Page 68 of Redeem Me
Chapter 54
Jade
There was a thick coating on my tongue when my consciousness returned to me. My lips smacked together for a brief moment before I tried to sit up.
“Don’t try to be strong, you can remain resting,” Granny’s voice wrapped around me in a warm embrace. I opened my eyes to come face to face with her. She smiled warmly and tears sprang from my eyes. She dabbed at my face with a tissue that materialized out of thin air. “None of that. You must reserve your strength for healing your body. You still have large amounts of wolfsbane in your system and your body was cut open with a blade dipped in it.”
I leaned back into the fluffy pillows at my back. The room I was in was beautiful. The walls were a white shiplap and the bed I laid in was a massive four-poster that was distressed with ivory. Dark brown peaked out from beneath the paint in small slashes. In front of the windows was a light grey couch and a glass coffee table in front of it. Across from that was a recliner that looked out of place with its worn leather. Where was I?
Next to the couch was a familiar chocolate wolf. “You still haven’t transformed back?”
Granny followed my gaze to the wolf that looked more like an overgrown puppy. “He refuses to leave your side.”
“How long have I been asleep?” My stomach was still tender beneath the massive white bandages around my middle.
“Four days,” She pressed his lips together in a grim line. “Your body needed the rest.”
I couldn’t wrap my head around that time frame and the fact that Lucas still hadn’t left the room. How was he still alive?
“You can go relieve yourself or something,” I snickered as his ears lifted from his head. “I’m sure you have to go like something bad.”
He let out a wolfish laugh before he bounced up and out of the room. I doubted he would stay gone for long.
Granny checked my pulse before she leaned forward and pressed her ear against my chest. “You sound better than you have in days. Do you want to try to walk?”
I nodded my head and she gave me her hand for support. I could do this. My knees wobbled before I put any weight on them. Granny’s fingers grasped mine in a hard grip. My weight shifted as I leaned forward.
The bedroom door opened. Instead of standing up on weak legs, my head snapped in the opposite direction. Rafe stood in the doorway with a tray of food in his hands. Granny let go of my fingers and shot me a timid smile. “I will leave you to it, I’ll come back in a few hours to change your bandages and make sure everything is still healing properly.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of the man standing in the doorway as Granny ambled around him. He wore a black v-neck t-shirt that seemed to be a little too small and his jeans were worn at the knees but there were no holes. It was odd to see him without shoes on, only wearing black socks. His hair was even longer than it had been last time. It was tied back at the nape of his neck with a ponytail holder.
My fingers curled into fists as I had the unnatural urge to pull the band free and run my finger through it. I wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked.
I closed my eyes briefly as I mentally reprimanded myself. His voice was rough in the empty bedroom. It didn’t belong in the white open space. “I didn’t think you would be awake yet.”
I could have tried to stand on my own, except I didn’t want Rafe to see me weak. I didn’t want him to see me fall. “That smells good.”
He climbed up on the other side of the bed with ease. The orange juice in the clear glass cup sloshed sideways but didn’t escape onto the tray. On the plate in the center of it was toast, waffles, different kinds of fruit, and a hefty pile of bacon. My stomach grumbled in approval. He sat the tray across my lap, careful for my stomach, and leaned back into the pillows on the other side. He looked so comfortable and at ease.
The bacon was cooked to perfection as I bit into it. Not too much crunch but not undercooked. A flashback had me choking on the bite. The inside of the cafeteria when I wondered when was the last time I had enjoyed food. I washed it down with the OJ while I ignored Rafe’s questioning gaze.
“Where’s-” I cut myself off before I said Lucas’s name. I couldn’t give his identity away until he was ready. “Where’s my friend?”
“He’s eating breakfast downstairs like a dog.” Rafe’s lips turned down in disgust. “He won’t change back.”
I knew it had something to do with how scared he was of what they would think of him. He had been gone for so long.Five years.What would they think of him now? I hummed in the back of my throat while I avoided the bacon and ate everything else on the tray.
“He smells like you,” His voice was soft, softer than it had ever been. Why was he here? Didn’t he have Alpha things to do?
I nodded my head. “We have been together since Damian kidnapped me.”
“Together?” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yes, we shared a room. He’s been my best friend this whole time. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”
Before I knew what was happening, Rafe brushed his fingers across the bare skin of my neck. I had forgotten about the bruising there. “Did he do this to you?”
I snorted before I pulled away from his touch. “No, he would never. He cares about me a lot more than many others do.” Rafe nodded his head like he could understand. “Where’s my phone?”
