So I heard they want to stone me
#The_Alpha_And_The_Female_Warrior
Chapter 9
Theme : Pain
“Ms Williams?”
I instintively crouched down, hoping to appear less visible if he looked throu-gh the window.
Of course, that wouldn’t hide the fact that I’m here. He must’ve smelt my scent by now. Why did Theo come here out of all places?
“Well, aren’t you going to open tbe door?” He called out, sounding amused.
Ugh, he knows I’m in here. Scanning around the room, I couldn’t see any possible exit for me to use without him knowing.
The lady, whom Theo called Ms Williams, looked at me in panic. She was visibly shaking, ma-king my heart twist in guilt and sympathy. She trusted me enough to disclose information about herself and is now faced with the crisis of opening the door to the Alpha she fears. Well, I’m as-suming that’s who she was scared of the entire time.
Sighing inwardly, I mouthed reas-suring s£ntences to her.
“Don’t worry. Let me talk.”
Walking towards the front door, I racked my br@ins, desperately trying to think of an excuse as to why I’m here.
I opened the cottage door, revea-ling Theo in all his handsome glory. He still had the same expensive suit on, but now had his sleeves rolled back down and bu-ttoned.
His perfect stone cold, expressionless face told me he expected me to open the door. He didn’t even look a bit suprised.
Trying to downpl@yhow suprised I was by his visit, I leaned on the door frame and looked at him steadily.
“What brings you all the way here?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Are you asking me what I’m doing on
my territory? He questioned, eyes slightly narrowing.
t©uçhé.
“Is it a crime to ask?” I asked, acting shocked. I put my hand on my che-st to be more dramatic. “I’m afraid I am not familiar with your pack’s policies.”
He c0cked his head a millimetre to the left, as though he was trying to figure me out. I used the time to think of an answer to his next question.
“Very funny.” He said dryly. “The Alpha does the interrogating here.”
His icy blue eyes pierced throu-gh me when he said, “What are you doing here?”
Ah, there it is! The million dollar question. It’s time for my oscar winning performance. Although, his accusing tone is kind of insulting, like…I didn’t do anything. Calm down.
I shrugged casually before answering.
“I’ve helped her with some housework before. When I saw her working on the weeds by the side of your manor, I went out to say hi.” I explained, ma-king eye contact when nee-ded. “She wanted to thank me with cookies and tea, so here we are.”
I tried not to let how proud I am of my lie show. I thought very carefully about what excuse I was going to give.
Previously, I was going to say that I went on a walk, bu-mped into her in this area and was kindly invited into her cottage.
But then I thought…what if he saw me talk to her at the manor? What if he watched us walk to her cottage? So that excuse wasn’t good enough.
Theo observed my face for a while before nodding, looking satisfied with my lie. I thanked the heavens that we hadn’t had any skin-to-skin contact to initate the mate bond or he would’ve seen right throu-gh it.
“I’m here to see Ms Williams.” He announced, putting a foot into the cottage.
I moved out the way to let him in; it was getting tiring looking up at him. He bent down to get into the cottage and stayed slightly bent to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling.
Ms Williams who has been watching our exchange, finally snapped into reality when Theo entered the living room.
“Alpha.” She greeted him, bowing her head to him. “It’s a plea-sure to have to here, what can I do for you?”
Alpha.
I’ve heard people say that word countless times for years, yet when
she said it, I felt a a bur-st of indescribable energy ripple within me. I suddenly felt a burning nee-d to answer her.
That burning nee-d, actually started to feel like I was burning inside. Like there was a fire in me that I couldn’t put out. My che-st suddenly started to ti-ght£ñ, ma-king me hiss in pain.
Ms Williams and Theo glanced at me in surprise. I shook my head at them and put a hand out to reas-sure them that I was fine.
My che-st started to ti-ght£ñ again; this time it was so unbearable, I started to wheeze. Grey dots started to appear in my vision, as I struggled to breathe. My hands bec@m£ fists, shaking from the pain in my che-st.
Ms Williams rushed to my side, frantically asking if I was okay. I opened my mouth to answer her, but ended up fighting for air. Panic surged throu-gh me, what the hell was happening to me?
My wheezing wors£ned and my knees started to give out, ma-king me lean against her for support.
“Elisia?” His de-ep voice laced with confusion.
I used what strength I had to look up at Theo. He kept shifting towards and then away from me, like he couldn’t decide to help me or not.
He must really hate me, if he was contemplating on helping me. I literally can’t breathe, and he’s having second thoughts. Wow.
The grey dots in my vision seemed to get bigger and more hazy, ma-king me close my eyes. The heaviness of my eyelids kept my eyes closed.
Ms Williams bec@m£ even more hysterical, begging me to keep my eyes open.
“Alpha! Do something!” She snapped at Theo. So the lady has guts after all, I thought to myself.
Alpha. That word alone got my che-st to ti-ght£ñ ha-rd , ma-king me scream in agony. Uncontrollable tears started to stream from my eyes from the pain.
I tried to open my eyes, only to close them again. I tried to take a step back, trying to get ahold of myself. Without the support of Ms Williams, my knees completely gave out and I started to fall towards to the floor.
br@cing for impact, I put my arms in front of me.
A strong warm arm wra-pped around my w@!st in an instant, pu-lling me away from the ground and held me up.
Knowing who it was, I kept my eyes ti-ghtly closed. Ugh, I don’t know where this pain c@m£ from.
“What’s wrong with her, Alpha?”
The trigger word had my lungs feel like they were on fire, ma-king me cry uncontrollably. I couldn’t even get a word out. I was so scared.
Theo held me upright, trying to look into my eyes.
“Listen, do you have a health condition I don’t know about?”
I stared back at him, tears pooling in my eyes. He was asking me questions like I could answer.
“Just shake or nod your head.”
I shook my head frantically. I don’t know what the hell is happening to me.
My che-st ti-ght£ñed and burned, ma-king me momentarily lose consciousness due to the pain. My pain tolerance was usually very high, but I couldn’t get throu-gh a second without sobbing in agony. I started to shiver, feeling my b©dy ripple with pain.
Theo shook me a little. “Elisia, stay with me. plea-se, stay awake.”
He repositioned himself, so he could carry me in his arms. I was in no state to argue with what was going on; I was too busy trying not sleep. slee-ping seemed like the best option now, then the pain would go away.
I was in his arms, being carried bridal style. The wind started to hit me stronger, ma-king me realise that Theo must be running at wolf’s pace. With the little strength I had, I leaned away from his n£¢k to avoid any skin-to-skin contact. I didn’t want to initiate the mate bond by accident.
I sobbe-d against his white shi-t, getting it we-t. As much as I wanted to st©p, I couldn’t st©p crying. Theo started to slow down, ma-king me look up at him. He was looking down at me with his worried dark blue eyes.
I mean, I think he looked worried.
We c@m£ to st©p, someplace in the forest that was on the way to the Alpha manor. It shouldn’t be too far now, so why did he st©p? He l@yme on the soft green gras-s, and kneeled beside me.
Tears were still streaming from my eyes as I looked at him. He was a blurry image due to the tears filled up in my eyes. He looked down at me with really sad eyes.
Before I could ask what he was doing, he leaned forward.
He an-alysed my face with an expression that made me want to cry even more than I alre-ady am. He looked so heartbroken and hurt by something. His brow was furrowed like he was trying to keep his emotions in check.
His right hand c@m£ up and hovered above my face. It stayed there for a few seconds before coming down closer to my face. I took a sharp intake of breath in as I realise he’s going t©uçh my face.
Skin-to-skin contact.
When his warm hand t©uçhed my face, sparks of plea-sure filled my s-en-ses and ma-king my g@sp in shock. His t©uçh was welcoming, warm and protective, ma-king me lean into his t©uçh even more. His hand was gently cu-pping my tear stained cheek.
His hand started to softly brush against my skin, ma-king me stare at him in confusion. He seemed to avoid my gaze as he focused on what he’s doing.
Moving to the other cheek, he started to do the same. I mentally facepalmed as I realised what he’s doing. He was wiping my tears away.
I watched him tenderly wipe my tears away, wondering what had come over him. He voluntarily initiated the mate bond and is now doing this?
“Seeing you in pain must’ve pushed him over the edge.” My wolf chimed in, not hiding her happiness.
I repressed the urge to roll my eyes at her how giddy she is.
“Can you believe mate is wiping our tears? I can’t wait to meet his wolf!” She yelped, running around in circles in my mind.
“Mate loves us!”
I cringed inwardly. Yeah, I wouldn’t go as far as that and say ‘love’. Like at all.
“I’ll let you out soon, I promise.” I promised her, feeling really bad. I haven’t shifted since I c@m£ here, and my wolf nee-ds to run and hunt soon.
I cut the connection between us and focused on Theo who was still kneeling next to me. Although the pain in my che-st eased a little, it didn’t completely go away.
Theo realised that when I tried to move and visibly cringed from the pain. His eyes wi-de-ned as he carefully picked me up and held me ti-ght until the edge of the pack town c@m£ into view.
He ran into town at full speed, ma-king me hide my face in his muscular che-st to avoid the harsh wind.
He bur-st into what looked like a health clinic, ma-king everyone there look up in surprise. The staff rushed to Theo’s side, asking what was wrong. Everyone was going out of their mind because the Alpha was in their pres£nce.
“Alpha?”
“What’s the matter, Alpha?”
“How can we help you, Alpha?”
I couldn’t count how many times I heard the word ‘Alpha’ when we entered the clinic. However, what was different this time is that it didn’t trigger any pain.
I was too weak to think about why that was, and proceeded to l@ymy head on Theo’s che-st. I could feel the vibr@tions from when he spoke, ma-king me relax more. I think it’s the mate bond that has made me this snuggly.
The vibr@tions got stronger all of a sudden, forcing me to zone back into what was happening. Theo was growling at the medical staff, who seemed to be close to crying.
Confused at why they looked helpless, I t©uçhed Theo cheek in an attempt to calm him down. To my and everyone’s suprise, he st©pped growling straight away and looked down at me. His angry expression manged to softened a little.
Everyone in the clinic was staring at me with shocked and confused expressions.
“Why are you so angry?” I managed to ask, not wanting to show how much it hurt to speak.
He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, as though he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Or he doesn’t trust himself to speak, or he’ll lash out in anger again.
I looked towards the medical staff for an answer.
“He was expecting Emily, the pack’s best doctor, to be pres£nt.” One of them explained. “But she’s out of the country to visit serveral medical research lectures in Switzerland. She should be back next week.”
“Next week isn’t good enough!” Theo roared at the poor staff member. I flin-ched at the rou-ghness of his tone. I flin-ched even more when his grip on me ti-ght£ñed.
Seeing me flin-ch, he immediately loos£ned his grip with a soft g@sp.
“Alpha, plea-se. Let us treat her.” One of the staff begged. “We are more than capable of helping her. We are all able and competent.”
Theo started to growl again, ma-king me gr0@nin annoyance.
“Let them treat me alre-ady, damn it!”
Theo looked down at me in his arms. “But Emily-”
“Emily isn’t here now, so get over it plea-se!” I interrupted, trying to ignore my scratchy throat.
Everyone was staring at me, probably wondering where I got the courage to interrupt him.
“I’d prefer to be treated now, if you don’t mind.” I continued, sighing.
Theo stared at me for a second longer before nodding. “Get a room re-ady.”
“It’s alre-ady been done. Follow us.” A lady in a white coat said.
Theo carried me into one large white room, following the crowd of medics.
“I am Dr Oswald; I’ll be the main care provider.” The white coat lady said.
She was the first person I noticed when we c@m£ in. Her blond pixie cut hair stood out from the crowd.
Theo nodded but didn’t do anything else, ma-king everyone look at each other nervously.
Dr Oswald cleared her throat awkwardly before saying, “Alpha, you’re going to have to put her down if you want me to treat her.”
Theo sighed f0rç£fully before slowly placing me on the be-d. Regrettably that meant his b©dy warmth going further away from me. Shivering, I l@yon the be-d, waiting for the examination.
Dr Oswald sat next to me and started to ask questions. “What is the problem?”
“That’s what you’re supposed to figure out!” Theo bellowed, staring at her in disbelief. “You’re the doctor, not us!”
His rudeness was getting really annoying. “Just ignore him.” I snapped, rolling my eyes.
“Alpha, with all due respect. I have to ask what the symptoms are to come up with a diagnosis.” The doctor explained calmly.
“I had a really bad pain in my che-st, it restricted my breathing and made me lose consciousness a bit.” I explained. “It still hurts but not as much as before.”
The doctor nodded. “Any medical history of che-st pains?”
“No, not at all.”
“So you’ve never had this problem before?”
“No.” I replied.
“Was it a sharp pain or spre-ading pain?”
I paused to think which one it was.
“Both, I think.” I finally said. “It was all very sudden too.”
She nodded curtly before bringing out a stethoscope. She put the end of it un-der my shi-t and on my back.
“If you breathe in for me, plea-se.”
I breathed in, unfortunately with a lot of difficulty.
“And breathe out.”
I breathe out, flin-ching from the pain.
Dr Oswald frowned a little and went to her desk to fill in a sheet. Observing her face, I noticed her effort to keep a straight face. I started to panic a little. Was something really wrong with me?
“Okay, I’ll have to refer you to one of our bigger hospitals so that respiratory specialists can take a better look at your problem.” She said seriously.
Theo stepped forward. “What do you think the problem is?”
The doctor looked at me for permission before she said anything. After I shrugged and nodded, she went on to say, “I think she has a complex respiratory problem.”
Theo scoffed at this and said, “All you did was listen to her breathing.”
Dr Oswald didn’t even flin-ch un-der his scruitinising gaze. “Exactly. Her breathing is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. It is enough to get her referred to specialists. Most pack doctors, including me, are more equipped to deal with fighting and battle injuries. There aren’t a lot of wolves that have health problems.”
Me? With a health problem? Weird. I’ve never had a health problem before.
She turned to me and said, “As for now, I will prescribe you with painkillers and antibiotics.”
I nodded slowly. “I know what painkillers are, who doesn’t?” I laughed. “But what are anti-biotics?”
“They will kill off any possible infection in your b©dy.” The doctor explained. “You’re not familiar with it because it’s a medicine that is mostly used for humans.”
“Right.” I said, nodding. I swung my feet over the side of the be-d and thankfully, was able to get up.
Theo held out his hand for me to hold. I looked at him warily, not sure about his intentions. No one can change this quic-kly; it was only a several hours ago that he preferred Irene’s pres£nce to mine.
Just as I was about to take his hand, the door was flung open to reveal a sweaty Jay. Seeing a very familiar face made me want to cry.
“Elisia.” Jay whispered as he rushed towards me. “What happened?”
He looked at my hands, my arms and turned my head from side to side, trying to look for any damage.
“Jay, I’m fine.” I chuckled, trying to reas-sure him. “Well, I kind of feel better then I was.”
A medical staff member rushed in at that moment with a bloody and bruised face. He lifted his shaky hand and pointed at Jay.
“I tried to st©p him, but he wouldn’t have it! He just barged in here, I’m sorry.”
Dr Oswald carefully looked at Jay and I’s close interaction and said, “Don’t worry, they know each other. You have done well, go and clean yourself up.”
I took a closer look at Jay and saw tears pooling in his eyes.
“No, why are you crying?” I asked, sniffling. “If you start, I will.”
He held my b©dy close and ti-ghtly. “God, I had no idea why you were in a hospital clinic. I was so scared of what might’ve happened to you.”
From Jay’s embr@ce, I looked past his shoulder and saw Theo. He was staring at me with those striking blue eyes that withheld an emotion I couldn’t recognise.
His jaw flexed as he looked away. When he looked back at me, all emotion was void from his face. His usual cold expressionless face stared back at me.
I stared back with an equally expressionless face.
Theo, you confuse me.
#TBC