Chapter 6: "Stay..."

I felt my body tremble as something soft and warm was pressed against my lids, preventing me from opening my eyes. My ears were ringing with the screams of the doctor, and as my pulse pounded obnoxiously loud against my temples, the terrifying sound got more and more muffled until I could no longer hear anything but the rapid rhythm of my heartbeat.

Although I didn’t see what had happened, the noise was enough to render my legs weak and make me want to vomit. Just when I was on the verge of losing my mind, I heard Dylan whisper in my ear softly, as if he didn’t just tear apart a fellow werewolf like how one would a cardboard.

“Can you stand up?”

I surprisingly managed to shake my head, albeit meekly. Suddenly, I heard multiple footsteps shuffling in the hallway, followed by the doors bursting open. I raised a shaky hand to remove the thing that was covering my eyes only to feel Dylan’s hand, sticky with some liquid that I could only assume was blood, but his hold on me remained firm.

“What the hell is happening here?!” a now-familiar werewolf's voice exclaimed.

The pounding in my head and the ringing in my ears had subsided moments ago, but I just grasped that the doctor’s screams were no longer. Not even a whimper. He was dead silent. Dead silent. The realization sent chills down my spine.

“Clean that up, Marcus,” Dylan calmly ordered. “And not a word of this to the rest of the pack.”

Then, he released some dominant pheromones. He was evidently trying to get his pack members to fear him more than they already did, scaring them into submission. Naturally, the scent was too much for my very human lungs. I tried to breathe in shallower breaths, but my insides still burned.

I flung my hands around blindly until I finally grasped the fabric of Dylan's shirt. I was most probably going to get in trouble for acting so shamelessly, but as my consciousness faded in and out, I couldn’t think of anything else.

“You brazen human sla—“

Cynthia's voice was cut off for some reason. The pheromones got a bit stronger, and out of desperation, I pulled onto his shirt tighter while sobbing. Every inch of my body was now beginning to ache—my bones felt like they were being snapped one by one and acid seemed to replace the blood in my veins. My body shook violently.

“Isabella,” I heard Dylan call out faintly. I’m sure he wasn’t talking in a hushed voice. It was just that my sense of hearing was being overshadowed by the pain. “Don’t pass out.”

As much as I didn’t want to, my consciousness slipped away at last.

When I woke up, it took me a while to get my eyes adjusted to the harsh sunlight that streamed into the room, but when I finally did, I found myself in my master’s spacious bedroom. The pillows were so soft and the thick blankets kept me warmer than I have ever been, tempting me to go back to sleep. But I knew I shouldn’t be taking advantage of his patience, so I forced myself to sit up.

Pain shot up my spine immediately, and I instinctively shrieked, holding my tailbone with a hand. I don’t remember why I was having such discomfort there, but getting out of bed and doing the house chores took precedence, so I wobbled out of the sheets. Unsurprisingly, the moment my bare feet touched the floor, my strength abandoned me and I fell face-first.

“Ow,” I mumbled, pushing myself up and rubbing my nose with my fingers to ease the throbbing pain. My eyes watered. “That hurt a lot more than I thought it would.”

Then I heard the door creak open. The first thing that came to my mind was to hide, so I did, as if my body was on autopilot. I pressed myself against the side of the bed and crouched as low as I could despite my backache. Luckily, I seemed to be small enough and also happened to be on the side of the bed that wasn’t facing the door. I shut my eyes tightly, my hands forming into fists at the hem of my oversized shirt. Each heavy step against the tiled floor echoed through the stillness and sent me closer to panic.

Then the footsteps halted.

“What are you doing?”

Dylan’s deep voice resonated. I tilted my head up slowly and opened one eye. “H-Hiding?”

“I can see that,” he replied. I don’t know if it was because I hadn’t recovered from the pheromones yet, but his tone sounded lighter. He dropped on one knee to meet my eye level. “I mean, why?”

His golden eyes shone as usual. Yesterday’s events ran through my mind as if my brain was teasing me with a recap that I definitely didn’t need. The fear came rushing back, and I felt my body tremble. I was even more scared now that I hassled him by passing out.

“I-I just…”

He slowly raised a hand, and I automatically closed my eyes again, bracing myself for a punishment of some kind. A slap, most likely. I felt his warmth on my cheek and I flinched, but nothing came after. His touch was so gentle that it was barely even grazing against my skin.

“Master?” I whispered, hesitantly opening an eye after the other to look at him in confusion.

“Last week,” he began to say. “I felt how scared you were.”

“What do you mean?”

“When Dr. Boyle harassed you.”

Last week? That was last week?

Either he could read my mind or my face showed it all. He moved his hand to tuck the stray lock of hair behind my ear. “You were out for a week. My pheromones were too much for you to handle.”

“Oh.”

So if I, the only slave in the household, was unconscious for a week, then who took care of the manor? Oh my god. Did he—?

“You’re seriously too easy to read, Isabella,” he said while shaking his head slightly. His finger touched the mark behind my ear, and I immediately felt a rush of pleasant pheromones flowing through. I exhaled in relief and instinctively leaned into his hand. “I bought more human slaves, obviously.”

“You did?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “So just rest. I had you checked up by another doctor and she told me that your organs lacked oxygen, so it’ll be no surprise if you feel a lot weaker than usual.”

“I’m sorry. I put you through so much trouble, master.”

“It’s nothing,” Then, after a hesitant pause, he said in a quieter voice, “At least that much is fine. You’re my mate, after all.”

I felt blood creep up to my cheeks, tainting them red. Suddenly, a thought came to my mind. I sat straight up, my backache returning, but I didn’t even flinch. He dropped his hand in surprise and the pheromones stopped flowing. It felt empty to suddenly not feel the warmth from it.

“Master? H-How about that… doctor? Is he…?”

Dylan's eyes hardened, and they tempted me to cower in fear. But I knew that his anger was not directed at me, so I didn’t move an inch and break eye contact. “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“So he really is…” I trailed off. I noticed that my voice shook. The realization sunk in a few moments later, “But weren’t we supposed to ask him about severing the bond?”

His eyes widened slightly, but he caught himself and a split second after, his usual stoic composure was back. “It’s okay. I can just search for another doctor.”

I doubt that doctors who researched such a sensitive topic would come in abundance. However, I just nodded in response as if I didn’t have any qualms, not risking the possibility of angering him by saying anything unnecessary.

“Come,” he said, placing his hands on both my elbows to make me stand up. My legs still felt almost numb, but with his assistance, I was able to get up just fine. “You need to rest more.”

It felt odd to hear my master urge me to rest. I wanted to go out and help with the chores, but the raging backache forced me to oblige. Dylan tucked me into bed and supplied me with a little bit more of his warm pheromones for good measure. For a moment, the pain in my body subsided, though as soon as he retracted his hand, it came rushing back double fold.

“Master?” I called, reaching out a hand to grab the sleeve of his shirt and stop him from leaving the room. He turned around and kneeled beside the bed, his eyes boring into mine in full attention. “Shouldn’t I at least be resting in my quarters?”

His frown deepened, making me regret, I said anything. But then, he planted a kiss on my temple, sending a confusing but pleasant feeling to the pit of my stomach and my chest. I stared at him in question, fully aware of the blush in my cheeks, but wasn’t embarrassed enough to hide them.

“I already told you, Isabella,” he replied. “You’ve no need to go back there. Stay.”