Skinned
A Promise Made

Valerie

Everything felt like a wicked routine for everyone.

It’s been two weeks since Killian’s capture, and every other day, I was called up by Beta Reed to tend to his injuries and give him the same shot made to lessen his strength.

Alpha Azeil had fully succumbed to the sadistic impulse of his wild. He would make use of a silver sheath to carve various lines on Killian’s skin, adding more to the scars that already decorated the entirety of him.

I could remember seeing Killian one night bearing long, bleeding lines that ran along his arms, cheek, and chest. And the sight alone brought me an inward hurricane of rage and remorse, my hands trembling and my jaw set tight while I did my best to clean him up, knowing full well that there were more to come.

Not only was Killian forced to carry the physical damage of the Alpha’s wrath, but he was also mentally deprived of his own worth. Azeil had incessantly whipped him with harsh words that burrowed deep into his core.

Revolting.

Born wrong.

Forsaken by the Moon.

They were words that Killian found hard to accept yet still allowed to burn his morale for the truth he thought they held. He had started to believe that there was no hope for him to replace a place in the world.

Alpha Azeil had made it his goal to break every aspect of Killian; to annihilate the impending threat of the beast that could steal his title. It had grown to become a chore for the Alpha, to inflict the worst pain on Killian as much as possible, and it was my job to clean up the damage of his actions.

I was forced to support the onslaught of a sadistic prick.

But despite all of it, every time I walked through the steel doors of Killian’s heavily secluded cell, he still made an effort to welcome me with a smile that began to wither every single day. I constantly reminded him about my weak promise, and he would give me the same response that never held any ounce of doubt for my words.

“I know.”

I leaned back on my chair and released a sigh as I stared at my empty desk, fingers tapping along the surface as I let my conscience consume me.

It was then the sight of the Healer picking flowers a few meters ahead of the infirmary broke me from my reverie. She was wearing various necklaces and bracelets that added color to her long white dress as her light blond hair was braided and swept to the side of her neck.

I tucked my hands inside the pockets of my coat as my eyes took in the sight of the familiar woman ahead of me, and I nearly lost my breath when she had looked up to regard me from afar.

Her eyes held the distinct color of the moon, and it sent a wave of tremor down my spine as I returned her eerie gaze with a hard look on my face. Slowly, a smile graced her lips, and the blowing wind had stilled for a moment, bringing me to the thought that it had stopped just to pay its admiration for the Healer’s generous show of beauty.

“Why is she here?” I questioned Emma as soon as she entered my office with a bunch of papers in her hands.

“Maliha decided to come back, she told Alpha Azeil that she wanted to continue her purpose in this pack.”

“That’s considerate of her.”

It’s been a few years since Maliha’s absence, and I didn’t miss her one bit. She was unnerving to be around with, always holding a smile that told me she knew more than I did.

I could recall how Heath had tried to hit on her once, hoping to get a little piece of what he thought she could offer, but he had made a wrong move by grabbing her ass, and everyone knew that provoking a healer was something close to a death wish.

He got sick for a week after laying a hand on Maliha, she was quick to poison his food before anyone could ever notice.

After her wicked stunt, Heath had never even thought of looking at her anymore.

“Are you okay, Valerie? You’ve been stuck in here for a few hours already.” Emma looked at me worriedly and I gave her a reassuring smile as I looked down at my bandaged arm.

The mark of the punctures from my last shots refused to go away, even the darkened veins had managed to slither its way up to my upper arm.

I let my palm brush the middle of my chest as I stood up from my seat to face the mirror. I popped the first three buttons of my dress shirt and frowned at the sudden appearance of several bruises covering my paling skin.

“Valerie.”

I dropped my hand from my chest and looked over my shoulder to see the red headed Luna with the same sultry smile on her face.

“Luna Celeste,” I greeted monotonously and turned around to regard her properly.

“I would like to be alone with the doctor, please.” The Luna smiled down at Emma.

“Yes, Luna, of course,” Emma said and lowered her head before taking her swift leave of the room.

Celeste’s eyes harbored a slight taunt within them as she scanned my office, her blue orbs taking in the sight of my disorganized bookshelves, my notes stuck carelessly on the wall, and over to my collection of old music albums.

I watched as the Luna observed every corner of my office, until her attention landed on the framed picture of my mother that was nailed to the wall.

“It’s almost fascinating how you don’t hold much ressemblance to her,” Luna Celeste said. “You look more like your father.”

The tone of her voice sounded sweet, almost kind, but the point she made contained an expertly hidden malice that was meant to hit a nerve; I had provoked the Luna of my pack.

“How may I help you, Luna?” I questioned her, brushing off her statement as I took a few steps back to lean against my desk, and my fingers were quick to land a tight grip on the wooden surface.

Celeste postured herself as she approached me, increasing her height that fits a Luna and leveling herself with my eyes. Her shoulders were held back, blue eyes overcome by the shadow of the wolf that proudly sent its greetings to me.

It was sizing me up and warning me.

Despite the show of threat she gave me, she made no effort to flash her teeth, giving me only her typical smile that I had no idea could appear so sinister.

“It seems we have problems to discuss, doctor,” Luna Celeste said. “One of which is your constant disagreement with my mate.”

I had dealt with too many disputes from various wolves within the span of three weeks, and I didn’t know how much I could take.

It was a headache, really. With the Luna added to my list of feud, I thought it was my hidden talent to provoke werewolves that held a higher place in the hierarchy.

My gaze didn’t waver on Luna Celeste as I kept myself calm and collected. “Take a seat, Luna Celeste,” I said, trying my best to hide the pressure of my words. “Please.”

Luna Celeste’s lips grew into a sneer and took a seat in front of me. With spine set straight as she carried her dignity with ease, she crossed her long leg over the other and rested her hands on her lap.

“Coffee?” I calmly offered, to which thr Luna was quick to shake her head.

“Do you have tea?”

I walked around the table and took a seat in front of her before shooting her a grin. “No, I don’t like tea.”

And I don’t like you either.

Luna Celeste’s face soured. She leaned back on her chair and fixed her red hair, further pushing them to the other side of her neck to flaunt her mark once again.

“Let’s talk,” Luna Celeste said. “We’ll keep this civil. We’re both females here, and we both hold the same etiquette. I’m sure this would not resort to any show of teeth like males would regularly do.”

How this female could put me in the same category as her brought an inward reaction of distaste to settle within the back of my mind.

“Of course, Luna Celeste. I would like nothing more than to settle this... without raising any hackles.”

Luna Celeste nodded and grinned at me, my statement bringing her genuine pleasure; she liked werewolves that always answered to her orders.

“That’s good, Valerie. Let’s start with your place, shall we?” The Luna leaned back on her chair and brushed a finger across Alpha Azeil’s mark on her neck. “It’s simple, you see. I am asking you to respect my mate’s title, after all, he is the Alpha of this pack. I hope you know your place here, just as much as your limits.”

“I’m fully aware of that, Luna Celeste.” I bit out and furrowed my eyebrows. “The only time that your mate and I have ever come into disagreement is when the matter lands on Killian. I expect that you’re aware of his growing routine by now, yes?”

“Very much.” A dark glint flashed within Luna Celeste’s eyes as her voice took in a deeper tone, all too ready to defend her Alpha, even if he stood in the wrong place. He was lucky to have a mate so tightly wrapped around his finger.

“I’m a doctor, Luna Celeste. I support life, but never death, and I make it my goal to keep the health of everyone inside this pack, including that man thrown into that cell. I helped him recover, but I can’t keep patching him up only for Alpha Azeil to ruin him once again.”

“Are you sure, Valerie? Are you sure that your intentions are solely for the betterment of everyone’s health? Or have you grown an underlying attachment for that thing?” Luna Celeste raised an eyebrow as a hard look settled itself onto her face.

“It’s not an attachment,” I snarled. “I’m trying to say that I don’t support Alpha Azeil’s violence, especially on a person that doesn’t even hold any proof of harming anyone. He doesn’t even know who he really is!”

Killian was bearing Alpha Azeil’s cruelty and he welcomed it because he actually thought he deserved it.

But he didn’t.

“My mate is the Alpha,” Luna Celeste sent me a black look. “What makes you think he’d adjust for your own comfort? You’re born to follow, Valerie, not to lead.”

Again, the statement brought me another wave of annoyance. This pack was going meet its early downfall for the rot carried by their Alpha and Luna.

I clenched my jaw tight, silencing myself as there were no use to try and drill a point into the Luna; she was far too lost in her own world of greed.

“I hope I’m making my words clear enough for you. If Alpha Azeil can tolerate you, then I can’t. I mean it, Valerie, you need to learn where you belong before it’s too late.”

Luna Celeste stood up from her seat and looked down at me.

“This will be your last and final warning, Doctor.”

The Luna’s lips curled back to flash me her teeth before taking her leave out of my office.

“Emma,” I called out, standing up from my seat to get rid of my coat.

I was angry. Everything Luna Celeste said merely fired up my intention in helping Killian. I was beyond frustrated at how willing she was to turn away from the truth of her mate’s immoralities, and I was more than willing to keep Killian from getting himself deeper into the Alpha and Luna’s greedy chaos.

“Valerie?”

“I’m leaving early. I need to talk to Heath. Call me when something happens.” I told her quickly and made my walk hasty as I left the infirmary, giving no time for Emma to say her arguments.

As I began my short walk over to the training grounds, I had caught sight of Maliha watching me from afar with a bunch of flowers gathered in her hands as a knowing smile settled settled on her face.

“You’re getting slow, brother.” Heath snickered at his older brother who had failed to land a quick offensive jab to his jaw.

“Again,” Beta Reed bit out in annoyance.

As the two brothers passed each other to switch places, Heath had landed a harsh smack on Reed’s rear.

“Wow, Reed. Is your ass weighing you down? I’m not even trying.” Heath smirked as he grabbed the hem of his shirt to wipe off the building sweat dotting his forehead.

“Keep it shut, Heath,” Reed snarled and shoved his younger brother further away from him as he went back to his fighting stance.

Heath laughed in response. “What’s wrong about that? Females take pleasure on a good ass just as much as males do.”

Beta Reed clenched his jaw and went in for the first hit. His hard fist was quick to collide against Heath’s side. The younger brother was quick to recover and grabbed the back of Reed’s neck before using a huge amount of force to put him down on the ground. Heath secured his brother’s defeat by putting a heavy arm down on Reed’s back with his thick thighs planted on his sides.

While Beta Reed struggled to fight his way out of the death grip he was quickly thrown in, Heath’s eyes came up to aknowledge me, and a sneer appeared on his face as he held the same mischievious glint in his cerulean eyes.

“Again,” Beta Reed managed to say to his brother, and Heath was quick to stand up and help his brother back up on his feet.

“Later, I think Valerie wants to talk to you,” Heath told his older brother, and Reed quickly turned around to look at me with widened eyes. His face holding a slight flush as he realized that I had witnessed him lose to his younger brother.

“No, I came to see you, Heath.” I told Reed, my eyes wavering from both of the brothers that stared all too deeply onto my form.

“Well, that’s a change,” Heath cocked his head to the side as he approached the wooden bench to grab a cold bottle of water before taking his approach to me.

“So?” Heath raised an eyebrow. “What did you want to talk about?”

I sighed and crossed my arms above my chest, stepping into his radius to keep my voice strictly between us.

“I need your help.”