Contract Bound [Rewriting]

CHAPTER FOUR

Belinda woke in the bedroom of the cabin that she had spent a lot of nights in. Remembering what had happened, her hand went to her face to not feel any pain. She rose to her feet and stood in front of the full-length mirror beside the walk-in closet.

"You're awake," Aurora said, entering the room and hurrying to her side to engulf her in a comforting embrace. "Fane fed you a couple of droplets of his blood." She hugged her tighter. "You got to stop scaring me like this."

She didn't remember him doing such a thing. "Where is Skylar?" Belinda asked. "Please tell me she's alright."

"When the men found you, Silas says she was barely hanging on, so Fane had to feed her his blood. If it wasn't for him, she'd be dead, and you'd probably still be unconscious with bruises and cuts on your face" Her voice quavered, the turmoil within threatening to spill over.

"Calm down," she said, clasping her friend's face in her hands. "We're fine."

"I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you both. You're like sisters to me."

"This was my fault—"

Aurora shook her head. "This wasn't—"

"Yes, it was." She pulled away from her friend. "I continued speaking with Fane even after the warning I received."

A knock on the door prompted Aurora to open it. Silas glanced at Belinda, concern evident in his eyes before stepping aside for Skylar to enter the room. "If either of you needs anything, Fane and I will be downstairs."

Belinda hugged Skylar. "I'm sorry—I should have listened to—"

"Nonsense," Skylar said. "The only here to blame is our enemy."

"I need to shower," Belinda said, not wanting to continue wearing the dress coated with crimson, a reminder of what had happened. Even if she managed to get the blood out, she doubted she could ever wear it again, despite being one of her favorite friend's creations.

"I'd like to shower, too."

Once they both showered and rid themselves of the horrible reminders clinging to their skin of the attack, Belinda stood in front of the full-length mirror, brushing her hair. She moved the bangs out of the way to stare at the small mark on her forehead. "How did Fane find us?"

Aurora sat on the footboard of the bed. "Your bond alerted him."

Skylar put on the blouse Belinda gave her. Since she spent most of her weekends in the cabin, Belinda had brought half her wardrobe. "Aurora, who was the wolf who saved me?"

Aurora smiled. "That's Niko. Silas' alpha."

"An alpha?"

"Well, he's the prince of the wolves."

"W—What?" She chortled. "Oh, my. I healed by the time he brought me here—You know I love dogs, so I patted him, and he didn't like it at all. I could have sworn he looked insulted."

Aurora guffawed. "You patted Niko?"

"Hey, at least I stopped myself from saying, 'Good boy'." Their laughter filled Belinda's heart with joy. "When I see a dog, you know I automatically want to pet them."

"That's not a giant dog, Skylar. That was a werewolf." Aurora struggled to contain her laughter. "I would have loved to see his reaction to being patted."

Once she'd brushed her blond curls, Belinda grabbed the clothes on the bed beside Aurora. She put on the blouse and pants right before the door opened. Aurora rose to her feet and tossed the pillow at Silas as he entered the bedroom. "You wolves and the not knocking."