CHAPTER 285: 285-THE MATES WHO WANDERED AWAY RETURNED

Clementine:

That night, when I lay down to sleep, my entire body ached.

The pain seemed to come from one place, my neck. I rubbed the spot over and over, trying to soothe it, but the ache only grew worse.

It itched and burned, spreading through my body.

It was strange. I hadn’t even felt this much pain during my first transition, and those are supposed to be the worst.

Still, I stayed in bed, squirming in sweat even though the room was cold. My lips were dry, and I needed water, but I knew I was alone.

There was no one to take care of me.

I shifted from side to side, realizing I probably had a high fever.

All I could think about was my mother and my little brother. If they were here, they would have cared for me.

My brother would be grown by now.

"But they aren’t here and I missed them, " as soon as those words slipped from my lips, I realized the fever had gone to my head.

I was talking out loud. Then a cold hand took mine, and another touched my forehead.

For a moment, it felt comforting. But the second I remembered I had no one who would touch me so gently, panic set in.

"Get away from me!" I hissed, trying to pull back as I stared into the eyes of my mate. Yorick was hunched over my bed.

"Wait, Clementine, what’s wrong?" he said, grabbing my arms and guiding me back down so my head rested on the pillow.

I felt miserable.

"You’re burning with fever," Yorick said, his eyes full of concern.

"Probably a fake concern," I muttered. I remembered everything, their behavior, their words. They all tried to break me.

Everyone around me seemed to hate me for reasons I couldn’t understand.

"I said, let me go!" I snapped, holding back tears. Even with the fever twisting my mind, making me hear voices and see shadows, I refused to fall into his arms.

I would rather die than let him fool me again.

"Troy!" Yorick suddenly called. "Haiden!" he continued, making me clench my jaw and frown.

I tried to free myself, but he held my wrists down beside my head, keeping me pinned.

"What is going on?" Oriana’s voice cut through the air, the same cursed, grating voice I despised.

"She has a high fever," Yorick told her.

"Are you sure she’s not acting?" Oriana asked sharply. "After what she’s done, maybe she thinks pretending to be sick will melt our hearts and make us forget she still owes me an apology."

"Let me go!" I cried, my voice cracking. "Go sit with her, just leave me alone!" I grunted, tears burning my eyes.

She was only saying those things because he was sitting with me. If he went to her, she’d stop tormenting me.

"What did you just say?" Yorick asked, still focused on Oriana.

Of course he was.

Her words always mattered more than my pain.

I thrashed weakly in bed, my legs trembling, but each movement made something in my body crack.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming.

"Come here, sit with me," Oriana said softly. "My cheek hurts too. She punched me. I have a reason to be sick, but she’s faking it to get your attention."

Her tone was sweet, but her intent was malicious. As soon as she sat up, I noticed how short her nightdress was.

Her chest was barely covered, and when she pressed her hands together on her knees, she pushed her breasts up even more.

"She’s not like you. She doesn’t make things up for attention," Yorick snapped.

His sudden outburst didn’t just shock her, it made me fall silent.

I tilted my head back to look at Oriana and saw the same look of surprise on her face that I must have had.

"Now stay away from her," Yorick hissed at her.

Oriana narrowed her eyes. Then she wrapped her arms around her stomach and whimpered like she was hurt, but Yorick was already turning away.

"What’s going on?" Haiden got up from his bed and walked over to me. "Hey, man, what the hell? Let go of her!" He immediately started arguing with Yorick for pinning me down.

"She has a fever, and she’s trying to leave the bed," Yorick explained.

As soon as he spoke, Haiden placed his hand on my ankle and gasped.

"Her body feels like it’s on fire!"

The concern in his eyes made me feel sick with shame.

"Who’s got the fever?" Troy called out as he rushed over to my bed.

He placed his hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.

"We need ice," Yorick said quickly.

Haiden and Troy hurried off in different directions, trying to find anything to help me.

I was too lost and confused to say a word. None of it made sense.

Without saying anything, Oriana quietly lay back down. Every now and then, when I lifted my head, I caught her peeking from under her blanket, only one eye showing.

It looked eerie.

Still, the three of them, people who had treated me like I was nothing, were suddenly running around, bringing me ice and cold sponges.

Haiden even left the room to gather herbs, and when he returned, he mixed them and rubbed the paste under my feet.

Each time I tried to sit up, they gently pushed me back down. I hated to admit it, but the way they cared for me made me feel better.

Not mentally, but the physical pain began to fade.

It was as if they had made a silent promise not to leave my side until every trace of pain was gone.

Just moments ago, I’d thought I was about to lose my mind from the fever.

But now, I was already falling asleep, comforted by the warmth of their care.

While drifting off to sleep, I began to hear the others talking.

"I’m going to get her food first thing in the morning," Yorick said to Haiden, or maybe to someone else. I wasn’t sure.

"What about me? None of you have even looked at me all night," Oriana complained in a small, whimpering voice.

"Just shut up and stay down. You really let us down tonight by acting like you don’t care about Clementine," Troy snapped.

The way he spoke to her left me confused. It was one thing to be upset with someone, but to be that harsh?

It felt like something in them had switched off.