They Will Pay

CHAPTER 3

"Um. . ." I forced my eyes away and back to the boy, ignoring the slight smirk that stretched across the officer's lips and the hint of confusion among the amusement that crossed his gaze. 

I cleared my throat. 

Jax's head  tilted in confusion when I finally dragged my gaze back to his. I collected myself quickly, gathered what I would need, and took the seat next to Jax. 

"You okay?" I couldn't help but question what the others must have been doing wrong around Jax for him to not speak at all, because he seemed more willing to talk than what I originally thought. Though, I always wondered if these victims could just pick out that I was one of them, too. That they and I have suffered in far too similar ways at the hands of the Anti-Werewolf Organization. 

"I think I should be asking you that, hm?" I brushed off the question and slowly got to work. Just because Jax was interacting with me didn't mean I was able to jump straight into treating him as quickly as I'd like. He could still jump at the slightest sudden movements if I wasn't careful.

By this point, the LPD officer I desperately wanted to avoid the gaze of stood nearby the exam table. Seeming to have caught on to the way I was making myself appear smaller, he too had hunched himself forward slightly and took a seat on the table as he watched our interaction. The man remained quiet and kept his movements slow as he sat as well, and I couldn't stomp down the spark of warmth that spread through my chest at the gesture.

Jax didn't seem to mind the officer's presence either, so I was content to just leave him be for the time. Maybe a little too content, but I digress.

The kid didn't say anything else after that, so I began the slow process of treating his wounds. Aside from the sound of materials being moved about and Jax hissing in pain, the exam room remained silent.

Every laceration and burn I treated had me internally recoiling. I could feel my own scars tingle at the phantom memories of the pain, but I knew better than to show any of that on my face. 

When I had first escaped from a similar situation, I remembered the fear of being seen as disgusting or pathetic for what I had endured. I made sure to never allow my patients to feel that way around me. The scars and wounds weren't repulsive to me in the slightest, it was what caused them that made me shiver in disgust.

The silence in the exam room while I worked on the boy was eventually broken by the kid himself.

"Your eyes are pretty. Like Aimee's." His words broke the calm that had settled and I was cautious not to drop the antiseptic wipes at his attempt to start a conversation. 

Continuing my ministrations, I glanced up at Jax and pondered on how to respond. Did I ask about Aimee or ignore that part and simply acknowledge the compliment? These things were a slippery slope when trauma was involved.

Before I had a chance to decide, I was beaten to the punch, "Who is Aimee?"

Jax and I both startled at the officer's question and I was quick to shoot him a glare. 

He seemed to immediately realize he made a mistake when he caught my eyes and mouthed a quiet "sorry" in my direction. I raised a brow at him, but quickly returned my focus to Jax.

He was trembling a bit more than before after the officer's question and I was quick to reassure him.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to tell us." I voiced softly, taking my hands away from his wounds to give him a moment to recollect himself. 

Jax looked down at his fidgeting hands, breaths coming in raggedly before he looked back up. His eyes became determined as he spoke once more, "My friend. They—they killed her. I want them to pay."

My heart squeezed at the admission. I knew all too well what that felt like and could only hope no one else would have to suffer through that kind of pain, yet there we were.

Gently, I rested my hand atop the boy's restless ones, giving him ample time to refuse the touch. He accepted the gesture and I gave him a small, sad smile.

"They will." 

He seemed pleased with my response, so I started applying bandages on his freshly cleaned wounds. 

"Dr. Chen told me your healing should be back to normal within a week or so, once the wolfsbane has had time to leave your system. Until then, we need to refresh these bandages a couple times a day, okay?" Keeping my voice soft and low was the easiest part of my job. The survivors of these organizations tended to be flighty and sensitive to anything even remotely too loud and because of what werewolves like us had gone through, we tended to be more soft spoken as it was. If anything, I struggled to bring my voice to a normal level when around other people. Talking to those who'd experienced similar trauma was like second nature to me.

"Okay." Jax was taking all this information in like a champ.

I gave him another small smile as I finished up.

"Alright, you're looking good. Are you okay to wait here for a minute while I go talk to the other doctors outside?" I asked, slowly easing myself out of the chair next to Jax.

He nodded slowly, almost as if he wasn't confident in that response. I would've loved to never have to leave his side, but if justice was to be served, then there were questions that needed answers. 

I side eyed the officer as he slowly climbed off the exam table. Oh right, I need to find a solution to that problem, too.

I gave one more quick smile to the boy as I said, "Alright, I'll be back soon," and made my way to the door of the exam room, my mate following a decent distance behind.

A/N~ Check out chapter 4 on Ream and Patreon now! Link in bio:)

QOTD: What do you think of Finn so far?<3