Thorn (Werewolf) ✔

Chapter Seventeen

THORN

Light coughing wakes me up in the early morning. Devon starts stirring and her hand gently whacks into the side of my face. I'm kneeling down at her bed with my head next to her leg. I slept through the transition.

I look up at her. Her eyes start to open slowly. She blinks for a few moments before she rests her gaze on my face and then she looks down at my chest. I'm so relieved that she's awake that I don't care that I'm not wearing clothes.

Her hazel-brown eyes are sparkling with life. They are beautiful. Every inch of her is.

"You're naked again," she whispers.

I laugh and take her hand, rubbing against it softly. "You really scared me."

She raises an eyebrow just slightly. "Why?"

"You just did. How do you feel?"

"My arm hurts," she says, trying to turn her head to look at it. "What is that?" She stares worriedly at the thick, green paste.

"It's a very rare herb used to speed up healing. It worked, your wound is almost closed." I look around the floor for my clothes. "Hang on a moment."

I start dressing myself with my back to her. I turn around to see her staring at the ceiling and then she looks all around the hut with confusion.

"Where are we?" she says. "Did I hit my head?"

"No. I brought you to some people that helped."

"What people?" she says frantically, trying to push herself out of the bed. "You can't trust anyone. We have to leave, we have to-"

"Woah. Calm down," I say, walking to her side. I push her back into the bed and she scowls at me. I've missed that scowl. "We can trust them. I promise."

"But-"

"Drink this," I say, forcing the cup to her lips. "Three sips."

"What is it?"

"A painkiller. It'll help."

She accedes and relaxes back into the bed as she takes sips. Her face cringes at the taste and she almost spits it back out. I pass her the cup of water and she gulps so fast that I have to take it away from her. I hear someone approaching the hut. Her eyes go over my shoulder and she starts to panic.

"Who is that?"

"Her name is Balan. She's going to look over you."

Devon nods but she keeps her distrustful gaze on Balan as she walks over to the bed. I can see in her eyes how confused she is. I don't think she realizes just how close to death she was.

"Hello," Balan says. "What's your name?"

"Davina," she says.

I bite on my lip. "Devon, you can trust her."

"Can I?" she mumbles.

"It's okay. I have trust issues too," Balan says as she picks Devon's arm up and slowly twists it. She places it back down. "It's healing nicely. I'm going to check there's no nerve damage, can you move your fingers?"

Devon's fingers move slowly and then she cries out. She wraps her fingers around her arm and rocks slightly.

"The opiates will help with the pain," Balan says. "Take three sips every few hours. It's very strong so you should start to feel its effects soon."

"How long until she fully recovers?" I say.

"Well, given that the herb is working, as long as you keep applying it to her chest and wound then she should be fully recovered in a couple of days."