You can't leave.

My entire body hurt. That was the only reason why I knew I was not dead yet.

I forced my eyes to open, and the bright line shining into the cave made me close them again.

It took me a few minutes to blink through the pain, my eyeballs burning each time I attempted to keep my eyes open for more than two seconds.

When they finally adjusted, I glanced around.

Yes, I was still in the cave.

And yes, I survived the night.

But at what cost?

I could barely feel my limbs. There was blood all around me, and the scent had turned stinging.

I moved my head to the side, and that alone almost made me pass out again.

I might not have died before the sun lit up the sky, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't die in this cave.

I should have healed by now, but it seemed this place was stopping my wof from healing me. The wounds were still open, and even though the blood had stopped flowing out of them, they looked raw and horrible. I was certain I would catch an infection even if I managed to save myself.

I could feel my wolf steering in my chest, exhausted beyound imaginable. But she was still there, and that was all that mattered.

I stayed there for a few minutes, preparing myself to power through the pain and drag my broken body out of the cave. It took me a lot longer than it should to leave the cave, crawling out with my upper body weight supported by my one good arm. 

My knees got screapped the entire way out, and no matter how much pain I was in, I needed to leave the cave and let fresh air through my nose.

When I finally made it out of the cave and collapsed on the ground, tears of relief blosomed from my eyes.

I took a deep breath in through my nose, the expansion of my lungs putting pressure on my ribs. I lay still for what felt like hours, looking up at the blue sky and tall trees surrounding me. My mind was unable to process what had happened the previous night.

I was not ready to think about it yet. But as the minutes went by and I realized that I had used the last bit of strength I had to pull myself out of the cave, I couldn't escape the thoughts anymore.

I laid there feeling sorry myself for who knows how long, counting the seconds until I lost consciousness again.

***

I felt something cold pressed against my forehead. It felt so nice, so cooling.

I wanted it all over my burning body.

I let out a soft groan when it disappeared and heard distant sounds and movements around me.

"She's awake." Someone whispered.

"Quick, get Laura." Another voice ordered, a slight panic ringing in the tone.

I pealed my eyes open, expecting to see the sky and trees looming over me. Instead, I was met with the same white ceiling I had woken up to the previous day.

I took short breath, looking around as much as I could without moving my neck.

Someone came into view. It took me a few seconds to recall who she was.

Heaven, one of the pack doctors from yesterday morning.

"Joyce... Joyce? Can you hear me?" She asked, taking a small flash light out of the chest pocket of her coat and shining it into my eyes.

I squinted, feeling a massive headache building at the back of my eyes.

"If you can hear me, then please give me a sign." She commented, desperation evident in her voice.

"I can hear you." I whispered.

My throat was dry, and my voice cracked at the last word.

"Good. Very good." She whispered.

I opened my eyes again and saw that she was on the verge of tears, putting the flash light aside and reaching for the bedside table to grab me a glass of water.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to sit up and drink no matter how desperate I was for it. Heaven seemed to understand.

She dropped a straw into the glass and stepped closer.

"Drink." She said, pressing the tip of the strow to my lips. That was exactly what I did.

I drank every drop I could get through the straw and asked for one more. After I was done with the water, I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I can't believe you made it." Heaven whispered, forcing me to open my eyes. She was looking at me with hope in her eyes.

"You were out for so long that we were convinced you would never wake up, that it was just a matter of time before you take your last breath." She added, running her hands down her face to wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

I thought everything had happened the previous night. From how awful my body felt, it was the only explanation. Clearly, I was wrong.

"Two weeks." Heaven replied.

Two weeks? I couldn't believe it.

I tried to sit down, but Heaven stopped me.

"No. Not yet. Your wounds have not healed yet. You need as much bed rest as possible." She said.

Two weeks, and I still haven't healed?

Heaven seemed to understand the question in my eyes.

"It's like I told you. It takes some time to heal in this place. Your injuries are quite brutal. They will take much longer to heal." She said, dragging a chair closer to my bed and sitting down.

"Our biggest worry was you not being to wake up. But now that you are up, the worst is definitely behind us." She enthusiastically added.

I looked at her for a few seconds in silence. She looked relief that I woke up, as if she hadn't been cold towards me the day we first met.

"I screamed for help." I whispered, tears filling my eyes as the memory of the wolf's teeth sinking into my flesh popped into my head.

"I screamed for help, but none of you came."

Heaven pressed her lips against each other.

"We were not allowed to..." She replied, her voice dying mid scentense. 

I closed my eyes, wishing I could press my hands against my ears to shut the lies out.

They could have helped. They just didn't want to.

"I'm sorry, Joyce." 

I glanced at her again, and I could tell that she had more to say. But she was interrupted by the door slamming open.

The woman who officiated the matting ceremony stood by the door, looking at me with wide eyes.

"My goodness, you really are awake." She blurted out, rushing into the room to stand on the other side of the bed and look down at me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like I almost died." I replied in a weak voice.

"That sounds about right. We found you lying on the ground barely alive. If we didn't have someone who could scent out blood even when it's faint and overpowered by the woods, we wouldn't have found you." The woman said.

"Would you like for me to give you something for the pain? I can give you something strong. It will turn you numb from the neck down until you heal, and the worst pain is over." The woman added, looking at me like I was the most precious glass she had ever encountered.

"You're Laura?" I asked, recalling the name I heard thrown out once before I opened my eyes.

"I am." She replied. "You remember me, don't you? I'm the witch of the pack that officiated your mating ceremony."

I slowly nodded my head.

"Laura." I called out. "I don't want anything for the pain. What I want is for you to arrange a way I can get out of this place."

Laura and Heaven shared a look over me, a look of concern evident on their eyes.

"I don't want to say another minute in this pack. I want to leave. I'm going to leave." I whispered, feeling the headache drumming my eyeballs slowly pull my consciousness away.

My eyes felt droppy as if I hadn't been sleeping for the last two weeks. 

"You can't leave, Joyce. You are the packs' last hope." I heard Lauran say before I passed out.