I gnawed on my lip a little, watching the males as they handled the girl with care.

She was decently small in frame compared to the boys. Black hair, a face with some kind of Asian, at least five foot five. She looked adorable.

And in pain.

"I have some medicine in the back, if that settles well with ya," I said, taking a step back once Connor carried the girl to my bed. He simply stared at me before laying her down. The other male said, "That would help a lot, thanks."

I nodded a little before turning my back to them, walking down the hall and opening a door that led to a storage room. There were bottles and cans everywhere, seemingly filled with herbs, roots, and medicine of many types. To the left was meat I had salted to keep fresh, added to the vegetables I needed to eventually cook.

It doesn't help when you're a single man who doesn't eat much.

My fingers grazed a few bottles on a shelf ahead of me before I picked up a white bottle with liquid in it. I then picked up a brown bottle with my other hand before walking back out, shutting the door behind me.

I heard a faint moan as I walked back, turning my head to glance around the corner in my room. The men were still there, watching her with worry so clearly seen on their faces.

The girl was sweating, whimpering a little in her sleep. Although the seasons were changing normally and fall was rolling in, I didn't understand why she had suddenly caught something.

I cleared my throat, disrupting their trance. The male with the somewhat long black hair turned to look at me. He then smiled a little and asked, "What is that, if you don't mind me asking?"

I held up the white bottle and said, "This is for pain. It's bitter, she should only take a spoonful, and this is for the fever." I held up the black bottle. "She needs to take at least two spoonfuls of this. Here."

I handed the darker man the bottles, then left to get a spoon. As I started to come back, I stopped to listen to their conversation.

"We shouldn't trust him. He's a stranger; he could be giving her poison."

My eyebrow twitched in irritation. If I was planning on killing her, there were other ways. Did the wolves scare me? No, they didn't. They probably didn't even know I knew what they were. I smiled to myself before revealing myself to them.

"You don't need to worry if I'm going to hurt her or not. I have no ill intention, unless you wanna put me in that category." I scowled a little. Like hell is anyone going to accuse me of anything in my own home, and only in a quarter of an hour too?

The male nodded and took the spoon from me, saying, "I don't believe you have ill will. I'm sorry; it's just been a long few days. We didn't think she'd get so sick."

"It's 'aight. I'm not suspicious of you wolves."

They both paused before tilting their heads to me. I was more than sure that they knew what I said didn't sound right. I grinned sheepishly and said, "Hey, we still cool. The pack down the way? We came across each other a few times, if ya know what I mean."

The one with the darker skin breathed out a little before asking, "How'd you guess?"

I chuckled and spoke, "Anyone who comes down this way either a hunter or a werewolf. I took an estimated guess. Ya ain't packing enough to be a hunter, I know this much."

The pale skinned one snorted before turning his attention to the girl. "Lyra... Love, please, we need you to take this." She stirred a little, whimpering some before cracking her eyes open. They drifted around, from the werewolves to me.

Her eyes then widened a little. I blinked in confusion. Did I scare her or what?

"M-Matthew...?"

I shook my head, smiling a bit. "Uh, no sweet thing, it's Nick. N-ick."

She blinked a few more times before blushing a little, or at least it seemed. Her cheeks were already so red. "F-Forgive me..." I grinned, shrugging. "S'all good. They gonna give you medicine, 'aight? Take it, you'll feel better. Swear on my mama."

She giggled a little. "Funny accent.." The dark haired man chuckled a little before looking at me. "I am Xain. And this is my brother, Connor. We are truly grateful you have given us shelter."

I snorted a little bit. "Go and swoon someone else, wolf. Ain't gotta thank me, just doing what I can. Now. Focus on the girl, ya hear?"

He grinned at me before turning to the girl, Lyra, with the bottles and spoon in hand. "I'll have to spoon feed you some medicine. Bear with us."

She nodded a little, shifting before wincing a bit. He held her up gently, and I could tell by the way he leaned in and whispered in her ear that he was telling her sweet nothings. She smiled faintly, leaning up against him, the way a wife would do with her husband.

To my slight surprise, one of her hands shakily reached over, caressing the pale one's cheek. He held his hand up against hers, pressing up against the touch. He then tilted his head, glancing at me without fully looking.

I knew what that look meant.

Get out.

I had seen it before and had wasted no time in mumbling something about needing to bathe.

Shit, I might as well, as it didn't seem like I'd be going to sleep any time soon.

For the sake of that girl, I could only hope that they weren't doing her wrong. She looked so innocent, so sweet. I didn't know her and already I was wishing her well. Sadly, at least from what I had seen, innocent girls didn't last long in these areas.

~~~

I coughed and hacked a little, making a face at the taste of the medicine. Xain bit back a laugh while Connor gave me a faint, amused smile. "Come on, Doll. It's just medicine. We need you better for tomorrow. I didn't think we were so close."

Xain leaned over and kissed my lightly throbbing forehead. I shivered a little and shakily said, "O-Okay... I'm ready.. I think."

Xain smiled, dipping clear liquid onto the spoon this time. "Two scoops. And then a little water. Come now."

I nodded a little, opening my mouth. He dipped the contents inside. I wanted to choke at how terrible it tasted, but I swallowed every drop. He then gave me another scoop. I swallowed again before coughing, almost violently.

Coughing in such a way brought searing pain to my head, causing me to whimper as I laid back on the soothing pillow behind me. I didn't even want water. I just wanted to rest.

Both men looked down at me, worried and... Scared?

I gave them a shaky smile before tilting my head to the right, closing my eyes and trying to relax. There was a cold breeze in the air, but because I was dealing with a fever, I had to stay under the covers.

I felt like I was suffocating more than anything, and adding that to the pain didn't help at all.

Connor shushed me gently, reaching out to touch my forehead, when Xain stopped him. "No, pressure on her would be bad."

Connor snarled a little, tensing up. Clearly he didn't like being told when to touch me.

My left hand that was still holding onto his gripped him firmly. Connor glanced down at me before sighing softly. "I'm sorry.. I don't like this. I didn't know this journey would be too much for you. No, those aren't the right words. I didn't care about the details, I just wanted to take you away."

"WE just wanted to take you away," Xain added in, not only establishing his blame but also that it was his choice as well.

Connor looked to Xain, his throat rumbling. "Trying to blame yourself or claim her yourself?"

Xain rumbled back, "We claimed her together, brother. Anything that happens to her is both our faults. Her happiness, sadness, loneliness, anger, is ours to deal with and to share. We've been avoiding this conversation, I know, but now isn't the time."

Connor growled, "When WILL be the right time?"

"After, but not now, Connor. Look at her!!"

Connor glanced down at me, barely giving me enough time to simply look exhausted but happy. It seemed that they didn't know I could understand their growls and rumbles, and for a time, I would rather keep it that way.

Connor rumbled, "You have a point. But when we talk, she should have a say. After all, we did this to her."

Xain looked beyond guilty but wiped it away quickly before smiling down at me. "Feeling any better?"

I nodded a little. "Just sleepy is all... Thank you.." I felt like crying, but that would've only made my head worse.

Xain gently caressed my cheek ever so faintly as he darn near whispered, "Get some sleep, Lyra. We'll be here."

I couldn't nod, nor did I feel like saying anything, so I just smiled a bit, closing my eyes and wishing the pain would just subside. "Atta girl, Lyra..." I exhaled, Connor's rough but soothing voice lulling me to an uncomfortable sleep.

~

I was in the forest again, in the middle of the day. I blinked, confused. Was I having an illusion again?

I took a step to the right, and then to the left, before looking up. The sky was blocked by several trees, but the sky was seemingly as clear as water. It seemed like it was summer, from what I could tell.

Then, I heard a giggle. Blinking in confusion, I turned to the giggle, and found a woman looking down at me. She almost looked like my mother, but not quite.

Her pitch black hair stopped at her thighs and had a few gray strands. It was loosely tied in a ponytail, her bangs barely covering her eyes. She wore a white dress, similar to mine, but cleaner, proper, and it clung to her sides and curves so perfectly that I felt kind of jealous of the woman.

She then asked, "Dear, why are you out of bed?"

Before I could answer, a little boy with black hair and tan-like skin suddenly stood next to me dressed nothing in white cotton shorts and moccasins, seemingly unaware of my presence as he said, "S-Sorry mom. Today it was warm, and I wanted to- I mean, he's-!" The woman sighed softly. "I know. But we have to be patient. It's their duty to protect, you know."

He pouted and asked, "What about us? Aren't they supposed to protect us too?"

The woman sighed softly. "Yes, love. But don't you worry! I'm sure they'll be back soon. Now come, I know your fever hasn't settled yet. You take after your frail mother."

The boy asked, "What does f-freil mean?" "Fra-il. F-R-A-I-L. It means that you're kind of weak; you break easy or get sick easy." The boy stamped his foot and made a noise that sounded like, 'Humph!' "I'm not weak! I'm strong, like Papa! You'll see!"

She smiled brightly and said, "But love, you're already so strong! You can almost lift me like your father!"

The little boy grinned a toothy grin, and when I looked closer, it almost startled me at how familiar he looked. But I just couldn't place my finger on it.

She grinned back. "Now come, your brother is waiting."

The little boy pouted before giggling and running ahead of her. She then sighed softly before looking in my direction. ".... Please come home soon... I miss you.. The both of you. I can't bear this separation... Please be safe."

She sniffed, looking as if she was about to cry, just before the boy cried out, "Mom, come on!!"

The woman wiped her eyes before smiling softly and turning. "Coming, coming!"

I watched them run, tempted to follow them when my vision blurred. The dream soon faded to black; the last thing I saw was that woman walking away from me, slowly, hesitantly.

'She moves... Just like me....'

~~~

Awwww, so sweet. Sorry, I had to make a cute chapter with the boys. And yes, Nick is an official character played by Roshon Fegan. What? He's cute :3 And mysterious. You'll see later on.

He isn't what seems to be.

Until the next Update!

~ Nimo