Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Forty-six

*I gotta stop writing with melancholy music in the back. Sorry for the feels y'all. Cider is coming.

"Shuu? What's wrong? Does it hurt?" I leaned closer to him worriedly.

Harvey had come back in once Bai had left and he also moved closer to check on his patient. Shuu slowly lifted himself up and shook his head in negation.

I placed a hand on the uninjured skin of his shoulder. "Don't get up yet. You're still healing"

Harvey took the fever reducer and handed it to Shuu. "Drink." He said gently.

Shuu did what Harvey told him to and drained the cup before handing it back. In that time, he seemed to have regained control over his emotions. "Thank you. I am in your debt again. How did I get here?"

"Oliver brought you." I answered. "But you really shouldn't be up yet." I was worried. The wounds were still bleeding and oozing. They were still inflamed and it would be days before they closed up enough for him to be moving around. I lightly pushed his shoulder to indicate he should lay back down but he didn't budge.

His expression fell and he looked sad again. "I didn't think he would be so worried as to bring me here. I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you." He looked around the cabin. "Where is Oliver?"

"He went hunting with Winston. They won't be gone long." Harvey reassured him. "And you really should lay down."

He looked at the floor. "Thank you. But I'll be fine. I'm used to it. I don't want to burden you further." His ears were drooped and he looked like a kicked puppy.

This pup was giving us so much lip, and what did he mean by 'used to it'? If you're a patient, then you should listen to what your doctor says!

"Shuu..." I said, irritation in my voice. "Lay down." I commanded.

He finally looked me straight in the eyes then. They were wide in surprise and his face turned a little pink. Then he nodded and finally did what I asked, laying back down on his stomach.

Relieved that he was finally listening, I said, "Good boy. Now, who did this to you?"

"I failed to follow the Ape King's wishes, so I was punished." He said nonchalantly.

That motherfucking sadistic piece of shit for a male! How many times had this happened that the wolf was so blasé about it?!

I had to take a few deep breaths while I tried to calm the tempest within me.

"I'm sorry." Shuu said pathetically as he misread the direction of my anger. His puppy dog eyes looked at me with such regret over his failures that I couldn't handle it. I put my hands over his eyes.

Was this why he had been crying earlier? Did he really feel that guilty about coming here as a patient?

"Shuu. I'm not your mate or your blood... but if you let someone hurt you like this one more time, I will personally remove their hands from their wrists." His body went stiff at my words and I think he even stopped breathing. "Do you understand me?" I pressed.

After a moment, he nodded once with my hands still covering his eyes. The skin around my fingers was turning redder.

"Good. Now close your eyes and go back to sleep. I don't want to see you trying to get up for the next three days. You will do whatever Harvey tells you to." I didn't wait for an answer. I stood up and without a second glance at him, strode out the door. Once I was outside, I turned back around and threw a punch at the stone building as hard as I could.

Something about Shuu brought out my protective instincts. He was sincere, cared about the people around him and was even willing to accept unjust punishment without a single word. I felt like I had picked up a thoroughly abused puppy that despite all of the suffering, still trusted people and wagged his tail. And this time, I had been the one to cause him injury. He deserved so much better than that and the knot of guilt in my chest was making it hard to breathe. It had been my intention to save Shuu but I felt like I was doing a pretty shitty job so far.

Delicate fingers softly touched and covered my fist, pulling it away from the wall and drawing me out of my thoughts. Harvey had followed me outside and without a word was inspecting my hand for damage. That gentle act of love removed the cork I was trying to put on my emotions and the tears leaked out. He quietly drew me into his warm embrace and we stood there in the cold as I poured out my frustrations until I was finally empty.

***

Shuu was feeling guiltier than cuckoo's hatchling. He hadn't meant to come here. Bailey and her mates had already helped him once with Oliver and didn't ask for anything in return. He had done what he could to repay them by hunting various animals but he never felt like it was enough. So when Bailey asked him to do something like escorting her on a walk or handing her a torch, he'd done it. He didn't regret it and the punishment was well worth it since he felt like he had finally done something to repay her kindness.

But now he was in her debt again. He wasn't mad at Oliver for bringing him here. He was upset with himself for not advising Oliver what to do if he ever came home injured. But more than that was the conversation he had overheard as he lay in the bed. The female he had been watching from afar, Qingqing had come to visit. He was a little sad when she didn't recognize him. He had brought her fruits when he could and had even dueled with Parker in an effort to prove he could be a good mate. He had even defended her against another female. But she had treated his attentions as a burden. It made him happy when she said he was kind but it felt so hollow. Just words without real meaning behind them. On the other hand, when Bailey spoke up for him so far as to even point out his actions to Qingqing, the guilt he felt multiplied tenfold. The female he had actually burdened wasn't Qingqing, but Bailey. And yet she responded as though helping him was a choice she made willingly. Going so far as to get mad for him.

How could he have feelings for Qingqing when there was another female who was just as kind; Just as intelligent. And treated him as more than another disposable male, acknowledging his efforts. He felt so incredibly torn. He had thought that Qingqing was the only one for him but now he was second guessing his feelings. What a despicable male he was. For the first time he felt he truly deserved this pain. Deserved these wounds.