Chapter 26

And indeed it was, my arm, the one I saw being bitten strongly by a rock strong gargoyle, the one I saw lose a chunk of meat out of, is simply completely healed! There is only smooth skin covering the place, not even a trace of it left behind!

"There is… there is not even a scar?" I mumble, still staring, petrified, at the strangeness in front of me.

I mean…Perhaps I saw it wrong then… I was overtaken by pain after all, and perhaps it had not been as bad as I thought of it at first…

However that was the logical part of it thinking, trying to make sense of the situation, and yet… even if my mind was trying to convince itself of it, my heart was not so kin of the idea as of yet.

"That's… well." Adam says, and I can tell we all are struggling to understand the situation, and he is trying to take us out from the shock of it, even if he himself is still affected by it as well. "That looks fine, better yet without a scar, isn't it great? I mean, how did that happen anyway? Perhaps it wasn't that bad after all… I mean, they always escalate things in hospitals to scare the patient into taking care of themselves right? I could warp my whole leg with the number of bandages there!"

Adam tries to lift the mood up, and I am even tempted into believing him for a moment, and yet no matter how much I tried to convince myself of it I'm sure of what I saw that day, even more because of the adrenaline and the horror of the situation for the memory warped its roots deeper and stronger inside my mind.

No.. that wasn't it… it could have been some sort of supernatural treatment then? It would not surprise me if there was that sort of thing here at all… some strange medice or medical practice, and even if sounding too good to be true that is the only explanation left for it… right?

My mind is pulled back from my thoughts, however, when I hear Lucien talk, answering the question I did not even notice that has been made:

"One of the gargoyles, a young tester, lost control at the smell of his blood and bite his arm."

"Lost control? Wow even for a young one that is hard to come by, but I guess he reacted to his master's mate's blood, so that is understandable…" Says Adam, making me think the attack over for the first time. So it affects them that much as well? I mean, I comprehend how much this mate thing affects both parties, but understanding it is on a completely different level.

But affecting them to the point that even though they are merely linked to Lucien in a master servant bond they still will feel it too? And that brings memories back too, beyond the attack and the pain, of the harmless newborn supernatural creature that knew nothing of this world and was afraid of hurting me by mistake… and that makes me wonder just what such naïve creature must be thinking about his outburst, on how I've not seen him until now, and where he could have wandered of to…

"His name is Ragid, he had just being born so it is understandable that he did not have any control over himself, he must have been as confused as I was…" I say, truly not mad at him for what he had done and only having time to think about it now, but something in Lucien's expression and following words ticks me into probing him further when he says:

"That is no excuse, he hurt you badly, he hurt his master's mate, and that is unforgivable."

I frown at his tone, and look at him to say: "No, it was just an honest mistake, I'm sure he did not mean it."

"That doesn't matter, he hurt you in the end, intending or not." He seemed quite persistent about that, with his mind made, but still I couldn't let it be and, with a bad premonition, continue on the subject:

"Then let me talk to him so he can apologize, I'm sure he did not mean it. Where is he?" I know I hit jackpot once his expression changes and he does not answer right away, and his hesitation only makes me push forward and repeat myself, less friendly this time around:

"Lucien, where is he now?" He seems to be thinking of an excuse to use, taking far too long to answer me, which only makes me more anxious and angry at the perspective of the situation.

And with reason… since my worries do confirm in the end.

"He… he is locked away, he had to be punished for-"I stand up so abruptly that everyone in the dining looks at me, especially when the chair falls back down with a loud metallic clack.

"Lock away? Punishing him?! You are punishing him?? How? Why?! No, don't tell me you are hurting him! For god's sake Lucien he is just a child! Don't you have any compassion?" He tries to talk, try to convince me, but I'm too livid at that point with him to care beyond giving him a piece of my mind for a change, overwhelmed not only by his actions but with everything that has been going on so far:

"Really now? Being all good and pretending to care when you are hurting a kid in the back? How disappointing." I don't even remember all the words I said to him at that moment, I just know that, since we meet, my mood has been a complete roller-coaster, and at that moment it was zooming past fast while I compared the creature I saw that day with a newborn child, and I could not stop thinking on how what he was doing is just the same as hurting a kid with no awareness of their surroundings.

Is just… disgustingly infuriating.

And that is the moment when I reach the limit of my anger and simply walk away from him, from them all, and fuming stomp my way away from them, ignoring their protests, and more done with these vampires and their supernatural ways of thinking than ever.

In the end, he is just like the rest of them, the rest of them all, cold, heartless, and ready to pounce in a moment of distraction, just as I was at that moment, emotions playing raw against my skin to the point that I do not even realize that, seeking solitude and peace and quiet to settle myself down, I walk straight up into the forests surrounding the werewolf village.

And that not so kind eyes followed me on my path deeper into the woods.