Natalia tugs on my sleeve and I glance up, she guides me around the shifters, but I don’t miss their pity as she ushers me outside the exit doors.
When we’re outside I slowly start locking myself down. I hobble on my lone crutch, careful to keep my steps measured so I don’t jostle my injuries further. I block out the pain, willing my body to go numb. I’m a wolf. I’ll heal. And eventually, it’ll be like none of this ever happened.
27
Isabella
Iwake with a start. My chest heaves and my eyes pop open. Daylight filters in through my bedroom curtains, letting me know it’s morning. Or maybe afternoon. It doesn’t matter.
I stare up at the ceiling, willing myself to go back to sleep. I don’t want to be awake. It hurts too much. Everything hurts.
There’s a knock at my door.
I ignore it.
Another knock.
I cringe as I try and push myself into a seated position. Whatever Ricardo’s mage did to me at the Pack’s safehouse to dull the pain has definitely worn off, and no amount of normal over-the-counter painkillers is making a dent.
“Isa,” Natalia slips inside and pads over to me. My bed dips under her weight as she sits on the corner. I stiffen when she reaches out and touches my leg. “Isa, you need to eat something. Why don’t you come downstairs? Your father ordered breakfast. It’ll be good for you to get out of bed.”
“That’s okay. I’m not very hungry.” The pain makes me nauseous and the very idea of food is enough to make my stomach sour.
Her smile is tight but she nods. “Some friends of yours from school stopped by.”
They have? A part of me wants to know who. I want to know if it was Rafael. If he’s still angry with me? He hasn’t messaged me since that night, and I miss him but … I don’t want him to see me like this. If I thought his reaction after Sabrina attacked me was bad, I can only imagine how he’d react to seeing me like this. No. Rafe definitely cannot see me in this condition. Better to avoid him until I’ve recovered.
Brian hired human doctors to look at me. Why, I still don’t know. There’s nothing they can do to fix me and seeing the confusion on their faces at my lack of regeneration was annoying. I could have explained things, but it wasn’t my job to educate them and life-long lessons about keeping shifter secrets secret is too heavily ingrained in me.
Natalia gave Brian a full report when I got back home, at least what she knew to the best of her abilities. He didn’t know I could hear him, but he asked her if there was a chance of me being human now. If the silver poisoning killed enough of the virus to make menormal.
He’d sounded hopeful. It was like a stab to the gut so when the doctors took vials of blood to test, I knew without asking what they were after. I also knew he wouldn’t get what he hoped for. I didn’t know how long it would take for the Lyc-V in my system to replenish completely but I knew it would. You couldn’t unmake a shifter.
“Who was it?” I ask, curiosity burning through me.
She shifts her weight. “A few boys. Two Latino boys and a black guy. They said they were your friends?”
I nod.
“What did you tell them?”
“That you weren’t seeing visitors right now.”
I release a breath. Better that than telling them I’m recovering. “Anything else?”
She’s quiet for a moment and I hold my breath. “I didn’t tell them what happened. I know you said you didn’t want anyone to know but … one of the boys got angry when I refused to let him in. He started shouting. I might have yelled at him.” She cringes. “I might have also told him you didn’twantto see anyone. Even him.” She grips my uninjured leg in apology. “He didn’t seem happy. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I just didn’t know how else to make him leave.”
“It’s okay. I’ll smooth things over when I’m better.” I hope.
She sighs and stands to leave. “Will you at least think about coming down to eat?”
I nod, knowing I won’t. I haven’t left my bed since that night to do anything more than use the bathroom. I need to eat. My stomach is all but consuming itself, but the one time I tried, I threw it back up and I don’t want a repeat experience.
* * *
Time passesfrom one day to the next in a blur of fever and pain. Who knew Lyc-V was such a bitch to rebuild. I’m sweating one minute and freezing the next. I lose track of the days. I wish I knew when it would end. I’m tempted to dig out the card and call Ricardo to ask if there is anything I can do to alleviate my symptoms but I don’t. Not only because I can’t be indebted to the Pack, even if I feel like I’m losing my sanity, but also because I don’t think I can make it to the laundry bin where my pants are. I’m too weak. My bones are aching.
Natalia is my only visitor as the week passes. She brings me food and water and tries to coax me to come downstairs, but I never do. The few times I’ve stood up from the bed, I almost always collapse to the floor where she later finds me and helps me back into bed. It’s humiliating.
