Chapter 19 - Gifted

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When I arrived back upstairs to our quarters, I was fully prepared to take a shower and wash off all the food-smell and grime that I'd accumulated during my time in the kitchens. Much to my surprise, however, I walked inside to find Ryder leaning against the kitchen counter as if he had been waiting for me.

My eyes widened, "I thought you were leading the pack training today?"

"I was," he answered. "Until Marvin informed me that you'd be leaving your kitchen duty early and insisted that you be the one to explain why."

I sighed, closing my eyes and hanging my head downward slightly as I held up my bandaged hand without a word.

Ryder began to laugh.

I quickly looked back up, shooting him daggers. He thought this was funny?

"I'm sorry," he said with an amused grin as his laughter came to an end. "What happened?"

"The hot stove happened," I mumbled, my face turning red with embarrassment.

I could tell he wanted to laugh again, but he refrained. Instead, his smile remained and he began walking towards me.

Before I could say anything else, Ryder gently took my burned hand into his and held it tightly, but not so tightly that it hurt. He seemed very focused as he stared down at the gauze and tape, making me feel rather confused. We stood there like that for what must have been an entire minute before he began gently rubbing his hands over mine, and then slowly brought my hand up to his lips and planted a soft kiss over the bandage.

I stared in silence, completely stumped and unsure of what he was doing, and he didn't bother to explain. His expression suddenly seemed as though he was satisfied, and he began unwrapping my hand.

"Um," I finally spoke up. "The...lady who wrapped my hand said to leave the bandage on. She said if I did that, it should be healed within twenty-four hours."

He ignored me.

Too puzzled to argue further, I allowed him to continue unraveling the layers of gauze and tape that surrounded my hand until it was completely bare and exposed once again.

I braced myself for the stinging, burning pain to start back up. When the woman wrapped it in the gauze, the pain had subsided completely.

He held my hand up, examining it thoroughly as a smile slowly formed on his face, seeming quite pleased with himself. I felt even more confused than I had previously as I watched him, but nothing could've prepared me for what I saw when I turned my attention to my hand.

The burns were completely gone. It was fully healed. No redness, no blisters, no pain. Just like that, my hand was back to normal.

"What the hell was that!?" I gasped, yanking my hand out of Ryder's.

He finally made eye-contact with me again, his eyes seeming to sparkle a bit with a soft smile still painted on his face, "You're healed."

My jaw dropped, "Well I see that, but how?!"

Ryder chuckled lightly before running his hand through his hair, "I quite literally summoned the Moon Goddess out of a bonfire, and you're asking me how I healed your hand?"

He had a point. I'd seen enough oddities from him during my time in Moon Wave to know good and well that he was gifted, but he continued to surprise me.

"What...are you?" I asked, not really knowing how to phrase it any better.

He chuckled again, "I'm not quite sure. Noelle and I were both born with abilities, however I have more than she does, and mine are typically stronger. For years, I thought I was a healer, much like Lena, but as I got older, I started to question that theory. It wasn't until I took over as Alpha that I knew...I was something else."

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