Page 55 of Rejected and Regretted

Every other time I had seen Koen shirtless, his athletic physique had earned my attention. Now, I barely noticed his muscles. All I could see was the huge gash on his side.

“Good Goddess,” I breathed out, swallowing dry as I let it sink in how grave his wound was. Shaking my head, I turned to the house phone on the bedside table. “I’m calling a doctor.”

Before I could reach the phone, though, a fist wrapped around my wrist. My attention shifted back to Koen, and the seriousness in his eyes struck me. “No,” he uttered, simply.

Is he fucking insane?

He let go of my hand, relaxing his head on his pillow. With eyes closed, he added, “I’ll be fine in your hands.”

Absolutely not!

“I’m not a fucking doctor, Koen!” I yelled, slightly angry at how serene he was. “This looks like it needs a million stitches. I can’t patch you up! Besides, considering how deep that wound is, I wouldn’t be surprised if you needed a blood transfusion.”

“I thought you said you weren't a doctor,” he replied mockingly at my prognosis. After a few more heavy breaths, he glanced at me. “I can’t let the other alphas learn about my condition, Avril.”

My anger subsided for a moment as I tried to grasp what he was saying. Being an alpha who was mostly isolated from the rest of the werewolf world, I wasn’t entirely familiar with the politics behind big events, but once I stopped to think about it, it wasn’t hard to figure out what he was so scared about.

Leaders were usually accompanied by their betas, who acted like bodyguards, quick to defend their alphas while they were away from the safety of their territory. Not only was Koen now without a beta, but he was also gravely wounded, making him an easy target. Especially if word got around about his condition.

“Fine,” I scoffed at last. “Tell me what to do.”

Koen visibly relaxed, releasing a relieved sigh before he instructed, “You have to clean it first. Flush it out with water. I have a feeling you’re not eager to stitch me up, so you’ll have to bandage it pretty well to stop the bleeding.”

Allowing myself no time to process how insane all of this was, I stood up to grab the materials I would need. After soaking a face towel in cool water, I gently dabbed it around Koen’s wound. The gesture alone made him wince, but it got even worse when I started rubbing it, regardless of how gentle I tried to be. A minute in and he was screaming bloody murder.

“This isn’t gonna work, Koen,” I stated, ready to give up and resort to my initial suggestion.

“It is! It’s gonna work,” he insisted, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to collect his breath while beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. “Just…give me a second. Let me get used to the pain.”

I did as he said. Only the sound of his panting filled the room as none of us said a word. When he invited me to come with him to the alpha meeting, I didn’t expect it to go this way. And seeing the state he was in…it made me emotional.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, clutching the red-stained towel.

“What for?” he replied in an equally low tone.

“It’s my fault you’re in this situation,” I admitted, unable to fight off the guilt.

“No, it’s not,” he growled. “Gregor did this.”

“Because of me,” I argued. “He said so himself, before he attacked you.”

“Gregor was consumed by his blind hatred. That’s not…your fault,” he struggled to finish his sentence, growing weaker by the second. I thought he was done, until his faint voice resonated in my ears again. “He was…right about one thing…though. I…I do…want you.”

At his revelation, my heart skipped a bit. I immediately darted my head at him. He was still lying with his face up, hair drenched in sweat. Actually, his whole body glistened, covered in perspiration. Worried, I touched his forehead only to realize his skin was burning.

My nerves calmed, my heart rhythm returning to normal.I want you, his words echoed in my head, but I brushed them off. He wasn’t in his right mind. It was likely that he was hallucinating, considering his temperature.

“Seems like you have a fever,” I observed.

“You think I’m delirious, don’t you?” A short, breathy chuckle broke through his lips. “I never stopped…caring about…you. Even…after I sent you away.”

“Goddess, Koen, shut up. You’re overexerting yourself,” I scolded, paying no mind to his nonsense. “You should be saving your energy.”

In return, he too ignored me. “I visited you.”

“Sure, you did.” I rolled my eyes, now fully believing that he was delusional.

“In your dreams,” he added.

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