[Stephanie]
Again, the phone in my pocket alerted me to a new message. I had received several messages from Freya on my way to pick up the antidote with Arthur.
I stood in front of the window, took out my smartphone, and once again skimmed through the messages she had sent me.
*Patrick must be in a coma, right? Do you want to save him?*8:56
*Only I know how to save him. As long as you promise to see me.* 9:15
*Steph, you know without the antidote, Patrick will die tomorrow* 9:23
*I know you hate me, but I was forced to poison him. I'm Patrick's mate. I want to save him.* 9:50
*Steph, you've read my messages, why don't you get back to me?* 10:20
*Don't you want to save Patrick?*10:50
I had read these messages she sent while sitting next to the hospital bed waiting for Patrick's report, but I didn't reply to her.
*Do you want to watch Patrick die?*
*???? *10:53
These were the message she sent a few seconds ago. She must be losing her patience.
*Where to meet u?* My fingers flew as I typed out replies and deleted them again. My sanity reminded me not to be impulsive now. These messages could be their trap.
If I had as much power as Arthur, I would have rushed to Demon Forest Pack and killed Carl, Freya, and Triton to avenge.
However, I clearly knew that I did not have the ability to challenge the three of them now. Moreover, they had poisoned weapons that I hadn't seen before.
Arthur only had a strong antidote serum, which meant we could only wait to die if I or any of the pack members were poisoned. I should figure out a way to kill all three without a face-to-face fight.
Perhaps I could consider borrowing Arthur's silver bomb, which contained the highly lethal nerve gas.
"Don't do that, Steph. Arthur may kill us with the poison gas in that silver container," Rose suddenly reminded me after noticing my thoughts.
"Excuse me? Rose, you were saying this morning that you wanted to invite our mate to run through the forest with you. And, you were so eager to get out and be with him. Why are you now worried that he will kill us? Did Arthur's wolf say something to you, and you got some new discovery?" I was surprised by Rose's change of attitude.
"No, I want to see my mate, not Arthur. You should treat them differently. By the way, my new mate is the silent type. Oh, one more thing, I've gotten smarter in this lifetime. I didn't let him know I could talk to him." Rose told me proudly.
"Then why do you say that?" I asked. It sounded like Rose thought (or the other wolves also did) that the human form and the wolf form were completely different individuals.
"Because I found out you were obsessed with your new mate. I needed to wake you up to your sanity. Did you forget how we died in our last life? It was killed by silver dagger and arrows. What color is the weapon Arthur holds? It's silver! Don't you think it's a hint from the moon god?" Rose's voice became shrill, indicating that she was now agitated.
"Rose, you've developed a stress reaction to silver items?" Poor Rose, she probably got PTSD, just like I just found out I had a fear of seeing Carl and Freya after I was reborn. Rose also became fearful after learning that Arthur had a silver bomb.
"That's what you humans interpret. As a wolf, my natural alertness tells me to stay away from your mate. Remember what I warned you this morning, Arthur is dangerous. "
"Though, I won't deny that your mate revived both of us to make him look like a good guy. You can't see the aura of pressure emanating from him when he's angry, and it makes me cringe. It's a fear towards a powerful opponent who is impossible to be defeated. It's not normal for a wolf to fear the mate's human form."
"I can't think of anything we would do to piss him off. He's never been mad at us before. Besides, he said that the silver bomb was for personal protection. So, I think we're safe for now." My fingers tapped on the windowsill. I should have taken Rose's warning, but instead, I found some reason to explain it to Arthur.
Rose was right. I was hooked on my new mate.
"Oh~ Come on! Steph, I knew once you fancy someone, you'll trust them completely. You don't learn anything at all from your past experiences, do you?" Rose screamed at me.
"Listen, did you do anything in your last life to piss off those two assholes? Did Carl ever get mad at you? No, you didn't. Neither did he."
"Carl said in his last life that he would always love you, and Freya said you were best friends. And then what do you get?"
"It was your mate who stabbed your heart with the silver dagger. Your BFF stuck two silver arrows into your wrists." Rose relentlessly described the tragic circumstances of my death in my last life.
Unfortunately, she was telling the truth.
My heart seemed to stop for a second following the movement of my fingers. I looked to my intact wrist and touched my heart again. My heart resumed beating, only it was beating faster than it had a moment ago.
"Sorry, Steph, I know what I said reminded you of that damn past life. But I hope you won't trust your mate as easily as you did in your last life. In case he also wants to kill you for some stupid reasons we don't know about. We'd be screwed."
"You know that my soul is boarded in your body. Once your body dies, I will also die. You can say I'm a selfish wolf. But I just want to live well in this life and grow old with you." The volume of Rose's voice was noticeably lower when she admitted that she was a selfish wolf.
A summer breeze blew by, and I gazed out the window at the green leaves on the tree branches dancing. Some dark clouds were gathering over the summit of Mt. Lyete in the distance. Maybe it's going to rain.
Someone opened the door. The air that penetrated my nostrils had an additional scent of fir.
I turned around and watched Arthur carry his travel backpack and follow my father into the room.
I was probably affected by Rose's mood and words. I felt scared when I saw him carrying the backpack with the silver gas bomb. I even moved my sight away after I met his eyes.
"We've heard from Doctor Dave." My father said to me and touched Patrick's neck and forehead.
Arthur placed his backpack casually on the bedside before bending down to look at the heart monitor.
"My doctor told me that when the antidote serum takes effect, it does cause the patient to appear dormant after the detoxification. But the time for the patient to awaken is determined by the degree of damage to the central nervous system and his physical condition."
"It's not too late when we gave him the serum. And according to my observation, Patrick's body is stronger than the average wolf. Maybe he will wake up tonight or tomorrow morning." Arthur explained, turning his gaze to me.
I pretended not to notice and just stared at Patrick.
"I hope so!" My father nodded his head. He sighed and said to Patrick, who was lying on the bed, "If I hadn't wasted my time listening to Triton's nonsense, if I just ignored that stupid agreement, maybe you wouldn't be lying here."
"If that were the case, maybe you or I will be the one lying here, Eric, " Arthur shook his head.