Chapter ten

Aliyah opened her eyes and groaned to the stinging pain that rushed from her leg throughout her body. “You are okay, you are okay,” she heard Sean whispered as he grabbed her hand. She tightened her hand on his and her eyelids slowly fluttered open. He smiled at her seeing she was awake. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a lorry ran down on me,” she replied huskily.

Sean chuckled. “Well, considered what you have been through, to a human, it must surely feel like they have been run down by a lorry.” Aliyah smiled and tried to sit up but Sean held her down, “not yet, you are still too weak.”

“Come on Sean, what am I, a human?” she rolled her eyes and insisted on getting up but when she moved her leg, a sharp pain shot through her and she shivered in the pain. Sean rushed and held her, helping her to lie back down. “It was a dangerous poison right?” she hissed due to the pain.

“Yes, but don’t worry, Catherine is doing her best to detoxify it. You will be good to go in no time.”

Aliyah nodded as it was too painful to speak. Silence ensued and when the pain had subsided a little, she asked, “dad picked up me last night, right?”

“It wasn’t last night, it was two nights ago.”

“Two nights?” her eyes revealed her shock.

Sean nodded, “you have been asleep for two days straight.”

“Damn,” she whispered, “and yet I still feel weak.”

“Yeah, Catherine mentioned you would be like that.”

“My leg hurts more than my body,” she whispered.

“About that,” Sean bit his lip but his action had grabbed her attention, “you were poisoned with Garuda flower.”

“What?”

“And it was coated with wolfsbane.”

“Another what? Does the hunter want to kill me or what?” she grumbled but then she noticed that Sean was unnecessary quiet and she glanced at him. “Why do I feel like you are leaving an important detail out?”

Sean sighed and looked up at her, “Aliyah, Catherine said the poison was in you for a long time and also since it would be hard to detoxify that before she can be done with everything, it would have already done a damage on you. She has been trying since the past two days but there is still a little bit of the poison left in you.”

“What is the price I have to pay?” she asked softly.

“Catherine fears you might not be able to use your leg again.”

“What?” Aliyah asked, “how…I mean…” her eyes clouded over and it wasn’t long, the tears started cascading down her cheeks. “No, it can’t be, I refuse to accept this. I think Catherine is too old to know what she is doing.”

“Aliyah,” Sean rushed to stop her from spouting nonsense. “Catherine is the best healer any wolf knows. Have you forgotten how wolves from other packs seek for her medical expertise? Listen, your leg is still attached on you because she was the one that treated you. Everyone knows that the best way to treat Garuda poison if the victim wasn’t dead already was to cut off the source of contact. You should be thankful to her; at least, there is hope, a big hope.”

“There is no hope if I can’t use my leg, Sean!” she yelled.

“You haven’t truly lost it for crying out loud, there is some poison in you and its still being detoxified. There is a probability you can be able to walk properly once it’s done,” Sean yelled. “Come on, look at the better picture here, you are only worrying about your leg. Do you have any idea the part we found you in? What do you think would have happened if a nightwalker had stumbled upon you looking as weak as you were, do you think you would have just been worrying over a leg?”

Aliyah had wanted to reply ferociously but his words had slapped her words back into her mouth as his face came to her mind. Those midnight blue eyes, those lips, that face, everything seemed to rush back to her mind like a tap of memories has been opened. Their encounter, how he had helped her, the glowing of his red eyes when he saw her blood, how he had quickly healed from her claws wound. She slumped on the bed, her earlier worry forgotten. “Sean,” she whispered.

Seeing how calmed she had become, Sean calmed as well and grabbed her hand, “listen, I know you are worried but I have fate in Catherine, there is no wolf brought to her that she wasn’t able to cure. She would cure you, I believe in that. We just have to give her time, it would only be temporal.” He reached forward and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s all my fault though, if I had insisted that you weren’t going anywhere, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Aliyah glanced at him then, her eyes were clear as water. “Sean,” she whispered again, “is it possible for a nightwalker to heal from our claw wounds in seconds?”

Sean frowned as the question was totally different from what they were talking about, “no, why?”

Aliyah furrowed her brows, “although the treaty is on, but has a nightwalker ever meet a wolf and not fight to kill?”

“It has never been recorded. I won’t see a nightwalker and let him go if I know I would win the fight, likewise them. The treaty is only keeping us from being at war; it’s not stopping us from having personal fights. Everyone knows that.”

Aliyah nodded, “yeah, everyone knows that,” she whispered. The strange nightwalker’s action playing in her mind, rather than kill her, he had actually pried open the teeth of the trap for her. She had hurt him, but not only did he not kill her, he wasn’t even angry at her, what happened?

“Aliyah, why all these questions, did something happen that night?” Sean asked worriedly.

Aliyah turned to him, she doesn’t know how to begin telling him what happened and then the door opened and she was happy with the intrusion. “You are awake,” a gentle voice said and she turned to the door to see Catherine entering with a steaming bowl. “I have just finished preparing these herbs for you. It’s good you are awake so that you will take them on your own.”

“Catherine, will I be able to walk properly again or am I going to limp for the rest of my life?” Aliyah asked.

Catherine smiled and placed the bowl on the vanity; she went to her and undid her bandage to have a clear look on her wound, “you should be more thankful that you are alive rather than worrying over a leg.”

“You know why I’m worried Catherine, I am the alpha’s daughter, I should be among the strong wolves, not the weak and deformed one.”

Catherine smiled, “nevertheless, you should be happy that you are alive.”

“I am happy, but Catherine…”

“You should have some more rest, you have big day tonight.” She went and picked up the bowl again.

“Big night? What’s happening tonight?” Aliyah asked and glanced at Sean who was looking downcast. “Sean, what’s happening?”

“Here,” Catherine passed her the bowl, “take this, it will give you some strength before nighttime and make sure you finished every last drop, okay?” she sighed and tucked Aliyah’s hair behind her ear. “You need to be strong, girl, so save your strength,” saying that, she turned and left the room.

Aliyah turned to Sean immediately, “Sean, what is going on?”

Sean sighed. “Everyone knows you went to the human realm and you got hurt because you broke the rule.”

Aliyah’s grip on the bowl tightened, “I’m to be punished,” she whispered.

Sean nodded. “Alpha said you are to be punished whenever you wake up.”

“But I’m…I’m still too weak.”

Sean scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “It has been the same with every other wolf that broke the rule. According to Alpha, you have already been pardoned enough, other wolves were punished on the night they broke the rule but you…you were given the grace to rest and be treated first. It caused an uproar yesterday, families of the wolves that had been punished were calling Alpha out for being partial towards you and some of them threatened to report to the High Howlers if he doesn’t do the right thing. Catherine saved the day by saying that other wolves were punished on the day because they were not poisoned and have their strength with them, whereas you were not only poisoned but with Garuda flower and wolfsbane. So if they don’t want you to die, they should really let you rest before your punishment.”

Aliyah nodded, “alright then, I am not afraid of being punished but I will need to regain more strength, no one knows I have woken up so, I can pretend to still be asleep.”

Sean sighed and shrugged, “Ali, Catherine told everyone you will wake up this morning; it’s why I’m here, because I wanted to be with you when you wake up. And you know Catherine; she will never indulge anyone so I’m sure your dad would already know by now that you are awake.”

Aliyah nodded and closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry Ali, I had no choice but to tell them where you went and imagine if I hadn’t, you would have been dead by now.”

“It’s alright Sean, I’m not blaming you,” she smiled softly to him and sighed. “I guess it’s inevitable,” she looked down at the bowl with a sigh and closing her eyes, she drank the bitter medicine in a gulp. She gasped and burbled, “yeesh, I hate Catherine’s medicines.”

Sean smiled knowing she was trying to lighten the mood. He caressed her hair, “hey, you are the toughest she-wolf that I know, that punishment will be nothing.”

Aliyah smiled. “Of course, it will be a piece of cake.”

Sean grinned and rubbed her back, “lay back down, you need the rest.”

Aliyah nodded and did as she was told. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being pampered by Sean as she refused to think of what awaits her tonight.