Chapter 70: Chapter 70

I scoffed as those words washed over me, my lips pressing in a thin line. "Fine, then I will make...one," With that, I struggled, trying to sit up while covering all my bits. The sudden action only made the pain in my side worsen, and the Alpha was quick to act, stopping me by pushing my shoulders down, his muddy hands leaving behind a mark.

"Why are you so stubborn?" He hissed through his teeth, securing a hand on my side while his other hand shuffled through the bag.

I bit on my tongue instead of answering, watching as the Alpha pulled a long black tee, something he was wearing earlier. My lips parted as Aiden thrust the material in my direction.

"Put this on."

The denial was on the tip of my tongue, but as the cold gush of air passed by, I grabbed it instantly. My legs pressed together, cheeks reddening as his eyes never left mine.

"Can you turn around?"

Aiden opened his mouth as if to protest but instead turned on his knees. I let out a sigh and quickly slipped on the black tee, which fell to my knees. My throat clogged as the smell of his scent and sweat hit my nose, lips quivering.

Shaking my head, I swallowed the lump and blinked back the tears. “I-I am done now."

The Alpha cleared his throat, his arms crossing together. "Why did you not get the duffle along with you? It would have been helpful for a time like this."

"Do you think all wolves are born with super strength?"

It is difficult for smaller frame wolves to carry anything larger than a rodent on their back. Lately, Ellen has been training me to equip me with the skills, but we needed a long way to go.

"You should have asked me to carry for you then." He grunted, running a hand over his face. The action left a print of dirt on the side of his jaw but I didn't tell him.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because we are mated!"

I snickered, shaking my head at those words. "Only when it's convenient to you. Let's not do this now, Aiden. Please just go and get help," I managed to breathe out as quick as I could in one go, my eyes meeting the Alphas for a fraction of a second. "Leave me..."

It's not new for you. I thought under my breath.

"Like hell, I am doing that." The Alpha was quick to shoot down the idea as he quickly pushed himself forward. Aiden's large hands were now submerged in the bloody water as they were planted on either side, his body hovering just partially over mine.

I silently told myself that not maintaining eye contact wasn't an act of submission—but that was mostly just to protect my little ego. I had to look away as if Aiden looking into the depth of my eyes, could poke and prod until he figured out my true feelings. I couldn't have that.

"Will you leave already?"

"Stop arguing with me. I am not leaving you alone." The Alpha warned as he pulled a pair of button-down shirt, gripped at the own long sleeve shirt before he ripped it in one quick motion. "Tie this around your waist." He handed me the shirt while using the ripped cloth for my ankle.

I opened my mouth to retaliate, but a sudden pressure to the ankle made a pained scream escape from my mouth. He slowly dabbed at the wound before starting to wrap the cloth around.

“Your ankle is sprained.”

But why was my body not healing? Tears prickled my eyes, sending my body into a state of distress, which Aiden could sense in an instant.

"I'm sorry," The Alpha's voice was low and full of guilt as if he was the reason behind my injury. "Your wolf won't be able to heal this quickly because this side of the land is cursed. Once we get out of here, the healing will start."

Now that I roamed my eyes around the air reeked of something unpleasant and there was also rotten trees along the way. Biting on my tongue, I tried to keep from yelling out in pain as he entirely wrapped the cloth. I tried to move away from his touch, wincing.

"You're hurting yourself! Stop it!" He removed his hands to wrap them around my squirming frame, the water rippling around us in his attempt to stop me from moving around. "Please stop!"

Aiden placed his hands under my shoulders; his hands submerged back into the water as he rubbed over the clothes for a few seconds to soothe the small whines. The Alpha then slid his hands along under my armpits before catching my gaze.

"You need to relax your body," He ordered, voice stern and relentless. "I am going to carry you back to the packhouse."

"F-Forget it!" I told him as I tried to push myself up, completely ignoring the Alphas retaliations. Before I could put pressure on my legs, the Alpha pushed me back down; his jaw clenched and eyes blazing with fury.

"You can hate me all you want, but don't hurt yourself." There was a desperation in his voice that I hadn't heard before, his hair erratic and matted to his forehead. "Just let me handle this."

I didn't answer. My entire body was too overwhelmed with pain even to try to open my mouth. The Alpha guided me forward in his grip, my body sagging in his hold in an attempt to gain support. My muscles clenched and burned by merely standing up on my legs.

My head rolled on his shoulders at the exhaustion my body was going through. I had no idea what came over me, but when he snaked his arms around my waist, I let him. Wrapping my arms around his neck came easy, and I nuzzled my face into the junction of his neck and shoulder.

"You are okay, Rose.” He whispered against my ear, tightening his arms around while I let out a sigh against his collarbones. Even though I was supposed to feel angry at him, I was as safe as I could ever be in the grip of the Alpha. My inner wolf was curled up and comfy as could be, all because of one touch. Just a single touch.

***

I was slowly falling in and out of consciousness, my eyelids cracking every few minutes as Aiden carried me back to the packhouse. Every snap of a twig, crunch of leaves, song of a cricket paired with his ragged breathing was all I could focus on with the short little bursts of being awake.

Partially I registered Alexander and Caden rushing to my side, but my eyes felt too heavy, so I let them flutter shut.

The next time light hit my eyes; I was lying comfortably in a large bed. A thick duvet was draped over my body as if to keep me in place from moving around, and the pain in my ankle had grown to a dull throb. My nose scrunched as I was flooded with the thick scent of vanilla and musk, eyes rolling back. Looking around, I quickly realised that Aiden bought me to his room.

I slowly lowered my hand down under the duvet, expecting the cloth to be still tied around my ankle, but when my fingers touched nothing but rough, white bandages, I sat up.

A pain shot through my leg as I lowered my feet over the edge of the bed, the heel

barely touching the cool floor, my fist clenching the fabric of the bed as I squeezed my eyes.

“Be careful! You still need a lot of sleep to recover,” A deep voice rose from the corner of the room, footsteps approaching me.

The Alpha was now wearing just a pair of black jeans, hanging low on his hips, and his torso was as bare as could be. My throat went dry; I quickly looked away before he could notice the red tint tainting my cheeks.

“How are you feeling?” Aiden inched closed, standing by the foot of the bed. “Do you need water? Ice pack?”

“Why am I in your room?” My finger slightly poked at the bandage, head cast down.

“Uh… it's the closest room from the entrance.”

He was lying. My room was barely a foot away from his, and he could have easily dumped me there. Why this sudden concern? Before I could open my mouth to retort, the Alpha beat me to it.

“Your parents called this morning.”

A lump lodged in my throat at the mention of my parents. They refused to contact me after the sham of a marriage and cut all the ties. My letters went unanswered, and I had lost hope.

I blinked at him, trying to remain calm, my voice coming out squeaky. “W-What did they say?”

“It’s your father. He wants to see you as soon as possible.”

***