Chapter 12: A Guarded Person
889 Words
-Ronan-
Seth had finally texted me, but the news wasn’t good, forcing me to return home early from a meeting. Storming through the house, I went toward the back of it, which served as our own private hospital, equipped with everything necessary to treat serious injuries. As I walked down the long, white hallway, I found Seth. He said nothing, merely pointed ahead, and I entered an examination room, but I was almost struck by a small flashlight that a doctor would use to examine a patient’s eyes. It hit the wall beside me instead.
“Get away from me!” she growled.
Clearly, she has learned nothing, I thought.
At least she keeps things interesting.
As I heard my wolf speak, warmth spread through me. Not because I agreed, but after receiving nothing but growls and howls for so many years, he was finally making a comeback.
“If you would just let me—”
“Touch me and I will bite the hand off!” she warned our private doctor.
Gavin looked utterly exhausted as he turned to me. My warriors, positioned around her, appeared equally fatigued. I wasn’t sure if they were here solely to monitor her or if Gavin kept them nearby in case he needed their help restraining her. At the moment, though, she simply sat on the examination table, blood staining the side of her face but otherwise appearing unharmed.
“He is just trying to help,” I said and closed the door behind me.
“Did I ask for his help?” she retorted.
“He is a doctor,” I remarked, thinking his title made everything clear.
“Who still needs my consent, and I have not given it. Therefore, he cannot do an exam,” she stated, lifting her chin in the air again and crossing her arms.
Who raised this little one? I wondered.
Certainly someone who told her not to give a flying f*ck, my wolf replied.
“So, you do not care if you have a concussion or internal bleeding?” I countered.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you go to medical school at some point in your life?”
She narrowed her eyes, looking deeply displeased. But even though I could comprehend her initial hostility, this was becoming absurd.
“You haven’t. So let Gavin do his work while you fill in the details about what happened tonight.”
Seth had only given me a short recount, but if I ever ran into that half-blood…
Then he is dead, my wolf finished.
“No need. Ask your warrior. I want to go,” she insisted.
This again, I growled internally. But if she wanted to continue to act so stubbornly, then I would continue to play her game.
“Sure, where do you want to go?” I taunted.
“Away from here!”
“Well, the door is there,” I said and stepped to the side, sweeping my hand through the air.
My warriors, including Gavin, appeared shocked by my decision, all of them glancing at each other, but they didn’t protest.
“If you can make it over there, go ahead. No one here will stop you,” I promised.
She glanced around, clearly not trusting me.
“I let you go once. They won’t stop you,” I said.
Turning to me, I saw the suspicious glint lingering in her eyes, but slowly she lowered her arms. She placed her hands on the table and jumped down, clearly thinking her legs could carry her, but the moment her feet touched the floor, they broke under her. Luckily, she still had a hand on the examination table, so she didn’t collapse to the floor. Gavin tried to approach her, clearly intending to help, but I growled, warning him off. He stopped in his tracks.
“Exactly, don’t touch me!” she snarled.
“Why her?” I mumbled to myself, placing a hand over my eyes.
She is strong, my wolf commented.
I didn’t doubt that.
She would fight until she couldn’t, he pointed out.
And Adrianna wouldn’t? I replied.
Adrianna always relied on us. She couldn’t even hurt a small frog that had found its way into our room, and you know she hated frogs.
The old memory warmed me, making it hard to deny his point. This little hybrid was strong. Even now, she rose to her feet and straightened her back, defiantly showing everyone that she wouldn’t fail. Slowly releasing her grip on the table behind her, she took a step forward. Once again, her legs looked on the verge of collapsing under her weight, but she managed to stay upright. Glancing over at Enzo, I could tell that he, like me, found the situation pitiful.
“See!” she pointed out proudly as she took another step without falling. “I’m fine.”
“I would believe that if you weren’t shaking so badly.”
“I’m not shaking,” she denied.
Denial really was an ugly thing sometimes, but in this case, I just felt sorry for her. Often, when people turned out this stubborn or very proud, it was because they had learned to only rely on themselves. It made me wonder: How had she grown up?
- Writer
