Culling

Part II • Chapter II

North didn't move his arm, but shifted a bit so he could look down at me. "The roof."

"Why?"

"We need to talk. You have some explaining to do." He turned his gaze from me when the elevator stopped and the doors opened. I could only follow in silence as he led me through an elaborate rooftop garden until we reached a clearing, where he had me sit on a small bench that was next to a ridiculously fancy fountain. He looked angry now.

His knowledge on where to go indicated that he had been up here before, but I couldn't focus on that. I was more interested to know why it seemed like I was in trouble?

For goodness sake, I was minding my own business, sleeping! All I could tell was that North was not happy about something. The bond didn't allow me to tell much, like read minds or anything. That would have been super helpful, if you asked me.

Ironically though, even if I couldn't tell why he was mad, I knew he would never hurt me. That, and only that, was the only thing that quelled my panic.

North began to pace back and forth in front of me as he mumbled under his breath. Every once in awhile he'd stop and turn to me, as if he was about to say something, but then would shake his head and continued pacing.

After about three or four minutes of this, it really began to get on my nerves.

"What?" I finally snapped and his head shot up at my tone. I really didn't like being dragged up here in the middle of the night to be lectured, especially when I didn't do anything wrong.

"If you are going to yell at me, please get on with it. I'm tired and my arm hurts and this sucks. I don't know why you are mad at me." I knew that saying anything like this was unlike me, but it seemed as though his emotions were affecting mine as well.

"Mad?" North blinked at me and then was at my side in a flash. He knelt to the ground in front of me. I felt the anger that had been nagging at me dissipate, and I was finally able to relax. He cupped my face with both of his hands and shuffled closer to me until his thighs were against my knees. Once in place, he let go of my face and pulled my upper body into his tightly. "I'm sorry. It's not that. I'm not mad at you. Baby, I'm just..."

He stopped and let out a sudden breath, before he pushed me back and let go. "What's wrong with your arm?"

I moved my right arm forward and he began to inspect it. I winced as he pulled at the sleeve of my robe and nightgown. At some point between when Danielle had slashed me with, well, whatever ghostly power thing she did, and coming up to the roof with North, the bleeding had stopped.

However, as the adrenaline from my dream and the onslaught of North's heavy emotions wore off, I found that the cut really did kind of hurt.

North growled as he studied the cut, which ran down the length of my forearm almost to my wrist. "Sang. Baby. Why didn't you say something before we left the room?"

I wanted to ask him when he had expected me to say something, but I figured it might make him feel guilty. The look on his face was enough to tell me that he was mentally beating himself up for being so rushed earlier.

"It's alright." I flexed my wrist so he could see that I was able to move around. "It's not too bad. The bleeding is mostly stopped. It just needs to be bandaged up."

He stood up and bent towards me, putting an arm behind my back and another under my knees as he picked me up.

"What are you doing?" I grabbed onto his shirt in surprise.

"We need to get you to Dr Green." North started walking back down the path the way we had arrived.

"What are you...? No!" There was no way was I letting him wake up Sean, and everyone else, for a task as simple as putting a bandage on a cut. "Don't be ridiculous North!"