Beauty, the Beasts and Other

Chapter 29

My under eyes were swollen and sensitive from the number of times I'd wiped tears from my eyes. I refused to leave Harvey's side. Though he was clean now, the image of Curtis carrying him in the house bloody and battered, was etched in my mind to the point where I had lost my appetite.

If it weren't for my cute tiger cubs that depended on my good nutrition to acquire their own, I'm sure I would be wasting away.

When Harvey was brought in yesterday, I barely spared Talia the time to bid her goodbye. I remember her well wishes and promises of being packed and ready to leave the city by the end of the week.

Curtis had told me that based on the scent of the leopard, he would be fine in about two days. I was relieved to hear he would recover so soon. So, I didn't leave because I didn't want to miss greeting him when he woke up.

Who was brave enough to do such a thing I wonder? When I found out, they better wish that they were miles away from this city.

This one simply could not be let go. If the person who did this did it as a joke, I'll make sure that they never find humor in life again.

"Isa?"

I jumped up as I heard Harvey softly rasp out my name and reached for a cup of water. I lifted his head and allowed him to drink slowly.

When he was done, I placed the cup to the side and slowly laid his head down once more. He had a slowly healing gash on one of his arms that made it hard for him to move it, as well as multiple bite marks scattered over his stomach and legs.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, using a cool, wet rag to wipe his forehead.

"I'm in pain but I'll heal in two or three days," he said.

"That's good, you have no idea how worried I was," I said. "I tried feeding you some emeralds, but the others told me it would stunt your endurance, are you sure you don't want at least one?"

Harvey hummed, "I'm sure, it isn't recommended that males use it if they can endure."

"That's bullshit. I'll let it pass this time, but if something like this happens again, or if I just see the need, you're going to be choking on emeralds, got it?"

Harvey gave me a small smile before he winced, "Got it."

My expression turned serious as I placed a hand on his cheek and lightly caressed him. "Who did it, my love?"

"A group of wolves attacked me suddenly as I was returning home from seeing a patient," he said.

"Wolves only?"

"Yeah, a group of ten wolves. A bit much to attack someone with one stripe, especially if they weren't going to kill me."