The distrust and caution in Evelynn's eyes made Sawyer put down the matter for the time being. He carefully laid Evelynn down on the bed and tucked her in. His hand grazed Evelynn's as he laid her.
Evelynn's pale face turned paler because of the weird but pleasant nerve rush she felt. She looked up at her dextrose.
"But this tube…" in a brittle voice, she said. "I hate it."
Sawyer stared at her, trying to infer what her words suggested.
"When you wake up, we'll remove it," Sawyer soothed her. "So for now, take your rest, and get your strength back."
Like a gullible child, Evelynn nodded and closed her eyes.
Soon after, she fell asleep again.
Sawyer stared at Evelynn's face without reservation. There were dark circles around her eyes.
Her cheeks had no fat and were dented. Her right cheek was swollen, and her chapped lips were burst. She had a bandage on her forehead. And that bandage was probably hiding another wound.
She showed so many signs of fatigue and torture. Sawyer had no idea for how long she had been suffering under the hands of the blood traders.
She was pale, and that was why the blue marks on her face looked worse.
He dragged his eyes down to Evelynn's malnourished and bony hands. Her body was screaming skin and bones.
Sawyer never imagined she would come by so early. And she happened to be someone so broken and conflicted.
Even in her sleep, she looked restless. He noticed something in the back of Evelynn's hand. It was a round type of wound that was nearly healed. He slowly held her hand and halted when Evelynn groaned.
It was like he was a thief caught in the act. He waited for Evelynn to say something, but she was silent. When he looked at her, she was still fast asleep.
Sawyer breathed out in relief.
'That was close... phew...'
He slowly lifted the long sleeve of the hospital dress she was wearing to see the round wound. What he saw sank his heart deeply into a place of pain and empathy for the woman he was holding.
There were more round wounds at the back of her hand up to her wrist. There were also some visible scars of the same round wound.
He traced the chain mark, circling her wrist with his fingers. That single line connoted years of unbelievable anguish that might’ve felt forever to her. His heart ached for her.
He folded the hospital dress' sleeve up to her elbows, and more scars appeared.
A series of knocks came from the door. Liam entered the hospital room and bowed casually to his leader.
"What have you got?" Sawyer asked immediately.
“We are keeping the three imprisoned in the dungeon for questioning,” Liam responded straight. "They're blood traders, as suspected.”
The blood trading operation's sole purpose was to supply blood to vampires and make money out of it.
It was a clever strategy of vampires to get away from killing humans and wolves in a literal sense. It was their way of compromising with both human societies and wolf communities.
But it was still a violation of the treaty signed by vampires, wolves, and humans to protect their clans from the threats of the others. And the vampires had been getting away with it for a long time now.
"And she's most likely kept there as a blood source for vampires. Their operation is expanding exponentially. It's getting out of hand. I'm dreading that there are more wolves like her imprisoned for the same reason."
While listening to his Beta's report, Sawyer continued inspecting the patient's body for the same round wounds.
"That abandoned house was a trading place run by a human named Hermus," the Beta reported.
"Beta, look at these..." he told Liam. "What do you think these wounds are from?"
Liam drew closer to the bed and attempted to touch Evelynn's arm when Sawyer smacked his hand. Subconsciously, Liam stepped back, appalled by the sudden attack.
"Don't lay your hands on her," Sawyer threatened.
"How am I supposed to check?" Liam reasoned to the Alpha.
Sawyer whizzed and said, "Don't ask me. Use your wolf eyes."
Liam wasn't sure how to react to the Alpha's new behavior, but he decided to brush it off at the back of his mind.
As ordered, Liam used his wolf eyes only, no hands, when he inspected the wounds.
"Haven't you heard anything from Kim about it?" Liam asked.
"You know she never says anything when you don't ask."
Even though he wasn't sure, he knew that when the Alpha asked, he needed to always have an answer. So he answered, "Judging from the shape and size, these could be cigarette burns."
The Alpha hated it whenever he asked and got no answer. So Liam knew that even when he was wrong, not sure, no idea at all, he had to give whatever answer he could come up with.
"Have you found out anything about who this victim is?" Sawyer referred to the patient in the bed. “Who is she?”
"That's what is interesting. Percival's investigation tells that the house was certainly a blood trading facility. It has a room full of equipment for blood-draining procedures and a cell for prisoners. But there was no one else there. No other prisoners," Liam eyed the sleeping Evelynn, "but that woman."
Sawyer stood up and strode to the window of the room. When he looked outside, it was dark.
"Did we have a blackout again?" he asked.
"Yes, but the Electric Unit is working on it. It'll be back after an hour."
Sawyer closed the window's curtains and walked back near the bed.
"The EU's problem has frequently been occurring," Sawyer side-noted.
He unfolded Evelynn's sleeve and made sure her wounds were hidden. He properly covered her with the blanket and checked her IV drip before he signaled Liam to follow him outside.
"And her test results?" Sawyer asked as they walked out of the room.
"She's indeed a wolf, as shown by how her blood works. A human being would never be able to recover this fast. But she's recovering really slow for a wolf. And I guess I couldn't smell her because she's no longer in touch with her wolf."
"So she's between being a wolf and being a human. Her recovery progress is extraordinary for a human but below normal for a wolf."
Liam peered at Sawyer, hesitant to ask.
"Why are you so concerned about her that you're nursing her personally?"
"Is there anything wrong with an Alpha taking care of his wolf?" the Alpha shot back.
Liam was taken aback and couldn't properly respond. He dared not say that something was wrong with how his Alpha behaved.
But there was something wrong indeed.
First of all, she wasn't his wolf. She wasn't even part of the pack.
"How did you find her? I'm still confident my nose is better than yours."
"She attracted me. At least her scent did. Before I could think about it, she pulled me inside that cell."
Liam, surprised by the news, side-eyed the Alpha. His brain quickly tried to decode the Alpha's statement.
He ultimately arrived at one conclusion.
"Is she..." the Beta strangled at his words.
"She is," Sawyer flatly confirmed. "So watch what you say, or I'll evict you from the pack and promote Percy as my Beta. Imagine your father’s disappointment when that happens."
Liam grimaced. The thought of Percy as the Beta nearly made his wolf get loose inside him. Losing his position in the current hierarchy posed a lot of unspeakable things he couldn’t dare think about.
Like disappointing his father. Probably losing his purpose in the pack, too. And ultimately, going back to where he originally came from.
Both exited the hospital building while still discussing.
"Any news on the runaways?"
Liam shook his head at the Alpha’s question. "Nothing. By now, I think we should give up."
Sawyer spat a furious look at Liam.
"That's not what a Beta should say," Sawyer scolded through gritted teeth. "Give up on my wolves? Never."
"Alpha, it isn't like you to deal with things emotionally," he tried to convince. "They have broken our code of conduct. Not only did they betray the pack, but they also killed some of our wolves and sold them to the vampires. Now they're working as blood traders. They're enemies now. And yet, you want to bring them back?"
Sawyer massaged his temple. His Beta had a point.
"I know why you're so obsessed with the blood traders. Bringing back pack mates is maybe one of the motives, but your main aim was to find Aubrey. I can see through you. I've kept quiet until now and supported your decision. But I can no longer tolerate you going on dangerous raids for your childhood lover."
"She's not my—" Sawyer risked to correct Liam but decided not to lengthen the conversation. So he diverted the topic.
"Discuss with Percy. I want the report about last night's raid on my desk first thing in the morning."
Liam looked outside and saw the moon's glorious face looking at him.
"But it's late."
"We're wolves. Don't complain to me about it."
As Sawyer walked ahead, Liam was left in disbelief.