19.- Tooth

Something happened.

Lupita didn't know if it was good or bad.

It felt weird. Her body felt weird. Her head felt fuzzy... again. She didn't fully feel like herself, but for some strange reason, she couldn't panic.

"Seems like she is coming back."

She had heard that voice before. It was familiar but not a voice she knew well. Who was this?

"Will she be ok?"

That was a voice Lupita knew. Elizabeth.

She struggled for a few seconds and tried to open her eyes. A hand was soon placed on her better shoulder and a comforting voice shushed her and told her that everything was ok. A cold cloth was then pressed to her forehead and as she slowly calmed down, she opened her eyes. North was the first person she saw as she was almost directly above her. Then Elizabeth came into her line of sight along with the healer from before.

"Good morning sleepyhead," North said and softly rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Lupita was unable to answer anything and simply groaned.

"You will be just fine," the healer said and brought something in front of her. It looked like... "A tooth. It was in your shoulder. Knowing that rogues are the farthest thing from clean it is not strange that your shoulder became infected within minutes. You will need lots of rest. Your arm is broken as well, you have multiple wounds, and the scratch on your face will likely leave a scar."

Only a few of the words were registered in Lupita's brain as she stared at the tooth. It was not the first time something like this had happened and she had had way worse things in her body. And the tooth wasn't big either, barely the size of her pinky.

"Thank you for coming and helping us," Elizabeth said and Lupita snapped out of her daze.

"No worries," the healer said and went to pack away the tooth.

"Can I keep?" Lupita asked and weakly pointed at the tooth. She then realized one of her arms was completely bandaged and restrained. She guessed it was the one she landed on when she jumped out of the tree. The one she used to point with was aching at the shoulder so it was a safe bet that was where the tooth had been.

"You want to keep it?" the healer asked in a soft voice. Lupita simply nodded and let her arm drop back down, the pain flaring up slightly before subduing. The healer quickly put the tooth in a small vial and gave it to Elizabeth. "Be safe," she said before she made her way out the door with Elizabeth behind her, the woman thanking her over and over again for coming.

"How are you?" North asked and Lupita moved the little focus she had to the white wolf.

"Dizzy," she said as the room suddenly began to spin. "And... sick." Her throat got clogged up and a foul taste started to fill her mouth. North was at her side with a bucket and helped her sit up so she could throw up. Throwing up had to be one of the worst feelings Lupita knew of. It felt awful. Fluids being forced up your throat and ridding your body of necessary nutrients felt awful. She couldn't count on all the fingers or toes she had on how many times she was near death because of her body rejecting food or discarding dangerous substances in her body and, in the process, leaving her weak and vulnerable.

There were tears in her eyes as she continued to hurl. After ten seconds she had nothing more to throw up, but her body still lurched forwards and tried to rid itself of... something. The only thing that exited her throat was acid that burned her throat and left her mouth with a foul taste.

It felt like an eternity until she was done, but it couldn't have been more than a minute. Elizabeth was by her side and gave her a glass of red liquid. Lupita gave her a cautious look and sniffed the drink. It smelled sweet and fruity.

"It's juice," Elizabeth said. "It'll help with the taste," she added and helped Lupita drink it while she was still sitting up. It did taste just like it smelled and definitely helped with the awful taste in her mouth. "Now take a deep breath," Elizabeth instructed once she was done drinking. Lupita hadn't even realized her body had gone into stiff panic mode with all the other things that were happening around her. Or rather the people around her. She had never had something like this. Not since she was a child.

"Mom! He's calling again!"

The sound of Jazmyn's voice brought a small smile to Lupita's face. The girl came down the stairs with a phone in her hand and once she saw that Lupita was awake her smile grew and she ran over. Luckily she slowed down and calmly sat down, but her body was still buzzing with energy and excitement.

"Let me take the phone sweety," Elizabeth said and took the phone away from the girl, but as she did, Lupita heard a familiar voice.

John.

"Let me talk," she said and reached for the phone.

"You know him?" Elizabeth asked and John's voice sounded loud and clear through the phone. He sounded distressed and angry. Lupita simply nodded and kept holding her hand out for the phone. Elizabeth was hesitant at first but eventually gave her the phone after telling John that she was handing him over to her.

"Hey, muffin," he said in a cheery voice laced with worry once she had the phone a safe distance from her ear, but close enough for her tired ears to hear.

"Hey," Lupita said tiredly and leaned back against Jazmyn who had placed herself behind her. She didn't feel like laying down but felt too weak to sit fully. And she wanted to be close to the halfling, or anyone for that matter.

"You don't sound too good," he said and sounded less cheery. "How are you? They didn't let me talk to ya."

"Just woke up. I was attacked," she said and heard something shatter on the other side. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just a glass. But wha- you... you got attacked? How? Why? By who?" he asked frantically.

"Rouges. Bad wolves," she explained shortly. "I don't understand how or why."

There was silence for a while and Lupita heard rustling on the phone.

"Where are ya?" he asked finally.

"With Jazmyn and her family," Lupita said and looked over at Elizabeth.

"Ya know the address?" John asked and Lupita heard a door close.

Lupita looked up at Elizabeth, knowing the woman had heard her, and passed her the phone. Elizabeth gave John the address and passed the phone back to Lupita.

"I'll be there soon, muffin," he said in a calm voice. "See ya soon. Bye."

"Bye," Lupita said and heard a small click before it went quiet.

"Who was that?" a voice sounded from the stairs. Lupita recognized it as Mia's voice.

"He lets me live there," Lupita said and tried to lie down completely. Jazmyn quickly moved out of her way and helped her lie down.

"Are you ok?" Aoi asked as he also came down the stairs.

"I'm alive," Lupita answered, which caused a few chuckles.

"That is something at least," Aoi said while both he and Mia sat down on the couch to give her some space. Lupita realized Valeria was nowhere to be seen and she worried about the kitsune.

"Let me make some food for you guys while we wait for John to arrive," Elizabeth said and gave Lupita one last look before walking to the kitchen and preparing some food.

"Who is John?" Mia asked and came closer to them. "He was calling non-stop for the past 24 hours."

"He takes care of me," Lupita said weakly as her eyes became droopy and her consciousness slowly slipped.

"Is he nice?" Mia asked and Lupita could only muster a thumbs up as she slipped out of the waking world.

* * *

A rough hand brushed her forehead slowly and she forced her eyes open.

"Hey muffin," John's sweet voice said and soon his face became clear to Lupita's eyes.

"Hey," she said with a smile and leaned into his hand. His presence made everything so much better and she couldn't explain why. She had known him for such a short amount of time, how could he have this calming effect on her that not even Elizabeth, Jazmyn, or the others had? Only her parents were able to calm her on this level.

"They have some food for ya here. We can eat here and then you decide if you want to stay here for a few nights or come home with me," John said and began helping her sit up against the arm of the couch. Since when was she on the couch? He didn't wait for an answer and brought a plate of food in front of her. Clearly realizing how weak she was, John began to slowly feed her the food on the plate which consisted of a lot of meat and vegetables.

When she was done with the food and had drunk some more juice and taken a pill Elizabeth gave her - which she had not taken willingly until John said it was ok - it was already dark out. She hadn't eaten quickly at all.

"How about you both stay?" Elizabeth said as she washed the dishes in the kitchen.

"You would let me do that?" John asked as he sat beside Lupita and let her rest her head on his shoulder while the pill was taking effect. She didn't know what it did but she trusted John.

"Of course. She trusts you and is comfortable around you. It would help us all that you are here. But be glad my husband is human because if he was a werewolf you would not survive this night," Elizabeth said with humor in her tone but Lupita realized how tense John got.

"They are mated, but not in a pack," she began weakly as she felt the effects of the pill. "Large packs would suspect you, but since they are many... you wouldn't be a threat," she took a breathing pause and felt John carefully caress her bandaged arm. She took a deep breath and continued. "They are only a single-family pack, which means you would be a bigger threat. Usually, the strongest mate will be cautious of an opposite sex werewolf in the house or on their territory." By the time she had finished her explanation she barely had any breath left. "Tired," she said and felt John carefully move her into a lying position. She didn't even hear what he said before she fell asleep.

A/N: hi guys! Finally a new chapter.

Short life update. It's going ish. I am still with my girlfriend and I still love her a lot. School is hard, but manageable for now.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask and if you see any spelling mistakes it would be lovely if you pointed them out (kindly please).

Hope you are all taking care of yourselves both mentally and physically. Make sure to eat and drink something.

If no one has said it to you yet: I am incredibly proud of you!!

Hope you have a lovely day/night/evening.

Love you all and thank you for reading. Leave a vote or comment, they are very appreciated! ❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖