Page 8 of The Hidden Falling
“Ease her onto her back, please?” Anna whispers.
I do as I’m asked, gently rolling Sarah onto her back and taking a peek at her face. Her mouth twitches as if she can feel the pain, her brows furrowing as her breathing picks up a little before settling again. She can’t escape this, even in her sleep, and the thought saddens me.
We get to work on the slash across her abdomen, picking out the old stitches and adding salve into the cut as Josh watches on silently. Anna starts stitching the wound closed. I watch her hands move through the process with precision, always amazed by her speed.
Flicking my eyes to Josh to see how he’s holding up, I see him watching Anna’s movements intently, his eyes never leaving her hands as she works.
He hates seeing anyone in this state, hates feeling helpless. It brings back memories we both try to forget from a long time ago, when I was on the ground and Josh didn’t know what to do. It’s not something we want to relive, but we can’t turn our back on helping others in need because of our past. I refuse to.
Sarah starts to stir as I’m cleaning her hands with a damp cloth, trying to get the dirt and blood from the sides of her broken fingernails. She whimpers, and I see Josh’s leg twitch out of the corner of my eye. Focusing on Sarah, I see her eyelids flutter and then she opens them slowly, blinking a few times. Her fingers twitch in my hand and she looks toward me, a crinkle in her brow. Her eyes go wide next, her breathing increasing and her gaze flies around the room until it lands on Josh.
“It’s okay, Sarah,” I tell her soothingly, running my thumb over the back of her hand.
She ignores me, moving to sit up and wincing at the sudden movement. Josh takes a step forward, but stops when she releases a long, piercing shriek. She hops off the bed clumsily, causing me to move back to give her some space as she backs away into the corner of the room. She grabs the closest thing to her, a small sharp blade that is amongst other equipment that we use to cut through skin. Holding it up and pointing it at each of us, she warns us without a word. I have no doubt she would use it in her desperation, but I can’t let her take it that far.
“Josh, please leave the cabin, I’ll update you later,”I tell him down the link, my eyes moving from Sarah to him.
He looks over at Sarah and clenches his jaw. Taking a deep breath, he looks down to the floor before he nods once. Heading toward the door, he closes it gently behind him without looking back.
Sarah relaxes slightly when she hears the door close, but she still aims the blade at me and Anna.
“Why don’t you put that down and hop back into bed?” Anna asks, gathering the sheet off the bed and holding it out toward her.
She looks at the sheet confused before noticing her naked body and jolts. Red tinges her cheeks, and she steps forward slowly, grabbing the sheet with a shaky hand and wrapping it around herself.
“You’re safe here, sweetheart. We promise you that,” Anna murmurs gently to her.
She looks at Anna. Her lips tremble, and her eyes fill with tears. The blade in her shaky hand clatters to the floor, and she follows it, exhaustion winning over her will to stay standing.
I dart forward, wrapping my arms around her as gently as I can, and guide her back onto the bed. When she’s settled, I pull a chair from across the room and take a seat next to her, grabbing her hand softy before I bring my eyes to hers.
“I know you’re scared. I know you’re hurt. But please, let us help you. Edward sent you here because he trusts me. He sends all manner of people here who need some help, and we make sure whoever he sends gets that help,” I assure her, rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
She nods at me, her breathing now steady and calm. My body relaxes with relief. It won’t be an easy road for her to walk, but we will be here to do everything we can to help her along the way.
I clear my throat and extend my free hand. “Hi, I’m Rhea, Alpha of Eridian. I would like you to tell me what you can. It doesn’t have to be everything at once, but I would like to know who did this to you, and anything else you are willing to share at the moment. If you don’t want to tell me anything, that’s not a problem. We can take our time.”
Tears spill over her eyes, and she takes a deep breath. She shakes my hand and then brings the sheet closer to her body, wanting some form of protection.
Then, she opens her mouth and speaks.
Four
Darius
“Whatdoyoumeango into The Deadlands?” I ask Charles, tilting my head and wondering if he’s lost his fucking mind.
I move my eyes to Leo, my second in command, and see his brows furrowed in confusion, just like mine. His blue eyes briefly meet my green ones before he settles back into his seat next to me, returning his gaze to Lord Higher Charles while he waits for his reply.
“It’s just like I said, Darius,” he sighs. “A member of the Nightshade pack has been taken, and Alpha Christopher asked for my help a few days ago. A sighting was brought to my attention this morning by my scouts after our regular meeting. I showed them a drawing of Christopher’s missing pack member for them to keep an eye out, and a female matching the woman’s description was seen with another person going into The Deadlands two nights ago. My scouts saw her side profile, and are adamant it was the same woman in this sketch. Who else could it be? No one willingly goes into The Deadlands.”
“They can’t tell if it’s the girl just from looking at the side of her face,” I scoff.
“No,” he agrees. “However, they said the person with her was half dragging her into the forest.”
“And they didn’t think to check if there was a problem?” I ask. Some fucking scouts they are.
“Of course not. I don’t pay them to intervene with nonsense.” He huffs, shaking his dark head before he continues. “I sent more scouts to search the area to see if they could track a scent. There was no trace because of the heavy rain we have been experiencing. I need you and the Elites to go into The Deadlands to find this woman to see if she is, in fact, the missing Nightshade member.”
