Chapter five

Ronan woke up to the feeling of something cold pressed against his forehead. His eyes fluttered open, squinting at the dim light filtering into the room. His body felt... weird.

"You're finally up," a voice came softly from nearby.

He turned his head slowly, because even that took effort and found Rook sitting on a stool beside the bed with a blank face and his arms crossed. That wasn't unusual. Rook always had a permanent scowl on standby. why was he looking at him like that though

Ronan groaned and ran a hand over his face. "Why do I feel like I got punched by the entire pack?"

Rook didn't answer immediately. He just tilted his head slightly studying him for a bit

"You don't remember?"

Ronan frowned. "Remember what?"

"Huh," Rook muttered under his breath. "Interesting."

Ronan pushed himself up on his elbows, wincing at how sluggish his limbs felt. "Okay, seriously, what's with the look? Did something happen?"

Rook exhaled slowly through his nose, debating whether to tell him. Then, after a moment, he leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees. "You passed out."

Ronan blinked. "What?"

"In front of everyone, while you were training. Then you started coughing up blood. It was a whole thing really, very dramatic. Ten out of ten on the performance scale."

Ronan stared at him trying to process his words. He tried thinking back but couldn't remember exactly what happened

"You're messing with me."

"Now why would i want to waste my time on that ?."

Ronan swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable. He searched his brain, trying to piece together something, anything, but it was like his mind hit a wall every time he reached back past waking up just now.

"I... don't remember that."

Rook's fingers drummed once against his arm before he stopped. "Yeah. I figured."

Before Ronan could ask more questions, the door to the healer's hut creaked open, and his mother stepped in, relief flashing across her face the moment she saw him awake.

"Oh, thank the gods," she murmured, hurrying over. "How do you feel?"

Ronan hesitated, then forced a grin. "Like I got dragged through the woods and beat up again."

His mother gave him a look but didn't press. Instead, she smoothed a hand over his hair and make him lie down back

.

.

Ronan woke up to the distinct smell of soup. His stomach grumbled before he even opened his eyes, and when he finally blinked awake, he wasn't surprised to see Rook sitting beside him with a bowl of steaming broth sitting on the nightstand.

"Eat that before I make you," Rook said flatly, nudging the bowl closer.

Ronan groaned, pushing himself up against the pillows. "You're so aggressive first thing in the morning. Can't a guy wake up in peace?"

Rook raised a brow. "Not when said guy collapsed in front of the entire pack and started vomiting blood. You're lucky I didn't tie you to the bed."

Ronan snorted, halfheartedly. He reached for the bowl, feeling unusually drained. His body was still sore.

He took a slow sip of the soup, glancing at Rook. "So, uh... did my dad say anything? About what happened?"

Rook didn't answer right away. Instead, he sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "He said you need to rest. You're on light duty for the next few days. No training and no patrols."

Ronan nearly choked on his soup. "What? He actually said that?"

"No, I made it up for fun," Rook deadpanned. "Yes, he said that."

Ronan frowned. His dad never let him slack off, Like Ever. The man treated his training like the foundation of the entire pack's future. The fact that he was being ordered to rest meant that whatever had happened must've been bad. But if it was that bad, why didn't he remember it?

Rook must've seen the look on his face because he spoke before Ronan could say anything. "Don't overthink it. You probably just pushed yourself too hard. It happens."

Ronan hummed, not convinced but too tired to argue. He finished his soup and got up, stretching out the stiffness in his limbs. Rook watched him closely, like he was waiting for him to fall over again.

"Relax, Mom," Ronan teased. "I'm fine."

"Uhuh, suree, says you"

Ronan rolled his eyes but let it go. He knew Rook wouldn't budge when he was like this. Instead, he focused on getting dressed and stepping outside

But then everybody started looking at him,

It was weird.

"Okay, what is up with everyone?" Ronan muttered, leaning closer to Rook as they made their way toward the main hall. "Did I grow a second head or something?"

"Maybe they're just surprised you're still walking around," Rook said with a shrug, though he glared at everyone back forcing them to turn away.

Ronan frowned. He wasn't buying it. But before he could question it further, a familiar voice called out to him.

"You're alive!" Mia, one of the younger warriors, jogged up to him. "Good to see you up and about, future Alpha. We were starting to think Rook would keep you locked away forever."

"That's still an option," Rook muttered.

Ronan sighed dramatically. "See? Oppression. This is what I deal with every day."

Mia laughed but then it came out a little bit forcefully

Yeah, Something was definitely going on.

**

Back alone in his room,

Ronan sat on the edge of his bed, peeling away the bandages covering his wound. He expected to see the usual signs of healing, maybe a bit of soreness, but what greeted him instead was worse. The skin around the gash was swollen, red, and radiating heat. A sickly scent drifted up, and he hissed as he touched the inflamed edges.

"Great," he muttered. "Just what I needed."

He knew the pack had healers, but something in him didnt like the idea of going to them. Maybe it was pride, maybe it was stubbornness, So, he made up his mind, he'd handle this himself.

Grabbing a small satchel, Ronan slipped out of his cabin and into the dense forest surrounding the pack's land. He knew of a few herbs that could help, and if he moved fast, he could be back before anyone noticed he was gone.

Except..........he wasn't back before anyone noticed.