Chapter 8

Aaron’s POV “Beth…” I called her name while still looking at her puffy eyes and her pale face. I sat by the bed and held her in my arms, I could see my reflection in Beth’s eyes, but apart from that, there was only sadness there. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see her despair as I let my head inch down towards her face until my lip made contact with hers. Her lips were already so dry and pale, there were cracks on her lips too, but I didn’t bother about all those things. I just fulfilled her wish and kissed her passionately. With my eyes closed, I could feel her tears streaming down from her eyes to my hand. There was also a sharp pain in my lips which made me look at her to see that her lips were also stained with blood. I wondered if it was my blood or hers when I suddenly felt Beth’s body become motionless in my arms. “Beth! Beth!” I frantically called her name, but she was no longer responding to me. "PETER. WHERE IS HAVEN?" I suppressed my anger and shouted. As I asked, our pack doctor, a middle-aged woman named Haven, is standing in my room, loads of medical supplies I can’t name thrown across my desk, that has been dragged to the side of my bed. She gasps when she sees my mate, and I grit my teeth together, lying her out on my bed gently. The second she’s out of my hold, I feel unnaturally cold and empty. My wolf screams at me in my head for letting her go, and I reach out to touch her again, when Haven shoves herself in between my mate and me, blocking her from view. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, okay, what do I do?” Haven mutters to herself, holding my mate’s arm and turning it over and over in her hands. “Okay, listen, Aaron. In any other situation, I’d get you to leave the room, because I’m going to have to do a lot of stitching, and pump a lot of fluids back into her, and you’re not going to like it, because it will hurt her.” I growl lowly at her, but she continues on, unfazed. “But I need you to stay here, to strengthen her wolf. Just do as I say.” I lay down, holding my mate’s left side to mine, grinning as spark ignite my body, and glance at Haven again. “What do you mean, strengthen her wolf?” “See how she isn’t healing yet? If her wolf was still strong, then she should be healing by now, but she isn’t. That means that her wolf must have given up, for whatever reason. Being around your mate strengthens your wolf, makes it feel a million times better than it ever has, makes it complete, all of that stuff. You can help! She’s obviously damaged, and suffering malnutrition. She’s weak, Aaron, and there’s no guaranteeing she’ll be all right.” By the end of her mini-speech, my mouth is dry. I’m glad I can help, of course, but something she said scares me. She can’t be anything but okay, I won’t allow it. “What do you mean, her wolf gave up?” She sighs, running a hand through her hair, shuffling things around on the desk. Gesturing over her shoulder at us, she says, “Look at her, Aaron. Does she look healthy? You have to see the scars covering her. And, guessing by the cut marks on her wrist… I think she did this, Aaron. No, actually, I’m sure she tried to do this to herself. To kill herself. For that to work, both the human side and the wolf side have to give up. They need to lose all hope, all reason for living. That’s what it means to break, or give up. It’s when you think you have nothing left, so you give up on living.” I frowned and kept her back on the bed, then ordered Haven, "Save her at all costs.” I turn my chin up a bit, running my eyes over her shrunken stomach and almost skeletal body, her skin so thin and pale it looked translucent. Her body is thinner than I thought possible – no curves, no meat on her bones, nothing. ‘It looks like she’s starved,’ my wolf whispers, and I whimper, pulling her closer to me. Scars are running up and down her body, and my blood boils when I wonder where she got them. Either someone gave them to her, or someone made her feel so bad about herself, that she would create them on her beautiful body. I growl at the thought, my hands shaking as my wolf wants to get out. I pull her even closer, burying my face back in her hair, and breathing in her stunning scent. I’ll find out who had hurt her, I vow, and I’ll destroy them. For now, though, I’m not leaving her side. Haven's expression was very serious. Her hands moved quickly, and she said to me pessimistically, "She hurt very badly." She took out bandages and potions to help Beth with simple bandages and treatments as she continued talking, "But I'll do my best." Haven finally put the bottles away with a relieved look which also made me mirror her look. She injected one final injection into Beth before covering her body with a thin quilt and faced me. "It’s a miracle that she was able to hold on to this time with such injuries.” She said. "But her ribs are broken. Aaron, I can't do anything about it now, but I’ve already given her enough first aid for the time being. " As Haven spoke, the joy that filled my heart decreased and was filled with worry. I sat by the bed and let Beth's body lean on me so that her back was against my chest, and her protruding bones made me feel pain both physically and mentally. But I called myself down, it was still a good thing that she’s alive now. We’ll treat her in the future and make sure that she’s healed. I pulled her into my embrace and held onto her hands, but then I felt a bulge coming from her hand. Out of curiosity, I looked at her hand and saw a phial that seemed to be glowing. I reached out and unfolded her arms from the bottle to see that it was an ordinary container, but it contained a golden liquid that was shining I raised the phial to the setting sun outside. I found a quick flash of red mingled with the golden liquid. What was this?