Chapter 36

Chapter 36

-Farley-

I didn't remember getting home. All I could remember was blurs of the trees and brown eyes staring into nothingness. I could still feel soft fur on my fingertips, making me want the sensation again just to prove that I didn't imagine it. So, when I woke up to blue walls, I was startled.

"Hey," Pax's voice came from behind me.

My vision started to clear, and warmth spread from my right hand. I was tucked into my bed with very little room to move. My arms were out of the quilt and my hand was being held by Pax.

"Hello," I replied. My voice was hoarse, and my throat felt like a desert. "How'd I get here?" I blinked a few times.

Pax was wearing one of my grey t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants. He had his legs crossed on the makeshift stool and would be perceived as calm, if not for the creasing in his forehead.

"We teleported you here using a magic wand," Pax said sarcastically with a grin. "How're you feeling?"

I tried to sit up, but my limbs felt too heavy. "I hurt," I said through clenched teeth as a pain shot through my stomach. "What happened?"

His grin turned into a frown. "We got out of the tunnels, but you were badly injured. So your dad came and helped get you here in one piece."

I remembered that, the blurry face of my father telling me to keep still as he examined the wounds on my chest. That made a flood of memories of the tunnels come back to me.

"Is everyone else, okay?" I asked, trying even harder to sit up.

Pax's hand travelled to my shoulders and pushed me down again. "You're not allowed to strain yourself, your dad's orders." He paused for a moment. "Everyone's fine, Rowan's a little embarrassed."

I chuckled at his over-protectiveness. "Can I at least get some water?"

Pax tilted his head to the side, as though considering it. "I suppose." He swung in his chair and exited the room.

I rested my head back into the pillow, closing my eyes and concentrating on staying grounded. It was tempting to fall back asleep. Pax went downstairs and into the kitchen, turning the tap on rather fast for a simple glass of water. There was muffled voices and footsteps bounding up the stairs.

"Farley?" Rowan asked from the doorway.

I opened my eyes, sent him a smile and a thumbs up, before saying, "Rowan." I had copied his tone, causing him to grin. He stood up straight and entered the room fully, kicking the chair out of the way as he sat on my bed. "Watch it," I warned teasingly. Yet, it felt natural to do so.

"What? Is Pax the only one allowed on your bed now?" he joked back. When I didn't answer, a grin came to his face, and he nodded. "I see, I see. Well, I'm happy to see you're awake."

I spluttered out a laugh. "Me too. Happy to know you didn't lose your sense of humour," I said. The words might have sounded strange to others, but to us, it meant that we're happy that each other was safe and sound.

"Your dad's been coming round every few hours," Rowan explained. "He'll be here soon, it's about two pm."

Pax was at the door by now. Gingerly carrying a full glass of water. His fingers were getting wet, but he was shuffling, so it wasn't much of a spill.

"What's been moved?" Pax asked. He had shuffled to where the chair used to be, trying to find it with his knee.

"The stool," Rowan answered and stood up. He fetched the stool and put it to where Pax had left it.

Pax sat down slowly and turned so he was facing me. "Rowan, can you help Farley sit up please?"

"Fine, I'll be his slave," Rowan joked again and grasped my underarms from the back, allowing me to pull myself up.

I winced a few times, but I ended up being comfortable with the movement of my pillow. "Thank you," I thanked Rowan. "And thank you," I said to Pax as I lifted the glass gingerly to my lips.

"The others are at the shop right now," Rowan explained. "We think it's best to leave the house in groups of three at the moment, even though one of our three was unconscious."

I nodded. The water tasted like the best thing I had ever drank. I couldn't stop sipping it as it soothed my throat.

"You know, sleeping with your mouth open does that," Rowan said.

I scowled and rolled my eyes. "You would know."

Rowan shrugged. "As would being unconscious for three days."

My eyes widened at his words. I had been out for three days? That seemed impossible to believe. I suddenly felt weak, that's all it took for me to be out of commission for several days?

"Don't stress too much," Pax said. "We spread the word about what Daphne did, and that she's working with the rest of Kian's pack." His eyes, which were usually unfocused but pointed in the direction of the one who's talking, were cast to the floor. He twiddled his thumbs and had a frown. "We haven't heard anything from them since, but we were thanked by many packs."

"Not the Pikewich pack," Rowan added.

After he spoke, the front door opened and shut, the door alarm which we never used rang out like a school bell on a Monday. Pax quickly covered his ears in response.

"Why?" I asked with a groan. We hadn't used the alarm since we had it put in; it was a small detail to make us seem more normal. "We could've changed the frequency."

"I'm not sure our neighbours like it either," Rowan commented and left the room.

I reached over and tugged on Pax's arm, removing his hands from his ears.

He sent me a weary smile but stood up as footsteps bounded up the stairs. He stood by my bed like a doctor would when talking to a patient's guardians. He had his hands behind his back, as though scared of intruding.

"You're awake!" Iris exclaimed as she ran through the door. She nearly leaped onto the bed and gave me a hug.

I laughed loudly and wrapped my arms around her, the glass now on my bedside table. "Careful there. Don't want you to get injured," I said. Her grip wasn't hurting, but we were in an uncomfortable position.

I sat up further in my bed, using Iris as a bit of support. "I'm just so happy you're okay, we were so worried." Iris wiped a tear from her eye as she spoke, a large smile on her face. "Of course, we knew that you would be alright. We were just worried about how long it would take."

I shook my head and waved to Clementine and Caspian who lingered by the door. "Good to see you guys too," I told them all. "Although, it doesn't feel like two hours since I last saw you."

"Being unconscious does that," Caspian said and put a hand on my forehead. "You don't have a fever right now, but we're still keeping an eye on you. Just in case your wounds get infected."

"Alright, Doctor Hovland," I teased him with a salute. "I'm assuming my dad told you that?"

Clementine laughed, tilting her head back so her hat fell off. "Of course, he did," she said as she looked dejected at her cap. She picked it up and brushed it off. "But at least Caspian understands the logic behind it." She sent a glare at Rowan.

Rowan sheepishly raised his hands in surrender. "I don't take biology," he said.

I huffed a laugh and shook my head, a yawn escaping my lips. "Maybe you should," I told him and shuffled down in my bed.

"Maybe we should leave you to have some more rest," Iris suggested, her arm already tugging on Rowan's.

"Pax has been a bit of a guard dog since you got back," Rowan teased. He had to speak over his shoulder as he was already being dragged out of the room. "Have fun you two."

Caspian moved to follow but hesitated. He turned around and smiled. "I'm glad that you're okay. I'm sorry that it happened..." he trailed off and cleared his throat. "I'll talk to you later. Just keep this door open." A smirk flashed on his lips before he left with his arm around Clementine.

Pax sat back down again when everyone had left, his cheeks were tinged pink out of embarrassment, and I knew mine were the same. "Don't listen to them," he said. "I wasn't like a guard dog."

Some things told me that he hadn't left. Those things were his unkempt hair and how comfortable he felt in the seat. Before we were in the tunnels, Pax had hardly moved in this room in fear of breaking anything. Now, he seemed confident shuffling around as he pleased. Though, I hadn't seen him near Rowan's side.

"I don't believe you," I told him. "But I think it's sweet, you being protective and all."

Pax huffed and shook his head. "It's not being protective. It's watching out for you. I didn't want anything to happen to you again," he said with his head down.

I froze for a second. "Pax, come here." I beckoned him forward, knowing he couldn't actually see my hand. He shuffled forward in his seat. "Closer." He shuffled forward again, nearly slipping off the stool. I let out another laugh. "You can sit on my bed, you dork."

"Oh," he said quietly. "I just didn't want to..." he stopped talking when I put my hand on his arm. He put his hand over mine, encasing it in warmth.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked. I wanted to be sure. I wanted to hear a yes, but if not, then I was...well, I didn't think about it.

"Kiss?" he stuttered out. I hummed in response. "Yes?" he sounded unsure.

It was just a kiss, I reminded myself. We weren't committing our lives to each other, it was safe. Why was I so nervous?

I moved down the bed and put my hand on his right cheek. I slowly moved towards him and placed my lips on his soft ones. He froze as we made contact, but he soon melted into the kiss. His hand found its way to my back, not pushing me closer, but holding me still.

We pulled away a few moments later. He put his forehead on mine. We didn't move until I fell backwards, bringing him with me.

"Farley!" he exclaimed as he fell on top of me. It hurt slightly, but it was worth seeing his startled reaction. "You're hurt."

"And I'm alive," I said. "And right where I want to be."

Hello lovelies!

This is officially the end of 'Part one' -but don't worry! I'll be posting the next part as continuing chapters here :D no need to go anywhere!

The question of the day is, do you prefer series, or standalone books?

I personally prefer standalone...no series...no-uh It's so hard for me to choose! It depends what book it is, because I always want to dive into worldbuilding and live within the world of the characters. I always want more. But when it comes to actually reading books and knowing the plot, I prefer standalones!