Ravenna: She who struck back

Chapter 7: Unwanted sanctuary

/-Mael-/

My heavy boots sank into the brittle frost on the ground as I walked forward, her limp body pressed against my chest.

She was incredibly light, too weightless and her skin which was stained with blood and dirt that must have accumulated over time was pale and alarmingly cold.

However, her pulse was beating with a steady rhythm against my upper arm.

My warriors stood silently, the only sound the roaring wind and rustling trees with new fallen snow covering their branches.

Korrick took a step forward, his voice filling the silence, "Alpha, are you sure about bringing her back with us?"

Everyone of them had witnessed my less than civil conversation with her so it was no surprise that he was asking me this question.

I didn't stop to reply to him, didn't look back even after I walked past him, my gaze locked on the horses ahead, my lips pressed into a thin line, "She's mine."

"Get the horses ready," I ordered with a glance at one of the warriors who startled then ran forward, ahead of me.

Korrick's hurried footsteps followed after me, his voice lowering to a whisper, "The council will ask questions."

"Let them, I don't care for their questions or their fears."

He made a low grunt in reply then stopped speaking.

***********

The horses' hooves thudded against the ground, a blur of white breezing past us as we moved forward.

The woman in my arm didn't move, not once. Her body lay frozen in my arms like a dead fish, unmoving and still.

The thick northern fortress of Aeloria came into view, the tall thick walls looming overhead.

"Open the gates," Korrick yelled as I inched forward, maneuvering my horse to increase its speed.

The guards above the fortress walls saw me before they heard him.

I didn't slow down, whizzing past the now opened gates, past their confused and bewildered expressions that traced down to the body in my arms, only stopping when I was well inside to dismount quickly, "Get Heira" I ordered.

"Yes, Alpha!" The sentry who had picked up my rein answered quickly, eyes wide.

I walked briskly, carrying her in myself, whispers floating around me.

"Who is she?"

"She must be a rogue, the Alpha just returned from battling the rogues, maybe she was taken prisoner."

"No," Someone muttered quietly.

"She's the Alpha's mate."

I reached the healer's wing in no time and entered a chamber, barking orders, "Clear the room!"

The apprentice healers who had been engaged in lively conversation before I stomped in froze.

They emptied the room in seconds and I walked forward, laying the woman in my hold down on the bed in the middle of the chamber. The sigil on my neck burned faintly when my hand brushed her wrist, echoing the pulse of our bond.

I straightened after, peering down at her from above.

The door creaked open and I turned around sharply, my expression darkening when I didn't see who I was expecting, "Where's Heira?"

"On her way," Korrick answered. "The council is in an uproar, word is spreading quickly."

I scowled at him just as the old healer walked in quickly, silver hair pulled back and braided, her sleeves rolled up, "You summoned me, Alpha."

Her eyes shifted to the woman on the bed and she paused, as if understanding something then turned back to me to state flatly, "She's your mate."

"Heal her."

Haira nodded once then approached the bed to examine her, "She's has old and new bruises all over, she's dehydrated, malnourished..." She listed one after the other, pausing briefly to glance at me.

"Luckily, there are no major external wounds or internal bleeding. She's alive but her body...has simply shut down."

"She passed out," Korrick explained.

"She's breathing," Haira said, lifting a brow.

About an hour later, she finally stirred.

I hadn't moved from her side. Instead, I watched her, arms crossed.

Her cheeks regained color slowly and then her eyes opened.

For a couple of minutes, she was disoriented and then her face morphed into alarm as she jerked upright, "Where am I?"

"You are safe," I answered.

"Safe?" She repeated as if she had no clue what the word meant, her eyes flitting across the room, "Where am I?"

"Aeloria, the fortress."

"I told you I wasn't coming with you, why did you bring me here!" She snapped.

"You passed out."

"I don't care, you should have left me alone!"

My eyes narrowed, "You think I would leave my mate lying in the snow, in the wild?"

"I don't think anything, I don't even know you, stop calling me your mate," She stated hotly.

"You are my mate," I reiterated.

"That word means nothing," She spat out.

Even Haira was taken aback by the ferocity of her voice, her gaze alternating between the both of us.

The woman glared at me, eyes spitting fire.

I let out a soft exhale, "I'm not going to hurt you."

She snorted then flung the sheets draped around her away, swinging her legs over the side of the ground to get up.

Her feet wobbled unsteadily and reflexively, I stepped forward to catch her.

"Don't touch me!" She snarled.

I pulled back immediately, my frown deepening as she threw her hands around herself, crisscrossing it to shield herself.

It also did not escape my notice that there were beads of sweat above her brows.

Haira must have noticed it too because she stepped forward, speaking softly, "You need to rest or you will collapse again."

"I'm not resting, what I need to do is to leave," She muttered, eyes lifting when they landed on the door.

I stepped to the side, shielding the door from her view while saying to Heira, "I'll have a chamber prepared for her, one of the royal rooms. In the meantime, stay with her, I'll have guards stationed outside."

"I'm not staying here," She hissed, glowering at me or at least she attempted to.

It didn't faze me, "I'll be back, Haira."

"I'm leaving, you can't stop me."

My gaze met hers, the anger I had been withholding threatening to turn into something more dangerous, "You want to leave? You can try”