Half-Blooded | The Dark Child Prophecy Series [✔️]

Chapter 36: I'm Alive

I woke up after sunset to find myself dressed in fresh clothes and turned my head to see Jenny rubbing a warm washcloth down my arm. She smiled at me from her chair as she finished getting the dried blood off my bicep.

"Hi there," she whispered. "You should go back to sleep."

I sighed and looked around to see the rest of the infirmary was quiet. My mother was asleep on another bed in her dark jeans and shirt. I blinked heavily, looking for a clock. "What time is it?" I asked.

Jenny glanced at her watch before wringing the cloth out in a bowl of water beside her. "Just after seven. You should sleep a little longer. Luce said you didn't rest very well during the day," she answered me.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I touched my stomach gently and rolled the tank top off my torso so I could see if I had healed any. There was green ointment spread across the cuts in thin layers. I could see the raised skin where I would scar over from the lacerations Doctor Nelson had sliced into my flesh with his scalpel.

I hope he's dead, I thought angrily.

"You had a few nightmares. You don't remember?" she asked. When I shook my head, she began to wring out the cloth in her hands again. "Luce said you woke up screaming..." Jenny paused. "You kept asking for Jason. They all took turns staying in here with you for a few hours after last night. I came down a little while ago to let your mom get some sleep."

"I don't remember dreaming," I answered truthfully, closing my eyes again. After a moment, I looked down at my injuries again. "What is this on me?"

"It's your father's ointment. It's supposed to help seal your skin while you heal. Hopefully you won't have many scars with its help," she told me. When I winced as she bumped the sensitive flesh at the insides of my arms, she sighed. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Serenity. It's so awful that someone could do this to another person."

I inhaled slowly and opened my eyes again. "I don't know what I was thinking... I shouldn't have left," I whispered.

Jenny paused and looked up at me. "Serenity, this is not your fault. You didn't ask for this to happen to you."

I nodded a little, glancing at my arms to see that the bruises had faded slightly. My skin had deepened in color some, no longer looking as pale as snow. I wanted to sit up and move, but my body felt exhausted. The pillows and mattress were comforting, like a cool embrace that lulled my thoughts. "Thank you," I murmured when she stroked the last of the blood off of my arm.

Jenny smiled again. "Your mother and I got a lot of it off already. She and Marcus changed your clothes for you while you were asleep. When you're feeling a little stronger, we'll get you a hot bath and some real food. Are you getting hungry?"

"No," I answered. I held my breath for a few seconds. "Can I tell you something?" I asked quietly, my voice suddenly weak. I needed to tell someone why I had been out in the woods. And I trusted her. She had always kept my secrets.

"Of course, Munchkin. What?" she asked, her head tipping to the side slightly with a hesitant smile.

"I was going to leave, with him... I didn't know there were other wolves in the woods. I was waiting for him," I confessed softly.

"What?" she repeated, shocked.

I nodded. "Please don't say anything." I bit my bottom lip hard again, feeling ashamed. "I thought I was never going to come home again...when they cut into me."

"Does anyone else know?" she asked softly.

"No," I answered her. "I'm scared they'll come back for me again."