No.7

POV Calvin.

I wake up with an excruciating pain in my abdomen. I slowly open my eyes, I am dazzled by all the light in my room, since when is there so much light here? Something rests on my arm, I look down and see a brown mane. It's her. What is she doing here? What the hell! She's beautiful, her hair in a mess that covers her face, I clear her face and she rubs her nose, I catch myself smiling like an idiot. I close my eyes again for a few seconds. 

And all the memories come back to the surface. The rescue of Adrian, the trap set by the hunters to kill us. Mich who didn't see the blow they were going to give him coming and me pushing Mich, then this searing pain on my stomach. I can still see that blade piercing my skin. I don't remember what happened next. But I still remember that my wolf was in a lot of pain, and scared too.

 He refused to let me emerge for fear of seeing me suffer. So he stayed in control. I take off my blanket to look at my wounds. I haven't completely healed yet, they still hurt like hell. I decide to get up, but I immediately fall back on the bed. With great difficulty. I get up and go into the living room, Mich and Cora are sitting there talking. As soon as Cora sees me, she runs over to me to support me with a stern look. 

"You shouldn't have gotten up. "

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"Four days. "

"Well! I did have to get up then. " 

She sits me down on a couch and then arranges the cushions behind me so I can be comfortable. Mich watches us without saying anything, he doesn't need to talk, I can tell by his hard look that he is angry. 

"What happened? I don't remember anything. "

"You tried to play hero. You took a blow that was meant for me. "My friend says in a harsh voice. 

I look at him without saying anything. He continues.

"Don't ever do that again. I would have blamed myself for the rest of my life if you had stayed like that. "

"Mich..." I say, lowering my head.

"No, listen to me. You didn't see the state you were in. Your belly was completely open with all that blood. And you refused to turn so you could heal. I was so afraid of losing you. The whole pack was afraid. You're the alpha shit! The one who needs to be protected is you. Don't ever do that again. " 

This is the first time I've seen him like this. 

"Was I really that bad? " 

"I didn't want to lose another friend. Not after what happened. "

I see Cora's eyes fill with sadness at the mention of this event.

"But you could have been there yourself. There's no telling what would have happened if Penelope hadn't been there. "

I look at him in amazement.

"What does she have to do with it? "

"You changed back to human form after smelling her. While you were fending off anyone who tried to approach you, she managed to do something extraordinary. "

 

"What? You mean she approached me when I was in this state?"  

He shakes his head to say yes.

"You let a human approach me in the middle of a transformation? " I asked puzzled. "And no one thought to stop her? I could have killed her for God's sake! "

He shook his head and walked towards me with his eyes filled with anger. 

"You think no one tried to stop it? I tried to, but she's as stubborn as you are. And yes we were so desperate we would have done anything to turn you into a human. "

"What did she do exactly? "

"I don't know to tell you the truth. " He said, running a hand through his hair. "It seemed like you were communicating through your eyes and she was soothing your pain. 

"That girl will always amaze me. " I said in a voice I didn't recognize myself.

"Who are you telling? " He replies.

 I keep quiet and look out the window, why did she act like that? She clearly said what she thought of me. I am a monster. Who will never live up to her ex-fiance's standards. I already knew she was engaged to a fallen soldier, a war hero. We do research on everyone who ventures out here. I also knew that she was struggling with the loss, what I didn't know was why. I mean we all lose someone at some point. You never get used to it, but you end up living with it. So how did I or did I think I could compete with him?

 So why should this loss be more painful than others? So much so that she continues to live as if her fiancé is still with us? Is this her way of accepting grief? That I will never know. And I don't want to know anymore, it's her life and she does what makes her happy. I've given enough, I've been nice and all that goes with it. To the point of letting her say I'm a monster, I could have killed her if it was anyone else. A noise from the other side of the room catches my attention, she is standing. My gaze is anchored to hers, I first read relief, then it gives way to sorrow, she looks exhausted, big dark circles surround her eyes, and her hair is in disorder, you can see that she just got out of bed. Too bad it's not me who put this mess in her hair, even like this I still manage to want her, my wolf growls, agitates inside me. She looks at Mich and Cora, who in turn look at me, she wants to talk, but her excuses I don't want. She said exactly what she thought of me, of my nature. So she doesn't have to apologize for being frank. I hold up a finger to shut her up before she can say anything.

"Mich will walk you out. "

I stand up with great difficulty then walk towards her. Once near her, I whisper in her ear. 

"Thank you for everything you've done. But you shouldn't have put yourself in danger for someone like me, you know a monster. "

Then I go back to my room, we have nothing more to talk about. I hear the floor creaking behind me. It's Cora. 

"You're being a little too hard on her. " 

"You mean like a monster? "

She smiles. 

"You're the most resentful guy I know. " 

"Gotta say, you don't know many. "

"Stop it, it doesn't work with me. She's been looking out for you, all this time you've been sick. You should at least listen to her, don't you think? "

"We'll see, Cora. Right now I just want to rest. "

His expression turns worried. 

"Are you even healing? Let me see. "

 She helps me lie down on the bed, undoes my bandages and examines my wounds. Cora joined our pack a long time ago, she was married to Simon who was my best friend as well as Michael. He died saving my father's life in a battle with vampires. I miss him very much, I take Cora's hand. She looks up at me. Her eyes are filled with tears. I can't even imagine what she's been going through lately, still seeing death so close. 

"I'm sorry I mentioned Simon's death. And also that you are in this state. "

"Don't worry about it. " She said. "I understand perfectly. "I would have felt the same way if something had happened to you or Michael. You're my only family now. "

 I hold her until her sobs subside. 

"Come on, it's okay! Stop making me cry. You need to recover. "

"Okay I will. How's Sasha?"

 She is Cora and Simon's daughter, she is nine years old, she adores Michael and me. We were her daddy's brothers. She smiles before answering me. 

"She's fine! She's worried about her Uncle Cal and she wants to come see him. I told her that you need to rest. Because I know both of you! " 

"As soon as I get better I'll come see you. "

"I'll tell her. Get ready because she's going to want to bake you cookies." 

"Good timing, I miss her delicious cookies. " I say with a smile. 

She drops a kiss on my forehead and walks away. Leaving me alone with my dark thoughts. When I wake up, my mother is at my bedside. She caresses my brown hair, with a smile on her lips and eyes clouded by tears. 

"My darling. "She says, placing a kiss on my forehead. 

I smile as I look at her.

"You gave us a good scare, boy. "

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Don't apologize at all. I understand perfectly. After the pain of Simon's death, you didn't want to lose another one of your brothers! "

"If they fell into that trap, it's my fault. I didn't analyze the situation properly before rushing into it. " 

"Maybe, but if you had delayed too long God knows what would have happened to that poor little baby. I'm proud of you. Frank was here, he told me everything. "

Hearing my mother tell me that she is proud of me warms my heart. 

"There's nothing to be proud of. Would you sacrifice your life for a friend? In a game of chess, the King is the most important, the one you have to protect. " 

"What would the king be without his knights? "

"Pfff..."

I close my eyes so I don't have to bear the sight of my father, who will undoubtedly give me a hard time. I don't regret at all what I did, if I had to do it again, I would do it again without any doubt, Mich saved my life so many times that I don't count them anymore and I don't care if my father is angry, anyway, nothing I do is good enough for him so I might as well live my life as I want.