Evelyn~
Honestly, I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have even one mate who treated gently, let alone two.
It felt like I’d won the lottery twice.
Sothing that was never supposed to happen to soone like .
I an, I always roll a one whenever I throw dice, so I never expect anything good.
"The faster you pull out, the sooner I’ll stop hurting," I told him, trying to sound strong. "Don’t worry. I’m used to pain."
Rael’s eyes widened. "Y-you’re used to it?"
He looked at like he wanted to ask how anyone could ever get used to sothing like that.
Before I could answer, a voice called out from above the pit. "Alpha Rael! I brought Dr. Caelis!"
It sounded like Beta Marek, the one Rael had asked to fetch the doctor.
Both n leaned over the edge and looked down at , and just like Rael earlier, their faces filled with shock.
I even heard one of them let out a sharp hiss under his breath.
They glanced at each other, and Dr. Caelis shook his head slowly, like he was silently saying I had no chance left.
Well, the doctors in Valedorn once asked to use as a test subject, but of course, I refused and threatened to tell Theron if they ever brought it up again.
If I survived this, I had no doubt this doctor would want to study too.
"Can you ... ask them to stop staring at ?" I whispered to Rael. "It’s making uncomfortable."
Rael waved his hand and said firmly, "Step away from here. I’ll call you if I need help."
Neither of them argued. They probably thought I didn’t have much ti left, and wanted to give us so privacy, like we were sharing our last monts together.
"Alright, let’s do this quickly," Rael turned his full attention back to once they stepped away from the tiger trap. "I’ll pull you out as fast as I can, but ... it’s going to hurt. A lot."
"I know." I took a deep breath and nodded. "Let’s just get it over with."
I kept my eyes on his face, focusing on him instead of the pain I knew was coming. If I stared at him, maybe I wouldn’t scream.
Before he moved, Rael gently placed a handkerchief between my lips. "You can bite this instead of hurting your mouth or breaking your teeth."
Even though any wound on my lip would heal quickly, the gesture still left such a warm impression on .
I gave him a small nod and humd, "Mhm."
Rael shook out his hands a few tis like he was trying to calm himself, then reached for my arms. "Alright," he said. "I’ll count to three. One, two—"
I bit down hard on the handkerchief.
He pulled so fast I didn’t even have ti to scream.
The spikes ripped out of my body, and the pain hit all at once.
Blood gushed out like a flood, soaking my clothes and dripping down to the spikes below.
So of it splattered onto the ground around us, painting the dirt red.
"What are you feeling now?" Rael asked worriedly, his eyes glued to my injuries, watching closely as they slowly began to close. "Was I ... was I too rough?"
I raised my hand and placed it gently over Rael’s mouth, asking him to be quiet for a mont.
My breathing was ragged, and my heart was pounding so fast, I thought it might burst.
Slowly, I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder.
His hands hovered beside , hesitant to touch , probably afraid he’d hurt even more by accident.
"I’m fine," I finally whispered. "I’m alright now."
So of the wounds on my body were still open, not fully healed yet. But at least the bleeding had finally stopped.
Rael swallowed hard. He looked completely lost, like his brain couldn’t figure out how I was still alive after having all my vital organs pierced.
"I’m not using any dark magic to do this," I said quickly, before he could say a word. "So please ... don’t tie to a wooden stake and set on fire."
Rael went quiet for a few seconds. He stared at , thinking hard about what I just said. Then, finally, his expression changed, like sothing had clicked in his head.
"Is that why you ran?" he asked, voice filled with disbelief. "Did you really think we burned the wooden stake because we were going to burn you?!"
I slowly lifted my face and looked at him. I didn’t answer out loud. I didn’t have to because he could see it in my eyes.
He turned away, muttering a curse under his breath. "Damn it!"
Then he looked back at , and this ti, his voice was filled with sothing gentler. "No, Evelyn, that stake was not for you! It’s a tradition, we burn it to welco new mbers into our pack!"
So ... my wolf had been right all along.
"I panicked," I admitted softly. "That’s why I didn’t think twice before running away. I’m sorry for having such bad thoughts about you and your pack."
Rael took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside him.
"That’s not what I’m upset about," he said. "I don’t care if you thought we were savages who burn people alive. But what does matter is that you got hurt—this badly—just because you were afraid of us."
"But I get it," he added. "We really do look like barbarians ... so it makes sense you’d want to run."
I lowered my gaze and murmured, "It wasn’t because of how you looked." I paused for a mont, then added softly, "I ran because ... what you did triggered my trauma. That’s all."
Sure, Rael and his people had that wild, untad look, but that wasn’t what made run.
If they hadn’t lit that wooden stake in front of , I probably wouldn’t have reacted the way I did.
"Trauma?" Rael asked. "What—"
Before he could finish, I heard Marek’s voice shouting from above the pit.
"Alpha! Should I call the carpenter to start making a coffin?!"
Rael’s face turned bright red with rage. "COFFIN MY ASS! MY WIFE IS STILL ALIVE!" he roared.
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