Chapter 26: Chapter 26

I screamed as loud as my lungs could carry, hoping that someone might hear me as the wolf outside was trying to grab me from the crevices of the cubicle door. The door, which was the only thing separating me from the wolf, looked like it was about to give in at any moment.

One of its claws managed to get a hold of one of my shoes that I had to kick off, or I might lose my entire leg. As I did, its claws left a nasty gash on my leg, making me cry out in pain.

Why is this happening to me?

“Help!” I continued to yell again because it felt like it was the only thing that I could do at the moment. But it didn’t matter how much I screamed and plea for help because no one answered.

I was all on my own at this point.

Since I stopped yelling, the wolf seemed to stop as well and sounded like it was retreating. It gave me a brief moment of relief before I heard a menacing growl and an ear-deafening impact coming from the cubicle door. When I looked up, I saw that the wolf was trying to climb over to my side, but it seemed to have trouble bringing over its back legs.

I screamed pathetically and pressed my back against the tiled wall behind me as I shivered fear. The wolf once again reached out and to claw me. If I had not reacted quickly, it would have scratched my face.

The wolf seemed dissatisfied, and I saw it shifting its weight to its back legs. And just then, the metal lock of the door snapped when one of its claws hit it. Very slowly, the door began to slide open - carrying the wolf along with it.

I was free, and every single brain cells in my body were urging me to get and up run. But a part of me gave me mental images of what would happen if I did since the wolf was still there - keeping a watchful gaze in my direction as it struggled to get itself unstuck from the top of the door.

But if I won’t do something now, the ending would still be the same. I would end up becoming its ragdoll if I stayed here for too long.

My smile. I have to use it.

I tried forcing myself to grin. Once I did, the wolf stopped struggling while it came to study me. Soon after, fear etched in its eyes, and when I saw it, my smile dropped as I suddenly heard the bathroom door burst open, and Tyrelle suddenly came into view.

“Gabriella!” Our eyes locked and he stood there frozen as my smile continued to fade.

I began to have flashbacks of the day when Tyrelle wore the same expression that the new wolf is now wearing. I looked away shamefully and hoped that he didn’t see my smile for the second time. If he did, then I wouldn’t want to see that same look of fear on his face as the one that I had seen before—seeing it once already made my chest ache. I think that seeing his expression a second time would completely destroy me.

And that was something that I do not want to deal with right now.

“Gabriella, I -” He paused. I wasn’t looking at him, so I could not tell what made him stop. Apart from his voice, I heard a huge thud when the cubicle door finally slammed down and crashed to the ground.

The wolf must have recovered from its previous trance of fear because, right now, it looked like it was ready to pounce. And as stupid as it was, I closed my eyes and prayed that the wolf would end it quickly so I wouldn’t have to suffer. But instead of feeling claws or fangs sinking into my skin, I heard a thud and a yelp of pain. I cracked an eye open to see what was happening. And there, I saw Tyrelle standing before me while pinning the wolf to the wall by its neck.

“Submit.” He was saying it in a voice that I hardly recognized. When the wolf still seemed like it was going to struggle, Tyrelle yelled again. “As the Heir of the Gridon pack, I order you to submit. Do so, or I will remove your blessing to be in our pack.”

That blessing. I don’t know what power it holds in wolf terminology, but it seemed like it is something that the wolf recognizes. Because as soon as Tyrelle used that word, the wolf stopped struggling and finally appeared to have calmed down.

Tyrelle looked so murderous when he addressed the wolf in front of him as he released it. Then, when the wolf continued to hunch in a corner, Tyrelle came to my side and examined my wound with a darkened expression when he saw it bleeding.

He turned to the wolf, “You seem to have finally regained your senses. I will excuse you for today because it seemed to me that it was your first shift. But the next time that I see you anywhere near Gabriella while trying to hurt her don’t expect any mercy from me. Get out of my sight!”

I don’t know what he was thinking of letting a wolf walk freely out of a school hallway. But then again, maybe I should just trust that he knows what he’s doing.

“Ow!” I flinched the moment when I felt pain and pressure on my leg.

“I’m sorry.” Tyrelle’s brow drew to a close when he raised his hands in the air after touching my leg. “I was just examining how deep the wound is. Luckily it’s not that deep that it would need some stitching. For now, we can wrap it up and take you back to my place to have our doctor tend to you. I’ll make sure that you won’t have to deal with any scarring.”

“Your place?” I gulped, remembering the weird experience that I had when I was there. I don’t think that I’m really to see his father again because it would just make me want to punch him in the face. “No thanks. I would rather be taken home.”

“But what about your parents?”

“They aren’t home yet. And I know how to do first aid since my mother and father work in the hospital. They taught me enough to handle this on my own.” Tyrelle looked like he was going to argue some more, so I cut him off, “I’m tired. I just want to rest. If you don’t agree to that, then at least take me to the school clinic.”

Tyrelle got his phone out of his pocket and began to ignore me as he typed something into his phone. A message notification later, and he returned the device to his pocket. “Seems like one of our pack doctors are on duty this afternoon.” He says before inching closer to me. “Let’s go.”

He angled his body closer to me. His left arm began to support my back while his right went under my legs. Then, slowly and carefully, he began to carry me.

“Tyrelle, this is…”

“You’re injured and bleeding. I can’t let you walk off like this. It will also be easier to move if I carry you. We have to make some discrete movements so any human won’t see your leg and cause panic.”

“You do know that there was a loud commotion earlier and the fact that the changing room is in a mess right now. How are you going to deal with this?”

“We have already dealt with it. Soon after we leave, others will arrive to clean up the mess. We have witches here, you know. Enough questions, Gabriella, save your strength until you have this healed.”

I wanted to ask more about these witches, but I was rendered completely speechless when Tyrelle shifted my weight in his arms, making me lean closer to his chest. I couldn’t utter a single word the whole time that he was carrying me because I was afraid that I would stutter because of the awkward position I was in.

We soon arrived at the clinic, where a man in a lab coat was waiting for us outside. “Master Tyrelle, I came as soon as I could. Get inside. Quickly.” He opened the door for us, and Tyrelle wasted no second as he went inside. He immediately and gently placed me down on one of the beds and had the curtains all over me drawn to a close. Then, he came to my side and began placing pillows at my back to help me sit up properly.

“I got the medicine, Lord Tyrelle.” The man came inside the curtains holding some sort of bowl with a clay-like mixture. “But we have to clean the wound first.” The man grabbed a warm cloth, and when he tried to place it on my leg, he jumped in surprise when Trylle made a warning growl at him. “I-I guess the young lord would like to do it?” He nervously handed the cloth to Tyrelle.

Tyrelle took it and gave me a hesitant look as if he was asking for my permission. All I could do was nod at that point as he gently placed the warm cloth over the wound. I bit my lips and forced myself not to cry out when he tried applying pressure before beginning to clean it.

Once he finished, he looked up at the doctor and nodded to permit him to apply the medication to my leg.

Now that I was looking at it, I saw that the wound had three long gashed starting at the middle of my lower leg and up to my ankle.

I watched as the doctor used a spatula to mix the clay one more time before applying it to the wound. It left a cool feeling as it touched the gashes that instantly gave me a feeling of relief.

“There, that should stop that bleeding for now.”

“For now?” I raised a curious brow. “You mean it isn’t going to close the wound magically?”

The doctor laughed, “It will in about two days. Witches aren’t that powerful as they used to be. Now,” He turned to Tyrelle after wrapping a bandage over my leg, “Master Tyrelle, I suggest that you take the lady home. I will write a note to your professors to excuse you both to class.”

“Thank you, Kosher,” Tyrelle told him before heading back to my side and carrying me again as he did before.

“It was my pleasure. And it is an honor to be of service to the lady.” Kosher, the witch doctor, turned to me with a smile. I was perplexed by the gesture, and since I couldn’t smile in return, I gave him a nod.

Thankfully, classes began by the time Tyrelle and I headed out of the school, so there were no students to see me getting carried like a princess up to his car. He was being meticulous as he drove while keeping a watchful gaze over me.

And now that we were alone, my mind went back to the scene where we saw me smile for the second time.

“You saw it, didn’t you?” I asked after sneaking a glance in his direction while he had his eyes on the road.

“Pardon?”

“My smile. You saw it, right? I didn’t mean to show it to you again. I’m sorry if you did.” I said. I have no idea what my smile actually does to people or why it even has that kind of effect. But if it strikes any sort of fear to Tyrelle, I would honestly feel bad because he has been nothing but kind to me. I wouldn’t want to traumatize him accidentally.

The car finally came to a stop, and that’s when I realized that we had finally reached my home. As soon as the engine stopped, I turned to him.

“Thank you for the-” Before my hand could reach to open the door, Tyrelle moved in and stopped my hand with a serious look on his face.

“Don’t do that.” He says and then pulls my hand away from the door before fixing himself.

“B-But how am I suppose to leave if-”

“I don’t mean leaving the car. I meant you apologizing for smiling.” When I tilted my head to the side in a confused that, that made Tyrelle stifle a sigh when he leaned back in his chair, “I may sound like a hypocrite here, but if that smile is a part of who you are, then I don’t see any reason to fear you. Sure it’s scary, sinister, brutal-”

“Are you trying to make me feel better or-”

“-The point is, I respect you as a person. So whether you have a killer smile or not, you’re still the fragile Gabriella that I know. It might take some time to get used to, but...I promise that I won’t act the same way as I did before.” There was a look of determination on his face when he looked at me. It was a look that made me both uncomfortable and conscious of myself at the same time.

“I-I should go. Can I go now?” I looked away as I felt my cheeks heating up.

“Hang on and I’ll help you out.”

“No need!” I almost yelled out when Tyrelle made a move to leave his car. “I feel fine. I can walk on my own.” I told him reassuringly. “And I don’t think that it would be good if our neighbors see a guy carrying me to my house.”

Tyrelle raised a brow at me. “I doubt your neighbor would care if I just bring you to the front door.”

I scoffed, “Trust me, you don’t know how nosey our neighbor is.” I muttered and jerked my thumb toward our neighbor, who was watering their bushes while keeping an eye on Tyrelle’s car.

“Alright. I see your point,” He said before turning to me, “Be careful on your way out. And I’ll be back later.”

I was already out of his car when he said that I had to let out a sigh and bent down to look at him in the face. “No need. As long as the wound stopped bleeding, then I can live.” I assured him as I closed the door.

Tyrelle rolled the window down and smirked in my direction. “I guess you don’t care about the things that you left in school?” As soon as he reminded me of that, my face turned pale as I realized that I didn’t bring my bag with me this whole time! It made Tyrelle laugh even more. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll drop by real quick later and drop it off here so you can rest.” He says, and before I could respond, he was already gone.

***Meanwhile***

Aelfric Beaumont has been lurking in the shadows for some time now. When he first heard his precious Gabriella’s scream, he calmly told the mutt to check up on her while he returned the pillows to the infirmary. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to rescue his woman himself. It was because he wanted to catch the culprit that did this to Gabriella.

Now, it was nighttime, and he had once again waited until she had fallen asleep before sneaking into her room so he could closely check up on her. She was sleeping with her mouth open, and her hair was sticking all over her face.

His face softened as he let out a small chuckle at the sight. He tried to reach out to brush away her mess of hair from her face and stopped himself. His hand, covered in dirt and blood, seemed too disgusting to hold such a pure and innocent face. So, even though he wanted to touch her, he withdrew his hand with a grit of his teeth.

There was no helping it. He did what he had to do to the people who plotted against Gabriella. And as long as his woman is safe, he doesn’t care whom he might have to hurt. And he especially didn’t care whom he might have to kill to protect this fragile being in front of him.

Because to him, Gabriella is his. She was the woman that he had been searching for for over a millennium - the only person that could save him from his cursed fate as a vampire. He never thought that he would even find her in this place because he was just passing by. But he was certain that it was her because her smile was the proof of her dormant ability.

But it was like fate was too cruel to him because even though he was looking for someone like Gabriella so he could finally rest, the wolf part in him that has been sleeping has finally decided to awaken. And with its awakening, it has determined Gabriella to be his fated.

And even though there was another mutt trying to make her his, he’ll just have to endure it for Gabriella’s sake. But if that mutt won’t keep his paws off of her, then, goddess forbid, he might lose control and dispose of him as well.

As he watched her sleep, Aelfric squatted down until he was at eye level with her and grinned happily. He was still undecided on what to do about the revelation since a little part of him wanted to die while the other wanted to live for her.

Or WITH her if she would accept him.

“My little Gabbie poo,” He lovingly whispered her name with a loving and pained expression on his face, “I regret that I wasn’t the one who saved you. But rest assured that no one will lay a finger on you while I’m around. You can count on that, my little mate.”