Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 165: You Are Leaving?

Chapter 165: You Are Leaving?

"What we saw was a Reaver who looked like Alpha burn. But none of us got a good look at him, and he couldn’t even speak. Not to mention, he seemed to do a 180 in terms of his looks and behavior," explained Rip, looking at the other man.

The two of them might not know each other well, but there was one thing that they could both agree on. Wang Tian Mu needed to come first, even if that was at the expense of themselves.

"Fuck," grunted Ye Yao Zu as he looked down at the woman fast asleep. He was somewhat surprised that she was sleeping so soundly in the monster’s arms. Based on his experience, he had assumed that she would be suffering from PTSD and would have issues falling asleep and staying asleep.

It was nice to know that he was wrong.

"She said that if he was killed, where was his head as proof," grunted the man acting as a mattress, and Ye Yao Zu had to hold back his shock. When Rip had first stopped in front of his cage, he was the scariest person he had ever seen.

Not much has changed his opinion, but it’s interesting to see that he was wrapped just as firmly around Wang Tian Mu’s finger as the rest of them were.

"Bloodthirsty Little Fox, isn’t she?" chuckled the man before the smile faded from his face. "But in a way, she is right. We don’t have confirmation that the man killed was Alpha."

"We are taking the word of someone who had only met him for an hour to tell us that she killed the right person," emphasized Rip. "But the Little Bird is also worried that she is paranoid."

Ye Yao Zu chucked as he leaned forward to brush away a strand of hair that had fallen in her sleep. "That sounds like her. But you don’t think so?"

Rip grunted. "I think that the Alpha went down a little too easily," he said, staring up at the ceiling. "He didn’t even manage to summon any Reavers to his rescue. And for a man that hated getting his own hands dirty, he would have been surrounded by them the second the screaming happened."

"Well, in his defense, he did have the hounds of hell and the Four Horsemen after him," grunted Ye Yao Zu.

"None of them would have actually known what he looked like," pressed Rip. "They would have only seen the one who went to get the fighters. And yes, sometimes that was Alpha, but not all the time."

"And you think they killed the wrong man," concluded Ye Yao Zu. He would admit that everything seemed to line up with that theory, but...

"Wang Tian Mu thinks that they killed the wrong man."

Ye Yao Zu nodded his head. Leaning forward, he kissed the Little Fox on her forehead and left the room. There were a lot of things he would have to think about and even more to do.

----

I tried to roll over on my back, only to find a strong arm wrapped around me, preventing me from moving.

"Sorry," rasped Rip, his voice hoarse from sleep. "I didn’t want you to roll off the bed. It’s not quite big enough for the both of us."

"Seems to be a perfect fit for me," I smiled, and as far as I was concerned, it was. Any bed that made it so I ’had’ to sleep on Rip’s chest was my dream bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, the smirk on his lips speaking volumes.

"Good," I laughed with a nod of my head.

"Good. Now, how about you tell me the truth now," he continued, his fingers getting dangerously close to tickling me. "We have the ability to help you now, but only if you are honest."

I took a second to think about how I really felt. "My muscles are sore and stiff," I finally said after a moment. "And I still feel absolutely exhausted. But otherwise, I am fine."

Rip nodded his head as if he was expecting that response.

"You know, if we were back at the Camp, I could have already been snacking on a Reaver by now, and most of my problems would have been solved," I joked, but I think I hit a bit too close to home with my comment.

"If we were back at the Camp, you wouldn’t be able to sleep on me until the winter came again," pointed out Rip, and... well... he had a fair point.

"You’re right. This is much better than being at full energy."

There was a sporadic pounding on the door before a head popped inside my room. Startled, I tried to roll myself out of bed, only to find myself stopped by Rip once again.

"Oh! Good! You’re awake!" came the bubbly voice, and it took me a minute to recognize the woman across from me.

"Hey, Li Dai Lu," I said softly, not sure what I should be doing in this situation. At the very least, I should be getting off Rip, but his arm felt like steel, and I wasn’t going anywhere.

"Yay! You remember!!!" She seemed so excited that I remembered something that I didn’t have the heart to tell her: I never knew her name until Rip had told me earlier.

In fact, I don’t think she told it to me at all back at the Camp.

Instead, I just smiled my perfect ’Doctor’s’ smile and left it at that.

"Well, now that you are up, you should come out and see everyone! The guys and I are going to be leaving soon, and I just wanted you to meet them before we left."

"You’re leaving?" I asked, my head cocked to the side. I felt a stabbing pain in my heart, like the idea of her leaving was the worst thing ever, but at the same time, I felt a bit of relief.

I had never met this woman in my life, and she had seen me at my worst. The idea of being this weak in front of a stranger was not something I could deal with well.

Or at least not until I had dealt with all the other crap first.