The look of shock and joy on the king's face filled my heart with warmth when I told him that I forgave him.
He smiled and nodded, keeping his hand over mine and making me feel warm and protected, which was a strange and new feeling that I had never felt before with someone other than my father.
Not even my ex- had been able to make me feel this way...
The doctor cleared his throat, and we looked at him, both of us holding each other's hand, not knowing if we should let go of each other or not.
The doctor bowed and cleared his throat again while he looked down. "My apologies for interrupting, Your Majesties," he said softly before he cleared his throat. "However, I am sure that it would be best to make sure that the king is fine and fed before the pack wonders if there is going to be food for them as well."
"Of course," the king said and cleared his throat while he squeezed my hand. "Belle, if you can help me stand, I shall not keep you any longer." He moved his hand off of mine, and I felt... cold all of a sudden.
I nodded and was about to help him stand when the doctor cleared his throat, interrupting me.
We looked at him and waited to see what he had to say, but he was staring at me, more importantly, my arm.
Confusion turned into realization when I remembered that I was still injured, even though it wasn't bad. "Oh, right," I said and nodded before I looked at the king, who was staring at us confused. "Do you think that both Louis and Cameron can come in and help us?" I asked before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "That way I only have to lift the supplies and help."
"Why?" he asked and looked between me and the doctor. "What happened?" He looked at me, and I pressed my lips into a thin line, nervous about telling him about my injury.
The doctor stayed silent and continued to look at me. He didn't answer the king's question, silently saying that it would be for the best if I told him.
"Belle?" the king asked and looked at me. "What is it? What happened?"
I wrinkled my nose and pursed my lips while I dipped my head closer to my chest. "A... bullet grazed my arm that day... and the doctor wants to make sure that it stays protected."
"What?" the king asked and looked between the two of us again. His eyes were wide, and he looked mortified and guilty that I had been hurt. "What do you mean?" He looked at me, but I didn't meet his gaze.
"A bullet grazed my arm," I said again. "I am still injured. It's not deep, and it didn't need stitches."
"Does it hurt?" he asked, and the guilt was more evident in his voice. He looked down and cleared his throat, not able to look at me any longer.
I shrugged and grimaced while I wrinkled my nose and pursed my lips. "Not that much," I admitted before I cleared my throat. "It's not the worst injury I received, and I don't think it'll be the last." I patted his arm, soothingly, "and it's not your fault, so please, don't think it is. Please."
The king stayed silent and shifted in the bed. He didn't look at me, and I had a feeling that he was beating himself because I got hurt.
I bit back a sigh and gently placed my hand on his cheek, silently praying that he wouldn't hurt me while I lifted his head until he was looking at me. "Y- Reif, it's not your fault," I said softly, stroking his cheek. "You didn't pull the trigger on the gun."
Reif stayed silent and blinked. He looked away before he cleared his throat, and I could tell that he felt guilty and would continue to feel guilty that I had gotten hurt. "Let them come in," he said. "Have you been taking care of your wound?" he asked and looked at me.
I nodded. "I have," I confirmed. "The doctor, Cameron, Louis, Dalen, and Peter have been helping me out a lot, sometimes covering themselves in a lot of plastic wrap so that they wouldn't get fur into food or stuff."
Reif blinked and raised an eyebrow. Amusement filled his eyes while he looked at the doctor, who was shifting on his feet and looking away from him. "Oh?" he asked, and I could hear the amusement in his voice.
"Yes, Your Majesty," he said before he cleared his throat and nodded. "Now, if it pleases you, are we able to go ahead and make sure everything is healed properly so that you can eat? You two also need to rest."
He looked at me and silently said, 'especially you,' and I held back an eye roll and a scowl.
The king frowned and looked between us, nervously flickering through his eyes. "What is with that look?" he asked and looked at the doctor until he bowed.
"Hush," I softly scolded and patted his arm to get his attention. My heart skipped a beat while my cheeks turned a little red, the thought of him kicking me out of the kingdom again flickering through my mind.
He won't do that; he can't.
But he could...
The king looked at me and stayed silent, waiting for me to speak. His eyes were swirled with emotions, and I had no idea how to soothe his fears or the rambling thoughts he had.
"The doctor is saying that I need to rest too," I said, pushing away that sliver of doubt. "I have been watching over you and making sure that you were breathing and healing like you should, and he wants to make sure that I am healing and resting too. It's... why he wants Louis and Cameron in here so that I can stay back while they help you stand."
"And to check your wounds and make sure that you have healed them, Your Majesty," the doctor supplied.
The king bit back a sigh before he nodded. "Of course," he said. "Let them in." He placed his hand on mine, and I had a feeling that he didn't want me to go and do it but him. "I assume that they are outside, waiting?"
"They are," the doctor said. He bowed his head before he cleared his throat and went to the door. "They have been waiting for a while to see if you would allow them to come in and help." He opened the door and both Louis and Cameron walked in with their heads lowered and tails tucked between their legs.
They stopped at the edge of the bed and bowed so low that they were almost touching the ground, and I looked at them weirdly, not knowing why they were doing this but having a feeling because they were nervous about how he would react and what he would do.
"Stand," the king said softly. "You don't have to bow so low."
"Of course, Your Majesty," Louis said and stood taller while Cameron stayed lowered. He nudged the Beta to get him to stand and held back an eye roll while he cleared his throat. "Our apologies."
Cameron did what he was told to do and stood but stayed silent. He didn't look at the king, his whole body giving off that he was anxious and nervous about what he and Louis had done while the king was out of office.
I held back an eye roll and met Louis's gaze. I offered him a small smile when he looked at me and then my hand on the king's arm with the king's hand on top of mine.
Louis looked at the king when the king cleared his throat, but there was a small smug look on his face that I so badly wanted to knock off with a bow and arrow that it killed me not to do it.
Reif tried to look stern, but for some reason, he was a lot more amused than anything else, something that was different than his normal self. "Is there a reason for the side glance to my mate?" he asked, his voice soft yet firm, and my heart skipped a beat when he called me that.
Louis shook his head while Cameron nudged him to keep his mouth shut. "No, Your Majesty," he said, and nudged Cameron away, much to Cameron's utter annoyance. "It seems to me that Miss Belle is not moving away from you. I am sure that you two have worked out your differences..?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at me, making sure that I was fine.
I slowly nodded to indicate that I was fine, and he nodded too before he looked at the king.
Reif blinked and blinked again before he looked at me. "We have," he said before he looked at Louis. "Thank you for making sure that she was fine in my absence and helping her when she needed it."
Both Louis and Cameron looked at each other, and they looked shocked and surprised that he thanked them. They didn't say a word while they stared at him in disbelief, and the king watched them.
"The broth is getting cold, can you two help him up so that we can make sure that everything is fine?" I asked to get them out of their stupor. I couldn't help but be shocked as well because I had never heard the king thank someone before today.
He has changed...
"Of course," Louis said and bowed his head. He walked over to me, and Cameron followed while I moved out of their way. Louis's whole body was tense, and I could tell that he was nervous and scared of what the king would do and say while he got closer to him.
"I want to apologize to you two," the king said softly. "More importantly to you, Louis. I should not have said that I didn't need you. We, I, need you. I shouldn't have said what I said to you, and I hope that you can forgive me."
Louis's shoulders sagged with relief, and he looked like he was about to cry. He cleared his throat and nodded. "I do," he said before he cleared his throat again when his voice quivered. "Now, come on. Let's get you standing so that you can eat and then rest. We will continue watching the pack while you continue to heal."
"And I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you."