Steel: The Transformation

Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

Jackson POV

The kitchen wall felt sturdy against my back as I pressed the towel against my ribs and tried to breathe through the pain. The room was cloaked in an unnerving silence. I felt like I was invisible, I was looking at Cleo and Alec but they were completely absorbed in dealing with her wound. Alec was stroking a cotton bud against her arm and to my surprise I could see how the wound closed up quickly. They were too close to each other, I felt my anger well up inside of me but my injury was holding me back from lashing out at him. Alec moved closer to her and started wrapping her arm in a bandage, they kept looking into each other's eyes. They locked eyes frequently, never taking their gaze away from each other for too long. I examined them as they treated the wounds in silence. I looked at Cleo's face; she didn't look scared or worried. Her eyes turned to red amber again when she looked at him. I studied his face and saw that his eyes shifted colour to the same shade of amber when he looked at her. There were so many things I would like to say, but I kept quiet and focused on breathing. I felt the dark thoughts swoop down on me again, fueled by the scene that was playing out in front of me. Their closeness rattled me to the bones and I could feel a growl forming at the back of my throat. I was still not strong enough to get any sounds out. I stared blackly at Alec, as she swept the piece of cotton across his cheek. His wound healed just as quickly as hers. In that moment I wanted him to die, but I knew that if that was true then most likely both Cleo and I would be dead. I couldn't deny the fact that he must have saved our lives by dealing with the two attackers that were waiting on the ground floor. A memory bounced through my head, the day I confronted him at campus. He said something, "Look, we're the same. Cleo and I."

I hadn't understood what he meant then but looking at them now it was clear to me that they shared something between them. I didn't know what it is but looking at how their eyes shifted colour when they looked at each other made me feel further away from Cleo than I have ever felt before. One more sentence from that conversation passed through my head, I could hear Alec say it as clearly as if he was telling me right now, "I have something that you can never give her and I won't go away until she tells me too."

I didn't know if it was the pain from the wound or from the memory that made me shiver, but I broke the silence, "Why can't I have some of that paste?"

Cleo broke the look she had been sharing with Alec and her eyes return to their normal blue colour, "Your wound is too deep. It wouldn't have much effect." She looked hesitant for a second before adding, "You are lucky that it hit the rib. If the arrow had punctured your lung there wouldn't be anything that we could do. You would have bled into your lung unable to heal yourself."

Alec added, "The paste is made for Basati. We don't know how it would react if it was used on a wolf. You should really try to be careful, before the poison lifts in twenty-four hours there is still a possibility that you might bleed out and die." His words were not harshly spoken but they hit me like shards of glass and I could feel my hand twitch in response.

"I'll call Tim for you. He can take you home," Cleo's voice was soft but I didn't feel any comfort in knowing that she would tell my beta what had happened. I was about to argue back at her, when she shook her head lightly clearly knowing where my thoughts were. I closed my mouth and focused on putting pressure on my wound.

~*~

"Thank you for coming," I could hear Cleo's voice from the front door.

"No worries, I'm happy to help. Is he okay?" Tim's voice was calm and friendly.

"He should be. If he stays in bed for the next couple of days and makes sure to put pressure on the wound until the skin is healed," her voice was much softer and more relaxed speaking to him that what it had been towards me recently. I felt a note of resentment lift up inside of me. I knew I had no right being upset with him, but a part of me wished that she would be just as cold to him as she had been to me.

"How are you doing?" It's the thirtieth time on the drive home that Tim had looked over to the passenger seat and asked me that question. I grumbled a slightly inaudible reply and continued to put pressure on my wound. Tim had looked really shocked when he had seen my injury and me. He had this look on his face that indicated that he thought it was typical of me to get myself into trouble. All I had wanted to do was check in on Cleo, to make sure that she was safe. Turns out she didn't need me looking after her anymore. It looked like she could take care of herself pretty well now and for the times when she needed help, she had someone next door who was more than happy to fill that role...

Author's Note: First of all THANK YOU for being so AMAZING! You do keep me going <3. I have a new story, Magic's Mark - which I am entering into a writing competition!!! So if you could give me some feedback and show me some support - it would mean so much to me :)

Now back to #STEEL - what did you think of this chapter? I felt a bit bad for Jackson writing this chapter, I feel like he is finally starting to understand that there are things bigger than his pack and his concerns...

Who is excited for Sunday's chapter?

Song: Denitia and Sene - Divided