Chapter 16

"A werewolf. Yes. Please. Can we go to the castle? I will explain everything there? You are very hurt." 

Twyla wasn't sure she wanted to go anywhere with him. She wasn't sure what she had just seen. She wasn't sure if she could even move. She clutched her necklace and warmth spread through her. 

"Okay. Let's go." She pushed off the tree and pain shot through her. Hunter caught her as she fell forward. 

Hunter made soothing sounds and scooped her up. Agony tore through her chest and she cried out. 

"We are nearly there," Hunter soothed.

Twyla tried to look up but every movement hurt. 

He sat her down on the bed and she looked up. They were already in her room. She hadn't even realised that they had moved.

"How did we get here?" she asked.

"I am… fast. I know you have questions but they will have to wait. I need to check your injury," Hunter requested, his hands already moving her top. He ripped it and Twyla was suddenly topless in front of him. Any embarrassment was lost to the pain. 

Hunter's face was grim as he took in her injury. Not exactly the expression she wanted him to have when he first saw her breasts. "This is not going to be pleasant," he warned and then he touched her.

She screamed as the pain seared through her. 

Iynx appeared with an angry burst of light. She shoved Hunter away and looked down at Twyla.

"What the hell happened?" Iynx seethed, wind whirling around her as she turned to Hunter.

"She went into the forest. Silver found her," Hunter told Iynx.

"Get away from her," Iynx uttered, softly. Iynx looked eerie.

"I-" Hunter tried to defend himself.

"Now."

Hunter left. Twyla was in too much pain to interfere. She didn't care. She just wanted the pain to go away. 

Iynx turned to Twyla and looked down at her chest. "It's going to be okay. You have a few broken ribs and your lung isn't doing so hot. We can fix it."

"We?" Twyla got out.

Iynx smiled and the wind blew wilder for a second before another nymph was standing next to her bed. This nymph was muscled and well, wet. Water flowed off and around the nymph, never quite touching the floor. Their grey hair was braided into a crown and it made their face all the more severe.

"This is Dirce. They are a naiad. With healing magic," Iynx said. 

"Hi, Dirce," Twyla whispered and tried to smile. 

"We'll sort you out, lass," Dirce said and immediately pressed their hands onto Twyla's chest. The pain was immense. Twyla tried not to cry out this time. 

Twyla could feel the bones moving around inside her. It was not the most comfortable sensation. She writhed under Dirces' hands and grinded her teeth. 

Sweat dripped down her forehead. 

She felt someone take her hand and she turned her head. Iynx smiled at her. Twyla squeezed her hand. At least she wasn't alone.

Her bones continued to move as Dirce rearranged her ribs. Twyla tried to see what was happening. It wasn't pretty. It reminded her of a sci-fi movie. She looked away. 

"Hey. There are new pastries in the kitchen," Iynx tried to distract her. 

"Oh really?" Twyla breathed. 

"Yea. But I'm not telling you what flavour. You'll have to guess when we have them later."

"Oh come on!"

Iynx stuck out her tongue. 

The moving in her chest slowed down and then stopped. 

The pain lingered. 

"Okay. I've put your ribs back together. They'll be tender. Try not to break them in the next week or so. Your scratches and bruises are all healed up. For the pain, take a few drops of this," Dirce instructed, placing a purple, glass bottle on the side table. "Don't take it too often or you'll sleep your life away." 

"Thank you, Dirce," Twyla said, gratefully.

"It wasn't Hunter's fault. I went to the forest myself," Twyla whispered.

"Shh. Don't worry. You need to rest now. Here," Iynx said, soothingly and dropped some pain killer into Twyla's mouth. It was bitter and Twyla grimaced. 

"Yea, it's not fun but it works," Iynx laughed. "Sleep now. I'll stay here so don't worry." 

Twyla closed her eyes and felt like she was at the foothills of a mountain. It was peaceful. A soft breeze that brought in the scent of pine trees washed over her. Her bed felt like a meadow of grass. The sunlight on her face felt pure and warm. She heard birds twitter in the distance. 

Twyla sighed contentedly and fell asleep. 

Twyla woke up to throbbing pain all over her body. She groaned as she shifted around trying to get comfortable.

"Hey," Iynx's soothing voice said gently from her side. "You awake?"

Twyla forced open her weary eyes and looked at the nymph. Iynx really had stayed there the entire time. 

"I'm awake," Twyla grumbled, her voice scratchy. "What time is it?"

"Midnight."

"What?!"

Iynx giggled. "Your body needed to heal. How are you feeling?"

"Argh. Grumble grumble," Twyla said, pushing herself up. "But better." Twyla smiled. "Thank you so much, Iynx. Did you really stay here the whole time?"

"I was worried," Iynx muttered, rubbing her thin arm. 

"Sorry," Twyla responded, sheepishly. "I- I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, don't. Not now. Heal up first. I promise we'll talk. Your injuries were not good."

"Where's Hunter?"

"He… he will be back after the full moon. All the werewolves will be keeping a healthy distance until everything settles."

"Oh." Twyla tried not to look too disappointed. 

Iynx took Twyla's hand. "I'm sorry. I know you miss him. It's just safer. They can't always control themselves. You saw Silver. He is usually a pretty decent guy but the full moon does things to them. It is part of the curse. They lose control at the full moon. They can't control the transformation. Or the urges. And your humanness… It calls to them."

"Why? Is that why Hunter likes me? Because I'm human?"

Iynx looked uncomfortable. "I can't tell you why Hunter likes you. That's between the two of you. I can, however, tell you why your humanness calls to them?"

"Yes. Please."

"There are two ways to create a werewolf. The first is through genes, through parents, just like getting brown eyes from your mum. The second, the more dangerous one, is scratching or biting a human during a full moon. The transformation increases the urge to create more werewolves so when they sense a human all they see is an opportunity to create another werewolf."

"Oh…" Twyla pondered. She kept quiet for a moment. "But Hunter didn't attack me. He stopped Silver?"

"Yes. It is possible to control your mind during a transformation. Not through the entire night. They turn into a wolf at sunset and return to their human form at sunrise. They can have moments where they are more… human than wolf. But it takes an incredibly determined mind. They are also very protective of… their own. So even in his wolf form, Hunter would have smelt you and known that you are… his."

Even when his mind was not totally his own, Hunter cared for her. Twyla's heart soared. She clutched her bird necklace and smiled. Maybe things weren't so bad.