Her back was on fire. The pain was so excruciating, she wondered how she made it to her room on her own steam. Pride, pride had kept her upright when others would have buckled. Pride urged her to place one foot in front of the other.
But now that she was behind closed doors, she allowed a gasp of pain to escape past her lips as she lowered herself face down on her bed. Now that she was behind closed doors, pride had no hold on her, not when even taking a breath threatened to take her under.
She took another breath and bit back a whimper.
"When are you going to learn?" Jenny asked in a harsh whisper.
Lying on her stomach, Sarah could barely hear Jenny's exasperation but she felt it surrounding her. It'd been so from the moment she'd stumbled into the house. Like a mother hen, Jenny had followed close behind her as she made her way to her room, worry emanating from her every pore but unable to do a thing.
"One of these days he is going to kill you." She muttered in that low voice.
Sarah could hear Jenny rummaging through the first aid kit but she was in too much pain to turn her head and follow her movement. Instead she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing and trying to hold the darkness surrounding her consciousness, threatening to take her under, at bay.
Like a dark fog it lurked just beyond her awareness, creeping closer every second.
With every beat of her heart, her back throbbed, the pain digging its claws deeper into her. Even the slightest breeze was like fire blazing across her back.
Her vision grew hazy and the darkness drew closer.
"You're going to get one lashing too many one of these day."
The disgruntled voice succeeded in pulling her back to the here and now but her.
The fog receded, it crept back just beyond the edges and Sarah wasn't sure that was a good thing. The fog had offered relief from the pain. When it crawled away, it took with it the numbness that had engulfed her. Now it felt like the pain was back with a vengeance.
Jenny chose that moment to grab her shirt by the back of its collar and rip it down the middle. The action came without warning. Sarah bunched her fists on the sheet below her as the shredded remains of her shirt were pulled away from her wounds.
She gasped and fought against the urge to curl away from the pain.
"It's going to hurt a lot more than that," Jenny warned. "Are you ready?"
"Just do it," she bit out through clenched teeth.
The first touch was excruciating. Jenny began to apply the healing ointment and Sarah's vision grew blurry. She wasn't sure if it was the tears or the threat of unconsciousness. She bit her lip, drawing blood, the pain and the metallic taste kept her awake.
But nothing could keep her from wincing every time Jenny's healing hands made contact with her back. Fire licked her back; the pain was like a living breathing entity that only seemed to grow stronger.
Nothing Jenny did alleviate the pain.
Still, she held on tight to the edge of her bed when self-preservation urged her to roll away. In a futile attempt to escape the pain she tried to burrow into the mattress but there was no reprieve to be found. A tear managed to escape; it rolled silently down her cheek and to the corner of lip. Sarah licked it away with the tip of her tongue; silently berating herself for the show of weakness.
Halfway through, she could feel her fur rippling underneath her skin and her claws itching to come out. The ability to shift returned a little more with every bit of silver that was removed from her back. The connection between her two halves grew stronger once again; she felt the wolf pacing restlessly within her.
