Reborn: The Rejected Luna

#11 - Safe?

Irabel stared out of a large window that overlooked the perfectly cured grass down below. Under the bright morning sun, the lush greenery was tempting. Peaceful and quiet for her troubled mind, but it was the thicket beyond the greenery that Irabel wished she could disappear into. From where she stood she imagined that wet woody scent that had enough magic to calm her senses. The beautiful feel of the dirt beneath her paws, the rustling of the wind against her fur as she sprinted past a thousand trees heading nowhere in particular. Just her enjoying the freedom that came with shifting. That part of her that she could lean on when things fell apart. Her perfect escape from things she didn't want to face. The part she desperately needed right now. If only she had her wolf.

This wasn't Belmont, but wherever she had ended up reminded her so much of her home, it became increasingly hard to keep her tears at bay. The lump in her throat kept growing too, no matter how much she swallowed. Life at the Green Forest Pack wasn't perfect, well, it wasn't really a life, but nothing there reminded Irabel of her past life the way this majestic castle had in the little time she had been there.

"Shall we begin?" A gentle elderly voice had Irabel focusing her attention back on the room behind her.

Wiping her tears away, she faced the only other person in the room. The old man who had introduced himself as the pack doctor when she was brought in, still wore his warm smile. The only thing that made her relax about being examined after being presented with no other choice on the matter.

"His highness will want all the details, so I'm afraid I'll have to be thorough." The doctor apologized and Irabel only nodded.

There was no point in fighting the poor doctor when he had been nothing but gentle and respectful since she walked into the all-white examination room. She also did not want to get him in any trouble with Maxith. Despite the little differences she had noted about him that made her think he had changed, her ex and current mate could be a devil when he wanted. She had seen that clearly last night when he forced her to leave her old pack. And going by how the old man sounded when he referred to him, Irabel had a feeling Maxith would lose it if his instructions were not followed to the latter.

Blocking out all feelings of shame at being nude in front of a stranger, Irabel took off the hospital gown before taking a seat on the bed.

"It'll be over soon." She thought to herself. Her eyes reverted to the thicket and while the doctor did his duty, she allowed herself to get swallowed up in the fantasy of running free there without a care in the world. It was the only way she was going to endure this invasion of privacy. It didn't matter that, in the end, having been looked at by the doctor would do her good, it still remained an invasion of her privacy that she did not appreciate.

"Ouch!" A sharp pain drew her out of her thoughts.

"Forgive me." The doctor wore a horrified look on his face as he stared at her side. Irabel was sure that particular part of her rib cage still looked ugly. Thanks to Ella's recent tantrum that almost left her with a few ribs broken.

"Dear God! What did those beasts do to you? The alpha will surely have their heads."

Beasts sounded like the perfect term to describe everyone who had sent Irabella to hell and back, but Irabel thought Maxith was just as bad, if not worse, and the good doctor didn't need to refer to him as if he was some saint.

"The alpha will surely have their heads." She scoffed, lifting her hand at the doctor's prompting. What right did Maxith have to punish others when he was the devil himself? And why would he do it for her anyway? Didn't he have Rayna to care about?

Her chest tightened at her own thoughts. Rayna…was she here too?

"I'm sorry, I'll try to be more gentle."

"You are sorry?"

"You appeared to be in pain just now and I thought I might have pressed a little too hard."

Irabel was in pain alright, but it had nothing to do with the doctor and everything to do with the memory of her best friend stabbing her in the back.

"I'm alright." She waved him to carry on.

As promised, the doctor's hands felt feather light on Irabel's skin as he examined every bruise, making her relax even more.

"So how long has this been going on?"

"This?"

"The abuse." The doctor looked apologetic.

"I don't know."

The doctor paused, a fierce look in his eyes. "You are safe now, you don't have to hide anything."

Safe? Irabel strongly doubted that. Her new residence was as good as the devil's lair, but that was not the reason she was not saying anything. She really didn't know how long it had been and she was not going to force herself to dig through Irabella's memories just so that Maxith got his details.

"My mother says I forget things." She added instead, choosing to present a more believable reason.

Unbelief flashed in the doctor's eyes still, but he didn't press the matter any further, thankfully.

"I'm recommending a few simple operations to fix some of your internal injuries. This will help you to heal faster. Of course, if you had your wolf it would not have been necessary at all." The doctor picked up a chart and scribbled something while she watched thoughtfully.

If I had my wolf… her heart ached at the thought, but only for a moment, as something else or rather, someone else grabbed her attention.

He's here. Irabel froze. Why the hell is he here?

Assaulted by that delicious scent, she quickly grabbed the gown and wrapped herself in it. "Damn the mate bond!" She cursed under her breath.

After last night's unpleasant experience, Irabel really thought she'd had enough hate pouring for the guy to keep her from wanting to be close to him. But damn that wretched bond, the complete opposite was happening right now. She wanted nothing more than to run to him. To experience those sparks on her skin that only he could inspire with his touch. Oh God!

She noted that the stupid urge was stronger this morning than it had been the first time she laid her eyes on him. How in the world was she going to keep from going to him once he stepped in if she was already struggling with him outside?

"Is anything the matter?" Confusion painted the doctor's face at her obvious panicking.

"I don't want to see him." She croaked out. Afraid of betraying herself, she begged the doctor to keep Maxith away from her. And now that she thought about it, how the hell was she able to tell that she was mated to Maxith without her wolf? Without Irabella's wolf. How was she this drawn to him? "He's supposed to be my enemy for crying out loud."

"I beg your pardon, who are you talking about?"

"Maxith…I mean, his highness." Irabel scanned the examination room, feeling trapped. With no way of escape, that scent flooded her senses and threatened her control with each passing second. I need to get out of here.

The doctor shook his head. "I don't think I can do that if his highness wishes to–"

"Please. You are my doctor, right?"

"Well, yes, but–"

"So, that doctor patient thing applies, right?"

"Right." The man looked surprised, but there was understanding in his eyes too. He sighed audibly. "If he does come, I'll consider keeping him away."

"He's here already."

"What?" The man frowned and after studying her face for a moment, he put his pen down and walked out of the room.

Heart pounding, Irabel kept pacing in the room, praying that the good doctor would be convincing enough and keep Maxith out. She gave the window one last look. If only they were not so high up, she would have snuck out that way.

Hushed tones followed the doctor's exit, piquing Irabel's curiosity, but when she drew closer to the door the hushed tones were replaced by a voice that could fill up an entire arena.

"What the hell?! What do you mean I can't see her? Is it that bad? What did those bastards do to her?"

Irabel was taken aback by Maxith's reaction. Was that concern for her?