Chapter 23
When I heard the doctor say not to worry, I breathed a sigh of relief and felt as if I had finally come back to life.
I had felt as if I was drowning since Karl mentioned poisoning.
Now that the doctor had spoken, it reassured me and all that panic and anxiety turned to anger.
I was angry at myself for worrying about that wretch and almost causing me to expose our relationship.
But I was angrier at Valerie. Why did she have to be so weak? Even something that couldn’t hurt someone was capable of killing her.
This only made me more disgusted with the mate bond moon goddess had created between us.
How could my mate be so weak?
“Since she is fine, we don’t have to worry about Innocent getting into trouble.” I said.
I knew that my earlier behavior was shocking to many people in the pack and because I didn’t want them to find out about Valerie being my mate, I had to cover it up as my concern for Innocent.
Valerie’s POV
As a nurse pushed me out of the room, I heard Mike say that it was good I was okay because then his beloved Innocent wouldn’t get into trouble.
Just as I had expected, his worry hadn’t been for me, his mate, but for the woman he had chosen to love and protect.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips but I stifled it immediately after.
I didn’t need people thinking that there was anything going on between Mike and me. Especially not Innocent. I didn’t want a vengeful ghost haunting me day and night.
I was pushed into a small, narrow single room. I didn’t even know there were such small hospital rooms available. One couldn’t even turn when inside, but it was more than I have ever received since my father’s death.
Moreover, with my situation in the pack, I was in no position to ask for anything. Being allowed to recuperate and not go to the pack house to slave away was already a miracle.
As my thoughts ran wild, Karl walked into the room and came to sit on the side of the bed.
He looked at me tenderly as if I was something precious he was afraid to lose, but I knew better.
In fact, it took me every ounce of will power I have to stop me from recoiling. I just pretended to still be in pain and closed my eyes.
Out of sight, out of mind.
But this guy seemed to want to torment me.
“Val, how are you feeling now?” His voice was still as gentle and caring as ever, but I could never view him the same way.
No matter how gentle he was towards me, I couldn’t bring myself to be happy about it.
Regardless, I took a deep breath and forced myself to open my eyes and look at him.
It was a good thing I had perfected the art of masking my emotions over the years. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to face this man with a straight face without fulfilling the overwhelming urge to smack him.
“I feel a bit better. I should be up on my feet soon.” This reply wasn’t meant for Karl.
I knew he could pretend to want me to rest for a long time, just to improve his impression in my eyes.
It was meant for the people standing outside the door and eavesdropping as if no one would know.
Well, they thought I didn’t have a wolf and wasn’t as sensitive as other wolves. So, they didn’t take my privacy seriously.
I didn’t want Mike to find another reason to punish me, especially since he was so worried about Innocent.
If he could leave me alone and let me do my work without him using the mate bond as an excuse to torment me, I would be throwing a party to celebrate.
“Please get some rest then. I will bring you something to eat later.” Karl said, patting me on the head before standing up to leave.
Once the door was closed, I heaved a sigh of relief. I still wasn’t used to staying so calm in the face of such a hypocrite.
I had always been comfortable around Karl, until I heard that conversation that night. Now, I can only force myself to stay calm when near him and it’s exhausting.
I was about to drift off to sleep when the door was pushed open and someone walked in like they owned the ground they were walking on.
“Stop pretending to be asleep. I know you can hear me.” It was Innocent’s voice.
’Finally, she couldn’t hold herself back.’ I thought to myself as all the sleep escaped me.
I opened my eyes slowly and my heart nearly left my body when I came face to face with the most venomous eyes I had ever seen looking at me like I was some kind of trash.
“What do you want now, Innocent?” I asked in defeat.
The woman had already disfigured me, yet wasn’t satisfied. What exactly did she want?
“You have the nerve to ask me what I want? I want to ask you, you pathetic slave, what do you want with Mike?” Innocent grew aggressive very fast when she mentioned Mike. Her voice was dripping with venom.
“I don’t understand what you mean. I have nothing to do with Mike.” I defended myself.
I wanted nothing to do with the two of them, even if one of them was my fated mate. I didn’t want to get involved with him, so, how did he come up in our conversation? Or should I say, interrogation?
“You have nothing to do with him? How dare you say that when he calls your name while making love to me?” Innocent’s voice rose a notch higher and as she spoke, she lost control and landed a slap on my face.
She slapped the side of my face that had just been bandaged and I could feel blood start to flow from the open wound again.