"You don't like the hospital, and as you noticed, I have robbed a hospital. It may sound extremely surprising but werewolves are used to treating werewolves bites. And..."
This time, he looks at me, his eyes darken, more serious than before.
"Yes, I am fine with having you here," he whispers gently.
Chapter 16
A wave of relief comes over me after hearing those words. I don't know if I was waiting for some confirmation, but now that I have it, it feels so much better to be sitting next to him.
We are still staring at each other, but this time, there's no awkwardness, no embarrassment. Only a bit of shyness, and the mutual feeling that we are alright being here together. Liam gives me a weak smile and grabs the box to pull it closer, breaking our eye contact first.
I don't take my eyes off him.
He didn't lie when he said werewolves know how to treat bites... I watch him as he carefully takes care of my injury. He cleans the dried blood with a wipe, disinfects it, checks how deep it is, and carefully applies some sort of balm over the little holes. I can tell he's done this a few times before. I frown as he applies some gel; that stuff stings. Liam notices my grimace and makes an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, I know this one isn't too nice, but it's efficient."
"You're speaking from experience?"
"Yeah... You're not the first victim of a temperamental werewolf."
I can tell he knows exactly what he's talking about.
Liam is still half-naked, and under the lights, I see the thin lines of some old scars. It wasn't too visible under the rain and dark clouds, but now, I can clearly distinguish the whiter lines on his body. There's a lot, it's even covering a very simple black moon tattoo he's got on his chest. The black moon tattoo looks old and its original shape is damaged from all the scars covering it... I can't take my eyes off of it. A lot of them look like animal bites, but... some seem worse and with a different shape, like he was stabbed with a sword or something. The most impressive one is on his flank, and there's another one a bit below his other arm.
"...Did you get those during the war?" I ask.
He slowly nods.
Once again, that war is like a dark shadow over all the inhabitants of Silver City. His blind eye too... Even if its movements are almost normal, the white layer over the blue-gray color cannot be missed. The scar over it as well. I realize I can stare at Liam for so long because he doesn't know I am. From the way we are sitting, I'm in his blind spot. It's a bit shameful, so I get self-conscious and look down at my hand on the table.
He gently blows on the gel covering my injury for it to dry. The movement of his lips throws me for a loop again. I need to stop staring at them, it's dangerous. I'm getting hot and I don't know if this is something I can contain.
"Alright..." he says.
He grabs some bandages, and gently takes my hand, wrapping it slowly and carefully. The movement of his fingers around my hand is driving me nuts. He's just touching my hand, but every time he does, it sends more of those amazing sparks into my soul, and this warmth spreads fast. I want to smile, jump, scream, do something to let the excitement out. I'll go crazy, at this rate. Yet, I love this. A new kind of fire is about to burn every time our skin touches, and it's strangely addicting.
I let him finish, my throat terribly dry. I even try to focus on the little bit of pain left because I need something to cool down my imagination. I'm always on edge, wondering if I'm crazy, or if I can hope, even just a little. It's very strange. I am not sure of anyone since I woke up, yet Liam is there, eclipsing everyone else, and I'm irresistibly pulled toward him.
"Does it still hurt?"
When he suddenly looks up at me, I almost jump, like an idiot. I nod, even though it's a lie. That damn bite still hurts despite the medication and all the bandages. He smiles a bit, looking a little relieved.
"Good. I'm really... sorry, Mara. But I told you, werewolves can be really dangerous. When we are mad and about to attack, aside from our peers, we're a bit... on edge with everyone."
"I get it, but... I didn't really think before holding you back, either. I just didn't want you to attack her."
He frowns.
"Mara, Ravena isn't going to help you," he says, standing up to walk to the kitchen.
I stand up and follow him, unable to remain seated and wait. It's a big kitchen, but the only thing Liam seems to use is the microwave... and the kettle, which he's now filling with tap water. I'm about to cross my arms when I remember my injury. I sigh.
"I'm a big girl, I'm not going to trust her out of the blue just because she's a witch..."
"It's not just about that. She may use you to get into Silver City. By the way, how did you...?"
"The border? It's full of holes, and getting weaker too. I just found one I could slip through."
