<h4>Chapter 140: _ Need To See Her</h4>


    Pain still throbbed in my throat. It was a slow burning ache that refused to subside. Blood slicked my hands, my clothes, and the floor.


    My body quivered from the aftershock, muscles still spasming from the near-decapitation. And through it all, Rosario, saintly, panicked, and absolutely infuriating... was <strong>hovering</strong>.


    "Dios mío, ni?o, what did I do?" she fretted, her hands fluttering near my wound but not quite touching. "How do I start? For the love of the Moon, this shouldn’t have happened here! Ay, Virgen Santísima, your poor mother would faint if she saw you like this!"


    <i>Damn right, she would. That’s why she wouldn’t. </i>


    I groaned, barely suppressing an eye-roll. "Not helping, Rosario."


    "Not helping? Not helping?!" Her voice went shrill. "I find you bleeding out like a ughtered pig and you say I’m not helping?! Should I just leave you here to soak in your own blood, then?"


    That sounded <strong>ideal</strong>, honestly.


    But before I could say anything, she was already storming off, muttering under her breath. "I need towels—no, cloth, thick ones, Dios mío, you’re too big for just a towel... bandages, warm water, alcohol... wait, <strong>no alcohol!</strong> You’ll scream like a newborn." She huffed, ncing at me. "Or maybe you deserve it. Ay, Dios, Dios, Dios..."


    I grunted and forced myself to sit up straighter, which was a <strong>terrible</strong> idea. The pain surged like a wildfire licking at my bones, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from groaning again.


    Rosario returned in record time, armed with an <strong>obnoxiously</strong>rge bundle of cloth, a basin of steaming water, and an expression that <strong>promised suffering</strong>. She knelt beside me and began to efficiently get to work.


    "You," she dered, yanking a rag free and dipping it into the water, "are going to be the death of me."


    I snorted, then <strong>immediately regretted it</strong> when my throat protested violently.


    She swatted my knee. "Don’tugh! You’re lucky I found you before you bled out like some unfortunate deer in the woods."


    "I would’ve been fine," I rasped.


    Rosario gave me a look so sharp it could have <strong>finished the job my attacker started</strong>.


    I sighed. "Just—get on with it."


    "Oh, <strong>I will</strong>." She wrung out the cloth, then pressed it to my throat with absolutely <strong>zero</strong> gentleness.


    A snarl tore from my lips. "Rosario!"


    I bet this was payback for the little stunt I pulled on her the other day. <i>Well yed, Rosario. </i>


    "Oh, hush, ni?o. You’ve had worse."


    I clenched my fists, my jaw locking as the <strong>scorching heat</strong> from the cloth seeped into my wound. My wolf’s healing was already working, but the raw flesh still stung like hell.


    "Such a disaster," Rosario muttered as she cleaned away the blood. "And do you know what I heard outside just now? Someone was <strong>murdered</strong>st night. <strong>Murdered</strong>, Axel! Right here, in our pack!"


    Oh, fuck. I’m doomed.


    "I don’t know, but it was gruesome." She shuddered. "They said his body was torn apart; <strong>limb from limb</strong>. Blood everywhere. His head was found yards away from the rest of him. Can you imagine?<strong>!</strong>"


    Darn, Rosario, that wasn’t the story. This woman would be the base of gossip should anyone need to circte rumors around.


    She continued, oblivious to my growing irritation. "And now look at you! You’re attacked out of nowhere, almost losing your precious head. Coincidence? I think <strong>not</strong>. This pack is bing <strong>unsafe</strong>."


    I sighed, leaning my head back against the wall. "Rosario..."


    "I mean it! Where are the patrols? Where is the security? Do they think just because we have strong men in the pack, we’re immune to violence? Bah!" She waved a bloody rag at me. "You might be strong, but you’re not invincible, ni?o. <strong>Clearly</strong>."


    I gave her a t look. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."


    She ignored me, pressing another cloth—<strong>colder this time</strong>—against my neck. "And I heard whispers, too. Some are saying a <strong>witch</strong> is involved."


    What? Words were getting out already? <i>It seemed no matter how hard Don Diego tried to bury the truth, it already was wiggling its way out. </i>


    Rosario must have noticed my shock because she narrowed her eyes. "Do you know something?"


    I exhaled slowly. "I overheard someone and an elder talking about a witch a while back."


    From my previous observation, Rosario would be great for rumor cirction and I needed this rumor to circte.


    Rosario sucked in a breath. "Ay, Dios mío... it’s her, then. It has to be."


    I remained silent, watching as she wrapped a long strip of cloth around my throat.


    "If it really is her, <strong>we are all in trouble</strong>," she said grimly. "You should tell your father."


    "No."


    Rosario gawked at me. "<strong>No?</strong>"


    "I’ll handle it."


    Her expression turned incredulous. "Handle it? Like you ’handled’ your throat almost getting sliced open?" She scoffed. "Se?or Axel, por favor, at least tell someone you trust..."


    "No healers," I cut in. "No father. <strong>Just you.</strong>"


    She blinked at me, mouth parting slightly. For once, Rosario was <strong>speechless</strong>.


    I took advantage of the momentary silence to lean my head back again, exhaling through my nose. The pain had dulled to an annoying throb, and my healing had made <strong>significant</strong> progress. The wound was no longer gaping, and the bleeding had slowed considerably.


    Still, the worst part wasn’t the <strong>injury itself</strong>.


    It was <strong>what it had cost me</strong>.


    My ns. My night. María José.


    I clenched my fists. I was supposed to <strong>prove something today</strong>. To the pack. To María José. To myself.


    Now, I was here, <strong>bandaged like a fragile idiot</strong>, while she was somewhere else probably working, struggling, thinking <strong>I’d abandoned her</strong> after marking her.


    The thought sent a fresh wave of <strong>agony</strong> through me.


    I <strong>needed</strong> to see her. Needed to <strong>hear her voice</strong>, touch her, and reassure myself that she was still mine to im.


    But I couldn’t. Not like this.


    "Ni?o."


    Rosario’s voice was softer now. I turned my head slightly to look at her.


    "You need to rest," she said. "Your wounds are healing, but your body is still recovering."


    I hated how <strong>reasonable</strong> she sounded.


    "Just for a little while," she coaxed. "Let your wolf do the work. I won’t tell anyone, I promise."


    I gritted my teeth, but I could already feel my body growing heavier, exhaustion creeping in.


    Rosario sighed and pulled a nket over me as<strong> if I were a child</strong>.


    I scowled. "I’m not five."


    "You’re acting like it," she quipped, then softened again. "Just close your eyes. <strong>Sleep.</strong>"


    I didn’t want to. I wanted María José.


    But my eyelids were already drooping, and Rosario was still fussing, and the pain was slowly fading...


    And soon, darkness took me.