Chapter Forty-Six

Irene

Irene stepped out of the compound. When she was in her room, she’d heard a lot of noise, so she decided to go and look. Now that she stepped outside, she saw the source of the noise.

A lot of men were getting out of a couple of trucks. Big, heavy, muscled men. They were unloading the trucks; big crates were stacked beside the compound.

“Step aside, please.” One of them appeared in front of her and wanted to go inside.

Irene quickly scooted out of the way. “Sorry,” she said quietly.

She saw Zach coming out of the forest. He looked messy. His hair was tousled, he had bags under his eyes, and she saw he was holding his right shoulder.

When she took a better look, she saw a dark red stain on his sweater. She ran over to him and grabbed his upper arms with both hands.

“Zachary!” She gasped when she saw how much blood was seeping through his clothes. “What happened? You need someone to look at that. Wait, I’ll get Joanna for you.”

When she tried to turn around and walk away, he grabbed her arm. “No, don’t. I’ll be fine.”

She looked up at him, and the look in his eyes was blank, not showing any feelings. It scared her. “Are you sure you are alright?” She grabbed his hand to pull him inside the compound. “Come with me.”

When a tall broad man walked by, she approached him. “Er, hi, can you get Joanna, the nurse, for me and send her to the boss’s room?”

The man nodded. “Sure. Will do.”

She took Zach all the way up the stairs and into the hallway that led to their rooms. Once in front of his door, she looked back at him questioningly. “This is your room, right?”

He nodded. He still looked at her with that empty gaze, but she noticed a small glimpse of curiosity.

She opened his door and took him inside with her. She looked around and saw the doorway that led to his bedroom. “Come.”

She closed the door behind him and gave him a gentle nudge to direct him to his bedroom. “Go sit.”

He dropped down on the bed with a sigh. “You don’t have to do this, Irene. I’ll be fine.”

She started tugging on the sleeve of his left arm to pull off his sweater. Once done with that, she realized that he wouldn’t be able to pull his right arm out of the sleeve.

She rummaged around and found scissors in one of his cabinets. “Sorry, but I need to cut this.” She gave him a short look and saw him nod.

There was a heavy silence in the room. Nothing was heard besides the scissors cutting through the fabric. She cut the sweater, but also the shirt underneath, from his waist to his neck, so she could pull it off like a jacket.

She pulled his sleeve downward, and he hissed. The fabric was sticking to his skin because of the dried blood. She looked at him. “Are you alright?”

He nodded. “It’s fine. Just rip it off, all at once.”

“Okay.” She looked at the wound again and grabbed the fabric so she could pull it loose. “Do I count?” she asked.

“Just do it already,” he grumbled.

She gave a hard, quick pull. He groaned loudly, pushing her hands away, grabbing the clothes, and pulling them from his arm. Irene backed away, startled by his reaction.

He breathed heavily. When the clothes were off and his breathing had steadied again, he looked her in the eyes. “Sorry,” he said, with a teeny-tiny smile. “It hurt. A lot.”

She nodded. “Are you alright now? Do you want me to see why it’s taking Joanna so long?”

He shook his head. “No. She’ll come when she has time. She’s probably busy caring for the other soldiers.”

“Do you need anything? Can I do something for you?”

He shook his head, grabbed her hand, and looked her in the eyes. “You don’t have to do this. Don’t feel like you have to make up for something.”

“I…” she struggled to talk clearly, and she sighed. “I just need to satisfy my urge to take care of you.” She looked down at her feet.

“Look at me.” He grabbed her chin and lifted it. Tingles erupted where their skin touched. “I am fine, Irene. Really.”

She had a hard time looking into his eyes, and she tried to look away. They heard a knock on the door, and when Irene looked over, she saw Joanna coming in. She walked over to her friend.

“He is in there.” She pointed at the bedroom. Joanna went to Zach, while Irene stayed discreetly in the other room.

After a while, Joanna came back out. Irene got up from the armchair she was sitting in. “How is he?” she asked.

“He’ll be fine.” Joanna smiled. “I got the bullet out, and he’ll heal in no time. He could use some help cleaning all the blood off, though. I don’t think he can manage that with one arm.”

Irene nodded. “I’ll help him with that.”

“Are you alright?” Joanna looked at her friend inquisitively.

Irene nodded again. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright then, I’m heading back to the clinic. It’s chaos in there.”

When Joanna shut the door, Irene walked straight through the bedroom to the bathroom.

“Where are you going?” Zach asked her, frown lines forming between his eyes.

“I’m getting some things to clean off the blood on your chest.”

And she walked off to the bathroom. She rummaged through some cabinets but didn’t find what she was looking for. He appeared in the doorway.

She turned around to face him and got the chance to look at him properly. His muscled chest, his chiseled abs. The tattoo on his chest. And his wound, piercing right through the top of the tattoo.

Wow, this man. He looked like a god. A model from those underwear advertisements. She gulped.

When he caught her checking him out, he smirked. “Do you like what you see?”

Her cheeks flushed a beautiful red again. “Do you have a washcloth or something?”

“Under the sink.”

Quickly, she turned around to look for a washcloth. Once found, she dampened it and pointed to the edge of the bathtub. “Sit down,” she said.

He sat down and looked at her with hooded eyes. She sat down next to him and started cleaning his chest, his abdomen, and his shoulders. He closed his eyes and sighed. Noticing that, she asked, “Are you alright?”

“Hmm.” He didn’t say anything.

“Zach?” She looked at him, concerned.

He opened his eyes and turned his head toward her. “Yes?”

“Are you alright?” she asked again.

“Yes, I am. Your touch does me good. It makes me heal faster.” The bond with a destined is so powerful that they can even heal each other by putting their instincts at ease, allowing them to recover faster. He smiled and lifted his hand to stroke her cheek. When he touched her, she closed her eyes. Sparks flew where their skin touched.

When she opened her eyes to look at him, she saw eyes filled with love, with care…with so much more. The hairs on her skin started to rise, and she involuntarily shivered.

She tried to ignore the feelings she had and continued washing the blood off.

When she was done, she led him back into the bedroom and made him sit down on his bed again. “Do I need to get you something more comfortable to wear?” she asked.

“My sweatpants are in the middle drawer of my dresser. You could give me a pair of those. I don’t need a T-shirt,” he said.

She grabbed a pair from the drawer and put them next to him. “Do you need help putting those on?”

“I think I’ll be able to put them on myself.” He smiled. “I am going to take a nap anyway.”

“Alright. I’ll be next door. If you need anything, just holler for me.”

Before she could turn around and walk away, he grabbed her wrist. “Thank you, Irene. You didn’t have to do this, and you did it anyway.”

She shrugged, gave him a kiss on his cheek, and walked out quietly. She didn’t know what to say.