The cold evening air started creeping in through the crack in the stone wall as Valerie returned to the cave.
Her scraped hands were holding a large bowl made from an old coconut shell, filled with clear river water, along with a bundle of wild fern leaves wrapped around river moss and mashed medicinal plants with a sharp, strong smell.
Her heart was still pounding hard, the leftover fear from when she had followed the stream below the hill just now.
Every rustle in the bushes had made her think the hunters were back.
But that fear quickly turned into a different kind of worry the moment her eyes caught the huge figure still lying helpless on the cave floor.
Caleb had not moved from where he was.
The wolf man lay on his side, his breathing sounding more shallow and heavy now.
The white silk cloth tied around his back had turned completely dark red, and fresh blood had started seeping into the dirt floor, filling the small space with a thick, sour smell.
“Hey, Caleb,” Valerie called softly, stepping slowly toward the big body.
There’s no answer.
Only a low groan came out from between the man’s clenched teeth.
Valerie placed the coconut shell bowl with the water and herbs on a flat stone very carefully so it would not spill.
Then she knelt beside Caleb’s back, staring at the ruined leather coat with whatever courage she still had left.
The trauma from being choked a few hours ago was still there, plain as day, in the purple bruise around her neck that stung every time she swallowed.
But seeing this powerful creature look so fragile in front of her made Valerie’s anger slowly fade away.
“I have to open this cloth first,” Valerie muttered to herself, her trembling fingers reaching for the silk knot tied around Caleb’s chest.
The cloth was stuck tight because dried blood had made it cling like glue.
The moment Valerie pulled the edge even a little, Caleb’s whole body went rigid, sending a small tremor through the big muscles in his arms.
“DON’T TOUCH ME, HUMAN!!” Caleb groaned suddenly without opening his eyes, his voice rough and full of unbearable pain.
“If I don’t open it, this cloth will rot into your flesh!!” Valerie shot back firmly, ignoring the weak shout.
“Get out of here before I really tear your throat out,” Caleb warned again, forcing his eyelids open just a little.
A dull golden glow showed in his eyes, much dimmer than before.
“TRY STANDING UP IF YOU CAN!!!” Valerie challenged, deliberately hiding the shake in her voice behind a sharp half-yell.
“don’t act so tough!” Caleb tried to move his right arm to shove Valerie away, but that tiny movement only made the wound on his back tear open again.
The man immediately shut his eyes tight, clenching his jaw so hard the muscles in his cheeks stood out sharply, while another muffled groan escaped his throat.
“I told you not to be stubborn,” Valerie said more softly, letting out a small sigh when she saw the forced obedience of the wolf man.
“Why can’t you just sit still?” “Why are you still here?” Caleb asked after he managed to handle the pain, his voice sounding very tired and helpless now.
“You should run.” “Because I’m not a killer who can watch a living thing die slowly right in front of my eyes,” Valerie answered while wetting a small cloth with cold river water from the coconut shell.
“And you need me right now.” Very slowly, Valerie pressed the wet cloth over the dried silk bandage on Caleb’s back.
The cold water gradually softened the dried blood, making the cloth easier to remove without tearing his skin by force.
While working, Valerie could not stop herself from glancing at the pair of gray ears on Caleb’s head, which twitched weakly from time to time, so different from the terrifying size of his body.
“This wound won’t heal with plain water,” Caleb muttered, feeling the coolness ease the burning on his skin a little.
“It’s useless.” “I know, that’s why I looked for this near the river,” Valerie replied, showing the bundle of fern leaves filled with mashed moss and herbal roots that smelled sharp.
“This is traditional medicine.” “That’s just some wild plant from this earth.
It won’t do anything for a terrible wound like this,” Caleb said dismissively, closing his eyes again as if he had given up to fate.
“This is a deep wound.” “Maybe it can’t heal your weird wound right away, but at least it can stop your blood from pouring out like a broken tap,” Valerie argued, starting to pull the softened silk away from Caleb’s open wound.
“So shut up and let me work.” Once the cloth was fully removed, Valerie held her breath.
The wound on Caleb’s back looked far more horrifying than she had imagined the night before.
Three huge cuts stretched across from shoulder to waist, with blistered dark purple edges, as if the flesh there kept being burned by something invisible.
“This really hurts, doesn’t it,” Valerie whispered without meaning to, her fingers hanging in the air, afraid to put the herbal medicine on it.
“How are you even surviving?” “This is nothing compared to the betrayal I got,” Caleb answered in a voice colder than ice, but deep pain was hidden in the words.
“This pain means nothing.” Valerie frowned at once, her hand freezing in the air.
“Betrayal?” she repeated, sounding confused and curious at the same time.
The girl narrowed her eyes, staring sharply at the stiff side of Caleb’s face.
“Who betrayed you?
And who are you anyway???” Hearing that string of questions, Caleb’s jaw hardened immediately.
His gray ears stiffened upright.
He realized he had slipped and said too much in front of this strange human girl who knew absolutely nothing about him.
“None of your business, human,” Caleb cut in quickly, his voice suddenly flat and cold, doing his best to shut down Valerie’s curiosity and bury his earlier words.
“Stop asking so many questions and finish your work.” Valerie huffed in annoyance at how quickly he shut himself off, but her curiosity had already dug in deep inside her head.
Who exactly was this creature?
And who was cruel enough to hurt him this badly?
“Tch, so mysterious,” Valerie muttered softly, pushing her curiosity aside for the moment because Caleb was getting weaker again.
“I’m putting the medicine on now.
It’ll sting a little.
Get ready.” “Just do it, fragile human,” Caleb muttered, trying to change the subject and keep whatever pride he had left.
“I’m not afraid of pain.” The moment the herbal paste touched the blistered wound, Caleb’s whole body bent forward stiffly.
He dug his fingers into the cave floor so hard the nails cracked against small stones, while the veins in his neck stood out in a horrible way.
He did not scream, but the rough sound of his breathing while holding back the pain filled every corner of the stone cave.
“Hold on for a second, please,” Valerie said in a panicked voice, using both hands to keep the medicine in place even as Caleb kept shaking hard.
“Just a little more!” “DAMN IT, THIS IS REALLY BURNING!!!” Caleb snarled between broken breaths.
“This plant has a warm effect to close the blood vessels, so just shut up!” Valerie explained in a rush, her own tears almost falling as she watched him struggle through such intense pain.
“Keep pressing it down!” For several minutes that felt like forever, Valerie kept her position, pressing the herbal medicine gently but firmly until the fresh blood flowing from Caleb’s back slowly began to slow down and finally stopped completely.
The river moss, which helped cool things down, seemed to work well too, easing the heat from the blistered edges of the wound.
Caleb’s breathing slowly began to calm, even though his body was still soaked with cold sweat pouring down in sheets.
The tension in his big muscles gradually loosened, letting his body lie back down helplessly on the hard cave floor.
“See, the bleeding stopped,” Valerie said with a voice full of real relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the dirty sleeve of her dress.
“This medicine works.” “You have a strange kind of courage for a human woman,” Caleb muttered in a very low voice, almost like the whisper of the evening wind.
“Usually they faint.” “I’m just doing what I have to do to survive with a strange creature like you,” Valerie answered while taking the remaining clean silk cloth to tie Caleb’s back again so the medicine would not move.
“Stop making comments.” “Are all humans in this world as noisy as you?” Caleb asked again, his golden eyes now fully open, staring straight at Valerie’s face, which was very close above his body.
“You talk too much.” Their distance, only a few dozen centimeters, made Valerie suddenly awkward.
For the first time, she could see very clearly how beautiful the wolf man’s eyes were, shining like pure gold in the dark, surrounded by thick black lashes.
There was a strong wild charm coming from Caleb’s whole body, making Valerie’s heartbeat suddenly jump in an uneven rhythm, no longer from fear, but from something she had never felt before.
“Not all humans are noisy, only the lucky ones who have to deal with a grumpy wolf like you,” Valerie answered with forced sharpness, trying to hide the sudden blush on both her cheeks.
“And you should be grateful.” That answer made the corner of Caleb’s mouth twitch very slightly, almost forming a cynical smile that strangely looked very attractive on his stern face.
“You really don’t know who I am, Valerie,” Caleb said, calling the girl’s name for the first time with a pronunciation that sounded heavy and deep in Valerie’s ears.
“I only know your name is Caleb, and you have weird ears and a tail,” Valerie answered while finishing the last knot on the bandage with a little deliberate tug, making Caleb snort softly while holding back the painful pulse.
“Done.” “I am something that should make you run away in fear while crying for help,” Caleb said, his voice cold again, trying to set the boundary between them.
“Not something you should be treating.” “Too bad, I’m already too tired to run today,” Valerie replied while standing up, carrying the now-empty coconut shell back to another corner of the cave, “Just rest.” Caleb did not answer again.
He turned his face toward the dark cave wall, trying to settle into the comfort slowly spreading across his back thanks to the herbal medicine given by the human girl.
Even though he did not want to admit it, Valerie’s gentle hands while treating him had left a strange warmth in his chest, something he had not felt for a very long time since the storm of trouble destroyed his whole life.
Valerie sat back down in the opposite corner of the cave, stretching out both legs that felt terribly sore.
She looked out through the cave opening, where the color of the evening sky outside had started turning into a deep reddish orange, a sign that the cold night would soon return to cover this forbidden forest.
In the silence that once again ruled the stone cave, the two creatures who had not yet met each other properly sank into their own thoughts, tied together by a thin thread of fate that had just begun to form between fear, pain, and fragile care.