CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Mending Wounds:
Lucian had stood there and watched Raze flay open Alex's back; each new wound tearing him up inside.
But, Alex had stood strong. He would catch a gasp, or a whimper every now and then, but otherwise, she took the lashing with both pride and grace. It was only after the seventh lash, when she moaned, that he had nearly lost it himself. When she collapsed after the final lash, he was grateful. At least she couldn't feel the pain while she was unconscious.
He walked over to the whipping posts and undid her chains. Then he bent over and brought her up tight against his chest. It was then that he realized she was still awake. Her face was pale, and tears could be seen in her eyes. But she attempted a smile and told him it hadn't been so bad. Then mercifully, she passed out.
By then, Selene had made her way over. "I have never seen anyone handle that as well as she did", Selene offered up in praise. Lucian was still looking down into Alex's drawn features. But when he finally glanced over at her, Selene could see the pain he felt at having been instrumental in what had just occurred.
He needed to get Alexandra to Michael. Knowing it would hurt her back if he were to carry her conventionally, he gently put Alex over his shoulder.
Ready to leave, he turned to Raze and the other pack members. "Has your curiosity been satisfied?" he asked anger tingeing his voice.
The lycans had grown silent when they realized Alex meant to take the punishment as a human. Her strength humbled them and made them ashamed of how they had reacted.
But none were more ashamed than Raze, who had assumed the worst of this woman and had been put in his place by her courage. "Lucian", he called out to his leader. "I would like…
His sentence trailed off as Lucian glared at him and interrupted, "Right now Raze, I'm not much interested in what you would like to do."
Turning back to the rest of the pack he said, "I am disgusted with myself for allowing this to happen. I let you push me into punishing an innocent woman. She never called you on your lies; instead she admitted that the entire confrontation had been her fault. So forgive me if I seem distant and cold at the moment. I have an injured pack member to care for and my own guilt to deal with. Do not disturb us." Finished imparting instructions to his pack, he left the chamber.
Raze watched his leader leave, knowing he had lost the respect of his friend. But he also realized he deserved the reprimand Lucian had given him and more. He didn't know how to fix the damage he had caused, but he was determined to try.
"We have a lot to make up for here", he called out to the room full of lycans. Looking at them, he knew they felt as guilty as he did.
"What do you suggest we do?" Taylor asked.
Sighing, he rubbed his hands over his face wishing he could just wipe off the shame he felt. Turning to his pack he said, "I'm not sure there's anything we can do to make this right, he told them honestly. "But we need to try, so if anyone has any suggestions, speak up."
Selene followed Lucian to his chambers. She could see the blood running like rivers down Alex's shoulders and onto Lucian's jacket. She was please with how well the American had held up under the lashing. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that she wasn't sure she could have been as strong as Alex had been. Now, they had to get her cleaned up and hopefully Michael could help keep the scarring down to a minimum. She knew that Alex's newfound strengths and abilities would help her heal faster than if she were a mere human. But, it would still be painful until it had healed completely.
She figured they must be nearing Lucian's chambers, because they he had slowed down. She looked over to see him stopping in front of a large door. She moved in front of him and pushed it open, allowing him to carry Alex inside without having to jostle her around.
Inside, Michael stood next to a hot plate that had a pan of water boiling on it. He was busy arranging the supplies but stopped when he caught sight of Lucian carrying Alex into the room. He immediately saw the damage done to Alex's back. It wouldn't have been possible to ignore the sight that dominated his vision. Her skin was literally flayed from her back; muscle showing through the deeper lacerations.
"Put her over there", Michael told Lucian, indicating the bed.
Lucian walked over and lifted her off of his shoulder, and laid her face down on his bed. He looked at his hands realizing they were covered in her blood.
"It's in your hair and all over your jacket as well", Selene told him, as she watched him discover the blood.
"My God, she's a mess", Michael said in disbelief.
Just then, Micca walked into the room and cried out in horror when he saw Alex's prone form lying on the bed.
This seemed to pull Lucian out of his reverie. He looked sharply over at Micca and took the bandages he had brought in. "Micca, make sure no one disturbs us", he told the younger lycan.
Micca tore his gaze away from the blood soaked mess that had been Alex's back and looked into his leaders face. "How did she survive that?" he asked his voice trembling in shock.
"I have to ask the same question", Michael said disgustedly. He had moved to sit by Alex's side and looked at the mutilation that confronted him.
Lucian glanced over at Alexandra. She hadn't awakened yet, thank God!
"She never cried out nor uttered a word", he offered up as an explanation to both men.
"She did well", Selene said, adding her opinion into the mix.
Michael sat there looking at the destruction Raze had wreaked upon the small woman's back. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm going to need some help here."
Lucian made to move forward, but Michael stopped him. "You need to clean off your hands before you touch anything; Selene, you too. I'm afraid it may take both of you to hold her down, should she wake up", he told them both.
Lucian walked over to the bathroom that was connected directly to his quarters. He washed his hands thoroughly, using the antibacterial soap Michael and Micca had brought from the infirmary. He didn't want to take any chances that he might bring further harm to Alexandra. Then he moved out of the way so that Selene could do the same. Then he hurried back into his room, ready to help Michael any way he could.
Michael had sat there for a moment, shaking his head at the mess he had to try and clean up. By the time Lucian and Selene had finished cleaning up, he was ready to start the long process.
"Lucian, bring over the two bowls of water I have cooling over on the dresser", he said ordering about his two helpers. "Selene, I need you to hand me the washcloths Micca brought in.
While waiting for his supplies, Michael picked up Alex's long red gold braid and pulled it up so that it rested above her head on the pillow. He noticed it had blood running through it; they would worry about cleaning that up later.
When he had the materials he needed to start, he picked up the washcloth and submerged it into the water he had already sterilized. Once it was thoroughly wet, he took it out and gathered up his courage as he gently began cleaning the blood off of Alex's back.
The process was a lengthy one, as the wounds were still fresh and the deeper ones continued to bleed. He would gently wipe off the blood until the cloth couldn't hold anymore of the liquid. Then he would rinse out the rag in a clean bowl of water that Selene continued to change out after each cleaning. Lucian would wipe off Alex's face with a cool cloth, as she began breaking out in a cold sweat. Michael was beginning to think the bleeding would never stop, but eventually it did. Thankfully Alex had stayed unconscious throughout the whole process. It was bad enough that she moaned and jerked in pain while she was still passed out; he wasn't sure what he would have done if she had awakened.
Then knowing the worst was yet to come, he took a deep breath and grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide. He needed to clean out her back as best as possible. He uncapped the brown bottle and slowly poured it's contents over the lacerated skin. You could hear the hissing and bubbling as the liquid did its job. Normally it wouldn't have stung, but the lashing had cut so deep in some areas, pain was inevitable.
A moan escaped from Alex's mouth and Michael looked over to see that she was beginning to come to. He looked up at Lucian and noticed that the lycan leader was aware of the situation as well.
"I need you to keep her still", Michael spoke in a low voice, trying not to disturb his patient. "It's imperative she not reopen these wounds and start them bleeding again. If that happens, we'll have to start the whole process all over", he warned Lucian.
Lucian moved over so that he was sitting on the floor close to Alex's head. He leaned forward and whispered softly, "It would seem that our Sleeping Beauty has decided to come awake."
Alex moaned again. She could feel someone, she assumed Michael, pouring something that burned like the very devil over her back; which by the way felt like ground hamburger meat. A wave of nausea washed over her.
Lucian noted she had paled considerably and knew she was trying to ignore the pain. "Now, you know you're not supposed to waken until Prince Charming has come along with a kiss", he told her, trying to get her to concentrate on him and not what Michael was doing to her back.
Appreciating his attempt to distract her, Alex snorted, "I know I'm no longer human, but even a lycan can't be expected to wait that long", she replied. Unfortunately, her little quip didn't come out as strong as she had hoped it would. She sounded weak and pathetic even to her own ears.
Lucian chuckled at her sharp-witted retort; she was quick even when she didn't feel up to par. He would have to remember that. "Oh how you have wounded my manly pride", he replied.
She winced, causing Lucian to look over her shoulder to see what Michael was doing now. He finished dousing her back with the last of the hydrogen peroxide. Now he began pulling on medical gloves, getting ready to spread her back with some sort of cream.
He quickly turned his attention back to Alex though when she began speaking. "So, is this your idea of properly introducing the newest woman in your life to the family? Cause if so, I gotta tell ya, I can see why you're still single after all these years", she said jokingly.
He knew she was being sarcastic; but it still rubbed Lucian the wrong way. She was right; their treatment of her had been abominable. Guilt tearing at him, he averted his gaze, unable to look at her.
Realizing she had pushed too far, Alex mentally kicked herself. "Well it would have to be a mental ass kicking, right Alex", she said to herself then. "You won't be able to perform any other kind of kicking anytime soon. Then she sighed, wondering why she felt bad about Lucian feeling bad.
"Alex, I am sorry about all this", Lucian said apologetically, gazing into her eyes.
Damn, he was good at the apology thing; he sounded so sincere. It made staying mad at him even harder. But she did have a right to be angry. Yes, she could understand that with all that had happened, Lucian couldn't back out of the corner he had been pushed into. But, if he had just been upfront with her to begin with, maybe this whole situation could have been avoided. But nooooooo, he had to have the upper hand and make her answer his questions first.
"It's a little late for sorry isn't it?" she snapped back. Her patience was running thin, her back and face hurt terribly, and she was in a fairly emotional state at the moment. And was it just her or was it awfully hot in here?
Lucian sighed and leaned back against the wall. The washcloth he had been using, to clean her face, was dangling out of his hand as he rested his arms over his knees. Alex noticed that he looked tired; after all he had been all but dead himself not to long ago.
"No Alex, you will not feel sorry for him", she told herself. She was just going to lie there and wait for Michael to finish doctoring her back.
About that time, Michael began applying something really cold directly onto her back. At first it was so cold, it made her tense up, then the physical contact of his hands on her back, quickly became a bigger concern.
Michael could feel Alex's back muscles clenching as he applied the antibiotic cream on her back. He looked over his patient's head to catch Lucian's gaze. He stared pointedly at him. "Lucian, I could use a little help here", Michael stated.
Lucian jumped up and moved to Michael's side. "What can I do?" he asked.
"First of all, you need to keep her calm, if you can't then you and Selene switch places and she can talk to Alex and you can get me supplies", Michael instructed Lucian in an aggravated tone of voice.
Lucian didn't respond at first, but when Michael waved Selene over, Lucian stopped her and turned back to Michael. "You're right. I'll keep her still and calm. You continue to take care of her physical needs", he assured the young doctor.
"Good, don't make me have to stop again. Its imperative I get this treatment done as soon as possible. This ointment will help protect her from outside infection", Michael informed him.
Lucian moved back to Alex's side and sat down again. "So, which one of my many faults do you wish to discuss with me", he asked the wounded woman.
Michael let out a chuckle, and as he looked over at Selene, he noticed she was smiling as well. Then he turned back to the task at hand.