Chapter 34: Caring

I took a break walking after a good distance. I gently set Zander down on some leaves on the ground. He was still unconscious but breathing a little bit more normally. That made me feel better.

Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to me needing to give him CPR. I knew what to do in that situation if Zander stopped breathing but I didn’t want it to come to that. I was terrified that Zander would die under my care.

Zander was healing very slowly, but his breathing wasn’t as shallow as before. At least he wasn’t getting worse. As far as I knew, no hospitals or civilization were anywhere nearby. It felt like forever since I’d seen a coffee shop or a mall.

After Zander got better, we could go back to my pack. I wondered how my parents were. I hoped they weren’t worried about me being away for so long.

Pushing the thoughts away, I looked around. Was I close to the cabin?

Maybe the cabin wasn’t much further. I sure hoped it wasn’t, since I was getting tired. Zander wasn’t light. My arms were straining from carrying his weight around for so long.

I picked Zander up again in my arms and started walking. A weirdly shaped rock came into view. I was headed in the right direction. I silently thanked the hermit for finding this cabin and helping me out.

It would’ve been hard to find a place to stay on my own. I certainly didn’t know many survival skills like Zander, so we’d be without a shelter. He needed someplace to rest that was safer than the woods. Other animals would be prone to attack us.

Besides, I couldn’t take him back to our pack in that state. He’d die before we got home. I wouldn’t be responsible for letting Zander die.

Shortly after I saw the rock, the cabin was within my reach. I hurried up a little to arrive faster. Plus, my arms were really feeling the strain of Zander's weight.

When I got near the cabin, I softly set Zander down on the deck. Then I checked to see if the door would open. It opened with ease. Those rich people didn’t care about anything being stolen I guess.

This cabin wasn’t a typical summer camp cabin like I had stayed in summers ago. It was an upscale cabin with wide windows to look at the beautiful river view. There was even a spectacular fountain with rocks around it.

I dragged Zander slowly through the door and made sure not to hit his head on the doorframe. I moved him towards a leather couch I saw and laid him there.

The cabin had a chandelier in the middle of the living room and a grand fireplace that didn’t need wood added to it. A flat screen tv was across from the couch and an expensive speaker system was there with a spot to hook up someone’s phone to it.

Quickly, I shifted and went back for the first aid kit and duffel bag. I hurried to grab them one by one, because I didn’t want to leave Zander alone for long.

When I got back, I set down the two items and shifted back. It was luck that Zander wasn’t conscious. I turned on the lights and got dressed quickly in the living room area.

Part of me wondered if a pack owned this cabin and felt guilty. They’d smell our scents and report the breaking and entering. It was too late to leave anyway. Maybe if I left everything in the same place it'd be fine.

I tended to Zander’s wounds as best as I could. I hoped that he would wake up within the next twenty-four hours.

One wound was near his chest and went deep. I used antiseptic and cleaned it as best as I could and put some new gauze on. The old gauze was blood stained.

I changed all of Zander's old gauze and wrapped new pieces around his wounds.

When I finished tending to his wounds, I decided to eat. I hadn’t eaten for a while. I hoped the food was still intact that I put into Zander’s bag.

I pulled out a can of sardines and ate them slowly. I hoped there was also a stocked fridge of water around, or I’d have to boil water. I was really thirsty.

Quietly, I searched around and to my luck there was bottled water in the fridge. Maybe they had non-perishable foods at the cabin too. I’d search that later when food was gone from what I had brought.

After drinking the water, I checked on Zander. He looked so weakened and didn’t seem like himself. His skin was paler while his cheekbones had ugly purple bruises on them. I gently touched his face.

Zander was warm, almost feverish on his forehead. I grabbed a washcloth I found in the bathroom and put it under cold water. He needed cooled down. I didn’t even know how he got a fever.

Maybe his body was trying to heal itself. I hoped he wasn’t developing something in addition to his bad wounds.

Zander looked so much younger in his unconscious state. I gently brushed his hair away from his eyes. It felt soft and thick in my fingers. I wished he was awake, so I could talk to him. I missed his company. Zander had changed things in my life.

At that moment, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to forget Zander. Zander was my destined mate, and I knew in my gut that I couldn’t love anyone else ever again. My love for him went deeper than I ever felt for Ash.

Zander and I connected on a more intense level than anyone I’d known before. It scared me how much I was pulled towards Zander. I couldn’t imagine not being by his side anymore. I needed to keep Zander in my life.

The only problem was that I had made promises that I couldn’t break. Promises to Ash couldn’t be undone so easily. He expected me to marry him and not leave him for Zander. Could I even eliminate my feelings for Zander, or would I end up trapped in a marriage with Ash?