Chapter 459
I woke to see Luke standing over me, and I screamed. I pushed back, surprising us both. He dropped the scalpel he held, and the nurse—goddess forgive her—dropped the tray she was carrying.
“Whoa there,” Luke said, raising his hands. “You passed out from the pain.”
I settled against the bed. Wrong life. My hand drifted to my flat stomach. There is no pup here. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. “Sorry,” I mumbled, shaking my head. Pain exploded behind my eyes, and I dry-heaved.
“No apologies needed. You’ve been through a lot.” He turned, grabbed a new scalpel, and stepped to my bedside. The nurse rushed back with a new tray, leaving the old one on the floor.
“Don’t you need to grab all of that?” I asked.
The nurse nodded. “I’ll grab it after.” She placed the tray on the bedside table.
“We have great healing, but werewolf or not, the royal doctor taught us to maintain a sterile field,” Luke said, placing the scalpel on the tray. “Now, I have to cut the skin around your ribs.”
My voice, riddled with suspicion, barely whispered, “Why?” Luke smiled softly.
“You aren’t healing quickly, but you are healing. Your skin healed around the bone. I have to cut the skin from the bone, push it back into place, stitch the wounds with dissolvable stitches, and then bind your ribs.”
I shuddered. Nix burst from the forest. “Just let us heal you!” she screamed. I felt guilty, but sent her calming thoughts.
Not yet. I need to look shattered tomorrow. As soon as we leave, we can heal. She growled.
This is stupid. As soon as the doctor pushes our ribs in, I’m healing them. And the bleeding. She snarled, daring me to fight, but I chuckled.
Wait until I limp out of here and back to the office.
She scoffed and turned away. Stupid humans, and their stupid plans.
I looked at Luke and nodded. “Do it.”
He hesitated. “I’d really like to give you something to knock you out.”
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”
He swallowed, grimaced, and nodded. “Your funeral.” He looked to the nurse. “I need you to hold her on her side, and no matter what…do not let her move.”
The nurse looked at me, then back at the doctor. “I’ll do my best.” She looked back at me. “This is going to hurt, but please, don’t fight me. I’m not strong.”
I laughed and nodded. “I’ll do my best.” The nurse grabbed my shoulder and hip, rolling me. The pain was blinding, and I screamed as she forced me into position. Breathing became difficult, my vision flickered. “Sorry,” she whispered, “I’m so sorry.”
Luke took a breath and placed a hand on my side. “Take a deep breath and blow it out.” He waited.
“Good. Focus on your breathing. I want to say this will help, but I won’t lie to you.” I nodded, closing my eyes to focus.
That lasted a minute before he sliced into me. The pain shifted from burning hot to consuming my entire universe. My vision vanished; my breathing ragged and forced. The burning hot pain felt like a million insect bites, the burn of silver, a white-hot poker pressed into my side.
He leaned in. “It’s okay to scream. Just don’t move.”
I shook my head. “If I start, I won’t stop.”
I felt his eyes on me, though I couldn’t see. He blew out a soft breath. “That’s fine. Scream. I don’t mind, and neither does Jenn here.”
“No, Miss Amy, I don’t care,” Jenn, a sweet girl, even if older than me, said.
“See? Just scream.”
“Why?” I stuttered through clenched teeth.
“Because you’re holding your breath, long enough to turn purple. This way, I know your breathing. And honestly, your jaw is clenched so hard I’m worried you might break it. Let it out. We won’t judge you.” I shook my head. He sighed. “I haven’t even freed one bone. You’re tensing up, and it’s about to get a lot worse.”
I cracked open my eye; it burned, but I could see. He was very serious. “If I start…” I tried again.
“Then you scream, and we listen.”
I shook my head. “I’ll cry,” I shuddered. “If I scream, I’ll cry.”
He shook his head and nodded to the nurse, who covered my face with a sterile cloth. “No one will even know.”