Guarding Omega

15

Ivory felt cautious. This was all too much for her. No one ever treated her with such kindness - except Alice. It was a matter of seconds until she's done something wrong and got punished. And being treated like this by the Alpha and his healers was something she didn't want to end but she didn't also want to get lost in it and come crashing down by reality moments later.

Wrapping the soft towel around her scarred body, Ivory took a deep breath in and out. Lola was right. She could already feel the effect of eucalyptus and her body needed that kind of treatment, like a person finding water in the desert after wandering around for countless days.

Though her heart and soul were swimming in uncertainty. Strange feelings hit her the moment she woke up and found herself in this place. Feelings she had forgotten were registered within and were possible to feel.

It's been so long since she felt... safe.

Could this new place be her salvation? Could this be a new start? She thought.

Before she walks out of the bathroom Ivory turned and look at her reflection in the huge mirror covering almost the entire wall. Her pale skin was covered with a light veil of redness from the heat of the water but she wasn't feeling pain. On the contrary, the feeling was pleasurable. Two dark semicircles had made an appearance below her chestnut-brown eyes. The signs of exhaustion and abuse were still there - scars from cuts on her arms beginning from her wrists and expanding up to her shoulders. Curiosity with dread was fighting in her mind as the thought to look at her back struck her mind.

Ivory turned until her back was visible - as she looked above her shoulder back to the mirror - and let the towel slowly drop. Her breath caught short in her lungs as she gasped when a maze of whip lines uncovered behind the towel. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. Her lips were trembling, slightly open and trying to take in a breath. A lump formed in her chest, rising in her throat and blocking any attempt to voice her feelings.

The skin on her back was a mix of different shades, depending on the consistency of each wound. Some were completely healed, leaving a white skin line when the cut was created. Others, were light brown, still under recovery. Some had a dark brown line of dried blood - wiped away in some places - as the skin below was healing. And others were still fresh, with a semi-transparent pinkish substance filling the place where the flesh had separated.

Her face was moisturised with the tears falling down like rivers from below her eyes. They had destroyed her. Physically and mentally. And she was shaking with fear when she realised the scars in her soul. The physical pain was manageable. Severe but temporary. Though the pain in her soul was slow and burning, turning her life into a wasteland and vanishing any fragment of happiness from her path.

Her pupils dilate as panic overcomes her. She lets her mouth drop open, trying desperately to inhale, but her system is shutting down. She wants to scream, to call for help, but no voice comes out. Feeling dizzy, Ivory lets the towel fall on the ground as she turns and plants her hands at the sides of the basin for support. Eyes shutting closed, she tries to fight alone and prays that someone will find her before it's too late.

Ivory tried to look around but her vision was blurred. As her strength was starting to give up on her, she heard someone calling her name in shock. A woman. Someone grabbed her and the soft fabric of the towel united with her bare flesh again. Guiding her to sit on the floor, a pair of hands planted on each side of her face.

"Look at me. Focus only on me." the female voice resonated and Ivory unobjectively obeyed. Trying to concentrate, her vision started to clear until the face of Lola appeared before her.

"Come on, breathe with me." Lola's voice was coated with agony. "Inhale" she drew air from her nose, "Exhale" she blew the air from her nose. "Come on, Ivory. You can do this. Follow me."

She kept repeating the process until Ivory managed to follow her. Lola was softly rubbing her temples throughout this, relieving the stress and enabling her to breathe. The air filled violently her lungs and Ivory burst into a cough.

"It's all right, we've got you." Lola kept talking to her, drawing one hand away from Ivory's face and bringing it to her back, gently rubbing it.

The movement was smooth and Ivory felt her body finally relaxing a bit. Her body remembered the breathing process and now the struggle had fainted. As the dizziness was slipping away, Ivory gained control over her body.

She found Lola smiling at her and she tried to mirror her reflection by letting a tired smile form on her lips. The last sentence of Lola settled in the pit of her mind. We've got you.

Wait, who else was in there?