Chapter 7

　　I couldn't believe it.

　　Did I gain the ability to heal myself?

　　My broken back was intact again!

　　It was cured by itself!

　　I slowly lifted my waist.

　　It didn't hurt at all.

　　"Can you stand up?" Leon prompted with excitement.

　　I didn't manage to reply before he ran out of the tent.

　　"I'll let Lucian know! Wait for me!" His voice was already so far away.

　　It took me a while before I tried to lift my leg.

　　I thought it would be easy since my back was fully recovered, but somehow I just couldn't lift my legs.

　　I was a bit nervous.

　　I concentrated and tried again.

　　Still, nothing happened.

　　I used my hands to pinch my legs. They both hurt.

　　I wasn't paralyzed. That was a good sign.

　　But why I couldn't lift them?

　　I used my hands to push my upper body up.

　　Eventually, I sat up straight.

　　The blanket that covered my upper body slipped down when Lucian walked into the tent.

　　In a panic, I pulled up the blanket to cover my chest.

　　But when I lowered my head, I froze.

　　The scars and bruises on my chest were all gone.

　　My skin became as smooth as milk.

　　I couldn't help but touch the skin on my chest.

　　It was tender and soft.

　　Then, I realized that Lucian was looking at me.

　　I quickly covered myself and glanced at him.

　　He was looking away from me while covering Leon's eyes with his hands.

　　"Thank you, now I'm getting much better." I stretched my arms and pulled a white gown from the side.

　　I quickly put it on, feeling much relieved.

　　Lucian then looked at me and asked, "What happened?”

　　My face blushed and replied, "I don't know… but I took your advice and managed to concentrate. Then, I gained the power of healing myself. You're right. I had been constantly distracted by my fear… and that makes me weak…”

　　"Hey, you're hurting my eyes!" Leon protested.

　　Lucian lifted his hands and Leon jumped into my arms as soon as he was released.

　　I held him in my arms and said, "Thank you for helping me, Leon."

　　"Can you walk now?" he looked up at me and asked.

　　"I can't… I can't lift my legs… I tried, but I failed…"

　　Lucian approached me and lowered his head to check on my legs.

　　I didn't know if he had already known that I was Lucian's mate.

　　But I could tell that he intentionally avoided any physical contact with me.

　　His long golden lock fell from his shoulder, covering the side of his handsome face at a very tender angle.

　　There were some feminine traits of him, either in his facial features or in his tranquil personality, that made him so different from Alpha Lucas.

　　"Leon, fetch some pillows and cushions for me," Lucian asked.

　　Leon quickly disappeared and returned with three giant cushions and two pillows.

　　It seemed that in his brother's eyes, one of Leon's functions was fetching things.

　　Lucian said, "Put them under her legs. Do it slowly, one at a time.”

　　Leon carefully lifted my legs to pile the cushions and pillows as he was instructed.

　　"Try to remember the position of your legs," Lucian said to me.

　　I nodded.

　　"Remove the pillow. Carefully. One at a time."Lucian said to Leon.

　　Leon did as he was told.

　　When all the pillows and cushions were removed, my legs magically remained steady in the air.

　　"Drop your legs down slowly," Lucian said to me.

　　His voice was still as gentle and soft as always.

　　I slowly put them down on the stretcher.

　　"Now try again to lift your legs." Lucian said, "Remember the position of your legs when they were in the air.”

　　I pulled all my strength to lift my legs again.

　　Miraculously, I managed to lift them by myself this time.

　　I opened my eyes wide and I was confused.

　　"What happened? How could I lift my legs? I was trying so hard a moment ago but I couldn't do it…" I whispered.

　　"It's nothing." said Lucian, "You forgot the feeling of taking control of your body. I've just helped you to remember it."

　　Take control of my body.

　　I found that I didn't remember taking control of anything in my life.

　　I got so used to being taken control, though.

　　"Can you walk now?" Leon put a cushion over his head and said.

　　It seemed that he was very eager to help me to regain mobility.

　　I sat up again and slowly moved my legs before eventually putting them down from the stretcher.

　　Then, with Leon's support, I stood up again.

　　"She got back on her feet again!" Leon said cheerfully, clapping his hands.

　　I moved my legs a bit forward.

　　I felt the sudden rush of blood flooding down from my spine to my legs.

　　The spasm and twitch of my muscles made me trip over something.

　　I lost my balance and fell forward.

　　Just when I was about to fall to the floor, Lucian held me in his arms.

　　"One step at a time, she—wolf," he said, lifting me in his arms.

　　The way he held me reminded me of the time when he slashed my chains and took me up from the stable in our tribe.

　　My body got stiff.

　　I didn't know where to put my arms.

　　I couldn't just wrap my arms around his chest as I did before. It would be extremely inappropriate.

　　But I couldn't just lift my arms in the air like this.

　　That would be awkward.

　　How about crossing them in front of my chest?

　　But that looked too defensive.

　　Why did I have arms? They were so unnecessary…

　　After he put me in bed, Lucian turned away and flicked the charcoal in the furnace.

　　"This is your tent." he said, "When you're ready to walk, Leon will show you around the camp. Don't get adventurous, because it's dangerous. The North Land is different from the South. Leon will take you to Hopi's tent. She might need your help. When you need something, talk to Leon.”

　　Then, he walked towards the entrance of the tent.

　　"Lucian…" I raised my voice.

　　I was a bit shocked by my voice. I didn't expect myself to be this assertive.

　　He stopped without looking back.

　　"Thank you… for everything…" I said in a low voice.

　　Lucian didn't say anything and walked out of the tent.

　　"My brother is never comfortable when he's talking to women, even to his mate Gianna." Leon winked at me, "She's not here with us, so he's a bit disturbed. A wolf should never stay away from his mate for a long time. But anyway, when Gamma's back, we'll be back to the Fire and Wind Camp in a few days."

　　When Leon said the word "mate", my heart started to throb.

　　Alpha Lucas' eyes appeared in front of my eyes.

　　Cold, dark, mysterious.

　　What is he doing right now? I thought to myself.

　　Is he thinking of me?