Stung - Chapter 14

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Derek grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking away, forcing her to face him again. He knew that he was going way too far with this and that he already had gone too far with his questions. But he wanted to punch a hole into that wall she always surrounded herself with. He knew that he had seen her real self before, just for a short moment when he had been the wolf, but most of the time she was hiding behind the mask of the warrior.

Unreachable, untouchable, void of any emotions.

Derek had noticed her earlier reaction when their fingers had touched though, he had heard the slight increase in her heartbeat, nothing too treacherous, but odd in a way. He wasn't sure if she liked or despised being around him but she definitely reacted to him.

The forceful pivot from his hold pulled Sophie back around abruptly to face him. She didn't like to be handled like that and she made sure her scowl said as much when her face tilted back to look up at him.

Derek knew that she had been right with everything she had said. He simply was her job, nothing more, nothing less. It was none of his business and he had no right to question her like he had but something drove him on. Maybe because deep down he knew that he was her job, but to him she actually was something entirely different. She was the only thing that kept him from going insane here, she was the lifeline that connected him to the remains of human society with everything that this included and he needed to connect to someone, a real connection, not the superficial 'guiding you through this and risking my life for you but not allowing you to see the real me' situation they were in right now. But there also was something else. He already knew that he rather wanted to live here in the forests than in Eden where they either would study him or force him to become someone he wasn't. How had Sophie called it? Assimilation?

At first, Derek said nothing and Sophie's scowl deepened until her lips thinned dangerously. She was near ready to pull her arm free when he finally spoke up.

"What if it isn't just myths?" he said into her visible anger but still didn't let go of her arm. "We survived the cleaner, didn't we? What if there is an underground structure somewhere? Caves? Or anything like it?" He leaned in on her, his own agitation brewing, his face only inches away from hers now and he could feel her warm breath caressing the side of his face.

"They are myths!" She said with conviction as soon as he asked the question. She didn't like repeating herself and for him to grasp onto something like that before he even saw Eden was dangerous. "We survived by pure chance. Not everyone has hearing like you Derek." When she thought to pull her arm away anyway, he leaned in closer. She stilled, feeling her heartbeat increase and her breath hitch at his nearness. On the surface she blamed her anger and annoyance with him but there was something else she refused to acknowledge.

Derek was beyond agitated now. "But what if there is an alternative to that life you are forced to live? I know that you are a survivor and a warrior at heart, there is fire in you, I can see it."

"The council built this island - believe me, there are no underground structures. Not anymore." Sophie straightened her shoulders and raised her chin in a defiance that did not want him to know his nearness affected her. "There is no other life. You need to stop this or it'll surely mean your failure before you even see what Eden has to offer you. Your life as a chosen is different from my own. You will live a lifetime without worry or stress. You have a chance to meet someone through matching and start a family. Just because you're a werewolf does not mean you won't have that opportunity. The fact that you're here now, proves it." As for what he said about her... 

"Don't confuse my hatred for this life as fire. I don't even carry a hot ash. You're investing too much of what you want to see, instead of what is really there - or not there. Other than my job requirements, I'm no different than the cleaner."

Derek lessened his grip on her arm. He hated being on this island, he hated being forced to do this trial, he hated the creatures and he hated the bite marks he had seen on her body. But he also knew that most of his current emotions actually were based on his fears. He was keeping it together pretty well but this was not a normal situation by far. He had gone through dangerous and potentially lethal situations in his life before and he always had been fighting but this was different. Everything he had known was gone, everything he had fought for, a life hidden in the shadows of society but in peace protecting others from supernatural threats, all that was gone, everyone he had loved and trusted was gone so what was left to fight for. Eden? Derek suddenly felt such a strong rush of loneliness and sadness that he finally released her and took a step back, immediately trying to hide his emotions from her, his face going blank.

"Sorry," he then said before taking another step back. "I shouldn't have done that."

She let a long held breath free once he let her go. Not having known she even held it until it expelled painfully from her lungs. Having perfected her mask, she saw his as soon as he put it on but not before she saw the emotions she knew were riddled beneath it. Knowing there was nothing she could do to comfort him, she stepped away when he did and returned to the fire. He had to sort through those things on his own. He had to come to terms with his life now and embrace the possibilities awaiting him.

As she tore a piece of the deer meat away to test it, she contemplated what, exactly, those possibilities were. He would either be embraced for what he was and considered as a special addition to their population, or he would be considered special in the way that she was. And that...she would not even wish upon her enemies. It was what she feared most and only fed the belief that they were placed together for just that reason. To the extent of why though, she did not know.

"The meat is ready."

Derek sat down by the fire. He suddenly felt defeated without actually knowing why. His frustration had only increased, even though he had gotten his answers. Maybe Sophie was right and he was seeing things that weren't there, clinging to a hope that didn't exist, looking for an exit that wasn't open. The sudden rush of sadness and despair weighed him down additionally and for a while he only stared into the flames, while trying to sort his thoughts and get a handle over his emotions again. At least she hadn't hit him in the face for handling her like he had. He usually was the perfect gentlemen when it came to women but he just had lost it there for a moment.

At least he felt much better physically. The earlier meal had done him a lot good already and there was more food waiting for him at the fire. The poison seemed to have left his system completely by now and he only dealt with the aftermaths now. He took a deep breath, knowing that he needed to get out of his self-pity corner, otherwise his emotions would slow him down and he couldn't have that. Maybe Sophie was right, maybe he had to give Eden a chance before planning on starting a revolution. He just couldn't believe that any society that treated someone like Sophie was treated could be any good. But in the end, he was able to adapt. To survive. It was one of his greatest strengths. He never gave up, no matter how bleak things looked and when Sophie told him that the meat was ready, he already had halfway recovered. He ripped a piece off the deer and buried his teeth into it. 

She collected another piece and started to lift it to her lips when she noticed how badly her hand was shaking. Without hesitation, she shrugged her jacket off and appraised her arm. There was no sign of blood or damage - though there really wouldn't be any sign of that with her ability to heal quickly. She looked for bruising instead, still finding none.

"Derek, I need you to check something for me." Having the full expectation that he would she turned her back so that the fire would highlight it as she pulled her shirt over her head. "Do you see any significant bruising?" The abrasions from the ceramic bath pieces had already healed leaving only the dark brown smear of her dried blood. A much darker coloring peppered her right shoulder blade. At the very center of which was a sickly yellow patch that bled into the dark bruise around it.

"Sure," he answered after brief hesitation. He still wasn't happy with her. Once again, she had no problems to remove her shirt in front of him and he wasn't complaining. He placed the meat down on a stone lying near him before he wiped his hand clean on his trousers. Only then did he step closer into the light of the fire and studied her back. What he saw surprised him. Not the bruised spot at her right shoulder blade but the rest of her back. 

All the fresh cuts had healed already and in order to convince himself that he was seeing it correctly, he slowly ran his fingertips over the dirty, but smooth skin of her back. "You heal fast," he then stated. "Your back looked really bad in the cabin and now the lesions are gone. Like mine. But there is something at your shoulder." 

He now focused his attention on the infected part of her shoulder. "Hang on," he then said before he went to retrieve the water bottle and his dirty shirt. He searched for a clean spot and poured some water over it, before he carefully started cleaning the pepper colored area to get a closer look.

It looked even worse afterwards.

"There is a large bruise at your shoulder blade and the center of it looks infected. There is puss. I think something is stuck in there." 

"That's not possible. Infections are not able to sustain in my system."

He didn't think though that it was a part of the ceramic because there was no way it could have gotten infected this badly in just half a day. But then, she obviously had some sort of strange healing abilities as well so maybe there were other physical things about her that were special. Whatever it was that was sticking in her back though, it was obvious that it needed out. Derek bit his bottom lip for a moment before he said. "I can try to cut it open and get it out, whatever it is. My claws are sharp enough. But it will hurt like hell." He didn't feel too comfortable with his offer but the spot looked really bad and there was puss already. He also noticed now that her right arm was shaking so there was not much of a choice.

He took a deep breath. "Ok," he then said, "I will cut it open now." He extracted the claws of his right hand and placed the other hand on her shoulder tightly, ready to hold her down if she would try to pull away and he was pretty sure that she would pull away because this spot already hurt him like a motherfucker only by looking at it. He took another deep breath and then cut it open as gentle as he could. The skin burst open immediately and released a trickle of yellow puss, which he wiped away with the shirt. This he had expected. What he hadn't expected was the fact that Sophie had stayed completely calm during it. For a moment he frowned, staring confusingly at the back of her head. Was it possible that she felt no pain? She continued to hold still and so he lowered his head again to study the spot closer again. 

"I was right, something is stuck in there, I will try and get it out." And once again he used his claws almost like tweezers and managed to grasp the object that was sticking there. He pulled it out and it was followed by another trickle of puss. What the hell was it? It was long and almost looked like the sting of a bee, only bigger. Wordlessly he handed it over her shoulder for her to take it. Then he used another clean spot from his shirt and some more of their water to clean her back and the wound as good and as gentle as he could. It needed to be sanitized and she needed antibiotics. Worried, he then studied the wound. The yellow center was gone but the flesh around was an angry red and it felt hot underneath his hand. 

"What is it?" he asked.

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