Chapter Thirty-six

“Get up, Delilah, get up! I am not done with you,” Alexia snarled, wiping away blood from her bloodied nose. Her ponytail bounced along but it was no longer sleek. A few strays had escaped and framed around her face.

Delilah lay on the floor, moaning and writhing in pain. She cradled her side with her arm because some of her ribs were broken.

She spat out a gob of blood, and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her neat, pin-straight black hair was dirty and messy, with sand and twigs in it.

Patches were missing in some areas, and her face was like a canvas of red, blue, and purple.

“You haven’t suffered enough, you bitch! Get up and fight me!” Alexia yelled, a tear dropping from her eye.

She reached angrily for her opponent and raised her by the hair. Delilah whimpered and tried to loosen her grip. She let her go, but almost immediately smacked her across the mouth.

Her head whipped painfully to the side, and a sickening crack rented the air. A bloody white substance popped out of her mouth and fell to the floor; a tooth.

Delilah staggered backwards, terror reflecting in her eyes. One hand still cradled her side and the other gently held her head, “No, please no,” she whimpered. Her eyes leaked tears that streaked down her dirty face, carrying mud, snot and blood.

“I said those same words to you, Delilah. Do you remember? I pleaded with you using the exact same words when you put the knife to my grandparents’ necks. Tears streamed from my eyes the way they’re streaming from yours right now. I begged and I pleaded, but you killed them anyway.”

“And you think I am going to listen to you now? You’re kidding, buttercup. You’re kidding. I will torture you, and I will enjoy every moment of it. Then I’ll kill you and finally avenge my grandparents.”

Delilah could barely stand. She was in shock; pain, and she was angry.

She could not reconnect that sweet girl with rare-coloured eyes who always smiled, with this hot, angry killing machine whose eyes were filled with nothing but loathsomeness.

Alexia was not kidding when she said she trained and trained hard. Shifting into a wolf did not even work. She easily subdued her wolf until she retreated and blocked the mind connection between them.

Alexia growled and grabbed both her shoulders. Then she raised her knee and jammed it into her breast bone. All the air rushed out painfully from her lungs and she wheezed.

“Lost all your air, right? I choked on mine when blood spurted out of my grandpa’s jugular,” Alexia said and smacked her face again.

Gently, Alexia's hand went up to Delilah's face and cupped it. Then she dug her fingers into
the soft flesh of her cheeks. She pushed her face into hers and whispered, "Rest in peace, dear friend."

Then she started choking Delilah. She gasped and thrashed, but Alexia continued to apply a steadily increasing pressure.

Her face turned blue, her eyes bulged and veins appeared in her forehead. Then suddenly, she disappeared from Alexia's grasp.

Alexia clenched her jaw, then roared. She punched the trunk of a tree, and the imprint of her fist was left in the wood. Then she went to find the others.


***


Hayden lay weakly on the floor, unable to stand up.

"Alpha. Alpha. Alpha Hayden. Can you hear me, Alpha?" one wolf said. However, the voice was far away, and it kept moving farther. Then the world went black.

All the werewolves on the battlefield tried to carry their leader, but his skin burned and hissed when they touched him.

One of them mindlinked Ace. "Come quickly, Beta. The Alpha is unconscious and we can't touch him. His skin burns and sizzles."

"In a minute, Walcott. Keep him safe. If you can get water, please pour some on him," Ace
instructed them.


***


Alexia found Ace on the other side of the boundary that they were to protect. He suffered a few wounds, but nothing too serious.

He ran towards her as soon as he saw her, "Alexia! Alexia! Why was I unable to reach you all this while? That's not the problem right now. Hayden is unconscious, and the other wolves can't help him because apparently, his skin burns. You might be the only one that can help him. Let's go, quickly!"

Wordlessly, Alexia walked along with Ace as they made their way to the main battlefield under the pale, silvery light of the Half-Moon.

When they got there, the warriors had poured water over him, and his skin seemed to be giving off steam. Alexia sank to her knees and touched his face gently. It didn't burn her, so she cradled it, sat on the floor and placed his head on her lap.

Her thumb traced the tear tracks on his face gently, and his pale, slightly gaping lips. Her heart clenched painfully.

She tapped his cheek gently. "Hayden. Hayden, babe. Open your eyes."

He didn't respond, and she tapped him again, a little harder this time. His eyes opened, and his blue eyes were wild, focusing on her face.


"Helena?" he whispered.

"Hayden. It's me, Alexia. Helena is dead, remember?"

He grabbed her upper arms, his eyes still wild and unfocused, "No, no. Helena is still…alive. I…felt her…she—"

Alexia shut him up by smashing her lips to his. She kissed him slowly, not minding the dirt on them. Slowly, his eyes fluttered close, and all the tension drained out of his body.

"You okay now?" she asked when they broke the kiss.

He nodded, breathing heavily, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. Thanks Alexia."

He tried to sit up, but he found out that he couldn't.

Alexia peered at him worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"I feel very weak. I can't stand up on my own," he said.

"Okay. Let me help you," she said. Gently, she raised him to a sitting position.

While supporting him, she hoisted her arm around his torso, then heaved him up.

"Uhm...Alexia…uh…Luna…let's help you," said one of the wolves.

"It's fine. I can manage. And call me Alexia, or Lexi. I'm not Luna yet," she chuckled.

He smiled, "Okay, Alexia."


"Well what are you waiting for? Let's go!" she yelled.

Ace echoed it, "Let's go everyone. Good job tonight!"


***

While all the warriors went to their houses, Ace, Alexia and Hayden went to the infirmary. Hayden was floating in and out of consciousness and his skin was very hot to the touch. Black veins snaked under his pale skin, and he exuded copious amounts of sweat.

He was admitted into a private ward, and he was placed on intravenous electrolytes. However, he did not have any visible wounds.

“What’s the prognosis, Doctor?” Alexia asked the doctor worriedly. She and Ace mirrored concerned and antsy looks.

“It’s not really anything I’ve seen before. I may have to invite the warlock to help me with this. But, he’s stable now, and I’ll have him monitored through the night,” he replied, smiling.

“Can I stay with him?” she asked.

“You can, but I will advise you not to. You’re also weak, and you need some treatment yourself. If you want to stay, I’ll admit you overnight and place you on electrolytes and muscle relaxants. Deal?” the doctor offered.

Alexia took one glance at Hayden and at Ace who gave her a slight nod. She faced the doctor, “Yes.”

The doctor smiled, “Okay. Use the bathroom and wash all this grime off your body. I’ll be with you in a minute,” he told her and left the private ward.

Ace faced Alexia, and patted her shoulder, “He’s been through worse. He’ll be fine.”

“He’d better, or I’ll kill him myself,” she said sadly.

Ace smiled, “Just do what the doctor said. Let me get rid of this vest and guns. I’ll be back in the next hour with a change of clothes and some food for you two. I’ll ask Vanessa to pick out something for you.”

Alexia nodded and gave a small smile, “Okay. Thanks, Ace.”

Just then, an orderly wheeled in another bed and positioned it next to Hayden’s bed.

“Oh…uhm…I can just use the cot…no need for the bed,” she said.

“Just following the doctor’s orders ma’am,” the orderly replied and walked out.

Alexia sighed and walked into the bathroom. Layer by layer, she stripped off her battle finery and stood under the hot pulsing spray of the shower.

She washed out all the grime of the fight from her body and her hair, and watched the blood and dirt flow into the drain.

Then she walked out, dressed in a bathrobe. Hayden was on the bed, moaning and twitching.

“No…no…she dies, no…” he was muttering.

She hurried to his side and stroked forehead. It was damp from sweat. He calmed a little, so she perched beside him, and she took his hand in hers and laced them together. He exhaled, and his facial features relaxed,

“I wonder what happened to you,” she soliloquized.