46–Awake
Iris‘ POV.
It was like being pulled from underwater and inhaling a big gulp of water. That was how it felt when I opened my eyes and sat up. I immediately touched my neck, to find a bandage.
“Luna…” A voice made me look up. It was a maid, staring at me aghast. Then she broke into a grateful smile as if I was a long–lost family member. It was the strangest thing that I had ever seen. The help, the servants, or even the guards never pretended to smile when I was around, not to talk of smiling genuinely as the maid was now doing. “You are awake!” she gasped.
My head throbbed, my neck was stiff, and my body felt as heavy as lead. The thought of trying to figure out what her excitement was about was draining in itself, so I did not even bother. I only tried to smile back. “Yes… I am… awake,” the words fell out of my mouth awkwardly as though I was just learning a language. My tongue felt thick.
“I will get the Alphat” she said, and without wasting another second, she scurried out of the room. I could only watch her go, puzzled at such a positive reaction to my waking up.
There was silence, save for some noises that sounded far away. Suddenly, I heard a clamor, and the noise began to come closer and closer. I gripped the cover cloth and pulled it closer to myself. Were they coming here? It did not sound only like Cassian; it sounded like a crowd.
Then long dark hair and dark eyes on a tall frame made an appearance. When our eyes met, the tension in his features drained away, replaced by something soft and relieved. He came to my side.
He smoothed my hair away from my face as gently as he could, his eyes filled with so much emotion that it was almost overwhelming for me. “Iris…” he murmured as he continued to smooth my hair out of my face. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
I coughed to clear my throat, which only served to hurt even more. I grimaced at the stab of pain in my throat.
“Be careful,” Cassian said. He poured me a cup of water and aided me in drinking it. “Don’t exert yourself, rest.”
I had just woken up since the goddess knew when, the last thing I wanted to do was rest. “How… long?” I croaked.
“A week,” Cassian told me, regret etched on his face.
I placed a hand on his, and he looked up at me, his gaze searching. “I am fine.”
“I hurt you, don’t downplay that,” he said.
“Vorax hurt me, you would never hurt me.” I said with conviction.
“I am Vorax.”
“Wolves are part of us… but they are not us,” I tried to tell him. Because I knew that if I went back I would do the same thing.
“My wolf is a beast, Iris,” he said, unconvinced.
“That does not make… you one,” I hacked a cough.
“Take it slow,” he said. Then he reached behind me and rubbed my back in circles.
I looked up to notice someone peeking into the room, Cassian followed my line of sight. “It is nothing, it is the guards.”
“What are… they doing here?” I asked.
“They are here to show their gratitude to their savior,” he answered.
“What for?” I asked.
“You saved them from me.” Realization dawned on me that I had easily defeated Vorax. But was that really grounds for this much gratitude that they would actually come to my chamber to thank me? It was outlandish to me. They had always been cold; this was so out of character.
“You are tired, they can…”
“No…” I stopped him. I wanted to see it for myself if what he was saying was really true. “Let them come in.”
Cassian hesitated for a moment, his concern for me evident in his eyes, but he nodded and signaled for the guards to enter. The door opened wider, and one by one, they filed in, each face a mix of awe, respect, and gratitude. It was like watching dogs speak, that was how bizarre it was to me. Cassian had not been joking.
As they approached, I noticed some had injuries, bandages peeking out from beneath their uniforms. The first guard, a burly man with a scar across his cheek, stepped forward and bowed deeply. “Luna Iris, we owe you our lives. Thank you.”
I tried to sit up straighter, my body protesting with every movement. “I only did what needed to be done,” I said, my voice still raspy but gaining strength. I tried to sound strong but my body was still healing.
Another guard stepped forward. “You faced Vorax alone to protect us. That’s not something we can easily repay.” He suddenly looked down as though ashamed. “I also want to apologize for the coldness that we might have shown you. We will amend our mistakes.”
It was like watching a play and I was utterly aghast by the plot twist. I swayed a little but Cassian’s grip on my hand tightened, and I squeezed back, trying to convey reassurance. “That would be very appreciated, thank you.”
“A Luna’s role is to protect her subjects, and I simply carried out my obligations.”
The guards nodded, murmurs of agreement passing among them. Cassian helped me take another sip of water, his eyes never leaving my face. “You
Setting
21:03
40- Awake
need to rest now,” he said softly.
“Thank you,” I said to the guards, my voice firm despite my exhaustion. “Your words mean more than you know.”
One by one, they filed out, each offering a final nod or word of gratitude. When the last guard left, Cassian turned his full attention back to me. “You need to heal,” he said, his voice a mix of command and plea.
“I will,” I promised. “But how is lone?”
“She is fine. You saved her.”
“She saved me first,” I replied. “And Abel?”
“He is alright, he will be excited to know you have awoken.”
I nodded, but then my heart felt heavy. “About Vorax…”
Cassian’s face fell. “Iris…”
“But Cassian…”
“I don’t want us to speak about it. It is my problem.”
“And Zahila abusing me was mine,” I countered. “Yet you intervened.”
“It is not the same.”
“It is very much the same,” I countered, my voice becoming higher than I had intended. I coughed.
“You need to rest. Vorax is insignificant,” he tried to dismiss.
“We will speak about Vorax first and you will tell me everything. You made me your Luna so that we can display a united front for this pack. That would mean trusting one another and being open. We might not be lovers in the conventional sense but we can be partners,” I had no idea where the
words were coming from but they felt right. “Or even friends,” I added.
Cassian sighed deeply. “I guess you are right.”
“Is there a way to control him?”
Cassian’s expression darkened. “There is no controlling him. He’s a part of me, a part I can’t tame. At least not fully, but I can control him temporarily with…”
“A whip!” I gasped. “I forbid it,” I grimaced at the memory of the sound of the whip against his bare back. The sounds would forever haunt me.
“There is no other way…”
“Iris!” I looked up to see Ione, and in her arms was Abel with a big smile on his face. “Thank the goddess, you are awake.”
“Bi–big sis–sis–ter!” Abel screamed before scurrying down from Ione to run to me.
