To Be Protected

Chapter 8: Forgiven

Jackson's POV

I watched as Mathis left me alone with his warriors and never even spared one glance back at me. As I watched him leave a large hand was pressed on the top of my head and it rustled my hair, making me whine in annoyance and duck away from my laughing attacker also known as Bear.

"Come on, let's get you to Clara," he said as he inclined his head in the direction of the healing hut.

Nodding an ok I followed the three to the hut that I had first woken up in and Nio was the first to enter. He pushed the door open and strode in calmly but almost knocked me down when he ran out of the hut with something blue all over his face as he started coughing and hacking. Bear pushed me behind him as both him and Adia placed their hands on their weapons but they relaxed when Clara poked her head out of the hut.

"Nio~ Where are you dear?" she called as her eyes zeroed in on the still hacking warrior. "Dear, you really shouldn't run away from me when I'm experimenting on you, now get back in here!"

Nio groaned but walked back into the hut with blue covering his face and neck; and Bear, Adia and I were slow to follow. When we got in Clara was sitting in front of Nio as she wiped the powder off of his face but Bear broke out laughing when we noticed that it had died his face blue. Clara pulled at his skin with wide eyes and looked to her fingers to see that none of the blue had come off on her.

"Magnificent!" she yelled as she jumped to her feet, " I was trying to make something that fixed sore throats but it seems that I have made a paint replacement! Thank you Nio dearie! Now, if you could please come back in when the dye starts to wear off that would be wonderful," Nio bared his teeth at her but nodded in agreement none the less.

While Bear was still cracking up Adia gently grabbed my arm and stood me in front of Clara, "Jackson here decided to take a dip in the lake so he needs his bandages changed," she told the excited doctor.

"Sure thing! But," she looked around the hut, "Where is Mathis?"

Looking at the ground I answered quietly, "I'm mad at him right now," I mumbled at my feet.

She seemed to hear me as she ruffled my hair and cackled, "You be mad at him, it is good for him. He gets whatever he wants with no effort. I hope that you make him work. You're worth it Sweety," she cooed as she redid the bandages on my ribs, hands and other cuts.

When she was done I looked around the room and frowned when I didn't see Evelyn, "Where is Evelyn?" I asked Clara who was cleaning up the hut.

"Oh, she left a few hours ago. I think that she is at the butcher if you want to talk to her," she told me quickly as she threw things around.

Not wanting to end as another one of her experiments I nodded and quickly left the hut with the three warriors following me. Looking to them I realized that I didn't know where anything was, "Could you guys show me how to get to the butcher? Clara said my friend would be there and I would like to talk to her," I asked and I was kind of expecting them to say no but I smiled when they all enthusiastically nodded yes.

Walking side by side with the warriors with Bear on my right, Nio on my left and Adia on his left was oddly comforting as I felt safe with them. Chattering all the way I barely even noticed when we stopped in front of a store that had a lot of awestruck onlookers looking into the butchers shop. Bear, being the mass of muscle he is, pushed his way through the crowd to get to the door and people continued to watch something going on inside through a large window at the front of the store. Bear pushed open the door and I walked in to see a few Alphas and Beats that I assumed to be the butchers standing with their mouths hanging open as they watched someone clean and skin a deer.