Chapter 2.

The horse she rode sped quickly down the hill and split the forest. Now and then, Bella called out, making the horse's pace speed up. When the sun rose above her head, the girl pulled the saddle until the horse slowed down.

Slowly the sound of her horse's footsteps moved. Arabella had arrived at a creek, made her lips curl into a smile, and jumped down.

She climbed the river bank after tying her horse to a fallen tree trunk. She opened the cap of the bamboo bottle that he had tucked in the horse's rope. Then take the clear water that flows directly from the top of the hill.

"Sweet," she said, taking another sip of the cold water. Satisfied, she wiped her sweat and looked into the river.

The corners of her eyes stared at a long piece of wood, making her sense. Focusing her senses, she jerked her hand openly towards the river before stepping and pulling the wood up. A big fish stabbed in the stomach, making Bella smile proudly.

"Enough for this lunch."

She gathered firewood and cleaned the fish. However, one ear seemed to hear the sound of breathing. Bella, burning the fish, got up from her seat, then looked around the quiet surroundings.

"The smell of carrion," she said quietly, sniffing a relatively thick odor in his nose.

She stepped to the edge of the river, where her horse squealed. Something gurgled in the bushes where her horse was eating weeds. Parting the grass, her eyes widened when she saw a man lying helplessly. Her chest was torn off in vain with the blood on her chipped neck.

Bella came closer and touched her nose. The man's breath was feeble with her sharp, pointed, hairy fingers.

"Werewolves?" Bella swallowed hard at the realization but was still moved to save her life.

Slowly she pulled the man's shoulders to the riverbank, then tore her shawl to wet a cloth and clean her bleeding neck. There was a weak groan of pain in Bella's ears, but she ignored it and kept cleaning her chest, which was almost torn apart.

"Your ribs broke; what happened to you to be so badly injured?" Bella spoke, causing the man to open his weak, almost closed eyes.

"Hold on. I'm going to find some medicine. I need to heal your external wounds first, so I can heal your internal wounds that are too severe."

He could vaguely see the face of a beautiful girl sitting next to him. His smile rose, and he looked frail, with a groan of pain running through his body.

Arabella lifted the fish over the coals and transferred it to the leaves. Then she stepped into the forest to look for medicinal leaves that could help him heal the wounds on the man's body.

***

"Ahhh...."

The wolf man's fingernails gripped the ground as Bella dripped water from the tree trunk that could treat the wound on her chest. It hurts and feels stabbing until her feet move under there to vent the pain she is suffering.

Bella stared blankly at her face in pain but did not fade her intentions and returned to burning the stems and leaves she picked up from the forest. When she felt warm enough, she cut the segment of the stem and again dripped the water in it over the man's chest. She ignored the painful moans and kept her gaze straight at the object she was treating.

"Ahhh... It hurts!" Bella swiftly warded off her hands that were ready to claw at her body. Releasing two thrusts, the pale white hand floundered on the ground as she locked the path of his blood.

"Relax, I'll just treat your wound before it rots," Bella said firmly, then began to pick up the leaves she was burning on the coals.

Squeezing it into pieces, she sprinkled it over the torn chest and made a long moan escape the mouth of the man lying helplessly. The veins in her neck tightened, clearly radiating down to his cheeks. Afterward, she placed her palm on the man's chest and closed her eyes.

A ray of light could be seen enveloping her body, creating a chill that could lessen the pain in the man's chest. He closed his eyes, then fell asleep on the ground with the creek to his left.

"You'll wake up in a week. I'll take care of you." Subtle, but the voice could penetrate the ears of the man who was starting to sleep.

Stepping onto a large rock near the coals, Bella took the fish she had grilled earlier and started eating it while looking at the face of the man lying with her chest open in front of her.

***

His red eyes started to open. He lay on the ground in better shape. The brown-haired beauty smiled as she watched him move. Stepping closer, the girl with the mane decorated with small white flowers sat next to him and stared at her chest, which was starting to close.

"Who are you?" The man's hoarse voice sounded, making Bella smile.

"My name is Arabella. I treated the wound on your body that was quite severe a week ago. How do you feel now?" Bella's soft and gentle voice made her heart tremble. Moreover, the beauty of the girl in front of him looked like an angel.

"I-I feel better." He shuffled up until she grabbed his arm and helped him sit up.

"Thanks for your help. My name is Azriel; you can call me Ad."

Bella smiled gracefully, staring at her face as white as a mountain rock. The veins on his neck were rough and clearly defined, though by now, his pointy nails had turned into whole and veined hands.

"Are you a wolf?"

Ayu shook her head. "I am a human."

The man was silent for a moment. "No wonder she looks so beautiful. Humans are beautiful and capable of starving me."

Bella squinted at his face; she heard the murmur from the man.

"You're a wolf, aren't you?"

Ad nodded, looking at Bella's beautiful face, which made his chest flutter.

"I don't want to do that to her; she's my helper. Why is my chest pounding?" The Ad said in his heart, with one hand touching his left chest.

"Turn around. I'll absorb the residual energy poison in someone who hurt you from inside your chest. Close your eyes. You have to put all your strength down. Got it?"

Ad nodded. He seemed to be hypnotized by Arabella's beauty. Turning his body, he let Arabella, who had touched his back. When those delicate hands touched her skin, his chest rippled with her emanating beast nature. He clenched his jaw, trying to push the crazy desire out of his mind.

"Hoek!"

Something inside his stomach shot up until his face came forward and vomited black blood. He clutched his chest from the pain. His whole body was throbbing until he vomited black blood repeatedly.

"Channel your pure air throughout the body so that the scars will heal," Bella said after taking her hand. She got up, then looked at Ad's face, who was already moving his hands to channel the pure air.

When Ad opened his eyes, he saw Bella, who had untied her horse. The man got up and approached him, who was leading the black horse away from the river.

"You have recovered. Return to your habitat. I will continue my delayed journey. Goodbye." Bella said, then hopped onto her horse, ready to race her before hearing Ad's words.

"I think I'm starting to love you, Bella. May I join you on your journey? To take care of you...."