Chapter 11: Her Broken Wolf
Rosalie:
For several horrifying seconds, I couldn’t separate the nightmare from reality.
My body jerked violently against the bed as cold panic still clung to me like icy water wrapped around my throat. My chest rose and fell unevenly while my heartbeat pounded so hard it physically hurt.
Alastor’s cold eyes, Charlotte’s smile, the feeling of falling, the freezing river swallowing me whole - it all still felt real. Too real.
A trembling breath escaped me as I pressed a shaky hand against my chest, trying desperately to calm myself down. My entire body was damp with sweat despite the warmth of the room, and tears smeared across my face and neck.
"It was just a nightmare," I whispered weakly to myself. But my voice sounded fragile and unconvincing.
I swallowed hard and forced myself to look around properly, taking in the dim warm golden lighting and the unfamiliar luxurious room. It reminded me immediately that I was at Eiden Thorn’s house, and not on that cliff.
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly and inhaled deeply through my nose before exhaling slowly, repeating the same words inside my head over and over again - You are safe. You are okay. It was just a nightmare.
Another shaky breath escaped me as I wiped my face roughly with my sleeve. My throat burned painfully dry, and only then did I realize how thirsty I was.
Carefully, I turned my head toward the bedside table and noticed the water jug sitting there beside an empty glass.
Relief immediately washed through me.
Slowly and cautiously, I reached toward it while trying not to aggravate my injuries. My body still ached heavily, but compared to earlier, the pain had dulled significantly.
But just as my fingers brushed the glass, the door opened, and startled me. My hand jerked instinctively, knocking the glass right off the table, and the sound of shattering glass exploded through the quiet room.
"Oh!"
Panic immediately flooded me.
"I’m sorry!" The apology burst out before I even properly looked up.
The glass had shattered all over the floor beside the bed, glittering beneath the warm light, and guilt instantly twisted inside my chest.
"I just wanted water-I didn’t mean to-" Without thinking, I tried to climb out of bed. My body protested immediately at the sudden movement, but I ignored it completely as panic continued rising higher and higher inside me.
"I’ll clean it up," I rushed out quickly. "I’m really sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose-"
"Rosalie."
The voice cut through my panic instantly. It was warm, steady, and calm. I froze, and only then did I finally look up properly and see Eiden standing near the doorway.
He had probably just showered because his long silver hair was slightly damp, falling loosely around his face and shoulders in a way that somehow made him look even more unfairly attractive. He wore darker clothes this time - a black silk shirt beneath a long grey robe-like outer layer - and somehow the colors only made those deep blue eyes stand out more.
He stepped toward me and spoke calmly, "You need to relax."
I blinked at him for a moment before realizing just how hard I was breathing and how tightly my hands were shaking. Embarrassment flooded through me immediately.
"I broke your glass," I muttered weakly.
Eiden’s gaze briefly flickered toward the shattered pieces on the floor before returning to me. And then, he completely ignored the mess. Instead of addressing the glass, he simply moved closer and gently guided me back properly against the pillows before I could hurt myself further trying to get out of bed.
"Forget the glass."
His hands settled lightly against my shoulders as he adjusted my position carefully. They felt warm, and steady. The simple touch somehow calmed me almost instantly in a way that genuinely shouldn’t have been possible.
I couldn’t help but question how much comfort my exhausted body seemed to find in his presence already.
Once he was certain I was settled properly, he crossed the room toward the sitting area near the enormous glass wall almost hidden with the dark curtains. There were couches arranged around a low coffee table.
He picked up another glass from the table before returning to my bedside. He then poured the water himself and handed it to me carefully.
The moment the glass touched my hands, I drank. Fast. Actually, far too fast. Cold water flooded my dry throat like salvation itself, and before Eiden could stop me like earlier, I had already emptied nearly the entire glass.
When I finally lowered it, breathing lightly, I noticed him staring at me, not with disapproval but with shock.
For half a second he just watched me but then that familiar amused smile slowly returned to his lips again. He shook his head slightly before taking the empty glass from my hands. "I see someone ignored my earlier instructions."
Heat crept faintly into my cheeks. "I was thirsty," I defended weakly.
"So I noticed." His voice carried obvious amusement now.
After setting the glass back down, he looked toward me again and asked, "May I check your injuries?"
The question surprised me slightly. Most healers never asked permission before touching patients. But somehow, Eiden asking felt natural.
I nodded quietly.
He stepped closer immediately, gently reaching for my injured arm first. His fingers carefully adjusted the position of the cast while checking for tenderness and swelling.
As he moved my arm slightly, I realized something strange. It barely hurt, at least not the way it had earlier. There was still soreness, a dull lingering ache beneath the surface, but compared to the agony from before, the difference felt shocking.
Confusion flickered through me. "How long was I asleep this time?"
Eiden glanced toward the expensive silver wristwatch resting around his wrist before answering casually, "A little over fourteen hours."
My eyes widened. "Fourteen?!"
A faint smile tugged at his lips. "The medicine worked very well." His fingers moved lower carefully, checking my fractured leg this time that also no longer hurt. "And so did your wolf."
I blinked at that. "My... wolf?" The words came out almost blankly.
Eiden hummed softly in acknowledgment while continuing his examination. But I could barely process anything else after that.
My wolf?
No. That couldn’t be right. My wolf had always been weak. Pathetically weak. So weak that outside of full moon nights, I had never even successfully shifted properly.
Even after years, I still couldn’t form a proper bond with her the way normal wolves did. Most pack members could communicate with their wolves naturally by adolescence. But I never could.
That weakness followed me my entire life. People whispered about it constantly growing up, about how I was weak, broken, defective, and unworthy. And honestly, they weren’t entirely wrong.
It was one of the biggest reasons my relationship with Alastor, Darien, and Kaiser had always remained hidden. Because no one would ever accept a Luna like me. Not someone weak and wolfless in everything but name, especially not for three powerful Alphas.
I pushed the bitter thoughts away before they could consume me again.
Eiden was probably just being polite. Because there was no way my weak wolf had contributed much to my recovery. Everything was because of him and his healing ability.
I watched silently as his fingers carefully moved along my ribs through the soft silk fabric covering me. Only then did another realization suddenly hit me.
I looked down at myself properly. I was wearing a pastel green silk shirt and soft loose trousers, not my dress from my birthday night. My heartbeat immediately started climbing as I realized someone had changed my clothes.
Slowly, my gaze lifted toward Eiden’s side profile while he remained focused on examining my injuries. And before I could stop myself, the question slipped out quietly. "Who else lives here with you?"
Eiden didn’t even pause. His calm blue eyes lifted toward mine as he answered simply, "I live alone."
