Chapter 43
Harper’s POV
I’ve never felt like I was on fire and frozen solid at the same time before.
Until now.
Groaning, I roll over and blink against the sunlight coming through my small window. I don’t remember coming back to my room, and even as I comb through my memories, I can’t figure out how I got back. Did Logan bring me back?
How long was I asleep?
My entire body screams in protest with every movement, but I force myself to reach up and touch my forehead.
Burning hot with fever. My skin is clammy and as I try to sit up, my body doesn’t cooperate. I flop back onto my mattress, stars dancing in my vision and bile climbing up my throat.
I can’t move.
“Hello,” I call out, but my throat constricts, and my words are no more than a whisper. I try again with the same result. No one would be able to hear me, even if they were right outside the door.
Instead of fighting my body, I try to use my healing magic. It barely bubbles to life, and even as it does, it flickers and dissipates. Even after sleeping, I have no energy to heal myself, which means I’ll need medicine.
Turning over, I reach for the middle drawer in my bedside table. My fingers brush the knob, and I roll closer to the edge of the bed, but I move to far and slide right off the edge of the bed.
Pain flares in my head as it rams into the corner of the table, and everything goes black.
My head throbs.
My body burns.
My arm screams.
Everything hurts.
Something hard and cold presses against my cheek, and when I finally force my eyes open, the wood floor greets me. I groan and do my best to push myself up, but my right arm is pinned beneath my body.
When I try to move it, my shoulder sends a blinding pain through my body.
I eventually push myself with my good arm enough to roll onto my side. From there, I use the side of the bed to pull myself into a sitting position.
Medicine. I need medicine to get rid of this fever and the pain. I’m not sure what’s wrong with my shoulder, but for now, the most pressing thing is to get medicine. So, I reach forward and pull the drawer open.
Fighting through the pain, I feel around the drawer until I find the fever reducers and pain reliever. With shaky arms, I lift the bottle, open it, and pop a few of the pills to dry swallow because I have no water, and I don’t think I could get up even if I wanted to.
A thud sounds from outside my room door, and a second later, the door flies open, and Sierra stops in the doorway. Her eyes scan the room before she locks eyes with me. I watch as her brows climb to her hairline and grit my teeth as she laughs.
“I thought you couldn’t get any more pathetic,” she says. “Yet, I find you on the floor looking like you’ve been run over by a truck.”
She moves closer, but I can’t get away from her. Even as she crouches next to me and grabs me by the back of my neck, I can’t move away more than a few inches.
“You know what happened to Dad because you couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut?” Sierra hisses, yanking me forward. My shoulder jostles, and I whimper from the pain which is a mistake because Sierra’s eyes light up with happiness.
“It is,” Sierra growls. “He lost his wolf because of you.”
“It’s not my fault,” I rasp, blinking to chase away the swirling stars in my vision. She shakes me again, and nausea rolls in my stomach.
Then, my head whips to the side, pain exploding in my cheek. Everything spins and tilts, my body sways, and the pain spreads. I try to push Sierra away, but she only holds tighter, clamping her hand down on my neck and digging her claws into my skin.
I gasp, then cry out as she shoves me toward the floor. With my limited strength, I can’t fight back and I find myself face down on the hard, cold floor.
“S-Stop, Sierra,” I growl, but she just laughs.
“You want me to stop?” She asks, lowering her face to mine. “I heard you were learning to fight, so show me what you learned.”
I struggle against her hold, but I can’t move.
“Get off,” I order, but even to my own ears, I sound pathetic and weak. I glance at the door, hoping someone might come by and stop her.
“Make me!”
She pushes me harder into the floor, her knee digging into my hurt shoulder and making me cry out.
Help me.
I silently beg for someone, anyone to show up and get her off my back.
The more weight she pushes against me, the harder it becomes to breathe. Black dots swim in my vision darkness creeps in from the sides of my vision.
“Are you going to beg me to let you go?” Sierra whispers in my ear. I bite my tongue because I’d rather rot in hell than beg her for anything. Apparently, she finds this funny because she laughs again and presses harder. I gasp, all the air leaving my body as she fully cuts off my ability to breathe.
“Not going to give in? How pathetic.”
Suddenly, I can breathe again. I suck in as much air as I can, choking as Sierra yanks me off the floor and tosses me across the room. My body collides with the wall, sending shockwaves of pain through me.
“What a pathetic bitch,” I hear Sierra say just before her foot slams into my stomach. The impact sends me flying back across the room and into the wall with a loud thud. Surely someone will hear this.
They will come to help me, won’t they?
Groaning, I try to push myself up, but Sierra is standing over me within seconds, stomping me back to the floor again.
“What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Sierra asks, dragging me to my knees with my hair. “I want you to apologize for always ruining everything for me! I’m going to punish you for getting Dad in trouble. After that, I’ll show you what I do to women who try to steal Lucas from me!”
My scalp burns, but I bite back the pain and the tears, shoving them as far down as I can.
She goes wild, attacking me. She hits, kicks, and slaps me, and when I curl into a ball, wrapping my arms around my head, she doubles her efforts.
The darkness at the edges of my vision creeps in as I try to crawl away, but fiery pain consumes me.
The pain becomes so blinding that soon, I can’t feel anything. I can hear her above me, but I don’t know what she’s saying.
I just let myself fade into the cold darkness, away from the pain and away from the danger.
