Page 76 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

Fenella looked away, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. She'd spent decades building walls around her vulnerabilities, learning to depend on no one but herself. The thought of dismantling those defenses, of examining the damage beneath, was terrifying.

"I'm fine, really," she insisted. "I'm not broken."

"I've never suggested you were," Bridget said. "But acknowledging your emotional scars isn't weakness, Fenella. It's the opposite—it's recognizing your own strength in enduring it."

Something about the simple statement caught Fenella off guard. All her life, or at least the last fifty years of it, she'd equated vulnerability with weakness. To admit pain was to invite exploitation. To show fear was to become prey.

"You might experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress," Bridget continued. "Flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance,emotional numbness. These are normal responses to abnormal situations."

Fenella frowned at the doctor. "I haven't heard you talking with any of the others about getting psychological help. Why me? Do I look weaker than the others?"

"Of course not. You are incredibly strong. The only reason I can talk to you is that I have you here alone and that I know you can handle it. The girls are not ready to talk, and Kyra is going on a mission tomorrow."

That was a relief. For a moment there Fenella had thought that Bridget could see through her tough façade.

"I've been having flashbacks," she admitted reluctantly.

The nightmares had started during her captivity—vivid dreams of freedom, of open skies and endless roads, only to wake to concrete walls and the smell of fear. Sometimes, even as she'd slipped in and out of drug-induced hazes, she'd no longer been sure which was the dream and which was reality.

Bridget nodded. "That's a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. Your mind is processing what happened, trying to make sense of it."

"How do I make it stop?" Fenella asked.

"It doesn't stop overnight," Bridget said gently. "But there are techniques and therapies that can help manage the symptoms and, eventually, reduce their frequency and intensity. Vanessa will walk you through it."

Fenella scoffed. "Talking about my feelings is not really my style."

"There are many approaches," Bridget said, unfazed by her skepticism. "Cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices. Vanessa is an expert. I don't know if you are aware of the fact that the clan rescues victims of trafficking and rehabilitates them. Vanessa runs the sanctuary."

"That's really nice, and kudos to you, but I don't want to be seen as a victim," Fenella finally admitted. "I can't stand pity."

"Healing isn't about victimhood," Bridget said. "It's about reclaiming your sense of self."

She didn't have a rebuttal for that, so she said nothing.

"The clan will support your recovery in whatever way you need," Bridget said. "If you don't want formal therapy, that's fine. Just living in the safety of our village and finally being among people like you might be enough."

"What if I want to return to Scotland or somewhere else entirely?"

Bridget hesitated. "We have a community in Scotland that you can join, but living alone is not recommended. There are many more Doomers than clan members, and as you've experienced, they are not good people. You are a highly coveted commodity to them, and it's much easier to identify an immortal female than it is a Dormant. That said, I don't want you to think you will be confined to either location. After you recover, you can travel as much as you want, but we will keep tabs on you to ensure you are okay."

"That sounds perfect. Thank you."

Bridget smiled. "You're welcome, Fenella. You have a home now, and you belong to a community of people like you. You are no longer alone."

47

MAX

Max's phone buzzed in his pocket just as he was about to head up to the penthouse.

Glancing at the caller ID, he saw Bridget's name and answered immediately. "Everything okay?"

"Yes," Bridget's calm voice came through. "Can you take Fenella back to the penthouse? The others are done and went ahead, and she doesn't have access to the elevator controls yet."

"I'm on my way." He ended the call.

Bridget had sounded a little off, and it got him worried. Jasmine had texted him earlier with a message from Kyra that everything was alright and that she'd tested negative for pregnancy, which had been a huge relief, but what if Fenella's news was not as good?

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