Page 12 of Broken Souls

Time passes by, the darkness gripping onto me. But then lightness shines down on me. I squint as I see I'm under the bright lights of a bathroom. Alpha Axel lays me on a bench then moves around the bathroom. I squint my eyes, needing the brightness and pain to end. My ribs feel like I'm being torn apart.

“I'm going to clean you up.”

I feel a wet cloth get softly pressed against my face. As much as I feel like my head is going to explode, I barely even grimace as he cleans my face. All I can think of is my ribs.

“I'm going to take off your clothes. A cold bath will help your body not to swell up,” he informs me. I feel him reach for my shirt but I find the energy to grab his hand.

“No,” I murmur. He's going to see the bruises. I've never taken my clothes off in front of anyone.

“Elora, I'm helping you,” he insists.

When he reaches for my shirt again, I don't fight him. He manoeuvres my body as softly as he can to take my shirt off.

“Oh my God.” He frowns deeply looking down at my body. He undoes my bra carefully then pulls my pants down each leg. “I'll leave your underwear on.”

At least I'm not exposed in front of him, not my most private body part anyway. I'm thankful for that. Alpha Axel picks me back up and pushes a button on the wall, which makes the bench I was lying on mechanically move into the wall revealing a bathtub. I don't know if I'm too dizzy or that fancy shit just happened. He holds me up while he turns on the cold tap. When the water is covering the bottom of the tub, he lowers me into it.

“Ahh,” I wince at the cold water. The water fills up until my body is submerged. I keep my eyes closed, trying to relax and let the water ease me.

“I need to know what happened but I know you're in too much pain to talk now.” Alpha Axel watches me, his eyes tense and worried.

After some time he lifts me out of the tub and actually gets a soft bathrobe on me. He drops my underwear to the floor without looking or touching me too much, saying I shouldn't sleep in wet underwear. He carries me to a bedroom and places me on a cushioned bed. The bed cushions around me in a supportive way. He pulls the blankets up to my abdomen then excuses himself for a quick moment. He comes back with multiple ice packs. He places them on both sides of my torso and one on the front, as well as giving me one for my face.

“You need to take these pills.” He lifts my head up slightly and puts four pills in my mouth, then presses a glass to my lips and pours in some water. “I'm going to put the tv on for you and I'll stay in the recliner to make sure you're okay.”

Alpha Axel turns on the tv that's hanging on the wall and puts it on a low volume before turning off the light and sitting on the recliner in the corner of the room. I try to listen to the tv to take my mind off the pain.

“Alpha,” I croak out.

“Yes?”

“It hurts to breathe.”

“Oh.” Alpha Axel stands and comes to the bed. He looks worried. “Can you breathe?”

“Yeah... but it hurts.”

“I'm going to put a pillow under your legs to keep your body levelled. I want you to close your eyes and take slow deep breaths. Push through the pain and just count each breath,” he advises, putting a pillow under my legs.

I do what he says, along with pressing the ice pack to my face. Each breath is sharp and painful, but I stay calm and count.

Chapter Eleven

Iwake up, my eyes slowly drifting open. The room is still dark enough for me to rest even though it's morning. I feel better than last night. I'm surprised I got to sleep. Thankfully, the pain lessened enough for me to sleep through the worst of the healing process. I look around and see alpha Axel asleep in the recliner, his head bent down and chin resting on his chest. My eyebrows crease in confusion as I stare at him. He was nice to me last night. The mysterious fear-inducing alpha saved me. I don't know why. Yeah, he has detached himself from the pack for quite a number of years but he must still know I'm the crossbred. I don't know if I should wake him up and ask him the questions bothering me. Maybe I shouldn't ask. I should just accept that not only did a pack member save me, but it was the ruler of the pack. The freaking alpha saved me. Maybe if I knew he was nice, he could have saved me a long time ago.

“Alpha,” I call, knowing I can't make it through the next few days without him. He jolts awake and his eyes go wide when he sees me.

“Elora.” He comes over. “Are you okay?”

“Better,” I murmur. Relief flashes across his features. It's quiet while he just stares at me so I gesture to the ice packs. “I need new ones and more pills.”

“I'll be right back. Do you want the curtains open?” he asks, and I nod.

I may as well see the sunlight. To see brightness in a tough time might help. He opens the curtains then leaves the room. I look around the room. Judging by the colours, it's more feminine but it would pass for a fancy hotel suite with the browns, golds, and whites blended nicely. This bed is for a queen. I can't believe the luxury in this room. Alpha Axel comes back in holding a tray.

“You need to eat so let me help you up.” He places the tray down on the bedside table and then grabs me under my armpits and slowly lifts me up the bed. He props up many pillows behind me that I sink into. He replaces the ice packs then sets the tray on the bed beside me before handing me another four pills, which I take greedily. I down them with the glass of juice he hands me. “I hope you don't mind some buttered toast and fruit salad. I don't really cook.” He bites his lip, looking embarrassed about this.

“Anything you give me, I'm thankful for.” I have a few bites of toast and some fruit. I don't eat it all because my body prevents me from eating too much. “Thank you, alpha Axel.”