Chapter 4
Betrayed by Blood 3~
The ache was the first thing I noticed—sharp and wrapped around my entire body. I blinked slowly, the room coming into focus, but everything felt unfamiliar and wrong. I shifted slightly, and pain shot through my body like a dam.
Where am I?
My heart began to race, the last things I remembered flashing in my mind: the cliff, the fall, that word... mate. Had I imagined it? Or did I really hear it?
I forced myself to sit up, the bed beneath me far softer than anything I'd ever known, which only made me feel more out of place. The air smelled faintly of cedar and lemon, nothing like the forest where I'd woken before. I looked around; the room was painted in cream, it had two windows covered with curtains. The room lacked furniture yet it was far different from what I was used to back home.
The door creaked, and I looked up as someone entered. My throat tightened, and I swallowed down the panic rising in my chest.
"You're awake," the man said, his voice flat. He looked me over, and I could see the irritation in his eyes. I shrunk back into myself, wondering who he was. I watched as he walked around, doing his job, then he suddenly stopped and looked at me. "You shouldn't be sitting. We had to stitch you," he gritted out in annoyance.
"I'm sorry," I blurted out and quickly laid back down again.
The man opened his mouth as though he was going to say something then stopped, "You should be fine in a few hours," he said gruffly.