CHAPTER 34: EVELYN: THE STAKE WAS NEVER MEANT FOR ME

Evelyn~

Honestly, I never thought I’d be lucky enough to have even one mate who treated me gently, let alone two.

It felt like I’d won the lottery twice.

Something that was never supposed to happen to someone like me.

I mean, I always roll a one whenever I throw dice, so I never expect anything good.

"The faster you pull me out, the sooner I’ll stop hurting," I told him, trying to sound strong. "Don’t worry. I’m used to pain."

Rael’s eyes widened. "Y-you’re used to it?"

He looked at me like he wanted to ask how anyone could ever get used to something like that.

Before I could answer, a voice called out from above the pit. "Alpha Rael! I brought Dr. Caelis!"

It sounded like Beta Marek, the one Rael had asked to fetch the doctor.

Both men leaned over the edge and looked down at me, and just like Rael earlier, their faces filled with shock.

I even heard one of them let out a sharp hiss under his breath.

They glanced at each other, and Dr. Caelis shook his head slowly, like he was silently saying I had no chance left.

Well, the doctors in Valedorn once asked to use me as a test subject, but of course, I refused and threatened to tell Theron if they ever brought it up again.

If I survived this, I had no doubt this doctor would want to study me too.

"Can you ... ask them to stop staring at me?" I whispered to Rael. "It’s making me uncomfortable."

Rael waved his hand and said firmly, "Step away from here. I’ll call you if I need help."

Neither of them argued. They probably thought I didn’t have much time left, and wanted to give us some privacy, like we were sharing our last moments together.

"Alright, let’s do this quickly," Rael turned his full attention back to me once they stepped away from the tiger trap. "I’ll pull you out as fast as I can, but ... it’s going to hurt. A lot."

"I know." I took a deep breath and nodded. "Let’s just get it over with."

I kept my eyes on his face, focusing on him instead of the pain I knew was coming. If I stared at him, maybe I wouldn’t scream.

Before he moved, Rael gently placed a handkerchief between my lips. "You can bite this instead of hurting your mouth or breaking your teeth."

Even though any wound on my lip would heal quickly, the gesture still left such a warm impression on me.

I gave him a small nod and hummed, "Mhm."

Rael shook out his hands a few times like he was trying to calm himself, then reached for my arms. "Alright," he said. "I’ll count to three. One, two—"

I bit down hard on the handkerchief.

He pulled so fast I didn’t even have time to scream.

The spikes ripped out of my body, and the pain hit me all at once.

Blood gushed out like a flood, soaking my clothes and dripping down to the spikes below.

Some of it splattered onto the ground around us, painting the dirt red.

"What are you feeling now?" Rael asked worriedly, his eyes glued to my injuries, watching closely as they slowly began to close. "Was I ... was I too rough?"

I raised my hand and placed it gently over Rael’s mouth, asking him to be quiet for a moment.

My breathing was ragged, and my heart was pounding so fast, I thought it might burst.

Slowly, I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder.

His hands hovered beside me, hesitant to touch me, probably afraid he’d hurt me even more by accident.

"I’m fine," I finally whispered. "I’m alright now."

Some of the wounds on my body were still open, not fully healed yet. But at least the bleeding had finally stopped.

Rael swallowed hard. He looked completely lost, like his brain couldn’t figure out how I was still alive after having all my vital organs pierced.

"I’m not using any dark magic to do this," I said quickly, before he could say a word. "So please ... don’t tie me to a wooden stake and set me on fire."

Rael went quiet for a few seconds. He stared at me, thinking hard about what I just said. Then, finally, his expression changed, like something had clicked in his head.

"Is that why you ran?" he asked, voice filled with disbelief. "Did you really think we burned the wooden stake because we were going to burn you?!"

I slowly lifted my face and looked at him. I didn’t answer out loud. I didn’t have to because he could see it in my eyes.

He turned away, muttering a curse under his breath. "Damn it!"

Then he looked back at me, and this time, his voice was filled with something gentler. "No, Evelyn, that stake was not for you! It’s a tradition, we burn it to welcome new members into our pack!"

So ... my wolf had been right all along.

"I panicked," I admitted softly. "That’s why I didn’t think twice before running away. I’m sorry for having such bad thoughts about you and your pack."

Rael took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside him.

"That’s not what I’m upset about," he said. "I don’t care if you thought we were savages who burn people alive. But what does matter is that you got hurt—this badly—just because you were afraid of us."

"But I get it," he added. "We really do look like barbarians ... so it makes sense you’d want to run."

I lowered my gaze and murmured, "It wasn’t because of how you looked." I paused for a moment, then added softly, "I ran because ... what you did triggered my trauma. That’s all."

Sure, Rael and his people had that wild, untamed look, but that wasn’t what made me run.

If they hadn’t lit that wooden stake in front of me, I probably wouldn’t have reacted the way I did.

"Trauma?" Rael asked. "What—"

Before he could finish, I heard Marek’s voice shouting from above the pit.

"Alpha! Should I call the carpenter to start making a coffin?!"

Rael’s face turned bright red with rage. "COFFIN MY ASS! MY WIFE IS STILL ALIVE!" he roared.