Thorns Beneath the Roses
Jasmine's POV
I wished I had the chance to tear Lucas up with no weapons. However, my limbs shook, my head pounded, and I couldn't get my body to move properly.
"What's your name?" I managed to ask.
"Lena…" she lifted the glass of water. "I'm the healer's apprentice. And if I may ask of yours?"
"Jasmine."
She smiled faintly. "Jasmine, it's great that you are still able to breathe. Now drink, please."
I sipped slowly. The water on my throat calmed the pain, and I shut my eyes for a short while to let it comfort me.
"We were truly worried about you. You were unconscious for nearly two days. When Alpha Aiden found you, your feet were torn up, and you had lost a lot of blood."
My brows furrowed. "Why did he help me? I'm a stranger."
She shrugged a little. He assured me you didn't appear to be a danger. It was also the look in your eyes that influenced me.
"In my eyes?"
Lena hesitated. "He said they looked haunted. You seemed to have seen more than your share of hardship."
That was an understatement.
I had witnessed events that most people only see once in their life.
I told my friend I wanted to see him, but my body gave me away as it slumped lower on the bed.
"Rest is what you should do," Lena insisted. "Alpha Aiden isn't going anywhere. However, if you try too hard, it might be your last chance."
I felt a lump in my throat as I watched.
I hated feeling like this. Powerless. Broken. My eyes started to water with strong tears, yet I refused to let them fall. I had shed enough tears that I thought I'd ever need in a lifetime.
Lena stood up. I'll visit again with more medicine in a while. For now, sleep."
She moved slowly to the door, but before leaving, I said something to her.
"Lena?"
She turned.
My voice barely audible, I whispered, "If… if they find me. Forewarn Alpha Aiden not to consent to them removing me. No matter what they say."
Her eyes looked at me, and she slowly nodded her head. "I'll tell him."
She left.
I sat back and looked at the ceiling above me. The temperature in the room was comfortable, yet I felt my chest freezing up. My arms were trembling again. I could feel my dream lurking behind my thoughts again.
Still, the tiredness overcame me, despite my effort to fight it.
As night took over again, I quietly spoke to the nothingness:
Please, Scarlett. Be alive.
Try to connect with me before it gets too late.
---
The strong smell of herbs was the first thing that came to my attention.
I felt as if my eyes were glued together, and it took effort to open them. I didn't realize what the light rustle and gentle clinking was until a moment later. When my vision cleared, I could make out that the woman was Lena.
She was the one with the warm smile and golden braids.
She was kneeling near my bed, carrying out the usual steps while mixing her ingredients from the wooden bowl. It smelled like something dirty, natural, and quite severe, which made me turn up my nose.
She looked up happily and said, "You're awake now." "Perfect timing."
"What... is that?" I squeaked, looking at the drink as though it could attack me.
She said, "This is medicine," as she mixed it in a clay cup. It will improve your blood circulation and protect your body's internal organs. But before you try to argue against it, you actually need it.
I winced and sat up more upright. I felt pain in every muscle and stiffness in every joint. I was hit by a renegade bear and felt like I had been trampled. Twice.
At first, I was reluctant to smell the cup. "Smells like death."
Lena laughed. "Tastes worse. Drink it quickly."
I did. As I expected, it was absolutely nasty. I made a disgusting face, Lena grinned, and she gave me a wet cloth to clean my mouth.
"I've had worse," I muttered.
She smiled and said, "I'm not convinced of that. But I'm glad you're better. Alpha Aiden wants to communicate with you."
I blinked at her. "Already?"
She said, "He's been waiting," as she trekked over to the nearby chest. "She took the robe and some underwear from the package and put them on. He mentions that you should take some time to get ready. The bath is this way."
Although my legs felt so heavy, I let her help me get out of bed. However, my knees gave way a little, but she held onto me with much more strength than I expected. Just across the hall was a modest and clean bathing room that she led me to. The water in the wooden tub was warm, steam quietly lifting like an embracing fog.
It wasn't until I got really involved that I saw how important it was.
I came out of it, and Lena helped me put on a robe and tied my curls into a simple braid down my back. I started to feel somewhat more like myself for the first time in quite some weeks.
"You're ready," she said. He has already made his way to the east garden.
Together we walked along a long corridor made of stone, where the walls were decorated with stories of wolves, moons, and battles that were new to me. As we went on, I could sense that people were watching us, yet we never saw anyone. Their judgment.
Outsider.
We stepped outside. I was left to breathe in the scents of roses, lilacs, and lavender. It featured a large landscape filled with fountains and curving paths between cut hedges. I could hear birds and feel the wind blow the leaves gently near me.
And there he was.
Alpha Aiden.