eyelids fluttering but not opening. My heart aches to see him like this.
Gently, I lower his head back onto the pillow, my fingers tracing the strong contours of his face. I stroke his hair, feeling the silky texture between my fingers, and lean down to press a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Get well soon," I murmur against his warm skin.
I stand there, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest, trying to find peace in this moment, but my heart is restless.
A sound from outside catches my attention.
At first, it sounds like just a bird singing in the forest, but... there's something strange. The rhythm of the song is unnatural.
My blood runs cold.
That's not singing.
It's a whistle.
I jump up and run to the window, my hands gripping the sill as my eyes scan the trees. My heart pounds against my ribs.
Who is there? Wolves? Something worse?
Then I see the figure standing on the other side of the fence.
Air rushes into my lungs, as if I were emerging from underwater.
"I don't believe it..." I murmur, already turning on my heels.
I rush down the stairs, almost tripping over the steps, and throw open the back door, which slams against the wall and closes behind me.
The cool morning breeze chills my skin as I run to the edge of the barrier. I want to cross it. I want to run to him, cling to the familiarity of a face I thought I would never see again.
But something stops me.
Fear.
What else is lurking in the forest? What hungry eyes might be watching us now?
"Luther!" Panting, his name comes out almost like a sob. My eyes burn with tears that blur my vision, but my mouth curves into a trembling smile. "How did you know where I was? How did you find me?"
"Damn it, Sandra..." He raises an arm, his hand outstretched towards me, but his fingers collide with the invisible barrier. His jaw tenses. "I've been looking for you all this time. I thought... I almost thought... you were dead."
Tears stream down my face as I shake my head, denying it.
"I almost was. But they saved me. I..." I take a deep breath, trying to organise my thoughts. "Luther, so much has happened, and..."
"Let me in." His eyes burn with intensity. "I need to see you properly, hold you, know that you're okay."
I open my mouth, ready to invite him in, but then my head swivels back towards the cottage. Towards the bedroom window where Mark is still sleeping, un . It's his house. I can't just open the doors to anyone who wants to come in. Balthazar was an exception.
"I... I can't."
"Then come with me." The sunlight reflects off his irises, turning them silver. I take a step forward, instinctively...
"I hear you're being held captive by the Beast," he adds. "Come before it's too late."
Ice spreads through my body, stiffening my muscles.
My feet are planted on the ground.
"No... Luther, you're wrong." I shake my head, and it throbs as if needles were piercing my brain. "Mark saved me..."
"You don't know him, Sandra. He's dangerous. Come with me."
I swallow hard.
"Luther, I'm glad to see you. But I can't go."
"Why not? Your life is on hold out here. Everyone is worried. Char is keeping your job at the tavern for you, it's yours when you come back. He knows you would never disappear like this, not without warning."
I close my eyes for a moment, feeling the guilt weigh on my chest.
"I need to stay. Mark is hurt, and..."
"Fuck Mark, Sandra!" Luther explodes. "He doesn't own you! I'm your friend! I've spent the last few days searching the entire city for you! I punched your landlord in the face until he let me in to check if you were dead in there! Do you have any idea what that was like?!"
My lip trembles.
"Luther... I'm sorry... I... I tried to come back. I tried to go after you, but I couldn't."
"Because the bastard locked you in here, right?" His eyes narrow.
"He didn't lock me up. He saved me. He took care of me, and I..."
My sentence dies. Something in the way he talks about Mark gives me a bad feeling.
"Luther... How did you know where I was?"
"Some wolves at the tavern mentioned a black cat walking with the Beast. I connected the dots."
My heart skips a beat.
Wolves.
The same wolves that nearly killed Mark.
My skin prickles, and for a moment, everything inside me screams to run back, to check if Mark is still safe.
"Sandra." Luther's voice pulls me back. "He's weak. He can't keep you here any longer. Come with me before this chance is gone."
I shake my head, taking a step back.
“You're wrong about him.”
Luther's muscles tense, and his eyes lose their silvery gleam, sinking into a darkness as dense as lead. His expression becomes sombre, like the sky, which moments before was clear and bathed in sunlight, but now finds itself suddenly covered by heavy clouds.
"He killed his own brother, Sandra."
My throat closes up.
"It was Liam who challenged him to a duel, Luther, you didn't..." I take a deep breath, every fibre of my body feeling tired.
My essence is running out...
"What's wrong with you?" he asks when he sees me clasp my chest and grimace.
"Like I said, a lot has happened and I need your help..." I run my tongue over my suddenly dry lips. "Luther, I need you to find that witch who came after me that night.
"I'll take you to her, come with me."
"I can't right now, I can't leave you alone." Luther clenches his jaw, and a weight settles between us. "Please, Luther, I need you to find her for me and ask her to..."
My breath catches.
The transformation is coming with a vengeance, tearing me apart inside with its feline claws.
My hands tremble. My muscles contract. My body is folding in on itself, I can barely breathe, let alone finish speaking.
I need to go inside. Now.
I take a step back, struggling to hold back the change. If I don't get through the door before I transform, I'll be trapped outside.
I can't leave Mark alone.
"Sandra!" Luther calls, his voice heavy with frustration.
But I can't stop.
I run, my vision blurring, my body throbbing from the inside out. The cabin seems so far away. I try my hardest to hold back the change, pushing my body forward, ignoring the searing pain.
The door.
With one last push, I turn the handle and cross the threshold.
And in the next instant, my body gives way.
My bones bend, my skin burns, and everything dissolves into shadow and fur.