14. Dead wolf don't heal

"What!? I ask, staring back at him in confusion. Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me as if I've suddenly grown a pair of horns on my head" I say as I rub my hand all over my face and head to check if there's something unusual anywhere that I'm not aware of

"Yes!..." He replies in all seriousness and then shakes his head "I mean no! There's nothing on your head but something is definitely wrong with your face!"

"My face!..." I ask in alarm, feeling myself blanch out of fear. The shocked expression on Ethan's face, made me assume the worst already

"What is wrong with my face!?" I ask again but he just kept staring dumbfounded at me, making me wonder...

'Am I shifting? Is my wolf going out of control?'

I continue to rub my hands all over my face but feel nothing unusual still.

"What do you see on my face Ethan because I can't feel anything with my hand," I frustratingly snapped at him, afraid of the answer he would give me.

"You were badly beaten before but now... Now your face is perfectly healed!..." He replies in awe. "How did you do it!? I never knew there was a shifter on earth who could heal that fast?"

"Huh!?..." I say as I almost collapse with relief.

"My face is perfectly healed! Is that the only thing you see, Ethan? My face is perfectly healed and you couldn't have said something without making me think I have some kind of incurable disease stamped on my face!?" I angrily ask but he just continues talking with his awestruck expression not paying attention to my anger

"Wao!... No wonder you don't want to go to the healer"

"Ugghhh!... Ethannnn!" I groan in frustration before pushing past him toward the door "Let's just go, please!"

"What!?... Why are you upset though?" He asks cluelessly as he follows behind me. The cheeky bastard had no idea how he almost gave me high blood pressure

True to his words, Ethan helped me vacuum the rest of the seven apartments and I was able to finish on time. When we finished, he excused himself to go shower while I went straight to the laundry room to launder the dirty clothes. After all the laundry was done and delivered, I went back to the kitchen and saw Martha had already started making lunch and I hadn't even had my breakfast yet.

Because Martha is human, she's not bound by some of the pack's codes and conduits. The kitchen was placed in her charge which no shifter has the right to invade and command at will and she made it our private space

"What's for brunch?'' I ask as I enter, immediately walking to the oven where she normally keeps my food so it would stay warm.

"You know where your food is so why ask?..." She replies not turning away from what she was stirring. "Quickly eat up so it won't get cold. When you're done eating we need some supplies, the list is under the salt shaker."

"Alright..." I answer and remove my food from the oven, sitting on a stool, nearer to where she stands.

The only good thing about working at the pack house is the food. Since Martha is in charge of the kitchen, I get to eat anything I want. It might not be at the right time because of the overwhelming chores I face every day but it's always delicious. Today she made one of my favorites. Buttermilk waffle, bacon, and egg sandwich.

I drizzle enough maple syrup on my sandwich and haven't even taken a bite when Ethan casually waltzs into the kitchen with his hands inside his pocket like he owns the place.

'What's with this guy and being comfortable in people's private places?' I think to myself in amusement.

I thought he came to find me. I'm surprised when he goes straight to where Martha is busy by the cooker and puts his arms around her shoulder before kissing her on the cheek.

"Hey M!" He says.

Martha turns away from what she's stirring to look at him with surprise.

"Oh, my Lawd! Ethan!..." She says and hugs him tightly.

"When did you return!?" She pulls away to ask, pulling at his cheeks as if he's a kid.

"Yesterday night... How have you been?"

"Very old but doing great, I guess." She replies with a shrug

He chuckles

"Old?..." He says, pulling away from her to seriously look at her face. "You don't look a day older than the last time we saw eight years ago, M"

"Yeah right," Martha replies with a smile. "Have you met Ash? Come let me introduce you two to each other..."

"You don't need to introduce us. We already met." I answer her

"Already?... Oh my, you'll have to be careful with this one, Ash. He's a charmer and can..."

She suddenly stops talking when she turns to me

"Oh my god, Ash! What happened to you?" She asks me, with a frown. She reduces the heat from under the food on the cooker and hurries toward me to look closely at my face

"Oh, you mean my face?" I say brightly and laugh so she will know it's nothing to worry about. "Well guess what? I heal faster this time, isn't that great?"

"And what if you died? She asks, looking at me with concern. Dead people cannot heal! Even if you're a werewolf. Once you're dead you're dead, you know that right!?"

I nod my head and look down at my plate. What she said really got me. A dead wolf can't heal. Even werewolves aren't invincible to death. I used to think it was better to be dead than alive before but not anymore. Not when I just discovered my wolf can kick Gamma chief's ass. No! I have no intention of dying any time soon.

"I'm not going to die Martha. Not now at least so don't worry too much. This sort of abuse won't happen to me next time. I'm a different she-wolf now that I can fight back." I smile reassuringly when I remember my monster wolf that made the big Gamma chief fly across the room.

"You can fight back!?"

"You fought back!?"

They both ask at the same time with the same unbelievable expression on their faces. Well, I don't blame them if they don't believe me. The Gamma chief is huge. Way over six feet. I don't expect them to believe that a she-wolf of my size would have a chance against a wolf as big as that

"I don't understand! You said you fought back and yet I found you badly beaten and unconscious in his living room!?"

"You found her unconscious!?" Martha asks. "Who is it this time, the Gamma chief again?"

If eyes could kill, Ethan would have been dead from the deadly look I'm shooting in his direction. He just had to go open his mouth and say he found me unconscious in front of Martha! Why couldn't he just read between the lines and mind his fucking business!?

I exhale and stand up from my chair to move closer to Martha...

"Martha you don't have to be scared alright? Yes, Ethan found me unconscious but believe me when I said I fought back because I really did and as you can see, now I healed faster than before... I'll tell you everything that happened but I can't talk about it right now, I promise we'll talk when we get home, alright?"

"Okay... Just please be careful. Since he's such a habitual pervert, I'll be going with you to clean his apartment from now on."

"Anything you say!" I reply with a smile

"If this is not his first time harassing you then why haven't you reported to the Alpha or at the council?"

Martha snorted... "I bet you've been away for too long to remember that Omegas are the lowest of the low in a pack's hierarchy and beating on and harassing them is the order of the day here!?

"Yes, Omega is the lowest rank in a pack. Yes, they sometimes get punished but sexual harassment? Rape!?... Nah! That is not the order of the day and there's a law against that everywhere. I'm sure something would have been done to him if you had reported." He insisted

"You think because I'm a maid, that makes me some kind of illiterate that doesn't know my right!?..."

"No, I did not say..."

"No, let me finish please..." I said and held up my hand to stop him from interrupting me.

"Nothing, Ethan. Absolutely nothing would have been done. Rather, I would have winded up dead in a ditch somewhere if I had opened my mouth to report him. Do you even think anything happens in this pack that the Alpha and Beta don't know about!?"

He chuckles

"I'm afraid I would have to disagree with you on that! Don't…"

"No! You don't get to disagree with me because I mentioned your father, Ethan!" I furiously shout and bang my hand hard on the marble kitchen island, instantly cracking the surface.

I am furious and breathing hard. For the first time since I got my wolf early that morning, I felt her rise to the surface acting as my shield and ready to fight and defend me if necessary, and I saw her eyes as they glowed bright red, reflecting on the glass casserole bowl beside me.