Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 132: Need You Warm And Safe

Chapter 132: Need You Warm And Safe

The woman carried into the cage looked like nothing more than a skeleton with a bag of straw for hair. In fact, Si Dong was worried that with one strong gust of wind, she would crumple into nothing but ashes and be carried off in the wind.

But the bigger question was, what was she doing in his prison?

"Hold out your arm," grunted the creature with the woman in his arms, and Si Dong slowly complied. Then the strangest thing happened. The man gently took the woman’s wrist and placed her hand on his. The warmth he felt coming from her was like home.

"If you think this is bad, you should see the other guy," he joked, not able to move from the bed. Was she the reason why he was tied down? Were they worried that he would hurt her, or was it a matter of her hurting him? Either way, this was where Wang Tian Mu would be soon, so he had to survive.

Jumping in the monster’s arms, she looked at him. One blue eye and one brown... fuck... it wasn’t his Princess. He had hoped she was; Wang Tian Mu was the only other person he had ever met who felt that type of comfort when they touched, but she had the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen, not like this woman’s eyes.

She turned her attention back to the monster, and he crouched down so that he was closer to the cot Si Dong was lying on. The look he gave him spoke volumes. Touch her and die.

Si Dong smirked back, refusing to fold in front of the man. He was not so far gone in this new world that he took pleasure in hurting defenseless women, especially not ones who looked like her. And this feeling that she gave him... he never wanted it to stop.

But she wasn’t his Wang Tian Mu.

Feeling the coursing warmth flowing through his body, Si Dong could actually tell when she was concentrating on one injury or another. The bruising on his chest started to fade, and he was able to breathe easier for the first time in a while. It felt like she had healed all of his injuries, even those from before the world ended.

In fact, the longer that she touched him, the more comfortable he was. He never wanted the feeling to end.

"So, Sweetness, what is your name?" he asked softly. She reminded him of a doe, all big eyes and would bolt at the slightest sound. But he wanted her to feel as comfortable in his presence as he did in hers, so he would move as slowly as necessary until she became used to him.

"She is The Healer; that is all you need to know," grunted the giant as he gently took the woman’s hand away and came to his full height.

The fucker had to be more than 7 feet tall, but Si Dong was sure he could take him in a fight.

Well... pretty sure.

He nodded his head and let it go at that. He had heard rumors about people who could heal others using their powers, but they were normally kept under lock and key, treating only those who could afford it.

He tried to get a glimpse into her mind to see if he could find out more information about what was going on here and maybe see if she had met Wang Tian Mu yet. However, when he slipped into her head, there was nothing but darkness, not a single thought or memory floating around anywhere.

The poor angel, to be that broken... it broke Si Dong’s heart.

They would have to rescue her at the same time as they rescued Wang Tian Mu... if she lived that long.

----

Even that little bit of healing had drained me until I was practically empty, and I slumped even further into Rip’s arms as he took me out of the fighter’s cage. The weird part was that I wasn’t in as much pain as I usually was after a session. In fact, I wasn’t in any new pain at all.

Maybe he didn’t have as many injuries as I had initially thought.

I would have to admit, I had never seen a fighter like that before. All I could see was his bright eyes looking back at me. Unlike the clean-shaven men who spent their time in the pit, this one had a full beard and long hair. He looked like a Grizzly bear I had once seen in British Columbia when I was there for a vacation in the mountains.

But he felt like home.

No. I wasn’t going to do this again. I wasn’t going to fall in love with someone else when I had the perfect man for me right now.

History wasn’t going to repeat itself.

"It’s getting colder every passing day," grunted Rip as we walked out of the cage and past Alpha. "If you don’t find someplace warmer, then they are all going to die. Again. And you are going to have to spend more money getting replacements."

"If you want to be Alpha, challenge me for it. But until then, you are nothing more than a member of my horde," sneered Alpha as he looked down at me.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my demon up close and personal.

I heard Alpha turn away and storm off in the other direction.

"What was that about?" I asked quietly as Rip brought me back through the gate and into the women’s area.

"The guy’s an idiot. He wants to make money off of you guys, but he doesn’t realize that he keeps bleeding out every time he has to buy a new human. If he would just look after everyone better, it would cost him less money in the long run."

I blinked a few times as my brain tried to process what he had said. "Thanks so much for caring about us humans," I answered sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. I knew what he was getting at, but the delivery needed some work.

"You are too thin to be able to stay in your cage during the winter," continued Rip, still lost in his own thoughts and plans. "I need you warm and safe before the snow comes."