Scum (Book 1)

36. Whimpering

Chey’s POV

I can feel the sensation of a cold cloth being pressed against my forehead, but I have no strength to open my eyes or push the hand away, so I can do nothing about the absolutely agonizing sensation of what I can only assume is ice touching my skin.

“Chey, don’t fight it. You’re running a high fever.” I must have lost much more blood than I thought, and I can now feel that I’m trembling. I open my mouth, trying to speak, but instead of getting my words out, a straw is placed at my lips. “Don’t talk; save your strength. You look f*cking terrible.”

I wish I had the strength to glare after Liam’s insult, but I can hear in his voice that he’s miserable and likely worried out of his mind.

I don’t know how long I’ve been out of it, but I periodically regain consciousness, and during those times, I hear Liam talking to Jenna and Royce, debating on whether they should contact my parents.

“Don’t,” I say, not knowing how long it took me to get that simple word out, but based on the reaction I get, it fits the moment.

“Shh… Chey. We’ve already decided to wait. You don’t have to worry.” I nod, and whimper from the pain of moving my neck. “Sh*t. I think she’s spasming; she hasn’t eaten enough.” I’m so happy that Liam knows what’s wrong because I don’t think that I can say another word.

I’m used to skipping meals, but healing on an empty stomach is deadly to werewolves, and I can literally feel my muscles beginning to weaken as my body struggles to pull in the nutrients it needs.

I’m seventeen, so my healing ability should be heightened, but I don’t get injured often, so this is the first time I’m realizing that I’m coming into my wolf, which in some ways is invigorating.

“Chey sweety, drink this…” Someone else must be in the room, because Liam’s calling me sweetie, but I don't hear anyone, and from what it sounded like, Jenna and Royce went to buy food for Liam after coming back.

“Wha…?”

“It’s a human meal supplement. It’s the best we could do right now.” I don’t feel any relief, but after finishing three of the drinks, I can feel my muscles relax a little. “You need more water.”

“Sugar,” I whisper, hoping that Alpha Liam understands that I need something like apple or orange juice.

“Here.” The tangy taste of citrus is relieving to me, but now… I have to pee.

Liam’s POV

Chey is whimpering in discomfort, and I don’t need an internet search to tell me the problem. She has to go, but my sister isn’t anywhere near, leaving me at a complete loss.

“If I put you on the toilet, can you do the rest yourself?” The woman nods, and disbelieving, I gently lift her very limp body and place her on the commode. I take two steps away, wanting to leave, but her body sways, and now I’m whimpering. “We’ll tell no one about this.”

Chey’s eyes are still closed, and with an embarrassed frown, she finally relieves herself. I don’t know what to do, so I fill the nearest cup with water and pour it between her legs, which gives her the chills.

It was probably too cold for her, but I’m in a hurry to get out of this situation, hating that I may have to tell her brother about it.

I’ve seen Chey naked before, but not as an adult, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like what I see now that she’s grown.

Fortunately, I’m not weird enough to be aroused by what I’m seeing now, and just in the nick of time, Jenna burst into the room.

“HELP!” I’m still holding Chey steady on the toilet, but instead of coming to my aid, my sister gives in to laughter. “Jenna please. I don’t know what to do here.”

“Move,” my sister says, taking over where I haven’t a clue on how to proceed. She hands Chey a wad of tissue, and moves the girl’s hand, glaring back at me before I realize that I’m staring.

“Sh*t sorry…” I turn around, so I don’t get to see what happens before my sister asks me to lift Chey again.

The remainder of the day goes on much in the same way, and somehow, I end up falling asleep.

Chey’s POV

My hunger woke me up, and this time, I’m able to open my eyes.

I was so angry with Alpha Liam that I didn’t even want to be near him, but he’s been taking care of me pretty much on his own, and it’s clear from the position he’s lying in that he’s exhausted.

I’m wearing one of the man’s shirts, which is big enough to cover the parts of my body that ‘should’ be covered, but that’s not what I’m concerned about.

My wound looks and feels awful, but fortunately, I don’t see any sign of infection.

Curious, I move to touch it, but a hand jets out and catches my wrist.

“Is it itching?” I thought I was over my anger with Liam, but the look of worry on his face irritates me again, so I snatch my arm away. “Are you angry with me?”

“You think I’m weak.” My voice is just shy of a whisper, and in that moment, I probably am weak.

“I was wrong. I’ve had a long time to think about it, and I shouldn’t have doubted your ability. You hold your title because you earned it, not because it was given to you, and I shouldn’t have let your gender play a role in how I reacted.” That… was not what I expected.

I thought I was going to have to point out to Liam that he belittled me with his actions, and it was clear to anyone looking how nervous he was to see me fight Leanne.

“She really messed me up.”

“I know Leanne, she wouldn’t have done this for no reason. I suspect that she was nervous, and reacted out of fear,” Liam explains, almost triggering my anger again, but he notices and quickly blurts out the rest of his statement.

“Who would be dumb enough to mind-link threats during a-” I drop my sentence, making alpha Liam chuckle because we both know who the i***t is, Alpha Arlon. “How is she?”

“Still in the hospital. She had multiple bone breaks, and her-” Liam shoots to his feet, and I instinctively do the same, wincing because the quick actions pulled at my injury. “Chey… I can handle myself too.” I don’t want to do to Liam what he did to me, so I sit, but I’m still very much alert.

“What do you want?” He loudly calls out, clearly unwilling to open the door.

“We’re here in regard to Miss Cheyenne Lively.”

“For what purpose?”

“We’re from the council's gambling authority. We need her signature to release her earnings.” I nearly sprint to the door, but Liam is faster and stronger than me, so he physically catches me, and points a warning finger in my face.

“Stay behind me. You offended someone very important, let’s not forget that.” I nod apologetically, ignoring the burning in my thigh, but my heart is racing as I eagerly await to see how much I made. “A visit from the G.A. isn’t typical for a casual fight. Please show me your identification.” Liam looks through the peephole, and gestures for me to stand back a little.

I follow orders and watch the man open the door to two burly men and a woman wearing an expression so icy that I feel like I need to practice that same look when I get the chance.

“Identification,” she coldly orders.

“I’m seventeen. I don’t have a pack identification card, and I’m not old enough for a human ID.” The woman rubs her temples, clearly annoyed. “Why do you need it?”

Instead of replying, she opens the briefcase she’s holding and turns it toward me, making me swoon before Alpha Liam braces me.

“You bet on yourself in the amount of four thousand dollars. Your gain was +1000, and the multiplier was five, but the house fee and taxes that will be sent to your pack directly reduced your earnings by 3.5k.”

“Are you telling me that there’s over 20k in that briefcase?” Liam looks shocked, but just like me, the woman in front of us is surprised by his comment.

“An alpha who can do mental math, not bad.” I never thought my future alpha was dumb. I just didn’t know that he was smart.

In my defense, I never went to the same school as him because of our age gap, but I should have known that he wasn’t dumb because he graduated early, in fact, so did Kelvin and Royce.

“Sadly, I can’t release the full amount to you in cash. I can, however, issue a cashier's check in your name.”

“How much can you give me?”

“To make things simple, I can release $1,500, assuming that a ranking official in your pack vouches for your identity.” I look to Liam, who volunteers without me asking.

We watch the woman open a laptop and type up a document before pulling out the smallest printer that I’ve ever seen. I sign, and stamp it with my fingerprint, before sitting down again.

“The cashier check will be made available to you by the end of the business day.” I have no complaints, and other than the fact that my leg will be permanently scarred for the rest of my life, I’m pretty happy about my windfall.

“What do you plan to do with it?” Liam asks.

“I’ll put it in our family savings account.”

Liam’s POV

I knew Chey was going to say that, and although she took an advance on the 4k she was promised, she still gets her hourly wage from 7AM to 4PM, so when we get back, there’s even more money waiting for her.

“Nothing for yourself?”

“I might get a new phone,” She admits.

“You’re not concerned about this?” I touch Chey’s leg, prompting the woman to look at her wounds.

“Is it that bad?” I nod, hating that Chey’s unblemished skin has been ruined, in part because of me.

“Maybe it will heal?” I hope that’s the case, but before I can respond to Chey, someone stops at the door again.

This time, I don’t want to frighten Chey, so I casually stand and look through the peephole.

“Who is it?” Chey whispers, concerned, but not alarmed.

“It’s Morgan.”

“Let her in!” The woman exclaims.