Chapter 4

After some basic bandaging, I followed the Pack healer to a nearby pack medical facility to rest.

My body had reached its limit. I needed proper rest.

My consciousness drifted back and forth between burning chaos and bone-chilling cold.

I don't know how much time passed before I finally managed to lift my heavy eyelids.

Above me was the familiar yet strange ceiling of the pack's guest quarters. The air was filled with an odd mix of disinfectant and some sickeningly sweet herbal scent.

I turned my head slightly and saw Damine Blackwood sitting on a chair not far from the bed. He was looking down at his phone.

His profile was still cold and sharp, but there seemed to be a trace of exhaustion around his eyes.

It looked like he was the one who brought me here.

He seemed to notice my gaze. He immediately looked up, put down his phone, and walked over.

"You're awake?"

His tone was unusually gentle.

He even reached out to feel my forehead temperature, his brow furrowing slightly.

"The fever has gone down some, but you're still a bit warm. The Pack healer came by and said it's a high fever caused by wound infection. He gave you a fever-reducing injection with moonlight herbs."

My throat was bone dry. I couldn't speak. My eyes unconsciously fell on my left arm, which was wrapped in layers of white bandages.

The bandages were wrapped neatly and beautifully. There was even a delicate little bow tied on the outermost layer.

But beneath this elaborate bandaging came wave after wave of piercing pain.

That pain was what woke me up.

Damine followed my gaze. A smile that could almost be called proud appeared on his face.

Then he looked back at me, his tone taking on a hint of condescension.

"Elara bandaged it for you. She watched over you for a long time. I just convinced her to go rest."

"Although her eyes are still recovering, she studied healing arts for a long time to take care of her own health. She's very skilled at treating this kind of external injury and bruising. Look how well she wrapped it."

He paused, and his voice softened a bit more.

"Sera, Elara took such good care of you. You should be grateful to her from now on. Stop being childish and targeting her. Don't forget, she's my lifesaver. A year ago she saved my life during a rogue attack. A few days ago she rescued me from the frozen mountains again. As my mate, you should treat her better. "

Lifesaver?

Severe headaches and strange, intense pain from my arm tore at my nerves.

But I couldn't help thinking about something else.

A year ago, when heavy snow blocked the mountains, Damine, Elara, and I were trapped during a rogue attack.

I was the one who risked my life fighting through the endless white snow for three days to eliminate the threat. I even went snow-blind for a month because of it. During that time, I couldn't even look at anything white without my eyes tearing up.

I was clearly the one who saved him both times.

How could...

I suddenly stared at that pretty bow. A chill ran up my spine, instantly overwhelming the heat of my fever.

"Uh..."

I tried to speak, but only managed a broken whisper.

Damine didn't hear clearly, or maybe he just didn't care. He kept talking to himself.

"When you're better, we'll go thank Elara. She..."

I stopped listening.

Using all my remaining strength, I raised my right hand. Trembling, I reached toward that glaring bow on my left arm.

"What are you doing!"

Damine's face darkened. He reached out to stop me.

"Sera, don't be ungrateful!"

I violently pushed his hand away. The sudden movement pulled at my left arm. The pain made everything go black for a moment. I could barely breathe.

But I gritted my teeth. With some fierce determination that came from nowhere, I grabbed the edge of the bow with my fingers and yanked it hard!

The bandages came loose.

Fighting dizziness and nausea, I used my right hand to roughly tear off the bandages, round after round.

"Sera! What's gotten into you! I told you not to..."

Damine's angry shouting stopped abruptly when I completely removed the final layer of gauze that was pressed against the wound. It was soaked through with some kind of yellow-green pus.

The room fell dead silent.

The wound exposed to the air was more swollen than before.

The skin showed a terrifying, almost black deep purple color. The edges were turned outward. Pus kept seeping from deep inside, giving off an indescribable smell. Most terrifying of all, the flesh in the center of the wound even showed hints of an ominous gray, dead color.

This was clearly a sign of serious infection and necrosis.

Damine's eyes went wide. His pupils shrank suddenly. All color drained from his face.

He staggered back half a step, staring at my almost shapeless arm in disbelief.

"How could this happen?"

He muttered, his voice full of shock and panic.

He suddenly looked up at me, his eyes shaking violently.

"Pack healer!! Get the Pack healer over here! Right now! Immediately!!"