Chapter 14

~ RONAN ~

The last person I expected to see in Roselle's room is Mara. Kael growls inwardly when her smell hits us before I even reach the door.

On the bed, Roselle is already sitting up, her face pale and blank, as though Mara had said something rude to her.

I feel my pulse rise, anger surging through me, even though I'm trying to keep it under control.

As much as this entire scenario looks like, "Hey, new mate, this is my mistress," I'm fucking pissed that Mara entered the room without an order from me. What the fuck did she say to her?

"What the fuck are you doing here, Mara?"

I growl, my eyes already turning red. Kael rises to the surface, ready to tear her apart if she dares say anything stupid.

"Nothing, Alpha... I was just welcoming our future Luna to the pack. She's so pretty," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

Only a fool would buy Mara's sweet, coy smile. I know how vicious she can be, and trust me, her nothing is never nothing.

I dart my eyes to Roselle. "Are you alright? Did she hurt you?" I ask.

Roselle immediately shakes her head before signing, "No."

My eyes scan her quickly, searching for any possible injury, while Kael sniffs for any fresh blood.

"You need to chill out, Ronan. I didn't hurt her... I can't hurt her. How could I hurt our future Luna?" Mara says with a dramatic sigh. "She's new here, and there's every possibility she's going to need help. All I did was offer to help her. Don't act all growly. You're going to scare her. She already looks frightened. Calm Kael down."

"Get her out," Kael says flatly.

"This will be the last time I make myself clear, Mara. Stay away from this room, welcoming her or not... now leave."

Mara shrugs, already walking toward the door.

"You didn't tell me she was a slave. I should have stayed away..."

I growl, and she immediately raises her hands in surrender.

"Fine... fine, I'll leave. Do have a nice time, Roselle..."

The door closes behind her, leaving the two of us alone in the room. I turn to Roselle. She's still sitting upright on the bed, her expression almost apologetic.

"I'm sorry about that. And I'm sorry for suddenly leaving your room. I had something urgent to deal with, and she shouldn't have been here," I say, crossing the distance between us before stopping at a reasonable distance.

Roselle shakes her head slightly and signs, It's fine.

"It's not." I hold her gaze. "But it won't happen again."

She immediately signs again, insisting that it's fine.

A small sigh escapes me.

"Roselle, you don't have to pretend everything is fine just to make me feel better."

Before she can sign back, a knock sounds at the door, and Dr. Elias steps inside with a stethoscope hanging around his neck. Behind him, one of his nurses follows, an equipment bag in hand.

"Good morning, Alpha. I checked on her earlier, but she was still asleep. I didn't want to wake her," Elias explains with a respectful bow.

He then turns his attention to Roselle and offers her a warm greeting.

Roselle immediately replies with a sign, and he nods in understanding.

Elias nods at me. "She's looking better than yesterday already. Her color has improved slightly."

He moves to Roselle's side, gentle and unhurried as always.

"How are you feeling this morning? Any pain?"

Roselle signs her response. The nurse quietly interprets for Elias, who nods, makes a note, and begins his examination with the same careful requests for permission he used yesterday.

She lets him, even though I know that she's tensed. I watch the entire thing from my spot near the window.

When Elias finishes, he gives me a brief nod that says nothing alarming, we'll talk properly later. Then he and the nurse slip out of the room.

I clear my throat to say something, but another knock at the door interrupts my thoughts. My eyes dart toward it.

It's Celeste. I can already catch her scent.

I tell her to come in through the mind link, and a second later the door opens. In her hands is a covered breakfast tray.

Her head bows immediately.

"Good morning, Alpha."

"Good morning, my Lady," Celeste says with a bright smile, moving straight to the side table with the confidence of someone who has already decided Roselle is worth fussing over. She sets down the tray and begins arranging everything with her particular brand of cheerful precision. When she's finished, she glances at me.

"Will you be joining us, Alpha?"

I pull a chair up beside the bed before answering.

"Yes."

She efficiently sets out a second place setting, gives Roselle one more warm smile, and then excuses herself.

"I'll be nearby if either of you need anything."

With that, she slips out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

The room falls silent once more.

Her eyes darts from me to the tray, then back again, as though she's trying to figure out whether she's actually allowed to get out of bed and eat. The scent of warm bread, eggs, fruit, and honey drifts between us.

"Roselle," I say gently, pulling the tray closer. "You don't need permission to eat."

Her fingers twist together in her lap as though she's been caught doing something she shouldn't be doing. Old habits.

I suppress a sigh and reach for a plate instead.

"Here."

I fill it for her, scrambled eggs, a buttered roll, and some fruit on the side, keeping it simple. When I'm done, I hold the plate out to her.

She hesitates before accepting it.

"Thank you," she signs.

A strange sense of satisfaction settles in my chest as I watch her take the first bite.

Her hands are still slightly unsteady, but not as bad as yesterday, thoigh the faint tremor is still very obvious.

Then the second. By the third, her hand wobbles, without creating any mess though, the fork taps lightly against the edge of the plate, and the piece of egg falls back onto it.

She freezes instantly, her shoulders stiffen, her gaze dropping to the plate. That familiar flinch crosses her face again, like she's bracing for a harsh word or punishment over something so insignificant.

My jaw tightens. Nobody reacts like that over a dropped bite unless they've been taught to.

Kael lets out a low growl in the back of my mind.

Simply, I reach across the space between us and gently take the fork from her hand. She looks up.

"Let me," I say.

Her hands immediately come up, signing.

"I can do it myself," Her hands move firmly.

"I know you can." I keep hold of the fork. "Let me anyway."

She stares at me blankly, and then she signs again, more insistently this time, reaching for the fork.

Kael makes a sound that might be a laugh.

"Roselle." I say gently. "You have injuries on both wrists. Elias just checked them, and you've gone days without proper food, and your hands aren't steady yet."

I hold her gaze.

"None of that is your fault, and none of it is permanent. But right now, today, let me help."

She looks at me, then at the fork, then back at me with an expression that says she doesn't like this even slightly.

But still she lowers her hands, and I take that as a victory.

I spear a small piece of scrambled egg and test the temperature against my own lip before offering it to her. The gesture makes her go very still. Those wide hazel eyes follow the movement, watching me like I've just done the strangest thing she's ever witnessed.

She accepts the bite, and we continue like that for a while.

Halfway through the meal, She signs again. "You don't have to do this. I don't want to bother you"

"I know, I'm not complaining," I say.

Her brows pull together, and she signs again. "It's embarrassing."

Okay, that gets my attention, I stop, and then look at her properly.

"Why?"

Her gaze drops. After a moment, her hands move slowly.

"Being fed like a child."

I almost chuckle because I want to tell her she's my baby, and it's my job to take care of her, but I keep my mouth shut.

"You're recovering from injuries," I say. "That's different."

I offer her another bite.

"And you're not a child. When your hands heal, I won't be doing this anymore." I pause. "Besides, it's just us."

Even as I say the words, I know I'd gladly feed her again.

The tips of her ears turn the faintest shade of pink.

Kael notices before I do and lets out that insufferably pleased sound again.

I ignore him completely.

By the time we're finished, most of the eggs are gone, along with the fruit and half a buttered roll.