Wrapping Bandages

Fortunately, Elisha came out from the bathroom right at the moment and interrupted whatever Vance was going to say next. She was not used to sweet talks like that and she was flustered. Her words stuck in her throat. Being praised was not something that happened to her often. Aware of that, Vance was using her confusion as his opportunity to get what he wanted. She could not be distracted. Silently, she thanked Elisha for appearing in time and she hurriedly went into the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, she soaked in a hot bath, purposefully taking her time in hopes that Vance would be bored from waiting for her and return to his chamber. However, she knew how persistent the werewolf could be in order to achieve his purpose, so she didn't really get her hopes up. Staying in the hot water for too long would make her dizzy, therefore she had no choice but to get out eventually.

Melva was only in her bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her hair when she came out of her bathroom. She looked around inside her chamber but there was no one else besides Vance who was lounging about on her couch. Being aware that she was wearing nothing under her bathrobe caused her to feel warm all over.

Embarrassed, she felt exposed because she was underdressed. She had thought that Elisha would be around to help her change into her nightgown, so she did not bring one with her. It was unexpected that Elisha was nowhere to be seen to bring a nightgown and help her change inside the bathroom.

"Where is Elisha?" asked Melva anxiously, hugging herself as if Vance would still be able to see through the robe.

"I dismissed her," answered Vance in a relaxed manner. "Don't you think it is too much to keep her up this late to wait for you while I am here and perfectly capable of helping you?"

Vance was trying to make her feel guilty by thinking that she was making Elisha work more than she should. But she knew that it was just his way to make her give what he wanted. He saw her either as a prize to win over, a prey to be caught, or an enemy to be knocked down. There was no way he was sincere with everything he said to her. There must be an ulterior motive behind his words.

Melva sighed in exhaustion. She was already tired enough without having to deal with his schemes. "Why do you insist on helping me, Your Grace? What do you want in return?"

"Why can't I be nice to my future wife?" Vance finally gave in after Melva didn't give him any response and only stared at him. "Alright. I will be honest to you. I want to kiss you. I need my good night's sleep. Will you let me?"

Melva squinted her eyes at him in suspicion. Was he going to kiss her on a daily basis? Although he had done it before, it didn't mean he wouldn't let him kiss her every single day. A kiss that was prolonged and encouraged would certainly lead to the next stage. And she was not ready for that. She had to limit his access to her lips before things escalated.

She decided on an excuse that was plausible enough. "You are going to change my bandages, right? Is that not enough physical touch for you to last through the night?"

Vance was losing his patience as he huffed exasperatedly. "I do not want to just last through the night, Melva. I want to sleep properly. I feel like I have not slept in a very long time. And by a long time, I mean years. I am irritable and tired all the time, but I cannot fall asleep because it is excruciatingly cold."

Melva disliked his way of ordering her around when he was the one who needed her to stay alive. Although she knew she was bound by the contract, it was still not right to bend her to his will like that. He could have just asked her politely for help and she would be more willing to reconsider.

They should work together to honour the terms of the contract. It was an agreement from both sides. If they were being hostile towards each other, the contract would serve no purpose. Vance was too selfish to care about that. He would just blame his selfishness on the curse that supposedly caused him to be irritable at all times.

After a long and uncomfortable silence, Vance composed himself and realised belatedly what he had said to her by the lack of response and the glare she had given him. "Today is a very long day and I am very tired. Please forgive me if I said anything offensive. Will you let me change your bandages?"

Melva didn't say anything and just quietly sat on the couch next to him. Talking to him now would only unnecessarily incite another quarrel. She had enough quarrel for the day and she hoped he would return to his chamber soon and leave her alone. With her body aching all over, she needed the rest. It was too tiring to even stay awake.

Vance took that as a permission to change her bandages and he began by rolling her sleeves up, revealing the old bandages. She could feel his hands that accidentally made contact with hers while he was taking the old ones off and it surprised her to find how freezing cold he was. She looked down to see his hands intensely shivering, most likely out of cold.

How had he been holding up until now if he had been that cold the whole time? Was that why he had lost his patience earlier? Because he was desperate?

Instinctively, Melva grabbed his hands and intertwined their fingers because she had sympathy and she felt bad for him having to deal with the condition. She squeezed them as though it could get the warmth to spread faster. Of course she knew it couldn't, because she had proved it herself that it was the scale of the physical touch that mattered.

"You pity me," said Vance as he let out a bitter laugh. "I am an alpha pure blood werewolf, the Duke of Nightwind, and an eligible candidate for the throne. Yet a mere human pities me. How pathetic."

"It is called sympathy, Your Grace," corrected Melva, "not pity."

Vance frowned, taking offence at what she had said. "I do not need your sympathy."

His pride would not let him admit it. Even so, he kept holding her hands for dear life until he regained his warmth back. And then he let her hands go after he was warm again and proceeded to change her bandages as he had promised.

"Is it painful?" asked Melva carefully. The silence was suffocating, but she was concerned that asking him any questions would only offend him more. Another quarrel was the last thing she needed.

Vance scoffed in disbelief upon hearing her question. "What? The cold? Do you think it is comfortable like soaking in a warm bath or something? Of course it is agonisingly painful. It feels like every part of your body is numb and it takes all your strength to merely move a joint because they are frozen. And if you still cannot imagine how numbness feels like, it is as though a thousand needles are constantly stabbing you all the time, all over your body. Also, breathing gets more and more difficult because your lungs are frozen. You can guess what happens if my lungs get completely frozen and they stop working. I do not know if that does not sound painful enough for you."

"You are trying to make me feel guilty for refusing you," guessed Melva out loud.

She did feel bad, but it was his punishment for devouring human flesh. It was his own fault, thus he deserved the curse. But she had to admit, the punishment was a bit too harsh and he already repented by stopping his ritual completely. It was unnecessary to make him bear the curse for the rest of his immortal life. He was already trying to become a better werewolf.

"No, I just want you to rethink your decision because depending on what you decide, you can kill or save someone's life," said Vance spitefully as he wrapped the final bandage around her leg. "Alright. I am finished. I will leave you alone now if you do not care whether I might die tomorrow."

Vance got to his feet and walked towards the door. However, as he was about to step over the threshold, Melva unconsciously stopped him.

Melva groaned in frustration. Her guilty conscience was eating her up. She couldn't just let him leave her chamber knowing well that he might not wake up tomorrow. She had lost this round, in whatever game they were playing. "Alright. Fine. You can stay the night."

Smiling brightly, Vance closed the door again and walked over towards her bed.

"Do not try your luck, Your Grace," warned Melva irritatedly. "You will take the chair."