I looked down and saw thick bandages wrapped around it, soaked faintly with blood.
“What… what are you doing?” I asked, my voice weak.
The nurse didn’t even look up. “Changing your dressing. You just had a skin graft, so it’s going to hurt for a while. Try not to move too much.”
My mind went blank. “Skin graft…? What are you talking about?”
She paused, then looked at me like I was the strange one. “You didn’t know? The Luna in the next room had a scrape on her arm. Alpha Thornhill requested that a patch of your skin be used for her treatment.”
My ears rang.
“She just had a small injury,” the nurse went on, sighing. “But you know how it is. Different fates. Some people get worried over the tiniest scratch, and others…” She didn’t finish, but I understood.
My face went cold.
So even my body…
Even my skin… he could just take it and give it to her.
My lips trembled. It felt like I swallowed something burning. “Can you… help me transfer to another hospital?” I asked quietly.
“Transfer?” she repeated. “Why would you—”
The door opened before she could finish.
“Transfer to where?”
Drake walked in, carrying bags of fruits and food. Things I used to like.
He set everything down, took off his coat, and came straight to me. “Why are you talking about transferring? Don’t move around like this. You’re still weak.”
I didn’t answer. I just watched him.
He gently wiped my hands, my feet, like he always did. Then he picked up fruit, peeled it carefully, and held it to my lips. “Here. Eat something first. You haven’t eaten since yesterday, right?”
I didn’t move.
He sighed softly. “Chloe, don’t be like this. You need to eat if you want to recover. Don’t make me worry, okay?”
He scooped up some soup, blew on it until it cooled, and brought it closer. “Just one bite. Come on.”
So gentle. So patient.
Just like before.
And that was the cruelest part.
Because I knew…
He’d do the same for her. No. Even more.
He’d always give Chiara the best portion first. “This one tastes better,” I once heard him say. “You should have this.”
He’d kneel beside her bed, pressing his ear to her stomach again and again. “In a few more months, you’ll feel the pup move,” he’d say, his voice full of excitement. “I can’t wait.”
He’d leave after I fell asleep. I knew. I didn’t need to see it before. But now I could.