Those In The Forest

Part 75: Rose

We sat in the living room, fresh, clean, and extremely exhausted.

          Our Elders forbade us from even stepping upstairs. That's how we ended up in the living room, sitting on the couch across from a very angry Bryce.

          "She has bruises all over her body." she bit out. "Lennox said they are healing, but the trauma she endured is making it take longer." a tear fell from her eye. "She said she looked worse when she passed out next to you all and shifted back." she swallowed.

          The entire time we were in the bathhouse, we listened to Reagan's heartbeat, needing the constant reminder that she was still with us.

          However, it also reminded us what it took for her to still be with us. Not once did she wake up while we were bathing. Even now, she is slumbering upstairs in our bed.

          "You promised!" Bryce whispered-yelled. Probably to ensure she didn't wake Reagan. What she probably didn't realize was that she could whisper as low as she wanted; with Reagan being how she was now, she would always hear her.

          "Don't." I started. I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I picked at the end of the couch fabric. "Please... we know we messed up."

          Bryce scoffed and then let out an almost manic laugh. "Messed up?! She died! According to what Avah told me. She was alone! Her entire fucking life, she has been alone... she trusted you all..."

          I could feel a ball forming in my throat. It was getting harder and harder not to cry in front of the human before us.

          "We intend to right our wrongs." Hazel started. "She means the world to us. More than you will ever know." When I turned to look at her, she closed her eyes and sighed. "We also plan to hunt down Alan and the witch bitch who helped him hurt her."

          That was another thing we talked about when we were bathing: how we would capture Alan if he were even still alive. The blood that surrounded Reagan's white fur and teeth had to have been his or Gya's.

          "And then what?" Byrce tilted her head, looking at us. "Yes, he'll be dead and gone, but what happened still happened. It will always play back in her head. She will always feel uneasy. You were supposed to prevent that. Isn't it a primal fucking instinct to keep a mate by you... always. Does it not occur to you four that Reagan may believe you didn't try hard enough to find her? That she wasn't worth being found? So much goes into this. So much." she tsked and stood up. I'm sure to go back to Reagan.

          Celia walked from the kitchen with Karina. I'm positive they were listening to our conversation.

          "Your car is still in the Mount Rainiers Park Trails parking lot. It's been there for a while, and I'm sure it's been towed. I'm sorry," Celia said to Bryce before she walked upstairs.

           "I don't care about my car. I can always get another. I can't get another Reagan." she said with a soft cry before walking upstairs to lie with Reagan.

          I clenched my jaw and looked at my Elders.

          "What can we see her?" Ivy asked tensely.

          "I'm not sure right now is the best time, especially with how she looks. It will only drive you four into a feral rage I can't deal with right now," Karina said tightly. From what Bryce has already said, you know she doesn't look too good."

           "Which is exactly why we need to see her!" Iris growled. "This isn't fair..."

          Karina bared her teeth at us. "Fair!? You disrespected an order... a fucking command to not give that death oath, and you did it anyway." we looked down ashamed. "Reagan is a runt, the same as you. I have responsibilities for you all. I almost lost you all." Her voice cracked. "I get that you feel this instinct to keep her safe and guarded, but I feel that way, too. You four seeing her right now will only stir up some shit I can't handle. This didn't just affect you."