Rejected By Fate, Bound By Blood

Chapter8: Drawn into darkness

Vaelora

He rode so fast, and I was beginning to feel nauseous, but I couldn't say anything because this stranger, whoever he was, had literally saved me, and I couldn't complain.

I just needed him to drop me off somewhere, anywhere.

Then I would find my way.

Which I didn't even know.

Oh God, my life was messed up.

Suddenly, the horse that had been riding at the speed of light began slowing down, and I felt like the both of us were going to get flung off the horse at some point.

But thankfully, that didn't happen.

Instead, the horse stopped, and whoever this stranger was got down and quickly leaned against a tree.

He was groaning so badly, and I was still nauseous.

I could barely breathe or even concentrate on anything.

I felt like throwing up.

It felt like I was inches away from literally passing out.

I rushed to his side.

Whatever he had been using to cover his face had fallen off, and even though it was dark, I could see the outline of his face.

And, well, he wasn't ugly.

That was the only thing I could say.

But right now, it wasn't the time for me to be admiring a random stranger.

He was clutching the side of his stomach so tightly.

"Let me see," I said.

"No," he replied, his voice cold.

But I knew all of this was pretend.

I didn't know how I knew, but I knew.

I gently pushed his hand away, and I saw that he had been shot with an arrow.

He was bleeding profusely.

"Oh my Goddess," I said, beginning to look for something, anything that I could use to stop the bleeding.

I had never experienced something like this before, so how exactly was I supposed to know?

I began pacing, confused.

That was when I realized he had a cloak on.

I took it off him and pressed it against the wound.

I knew he was going to heal at some point if he was a werewolf.

He was going to heal, but if he lost a lot of blood, that healing was going to be very slow.

And if we kept staying here, I didn't know how safe we were.

I pressed it tightly.

His hand rested against mine, and I stared at him.

For a moment, it felt like someone had literally taken my breath away when his hand touched mine.

I leaned against the tree, and we just stayed there quietly.

I could even feel myself holding my breath, which was very, very odd.

It was a very odd thing to do.

"Why did you save me?" I finally asked because I could not cope with the silence anymore.

"You were in danger. It seemed like the right thing to do," he replied, and he was also groaning in pain, which meant the wound was healing slower than I had anticipated.

"Does it hurt that bad?" I asked.

"It does," he replied.

"I got shot with an arrow laced with wolfsbane. That's why my healing is very slow," he explained.

And he sounded...

I didn't know if it was because of the pain, but he sounded gentle.

Very, very gentle.

"I'm so sorry," I said, not knowing when the words even left my mouth.

"It's not your fault," he replied.

"You were just in the middle of all of it."

"Huh?"

He pushed himself up.

"We need to get going."

But he fell back down.

I quickly rushed to his side.

"Wolfsbane takes hours to heal. I need you to sit your ass down and allow your body to heal. Allow your wolf to heal all the damage the arrow might have done, okay?"

He nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. So now... what did you mean?"

Before I could finish asking the question, I felt this heaviness settle over me.

It was like somebody had dropped a boulder on my shoulders, and I needed to get it off, but I could not.

It was just too much.

And everything was happening so damn fast.

It felt like the ground was spinning.

Everything was moving.

I placed a hand on my head, and I just screamed.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!"

I felt this stranger standing in front of me immediately.

"Are you okay?" he asked, but I wasn't, and I did not know how exactly I was going to communicate that to him.

"No, I'm not," I replied quickly.

"I am so not okay.

Make it stop."

I kept screaming.

"Make it stop, please."

My head was heavy, and I was certain that any moment from now, it was going to fall off my neck.

"It hurts.

It hurts so badly."

"Hey... hey," he said, his voice still calm.

"I need you to look at me, okay?

Just look at me."

But I could barely keep my eyes open or even concentrate on anything.

"Hey...."

"Vaelora, look at me."

How did the stranger know my name?

That was one of the questions I was trying so hard to ask, but I literally felt my consciousness slipping away from me.

And maybe once I went under, I wouldn't wake up again because I didn't want to wake up.

I did not.

I just wanted to die.

What exactly was I living for?

"Vaelora!"

I heard him screaming my name, but his voice was so distant.

And I needed him to stop.

I was completely fine.

All the pain I was feeling, all the heaviness in my chest, everything was slowly disappearing.

And right now, that didn't feel really bad.

It genuinely did not feel bad.

And I was thankful for that.

"Stay awake.

Keep your eyes open."

I could hear the stranger's voice, but with every passing moment, it became more like a whisper.

I could actually see a bright light, and it was slowly closing in.

I could see my father.

"Dad..." I said, stretching forth both my hands.

And just like that, I finally lost consciousness, drawn into the quiet darkness.