Infernal

18.

Hello!!

Thank you all for reading the last chapter, and for your amazing comments!

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Without further ado, here's the new chapter! Please Vote and Comment!

**

I've been told, I've been told to get you off my mind
But I hope I never lose the bruises that you left behind
Oh my Lord, oh my Lord, I need you by my side
There must be somethin' in the water
'Cause every day, it's gettin' colder
And if only I could hold you
You'd keep my head from goin' under

-Lewis Capaldi

I ended up going into the spare bedroom that Alaric had given me when I first arrived. My body ached and my head was beginning to throb as I cried heavily. I stumbled into the bathroom, dropping the blanket that was wrapped around me, staring at myself in the mirror. My reflection showed a girl covered in literal and invisible bruises.

My face had some dark swelling near my forehead and on my cheeks. It must have been from when I fell down the stairs, my head must have banged against the staircase. My purples eyes were dull and watery, as tears shed. There were yellowing bruises on my arms, the patches weren't overly big but it still shocked me to see how battered up I was. Normally a bruise would take a lot longer to heal on my body, but due to shifting my healing abilities had started to kick in. I tore my eyes away from my battered reflection, I couldn't look at the rest of my body, it was too depressing.

The invisible bruises were from Alaric. His harsh command, his degrading words that he had said, were enough to scar me for life. He had told me many times that he wasn't like Alpha Shields, and that I would never have to worry. But now, I was worried.

I was worried that he would always be cold and ruthless towards me, that he would treat me the same as Alpha Shields did. Ordering me around, using my weakness against me.

Alaric was livid at the fact that Alpha Shields had repressed my wolf for three years, forcing me to shift back to human. But yet, he had done the same thing, just without permanently repressing my wolf. He had contradicted himself multiple times, playing with my emotions, making me feel at ease with him only to knock my confidence back down.

Tears continued to drench my face, even when I soaked myself in the bath. My limbs were aching and were desperate for the hot water to soothe the ache away. The leg that had broken, was fully healed and it appeared as it had never broken in the first place. All that remained was swelling and an ugly dark bruise, that would soon fade away. I was too tired to wash properly, I didn't even put conditioner in my hair and left my dark locks half washed with shampoo.

After my bath, I quickly threw on a t-shirt and leggings that I had left in the room previously. I was feeling desperate to just lay in bed and feel sorry for myself. My hair was soaking wet, but I was beyond caring.

I curled up into the cold bedsheets and sobbed as my head and heart ached, feeling so used and betrayed. The presence at the back of my head felt lost and upset, I had come to realise that it was my wolf. I could feel the connection between us but it would take some time to get used to. An inner wolf wouldn't actually speak to their human side, it was a mental connection of feelings and thoughts. I knew that sometimes a wolf would try and dominate their human side, it often happened if the human side wasn't strong enough to handle their inner wolf. I was dreading to see if that would happen to me.