[Avira]
I straightened up as slowly as I could, trying hard not to give my fear away, and thanking my stars that I had already kept the healing portion back to where I had taken it from before the Beta came in.
"I was coming to prepare the bed for the night," I lied. My voice had come out smoothly and unwaivering, and I was super glad. Now, all that was left for me to worry about was whether or not Beta Maverick would believe my story.
"And what were you doing, bending over like that?" He asked, not hiding his doubts, and before I could think of anything to say, he continued,
"Come clean up the mess you made with your foul smelling blood," he ordered, and left the room, leaving me to sigh in relief. I was lucky he didn't suspect anything, as that would have made him look closely at me, and he would have discovered that I was not bleeding again, and that most of the wounds had already closed up, and that would have been the end of me.
I stepped out of the Beta's room, and soon came back with a cloth and a bucket of soapy water to clean up the floor. On a second thought, I left for my room, and changed into a different outfit, one that covered most of my body. I didn't want the Beta to see that the wounds on my body were gone. He might as well inflict me with new ones.
When I came back to the Beta's room, he was back inside, and luckily for me, he didn't notice the change in my outfit, and even if he did, he didn't care enough to point it out. He climbed into the bed while I began to clean immediately. I was rushing through the chore just to get away from the room and from the Beta's presence. The droplets of blood were yet to dry on the floor so they came off easily.
I was done wiping off the bloodstains from the Beta's floor some minutes later, in fact, I had finished cleaning a while ago, but stayed longer in the room because I was skeptical, and didn't know what the Beta would say if he thought I was leaving too early and didn't wipe off the blood stains from the blood well enough. I was simply preventing anything that would draw his attention to me.
The Beta's room was quiet when I left, too quiet that if I didn't know him better, I would have thought he was asleep. But the Beta did not sleep anymore. He has not slept a wink since he went rogue which was days ago. It explained why he was angry most of the time now, and why I didn't blame him much when he treats me with high-handedness. Maybe his lack of sleep was affecting him in ways that made it impossible to control his temper.
I went back into the Beta's room to clear up the untouched meal and herb waer but they were still untouched, so I left the plates there on the wooden centre table and hoped he would come around and do what he needed to do.
The herb made shifting less painful as well as well as helped him stay in control after shifting abnormally. I suddenly wished I could remind him of the herb water but that would only earn me the third whip for today.
I went to my room, while promising myself that I will not doze off so I will be able to respond to Beta Maverick if he called.
*********
The sound of loud clatters woke me up from my peaceful sleep, making me sit up quietly in alarm. For a while, I thought I imagined the sound, then I let my mind roam until it focused on the fact that I had slept off despite the promises I made to myself. I then hoped the Beta had not called out to me while I was asleep. I was still wishing when the loud clatter sounded again.
It sounded like ceramics hitting the floor, and came from the Beta's bedroom which was strange. Although it was a little past midnight, and past the time for the Beta to shift, he never made use of his bedroom when he shifted. But tonight seemed different which only meant one thing,
The Beta has lost control!
With lightning speed, I shot out of the bed, and bolted the door to my bedroom. If the Beta had lost it enough to shift in his bedroom, then my safety is not guaranteed. When I didn't feel safe enough even with the door bolted, I pushed my bed towards the door as a barricade, and laid fearfully on it.
My fear increased when I began to hear heavy footsteps along the hallway. It was the Beta, now a complete wolf, heading towards my door. He growled lowly every second, and each time he growled, I had a sudden inclination to further secure the door. Fear is the devil but mine was borne out of an unpleasant experience which involved both the Beta and me.
He had shifted abnormally that night for the first time, and I didn't know as there was no cries, no heavy footsteps, nothing to give the sudden abnormality away. My bedroom door was unlocked as always, and he had entered my room through the door, and attacked me.
When I woke up the next morning, both my eyes were reddened and swollen, and Beta Maverick didn't say a word to me, not even a sorry, let alone giving me the healing portion. I had waited for my healing ability to do its work for long hours, while wincing in pain at every move I made. It was not until a few minutes before noon that I eventually healed. I spent the rest of the day cussing myself for not fighting back against the Beta, even though it would mean scratching him on the face a little, instead of staying still like some dummy, doing nothing to protect myself, and yet doing nothing to defend myself.
I was still thinking about my experience at the time, and had begun to cuss at myself again when the Beta suddenly pushed heavily at my door, scaring the life out of me.