A Rose
Tamara POV
The air inside the house was thick with unease even though a calm had settled after the chaos of the previous day. I couldn’t help thinking how Matt had to stop Brad from pouncing on Summer. Why was he so feral about her? I was scared after I saw the red patch on the bedsheet, but Brad–he went wild.
I sat on the couch, my eyes flicking to the door of the guest room where Summer was resting. I could see her lying inside, wrapped in sheets, still unconscious. The atmosphere of our house was oppressive, like it was holding its breath, waiting for something, waiting for her to wake up, or perhaps for something darker to happen. Matt had gone along with a few warriors to check upon the cultists and the building from where Brad rescued Summer. I had asked him not to go because that wasn’t necessary, but he insisted.
Though Brad did not want a doctor to come, I insisted that we needed one as soon as possible. So he arranged for the campus doctor. The doctor had arrived hours ago, examining Sunner quietly, but his words haunted me.
He took a deep breath as he stated, “She’s underfed, abused, and is suffering from significant mental trauma.” She brushed her forehead gently. “She will need time to recover. And it may take a while for her to fully heal.”
He noticed the red patch on the sheet, and said that she was bleeding more than necessary during her periods because of mental trauma. Because of that I had to make sure that Brad stayed away from her. It took a while to make him understand that he could be a threat to her, if he pounced on her. His behavior toward Summer was bizarre.
He had given us a prescription, saying that if she suffered from mental instability, then we should give her a drug to sedate her. His words pressed down on me. Summer was so young, around my age or slightly elder, yet she was so vulnerable. I couldn’t help think that she had a traumatic childhood.
I remembered how she was all night yesterday. I was sitting beside her on the chair, reading a book when her breath became shallow. Her body jerked under the sheets. Her whimpers filled the room as a soft cry escaped her lips, and she twisted restlessly. I quickly moved to her side. Placing a hand on her shoulder, I said in a soothing voice,” Summer, you’re safe here. “It’s just a bad dream.”
14
She jerked awake, her eyes wide with panic, her hands trembling. “It’s them,” she whispered hoarsely as her eyes scanned the room as if expecting cultists around her. ” They are coming for me.”
I squeezed her hand gently, traying to calm her. “They can’t hurt you here,” I reassured
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A Rose
her, but my heart ached for the trauma she endured. As Summer nodded and went back to delirious sleep, I looked at Brad who was sitting outside the room on the floor with his back leaned against the wall. His shoulders were bunched up in tension as he peeped at us with furrowed brows. Something about Summer seemed to pull at him. I could sense that he was struggling with emotions he couldn’t name. When Summer settled, he got up, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides, but he didn’t step into the room. He left with a tortured expression on his face.
After Summer went off to sleep, I thought I’d ask about Summer to Brad. Like all the details he had been hiding, and why did he react the way he did, but I was tired and went back to my room after giving Summer her medicines. I had history assignment to finish and once I started it, I didn’t know how time flew.
It was later in the night that Brad came to my room. He gave me coffee and sat on the bed. “Thanks,” I murmured as I switched off my laptop.
“Thanks to you, Tam,” he replied, plopping on the pillows. Gods, my brother was over six feet like my dad. He didn’t fit in my bed. His feet were hanging out.
After a few moments, I looked over my shoulder. “Brad, is there something you’re not telling me about Summer?”
He turned his eyes to me, and for the first time, I saw something raw and vulnerable in them. He shook his head and sighed.
“Honestly, I don’t know much about her. All I know is that her scent makes my wolf to come forth and take charge. She isn’t a werewolf, but her scent–it makes me want to protect her with my life.”
A frown came to my lips. “Yes, she is clearly a human.”
He shrugged. “Why do I feel there is something more than that to her?”
“You are imagining,” I huffed. “But tell me how did you find her? Is she your girlfriend? Is she in the same college as ours?”
He shook his head again. “When we were on a trek with my soccer team, I… I smelled something. I don’t know why, but the scent tugged at me. It was like I couldn’t fight it. It pulled me toward her.
I looked at him, confused. “What do you mean? Her scent? Is she your mate? There have never been human mates, okay?”
“Well, have there been bear mates?” he growled.
Touche.
His gaze went distant as if remembering that exact moment. “I followed the scent, abandoning my team, and it led me to a small cabin hidden in the woods. That’s where
I found her. She was being reprimanded by her father harshly. He was angry, shouting
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at her, slapping her, kicking her. I needed to stop myself, but couldn’t. The next I knew was that I was inside the cabin. The two of them saw me with surprise as I broke open the door. Her father immediately grabbed a gun with silver bullets, and pointed at me.”
“What the hell!” I gasped. “Silver bullets? Did he know you are a werewolf? Is he a
hunter?”
He clenched his fists again. “I didn’t know what to do, Tam. I looked at Summer and wanted to save her, but my friends came rushing after me, thinking that I was in trouble. They called me, and I had to leave, scared for their safety. But the moment I went back to the trek with them, I felt this nagging pull. I couldn’t leave her alone. I had to go back.”
A flicker of understanding flashed through me. “And when you went back…?”
“She was gone. Her father was gone too. The cabin was abandoned. Panic seized my heart. So, I ran, following her scent deeper into the woods. I mind–linked my warriors to join me, and asked my friends to help me find her. Our hunt led us to the cultists, Tam. They had her, tied across the table to dissect her. I had to rescue her.”
I let out a rough exhale. “Goddess!” Shaking my head, I added, “Matt shouldn’t have gone back there. What would he find?”
Brad and I went to her room. Summer was sleeping peacefully. I just couldn’t help wondering what life she was leading earlier. If her father was a hunter, was it possible that he came to know about the existence of werewolves around him? And what if
Summer led her father to us? It was all so confusing and frustrating that I suddenly wanted to go back to mom and dad.
“Do you want to talk to mom and dad?” I asked him, sure that they knew answers.
Brad raked his hair with his fingers. “No… it’s too late. We can talk tomorrow. Besides, I
want to know more about Summer.”
After a few hours, when Summer had all her medicines the doctor prescribed, the restlessness in her body seemed to fade. I came back to my room, feeling exhausted. If only Matt was here, I would have curled over him and went off to sleep. What? Was I getting used to his presence? I rubbed the back of my back and stepped out onto the balcony. The cool night air hit my skin.
Suddenly, I felt like someone was watching me. A cold chill ran down my spine as I glanced around the empty courtyard below. It felt like a shadow moved. I stared at it with my enhanced vision. And it was more alive than I thought it would be. I stifled a gasp as I stepped back, my foot pressing onto a thorn. Hissing, I looked down and saw a wilted rose beneath my feet. I lifted my feet to remove the thorn, and the rose began to bloom. Fast.
