Rylee's Pov
I sighed as I enjoyed Catherine's touch on my back as she rubbed the medicine to heal my wounds. I prevented myself from thinking about what happened in the woods or to even acknowledge that a nightwalker had bitten me.
"What an interesting night, don't you think?" Catherine's voice sipped into my thoughts.
"Do you think they would be okay?" I asked, referring to the wounded wolves.
Catherine sighed, "Yes, they will, but we lost more."
"How many?"
Catherine exhaled deeply, "fifteen. Ten were wounded."
I shut my eyes at the numbers; they really did lose more, and the sudden thought increased my burning hatred for a certain someone. "Don't worry, Catherine; we would have our revenge. Trust me."
"Yes, we will, but we have to know what we are up against first."
"That's not hard; it's just acstupid..." I stopped, knowing that I almost spilled the beans.
"Just a what?" Catherine pressed.
"Nothing, don't mind me."
Catherine nodded and kept applying the balm. "Wow, either your healing speed has increased or my medicine has turned stronger that I wasn't aware of."
I frowned at that. "What are you talking about?"
"I have treated other wolves that were whipped, but none of them healed this fast on the very night it happened. It often takes them a week to have their body looking like this."
"What are you talking about?" I repeated, scared now as I sprang up from the bed and rushed to the mirror. I had noticed something was wrong earlier as well, when my back wasn't hurting as much anymore. When I was in the shower, I had felt a soothing feeling that made me pass out in the bath, and if Catherine had not entered, I was sure I would have still been in there asleep. I turned my back to the mirror, and my eyes widened in horror at what she saw.
Like Catherine had said, it would take a week for the strongest of wolves to heal from the whip marks, but my body looked like she was just grazed by a knife, wounds that would heal completely by morning. How is that possible? I could remember the whip sliced through my flesh, leaving my back completely open, that one clean look, and I could see my bones.
Even if I didn't have a look at my back at that time, I had seen countless wolves being whipped and how their back looked just after, so why don't mine look like that? Why does it look like someone only gave me tiny cuts with a knife?
"Interesting, you are not limping." Catherine said, calling me out of my thought.
I glanced at her, and then my eyes went to my injured leg. That's true. I could remember Cameron having to help me to the execution ground because I couldn't walk on my own, and just now I had rushed to the mirror without a single ounce of pain. What is happening?
Catherine stood up and approached me. "I have treated you ever since you were a child, but you have never healed this fast. Even if the whip mark could be considered possible, healing from a Garuda flower so quickly..." she shook her head, "it's not possible. Do you know why it hurt earlier? It was because there was still some poison in it, and it would have taken me a few days to finally detoxify it, and in those few days, your ankle was supposed to be hurting, but you walked so perfectly now. I had noticed it when you walked out from the bathroom but had thought you hadn't felt the pain because you were drowsy, but now... she sighed.
I was going crazy as I tried to figure out what was wrong with me. Even I knew I shouldn't have healed so quickly. With how my back looked now, I would be completely healed by morning, and it would look like I was never whipped. How possible? And my leg, why doesn't it hurt anymore?
"When I first noticed how quickly you were healing, I was first worried, but then I figured it out," Catherine said, and I glanced up at her sharply. "Your fast healing has to do with this mark; who gave it to you?"
Mark, what mark? I asked as I turned quickly to the mirror, and my eyes went to my neck. Right there, where my mate should have marked me, was sitting a blood red flower. My eyes widened in shock as I stared at the mark. Just then, I remembered the incident in the woods and the horrific look on his face when he glanced at my neck. How his bite had turned pleasurable, how touching my neck brought me a soothing sensation. It turned out that while biting her, the stupid idiot had marked her? He marked me!
I screamed in my mind as my whole body was consumed in horror. I started scrubbing at my neck, wanting to wipe away the hideous mark. Marked by a Bloodsucker, how amazing! I rushed into the bathroom immediately and turned on the shower.
Reaching for my bathing soap, I started scrubbing my neck some more, praying that the stupid mark was just a stain and that it would be washed off. I kept scrubbing, and soon my neck started hurting me, but I knew the mark was still there; I could feel its presence every time my hand touched it. No, no, this can't be happening to me; it can't. Why me? Why me? I kept asking herself as I broke into a sob and slumped on the bathroom floor, the shower running down on me.
Catherine sighed seeing me like that and came close to me. She squatted beside me, not minding that she was getting soaked by the shower. "Listen, I understand you didn't know the mark is there but I also know that you know what that thing is. Otherwise, why would it just take you from your punishment and only to leave you lying in the woods? I believe that this is its way of telling us that you are its and no one should hurt you. Whatever it is, it must be a strong one if it's healing properties can be transferred from its mark to heal you."
"No, no, no," I shook her head. "I can't belong to him; I can never belong to him. This is an abomination. I am a wolf without a mate; how can I show up with a mark? An unusual mark, in fact. There is no wolf park that has this kind of mark. Yes, we do have flowers, but never a blood red one, never," I sobbed.
Catherine stared at me, believing even more that I knew who gave me that mark and what he is. She exhaled deeply and stood up, turning off the shower. "Get up and dry yourself, Rylee; crying isn't going to solve anything. From the looks of it, you don't need my healing balm anymore, so there is no reason for me to be here."
I glanced up at her sharply, I touched my back and my skin was as smooth as always and there wasn't even a single pain. I has completely healed. How?
"To be honest, I really want to know what that thing is, but it's obvious you don't want to talk about it, so I would leave you to rest now," Catherine turned to leave.
I sat up and grabbed her hand. "Catherine, please, can you not tell my father about this? I can't imagine what would happen."
"I can, he will go in search of that thing that forcefully marked his daughter and he might die in the process. What I saw tonight is not something we should play around with and I am definitely not ready to rid this pack of its alpha. So rest assured that I won't be telling the Alpha anything until I know what it is myself."
I nodded and stood up, "thank you," I sniffled as a few tears ran down my cheeks.
Catherine smiled and ran her fingers on her my hair. She wanted to say comforting words but she doesn't know what to say. She sighed and led me out of the bathroom.
"You can cry here, on the comfort of your bed. It would be better than lying in the cold floor of the shower. Try and have a good rest, maybe you will feel better in the morning."
I scoffed, "I will only feel better if I wake up in the morning and this is gone," I pointed at my neck where the mark was and Catherine doesn't know if the mark had turned redder or if it was her endless scrubbing that left the whole area on her neck red.
"Marks doesn't work that way."
"I know," I sniffled and walked over to my bed. Climbing into it, she wrapped the duvet around me.
Catherine watched me, clearly she seemed worried about me, but she had to remind herself that as a wolf, it would be difficult for us to catch a cold. She sighed and packed her medicines and with one more glance at her, she left the room. As soon as the door closed, I let go of the water-works.