Semua Bab Refusing To Be His Luna: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Corie POV：Once the herbal concoction had cooled slightly, I carried the bowl to the bedside and fed it to Ryan, spoon by spoon.He remained completely out cold.The warm glow of the hearth cast sharp shadows across his features, carving out his strikingly handsome face with breathtaking depth."Then... do we just die here together?"His words drifted back into my mind out of nowhere.Remembering his dry, exhausted tone on the mountain, a small smile tugged at my lips despite myself.He had been running on pure fumes, yet he still found the dark humor to crack a joke.This man...Maybe he wasn't nearly as cold and distant as I had assumed.Maeve had instructed me to tend to the rest of his minor injuries.Carefully, I pulled off his grime- and blood-crusted trousers, cleansing his skin before dabbing antiseptic salve over every fresh cut and bruise.I had hesitated, my heart hammering nervously against my ribs as I unbuckled his belt.If he wakes up right now... won't this be horrifyi

Ryan POV：Corie stepped out, leaving me alone in the cabin.I surveyed the room. Though completely foreign to me, a grounded sense of security washed over my chest.A warm herbal scent drifted from the pot simmering on the hearth, and in the far corner stood a large apothecary cabinet stocked with processing tools.Is she a Healer?Last night, even through the haze of near-unconsciousness, I knew Corie and an older woman were fighting like hell to keep me alive.When my mind was slipping into total blackness, her anxious voice called out close to my ear, trying every trick she knew to bring heat back into my frozen body.Her hands were so gentle. She grabbed onto the last fraying thread of my awareness, pulling me back from the brink of death with sheer force of will.Even my wolf, Cruz, had gradually settled down from his helpless, agonized howls.I sat up, looking down at the patchwork of injuries covering my body.The massive gash across my shoulder had been stitched close, the thr

Ryan POV:I collapsed back onto the bed. My body was still hit with bone-deep weakness, the wound across my shoulder throbbing with vicious agony.Whatever toxin those bastards used, it made the raw pain hundreds of times worse than usual.Corie was right. In my current shape, leaving was sheer suicide.Yet I was desperate to report back to Lucian—desperate to hunt down the Pack responsible for the ambush.Lucian needed me. Shadowfang needed me. And the cowards who attacked us had to pay in blood.And yet, when Corie confronted me with her eyes burning red, I found myself completely incapable of saying no to her.She had risked her life to drag me back from the grave, nearly plunging off a cliff in the process.The last thing I wanted was to fight her.Besides... part of me deeply wanted to stay right here by her side.Corie strung up a thin curtain beside the bed, walling me off from the villagers coming in for treatment.Once she finished sorting her herbs, the stream of patients be

Corie POV:"Nobody cares about me.""How do you know there isn't?"The air went dead silent, broken only by the distant bird chirps through the canopy.Ryan’s gaze burned into mine with heavy intensity.I averted my eyes, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear."Whether anyone cares or not... it doesn't matter to me anymore."He took a step closer. "You're the kindest girl I've ever met, Corie."A wave of heat rushed to my cheeks. I forced a quiet chuckle."You're surprisingly good at comforting people...” I paused a beat. “We... need to get back to work. Night falls fast in these woods."Ryan carrying the heavy herb basket. We wove through the dense forest, stopping and starting along the trail.We didn't talk much.Yet whenever he spotted a clump of pretty wildflowers, he would pluck a few and hand them to me.He kept a sharp eye on my path, warning me about loose rocks and hidden roots.Whenever we hit a steep incline, he would stride ahead, then turned back to pull me throug

Corie POV:The guests were all gone, leaving the tiny cabin enveloped in silence once more.Meave rubbed her stiff shoulders, her eyes lingering on me for a long time."He left?""Yeah."I walked over to massage her shoulders, forcing my face into a mask of complete indifference."It's for the best," she said quietly. "You shouldn't have gotten too close to him anyway.""Yeah."Meave's expression remained unreadable, calm and completely detached.I couldn't understand it.Warm and compassionate as she was, she had never stopped me from helping a single patient before.Why was Ryan the only exception?~ ~ ~I began tidying up the cabin.Picking up a bowl from the table, a memory flashed through my mind—How I'd held him in my arms, spooning the herbal broth into his mouth, one sip at a time.On the nightstand, his patient shirt sat neatly folded.I quietly lifted the pillow, checking to see if he had left anything behind.Nothing. Not a single trace.An empty ache hollowed out my chest