Chapter 11

Beth's POV “I’m going with you.” “No.” Aaron was unwilling at first, but I stubbornly stood in front of him and gave him no other choice than to go with me if he had to go. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but I was more than happy to go with him, as long as he was by my side, I knew that indeed, it would be fine. He gave me a sweater to protect me from the cold first before I followed him out of the pack house. We didn’t walk that close, but I could already hear Joe's roar in the distance. I could feel my heart beating faster and my legs shaking with every step I took toward Joe. I also began to imagine crazy things about how our meeting would go and it scared me all the more. However, I had to be there with Aaron. I may be useless to him. But I can’t leave him alone. Alone like me before. When we finally met face to face with Joe, he had a surprised look as if he was not expecting to see me. I can only understand his shock since even I didn’t know I was going to be alive and strong enough to walk towards him. Wasn’t it a miracle? Just a few hours ago I was sure that I was going to die, I had wished for it over the pain I was going through and I felt it coming. But I stood up to my bully, my nightmare, not for me, but for my mate. I don’t want him to face this devil alone. But his shocked expression only lasted a minute as it was replaced by an angry look. "Beth! Give me back my potion! You must have drunk my potion. That's the only explanation for why you can get better. I saved your life! Damn it! You stole my potion!" Those were Joe’s first words to me. Potion? What potion? I looked up at Aaron who took a step forward and blocked me behind him, which gave me a sense of security. Aaron frowned as he tried to hold back his anger. "Watch your mouth. Beth didn't drink your potion and it was Luna Grace gave it to me. No one stole it. " Joe sneered with anxiety flashing through his eyes. "If it's useless, give the bottle of potion back to me!" Joe said, snapping his fingers impatiently. "Some of the werewolves in the pack are sick, and they need that bottle of potion. ” Joe said not backing down. "Beth, it's all yours fault! You are the reason that got them sick. Don't you have to pay for that?" Joe was mad. His clothes were about to be torn apart by his muscles, which were already bulging because of his anger. He rushed to me with a raised arm that would any moment from now land on my face. This scene was so familiar to me. In fact, I was already used to it. I closed my eyes in anticipation of the slap, but it never came. Instead, there was a ‘bang!’ Sound around me. I opened my eyes just in time to see Aaron holding Joe's wrist, preventing him from hitting me. Aaron threw Joe to the ground and pressed his knee against Joe's neck. Joe's eyes were filled with unwillingness and anger, but he no longer had the strength to resist. At least in front of Aaron, he needed to admit that he was not omnipotent. Instead of continuing to torture Joe, Aaron released Joe's body and said through gritted teeth word by word, "Get lost! And don't ever let me see you again." Joe stood up dejected; He had no choice but to leave. He patted off the dust on his body and walked away sorrowfully. Just when I took my eyes off of him, he suddenly stopped moving. Joe turned his back to look at me, enabling me to see the raw hatred he had for me in them before he spoke. "Beth, this isn't over..." … We went back to the pack house and I fell to sleep again the moment Aaron put me into bed. "Aaron!" The man who came in to inform Aaron of Joe suddenly came running towards us. "Arc is here." He reported. Arc? I heard the talk in my sleep and opened my eyes. I wasn’t sure where I heard it from, but I knew it sounded familiar. “You’re awake,” Aaron helped me up and pointed at the man next to him, "This is Peter, my Beta, my most trusted friend. You can turn to him if you need anything,” he said, “He will help you." Peter nodded and gave me a warm smile. "While you were in a coma, the doctor of our pack requested Arc's help. Arc is the best healer, but he's always moving from pack to pack, so it took us a while to find him," Aaron quickly explained to me when he heard the footsteps outside. Then he opened the door, and a man entered. When I saw him, my breath involuntarily hiked up. Seeing the healer here meant my case was really very serious, and I probably wasn’t as healed as I thought I was. Was I going to die soon? A day, a week, or a month? Anxiety took over the best of me as I anticipated the man’s verdict about my health. Arc came in front of me with a lot of things. He put all kinds of instruments on my body and gave me a full body checkup. “Just call me Arc, please,” he asks, pronouncing it like ‘Mark’ – minus the ‘m’, of course. “Hate the damned name; fucking parents must have been high when they name me. Damn it all to hell.” I laugh a little at that, and Aaron smiles his 100-watt grin at the sound, making me blush a little. It’s strange how easy it is for me to be open around him – even though I still have a lot of boundaries, a lot of things I can’t seem to force myself to do or say, I’m a lot more comfortable with him than I thought I would be. Arc runs a few different tests on me, drawing blood from my elbow with a terrifying needle that I cringed at, just looking at it. I had a subconscious fear of them due to my past, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to forget them all. After all, this time, it was for my own good. Aaron held my hand and looked at Arc. Like me, he was also nervous. He asked in a tense voice, "How is she doing?" "She is very healthy." He said with a hint of surprise. His gaze swept past my ribs, and he said in a calm and objective tone, "As far as I'm concerned, her life is not in danger. She's no different from a normal werewolf. She may live." I couldn't help but raise my hands to cover my face as warm tears trickled down between my fingers. Arc's judgment made me too excited that tears of joy couldn’t help but drop from my face. Aaron was also very happy, he hugged me tightly that I could feel the hurt coming from his strong touch, but I knew it was all due to excitement. At the end of all the testing, Arc looks troubled. I play with my hands, trying to focus on anything but the worried look on his face as his gaze darts from me to Aaron, back and forth. “Well, Beth,” Arc starts, clearly gathering his thoughts. “It’s just like I thought; your wolf is strong – astoundingly so, for someone who went through what you must have. I’ve heard about what that previous Healer has…um… said to you, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. You’re not going to die, Beth.” Arc picked up the phial on the ground and examined the remaining liquid inside. I wanted to ask him if something was wrong, but Arc had already placed it on the cabinet and said, "Nevertheless, you still need medicine to recover fully. " After a pause, Arc said thoughtfully, “A certain medicine. It’s hard to get.” “What are we going to do? No matter what the costs, say it!” Aaron speaks both of our thoughts, and Arc fidgets uncomfortably. Arc was a bit hesitant before he finished speaking. "Beth’s mate, which means you, Aaron, your wolf's eyes.” His voice was suddenly cold and distant. "Is that a price you are willing to pay?" Arc left the cruel choice to Aaron.