Page 44 of Rhaz's Redemption
“Are you well?” I asked her in a whisper so as to not disturb the others.
However, instead of responding, she furrowed her brows and gave me a confused look.
“It was a long journey to the valley,” I began again. “Were you injured along the way? Are you hungry? Cold?”
Her confused expression didn’t leave her face, but she did respond to me this time.
“No,” she shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Beatrice continued to eye me with curiosity and after a long moment she stated, “Dameron must have hit you on the head pretty hard. You’re acting…differently than you normally do.”
“Not Dameron,” I corrected. “Gil. He’s another shifter than Dameron has been keeping hidden.”
“Wait. What?” This must not have been the answer she was looking for because she looked more confused now than she did before.
“He’s very big,” I explained. He cracked my skull, but I’m fine now.”
“He what?!” She was sitting up now with her mouth agape.
“I…It’s not a big deal.” I assured her. “I heal quickly.”
“You can’t just heal from a cracked skull, Rhaz. Not within a matter of weeks without proper care or nutrition,” she whispered.
“Maybe humans don’t, but I do,” I shrugged.
She ran a hand down her face, and I regretted telling her about my encounter with Gil. I wanted her to feel better, not stress her out even more.
“So you’re telling me Dameron has a whole ass shifter hiding out there in the woods somewhere?”
“Yes,” I nodded. I hesitated to say more, but it felt wrong to withhold the truth from Beatrice so I continued. “His name is Gil and he believes the shifters from our dekes killed his parents.”
Beatrice closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she drew in a few deep breaths.
“This is bad. Very, very, bad.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “I’ll try to warn Tarak about him as soon as I can.”
Beatrice laid back down and stared up at the ceiling for a long time. Her shoulders had grown tense and the frown on her face made my heart ache. I wanted to fix it. I wanted to fix everything.
“Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?” I asked.
She blinked a few times and then turned to face me. She did not look happy to see me beside her. The expression she wore was one of confused exhaustion.
“I…” she began then let out a long sigh. “I can’t do this with you right now.”
And with that she turned on her side so her back was to me signaling the end of the conversation.
Do what with me? What could she not do, I wondered. I had only asked about her comfort and yet she seemed so put off by my presence. I realized then that I had a long journey ahead of me in winning my mate back. I was not afraid of a challenge, however. I would earn her trust no matter how long it took, and eventually I might even earn her heart back too.
Chapter 19
Beatrice
My anxiety was through the roof. Not only were we forced just to wait here while Tarak organized a rescue party, but we had to wonder who might be picked next as a prize for one of Dameron’s men. We’d successfully held him off once, but I was afraid our luck would soon run out.
And then there was Rhaz… God he was frustrating. Who did he think he was, going from denying me as his mate, refusing to be friends, to asking me how I was doing? We were barely even speaking to each other before he left, and other than that spontaneous kiss we shared, he’d never given me any indication that he even liked me.
He doesn’t just get to change his mind like that. If I wasn’t good enough for him to claim me as his mate then why am I now, and what’s going to happen in the future? Is he going to change his mind again?
