Chapter 123: ¹²³: healing

I felt my heart skip a beat as I heard that. It was, after all, something to worry about! How could I have even thought there might be something relieving in this?

"Luna Selene did behave weirdly last night." I said, leaning forward slightly, my curiosity getting the better of me. "Do you know anything related to that? Could there be anything she knows related to my pack that I don’t?"

Damian shook his head, his expression turning thoughtful as he rested one hand on the table. "I don’t know. There could be something, or there couldn’t. We will know only when she comes back."

His eyes then dropped to the bowl in front of me, and he pointed towards my food. "For now, finish your food. I will grab my bike’s keys. We are getting late."

"Okay." I replied, taking another sip of the broth. I didn’t want to get late, especially when Mother Elena had specifically asked me to come early.

The pain from my wounds wasn’t exactly sweet either. Even though Mother Elena’s treatment had reduced it considerably, there was still a dull ache constantly reminding me that my body hadn’t recovered yet.

I forced myself to ignore it and concentrated on finishing my breakfast. Just a few minutes later, I was done. I quickly washed the bowl before stepping outside, where Damian was already waiting beside his bike.

"Let’s go." I said as soon as I reached him.

Damian handed me the helmet without saying anything, and I took it from him before putting it on and settling onto the bike behind him.

He started the engine, and the loud rumble immediately filled the quiet morning air.

"Do you enjoy riding bikes?" Damian asked suddenly as he began moving towards Mother Elena’s clinic.

I leaned forward slightly so I could hear him clearly over the noise of the engine. "I have ridden them a few times, but I am not a fan of bikes that much. I like cars better." I said, a small smile forming on my face as an old memory came to mind.

"My dad, however, loves bikes!" The smile on my face vanished almost instantly. I lowered my gaze even though Damian couldn’t see my expression clearly from where he was sitting. "I mean... he loved them when he was alive."

For a few seconds, neither of us said anything. "Uhm..." Damian hesitated, clearly trying to think of something that wouldn’t make things worse. "If you know how to ride a bike, then why don’t you show me after you are done at the hospital?"

His voice suddenly turned cheerful, almost deliberately so. I smiled slightly at that. I knew exactly what he was doing.

He was trying to lighten the mood and keep my mind distracted from everything that had been weighing me down. I had noticed it since morning. He was being overly careful and cheerful around me, smiling every few seconds and paying far more attention than usual to everything I said or did.

Maybe my panic attack last night had scared him a little.

And now that I had realised it, I felt even guiltier towards him.

He had already done so much for me, and yet I kept making him worry.

"I would love to show you my skills," I said, raising my voice slightly so he could hear me over the engine. "But it will take me until late afternoon at the clinic. Don’t you have your own training?"

I purposely kept my tone light, not wanting to let my mind become trapped in those thoughts again. Thinking about everything that had happened would do nothing except hurt me further. For now, I needed to focus on getting better.

And perhaps, for a little while, pretending that everything was normal.

"Don’t worry." Damian said as he slowed down his bike when we reached the clinic. "My training ends exactly at that time, so I can come to pick you up."

With that, he stopped the bike in front of the clinic. I carefully got down behind him, making sure not to put too much pressure on my wounds. Even though the pain had reduced, the sudden movement still made me wince slightly.

"Then it is settled. I will surely show you my skills in the evening!" I said, taking my helmet off as I smiled at him.

Damian turned towards me, his eyes immediately settling on the smile on my face. A smile spread across his own lips as he reached out and took the helmet from my hands.

"A smile looks so good on your face." He said, his voice unusually gentle. "Keep smiling like this from now on, okay?"

I looked at him, stunned for a moment. I didn’t know if I had any reason to smile anymore.

Everything I had known, everything I had trusted, had been shattered in such a short span of time. And yet, standing here in front of Damian, I didn’t want to bring any of that darkness into his morning.

"I will try." I said softly, forcing another small smile onto my face. I didn’t want to put the weight I was carrying onto him. He had already worried about me enough. "I will go inside then. Bye. See you in the evening."

"Bye." He replied, that wide smile still present on his face.

I turned around and started walking straight towards the clinic. I didn’t look back at him because the moment I turned away, the smile disappeared from my face.

I lowered my eyes as I walked, swallowing the heaviness that had suddenly returned to my chest.

These people had already worried enough about me. I couldn’t keep making them carry my burdens too.

The clinic itself wasn’t that small. It was considerably large for a pack like this, with several professionals working throughout the building.

The first time I had come here to get treated by Mother Elena, I had wondered how they could possibly treat their patients with the limited resources they seemed to have.

There were no advanced machines like the ones in my pack. No complicated equipment. Yet, I had eventually come to learn that there were methods beyond the machines and medicines I had grown accustomed to seeing. Mother Elena was almost a legend for what she and her students could do here.

I walked through the entrance and approached the receptionist sitting behind a small desk.

"Hello, I have an appointment with Mo—I mean, Elena Moonvel." I corrected myself quickly, realising I had almost called her Mother Elena in front of a stranger.

The receptionist smiled politely before looking down at the records in front of her. Her fingers moved across the pages as she searched for my name.

"Ma’am is busy right now. We will inform her about your arrival. You can wait over there until then." She said, pointing towards a chair in the waiting area.

I nodded politely. "Thank you."

I moved towards the place she had gestured to and slowly sat down, careful not to put too much pressure on my abdomen.

For a moment, I simply leaned back against the chair and let out a quiet breath.

I had barely settled into my seat when I heard some strange whispers coming from behind me.

I frowned slightly. The voices were low, almost as if whoever was speaking didn’t want me to hear them.