Chapter 32

“When my shift ended in the evening, I went in search of the Alpha’s son and found him messing with a girl beside the palace swimming pool. I whipped out my sword and sliced him up before he could even scream.
“His lover was the one who ran into the palace to raise an alarm. I escaped immediately and never looked back. I became an outcast because of my crime but I was happy to have avenged my sister’s death.”
“What about your mother?”
He sighed. “Leaving her behind was my only regret,” he said sadly. “She was banished from the pack because of what I did. I caught up with her shortly after then but she wouldn’t speak to me. She eventually died in the Highlands where she had moved to stay with an old friend.”
“Aww… that’s sad,” I said.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But I have since made lemonade out of the lemons life has thrown at me. I’m an adventurer now.”
“And my saviour too,” I said.
“I’m happy to be that for you. I can’t stand to see a guy attacking a female, especially a defenceless one. It always feels like my sister is getting attacked all over again.”
“I understand,” I said softly. “Oh, look. We’re here. That’s Sasha’s cabin!”
“Who’s Sasha?”
“My friend. She’s going to help me take good care of you.”
“She sounds like a fantastic friend. I can’t wait to meet her already. I think I’m going to like her.”
“You bet,” I said excitedly.
I helped him to the front of the cabin and knocked on the front door. Sasha opened it almost immediately and was happy to see me there.
Her bright smile disappeared when she saw Hazim behind me.
“I’ll be damned,” he whispered.
“What are you doing here?” She asked him with a frown.
“Uh, I didn’t know this was your place,” he said with an embarrassed expression.
“Well, now you know. You’re not welcome here,” she said and slammed her door in our faces.

*********************

“Wait, what’s going on here?” I asked Hazim. “Do you two know each other?”
He sighed. “Yeah. Briefly.”
“When?”
“I need to sit down. My legs still hurt.”
I helped him sit on the porch and then went back to knock on the cabin door to get Sasha’s attention.
“Go away!” She yelled from inside.
“Please, Sasha. He needs help. He saved my life again in the woods.”
“Leave her alone,” he said. “I’ll be fine eventually.”
“I’m not going to let you bleed to death out here,” I said to him. “What did you do to her anyway?”
“I broke her heart,” he said and groaned in pain.
“You wish you did,” said Sasha from inside.
“You two were together before?” I asked.
The cabin door swung open and Sasha came out. “This fool was the first person I ran into when I fled the Highlands. He got me a room in a village inn and paid for my food and care. We started to hang out and then we were practically living together.
“We had plans of getting jobs and a proper house to live in. Everything seemed fine until he took off one evening and never came back. He made a fool of me!”
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Whatever…” she said dismissively.
“Sasha, you never told me about this before,” I said.
“Because it was one of the many parts of my life’s journey that I would love to forget,” she replied. “Well, that’s that. Get up and leave.”
“Come on, Sasha. Please, let’s help him,” I begged her. “He rescued me from one of my Alpha mates in the woods just now. It was a terrible fight.”
“Are you ever going to be free of those bastards?” She asked.
“I’m not going to worry about that for now. Let’s just help Hazim, please,” I said.
“Hazim? Is that the name you go by now?” She asked him with a smirk. “What a liar.”
“My real name is Hazim,” he said to her. “I’m sorry, Sasha. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I’m not hurt,” she snapped at him. “I wasn’t even hurt then, just disappointed. That was how I learned never to trust male werewolves, no matter the breed.”
I could hear the bitterness in her voice and I knew that her claims of not being hurt were lies. Had she been in love with him?
This situation between them made me feel awkward. Here I was, seriously attracted to Hazim and now I’ve found out that they had a thing together in the past. What a mess!
“Come in, then,” she said impatiently. “I’ll treat your wounds and then you can be on your way. You can follow him if you want, Jade. I won’t stop you.”
I cleared my throat and said, “Let’s leave that for later. Come on, Hazim. Let’s go inside.”
I helped him get into the cabin while Sasha held the door open for us. His tall frame looked cramped inside the small space.
He lay on the couch and Sasha brought out a small tin box from her kitchen cabinet. It contained her stash of medical supplies.
She cleaned his wound with the sterilized alcohol and Hazim barely flinched when it stung his open wound. When she was done with that, she brought out a sewing needle and a silky thread that looked like a fishing line.
“What are you trying to do?” I asked her fearfully.
She glared at me. “What do you think? Can’t you see that his stomach wound is too deep to heal on its own? It might take up to two days and it would probably get infected by then. Is that what you want?”
I didn’t appreciate her tone but I could understand why she was so snippy with me. She didn’t want to touch Hazim or be anywhere close to him but that was exactly what she was about to do. I’d be pissed off too if I were in her shoes.
“Have you done this before?” I asked her.
“No, but I’ve seen it done at the pack hospital many times,” she replied tartly. “Would you rather do it, since you don’t trust me?”
I backed away quickly. “No. You do it if you’re sure.”
“Go ahead, Sasha,” said Hazim. “You can do it. I trust you.”
“Don’t be so sure,” she snapped at him. “I could get a knife from my kitchen now and make this wound bigger instead.”
“Sasha!” I gasped.
“She won’t do it,” said Hazim, chuckling. “Go on, Sasha. Stitch me up.”
She held the needle and thread in her hands and stared at him angrily. It seemed she was thinking of stitching his lips closed instead.
“Please,” he added when he saw her look. He was probably reading her mind too.
Sasha finally got to work and it was a bloody activity. I was impressed to see how steady her hands were as she began the stitch. She did not flinch or groan. I was the one who was busy struggling not to throw up.
I admired her grit because I could never attempt this kind of thing even if I was offered the whole world. The way the needle passed through his skin made me cringe.
Hazim remained still the whole time, watching Sasha’s face as she worked. She was too focused on her task to notice his eyes on her.
When she was done, there was a long line of stitches running along Hazim’s hard abs. It was neatly done, and better than I expected.
“Well done, Sasha,” I praised her.
“Thank you, Sasha,” said Hazim.
“You should be completely healed within a few hours,” she said dully. “I’ll go and wash my hands.”
She went into the bathroom while I helped her tidy up her box. The tension between them was making me very uncomfortable. Maybe I should leave them alone and give them a chance to talk things through.
There was no way we would live together under the same roof peacefully while these two were tiptoeing around each other.
When Sasha returned, I handed her the box of medical supplies to her and said, “I’m hungry.”
“You know where the kitchen is,” she replied tartly and left with her box.
“Just give her some time, ok?” Said Hazim. “She’ll come around.”
“Maybe,” I replied.
“What are you waiting for?” Sasha asked me when she returned. “I thought you said you were hungry.”
“I am,” I said. “But I’m craving some fresh fish stew.”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll go to the river to catch some fish.”
“No!” I said quickly. “I’ll go. You can get some fresh tomatoes from the garden for the stew while I’m gone. That should keep you busy and out of Hazim’s way.”
“He’s the one in my way,” she snapped.
“Right,” I said, biting my tongue. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“Sure,” she replied and went into her tiny pantry to grab a basket.
“Be a good boy while I’m gone,” I whispered to Hazim.
“I’m always a good boy,” he replied with a mischievous wink.
I left the cabin and took Sasha’s fishing net from the hook where she always hung it beside the back door. I was not in a hurry to get to the river. I wanted those two ex-lovers to have enough time to trash the beef between them while I was away.