Chapter four: Stay with me Ronan!

Rook leaned against a tree, arms crossed, watching the hooded figure fidget under his gaze. The moonlight barely cut through the thick branches, casting uneven shadows over the clearing. It was clear this conversation had been going on for a while.

"I don't care what happens to anyone else. No one is allowed to touch him," Rook said, his voice low but leaving no room for argument.

The hooded figure swallowed hard. "That... that might be a little tricky."

Rook raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "Does it look like I'm asking?"

The figure let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of their neck. "N-no, of course not. I just... you know, things happen. Accidents, I mean, I'm not saying it will, but.."

Rook took a slow step forward, his jaw tightening. "He got hurt today," he said, voice low but thick with restrained fury. "Do you have any idea what that felt like? Watching it happen and not being able to stop it?" In one swift motion, he grabbed the front of the figure's cloak and yanked them closer, his fingers tightening "If that happens again, you won't have to worry about the Alpha, you'll have to worry about me, do i make myself clear"

The figure quickly nodded, hands raised in surrender. "Understood! Absolutely understood. Won't happen again. You have my word."

Rook studied them for a moment before shoving them back. "Good. Glad we're on the same page."

With that, he turned and strolled away, leaving the figure standing there, still stiff as a board. As soon as Rook disappeared into the trees, the figure let out a breath.

***

Ronan jolted awake with a sharp intake of breath, his heart pounding against his ribs. His stomach felt like it was on fire, pain radiating from his injury.

"Damn it," he hissed through clenched teeth, pressing a hand gingerly against his abdomen. "This hurts like a bitch."

He groaned, rolling onto his side, already cussing out half the universe for his suffering, only to freeze when he caught sight of something in the dark.

Rook was sitting in the chair by his desk, completely still, watching him.

Ronan almost screamed.

"Holy....Rook, what the hell?" he gasped, his hand flying to his chest as if that would stop his heart from trying to escape his ribcage. "What are you doing just sitting there like some kind of creep?"

Rook didn't move. "It's infected."

Ronan blinked. "What?"

"The wound," Rook said flatly, nodding toward Ronan's stomach. "It's infected."

Ronan looked down at himself and, now that he was fully awake, realized the skin around the bandages was red and angry-looking. The pain suddenly made a lot more sense.

"Oh, fantastic," Ronan groaned. "Love that for me."

Rook finally stood up, stretching his arms over his head like he hadn't just scared the life out of Ronan. "You should've cleaned it properly."

"I did!" Ronan protested, wincing as he shifted. "At least, I thought I did. It looked fine earlier."

Rook gave him a deadpan stare. "Well, clearly, it wasn't."

Ronan shot him a glare. "Thanks, doc. So helpful."

Ignoring him, Rook walked over and flicked on the bedside lamp, making Ronan squint against the sudden light.

"Sit still," Rook muttered, already pulling out supplies from the first aid kit on the desk. "This is gonna suck."

Ronan sighed dramatically. "Great. Just what I wanted at" he glanced at the clock, "..three in the freaking morning."

As he watched Rook work, a thought crept into his mind. What the hell was Rook even doing here? In his room? In the middle of the night? Had he been sitting there the whole time? Watching him sleep?

The thought made Ronan uneasy. He trusted Rook, of course he did, but what the actual fuck.

Rook didn't even acknowledge the complaint as he crouched beside the bed, already unscrewing a bottle of antiseptic. Ronan braced himself.

Yeah, this was gonna hurt.

Rook worked in silence, his hands moving efficiently as he dressed Ronan's wounds. The atmosphere was very weird making Ronan shift uncomfortably.

He debated whether he should say something. Rook clearly wasn't in a good mood, and Ronan wasn't exactly eager to poke the bear, but the silence was getting unbearable.

After a while, he cleared his throat. "Uh... is something bothering you?"

Rook paused. His fingers, which had been wrapping the bandage around Ronan's abdomen, stilled mid-motion. Slowly, he lifted his head, his gaze locking onto Ronan's.

"What could possibly bother me," Rook said, his voice low and biting, "apart from the fact that you are so fucking careless?"

Ronan swallowed hard.

Well. That answered that.

Rook's glare didn't waver as he resumed dressing the wound, his movements slightly rougher than before. Ronan winced but didn't dare complain. He knew better than to test Rook when he was like this.

"You should take this more seriously," Rook muttered after a moment, not looking up. "You act like nothing can touch you, but you're not invincible, Ronan."

Ronan exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know that."

"Do you?" Rook shot him a side glance, his eyes still burning with frustration. "Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like it."

Ronan opened his mouth to argue but shut it again. There was no point.

The rest of the bandaging process went by in silence. When Rook finally finished, he stood up and exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. He looked tired..

Ronan sighed. "Look, I.."

"Get some rest," Rook interrupted, already turning toward the door. "I'll check on you in the morning."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Ronan sitting there, staring after him with a mixture of guilt and confusion.

**

The next morning, Ronan found himself in the training grounds, stretching lazily while the rest of the pack warriors were already deep into their drills.

"You look like you got run over by a rogue pack," Luca, one of the senior warriors, smirked at him as he stretched nearby. "Where's Rook? Thought he'd be hovering over you like an angry babysitter."

"He's not that bad," Ronan muttered, cracking his neck.

"Right. And I'm a delicate flower," Luca smirked. Before Ronan could come up with a smart reply, a sharp whistle rang through the air, cutting through the scattered conversations.

"Enough chatter," his father said. "Pair up. We're starting with hand-to-hand today."

Ronan exhaled. Of course. Just his luck.

He ended up paired with Luca, who grinned like he'd just won the lottery. "Try not to embarrass yourself, future Alpha."

"Oh, you wish," Ronan shot back.

They circled each other, waiting for the signal. The moment the spar began, Luca lunged, and Ronan barely managed to sidestep in time. His abdomen protested the sudden movement, but he ignored it, focusing instead on dodging another strike.

His mind should've been on the fight but the pain was making it difficult

Pain exploded across his jaw as Luca's fist connected, knocking him right out of his thoughts.

Ronan staggered back, blinking stars from his vision. "Ow."

Luca raised an eyebrow. "Did you just zone out?"

"Uh. No?"

Luca smirked. "You totally did. Man, Rook's gonna kill you when he finds out."

Ronan groaned, rubbing his jaw. Great. Just what he needed, another lecture from his best friend. But as he got back into position, something in his gut twisted and he suddenly started seeing in twos. The world tilted sharply, the training ground blurring into indistinct shapes . His body felt strangely heavy, his legs giving out beneath him. Distantly, he heard someone shout his name, but it was muffled, like he was underwater.

Then, darkness.

When he finally came to, he saw a familiar face hovering above him. He tried attempting to push himself up, but Rook immediately pressed a hand against his chest to keep him down. "Stay put, idiot."

Around them, murmurs and shuffling footsteps indicated that the rest of the pack was still present, watching. His father was likely somewhere nearby, but Ronan couldn't bring himself to look. He felt like absolute garbage, his body heavy and weak, like he'd just run full speed into a brick wall.

"I'm fine," he muttered, but even to his own ears, he didn't sound convincing.

Rook's eyes darkened, his patience clearly thinning. "Bullshit. You just collapsed in the middle of training like a sack of potatoes. That's not 'fine.'"

Ronan sighed, leaning his head back against the dirt. "I don't know what happened. One second I was fighting Luca, and the next,"

"You blacked out." Rook finished for him, scowling. "Great. Fantastic. And let me guess, you didn't think to mention that you were feeling off before now?"

Ronan grimaced. "Didn't really seem important."

Rook exhaled sharply through his nose, visibly restraining himself from throttling Ronan in front of the entire pack. Instead, he turned his attention to someone else. "Get the healer. Now."

Someone scrambled away, and Ronan sighed. "Dramatic much?"

Rook's glare could've melted steel. "Oh, shut up before I knock you out again."

As much as Ronan wanted to argue, he couldn't ignore the genuine worry etched into Rook's features. And, if he was being honest with himself, he felt worse than he was letting on.

.

Ronan barely had time to relax before a violent shudder ran through his body. A sharp pain, like a knife, twisted deep in his gut. He managed to roll onto his side before his stomach lurched and then he coughed hard, and dark crimson splattered onto the ground in front of him.

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then chaos erupted around him.

"Shit, Ronan!" Rook was the first to move, grabbing his shoulders as another harsh cough wracked his body, sending more blood spilling onto the dirt. His fingers dug into Ronan's arms, his grip tight. "Breathe, Princess. Breathe."

Ronan wheezed, his body trembling as his vision blurred. He could hear voices, his father barking orders, someone else running for the healer, but everything felt distant, muffled, like he was hearing it from underwater.

"Okay, nope, not liking this," Rook muttered, shifting to press a firm hand against Ronan's back, supporting him as another coughing fit stole his breath. "You better not pass out again, or I swear,"

Ronan let out a weak, humorless laugh between ragged breaths. "Not... my fault." he said trying to shake his head, but the movement sent another wave of nausea rolling through him. His limbs felt too heavy, his thoughts sluggish, and the pain, God, the pain was getting worse. His body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

Then suddenly, more hands were on him. A familiar voice cut through the haze. "Get him to the healer's hut. Now."

Through blurry vision, Ronan caught a glimpse of his mother's worried face before darkness threatened to pull him under again. The last thing he felt was Rook tightening his grip, his voice filled with panic.

"Stay with me, Ronan!"