Chapter 98 : Cold Water

Maya

The sun began to move lazily across the sky, chasing away the night with its morning glow. But the beauty of a new day was lost on the inhabitants of a small cave at the foot of a mountain somewhere in the Westwood Pack territory, a few miles from Xavier Westwood's pack house. As one fell asleep in the arms of the other, tired eyes gazed around the clearing outside the cave before resting with heart-wrenching love on the face of the sleeping girl.

Maya, still disguised as Helga, hugged Karen tightly, trying to keep her beloved girl warm as the cave grew cold in the long, moonless night. Fortunately, the rising sun shone down on them at the entrance to the cave, restoring warmth to her chilled body. At last, Karenina was where she belonged - with her.

Fearing rejection and hostility from Karen if she learned of her true form, she decided to remain Helga for now, at least until she found a way to regain her trust. The fact that the girl she loved might still harbor ill feelings toward her felt like a knife piercing her heart. How could she be so fond of someone who didn't care about her at all? Even worse, she considered her an enemy, someone who could not be trusted, let alone loved.

Her heart ached at the thought for the thousandth time. But as always, unshakable faith would bring her mood back. There must be a way to prove herself worthy. She just had to find the answer. If only she would open her eyes and look at her with those beautiful brown eyes. That would go a long way to convincing her that she was okay. After a blow to the head from her fight with the Alpha of the Bloodmoon Pack, Karen was still unconscious.

Why was that? What had happened to her? She was afraid that she might have suffered some kind of injury that could be fatal for her, but she was alive and breathing, so why was she still asleep? Was she just too tired? Was she recovering? Maya didn't know, and the uncertainty was killing her.

Lifting her trembling hand, she stroked her beloved girl's cheek and leaned down until her lips were close to her beloved girl's ear.

"Everything is all right now," she murmured in a choked voice. "Please wake up. I'm here. I'm here."

As before when she tried to wake her, Karen made no response and remained deeply asleep - or so it seemed.

Tears filled her eyes as she choked on her breath, almost sobbing. She hugged her beloved girl, holding her close to her chest.

"Karen," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

"Nnn... can't... breathe..."

She blinked, startled, her heart almost stopping in her chest at the sound of that faint, whispered voice.

"Karen?!"

As she leaned back, she saw that Karen was blinking her eyes.

"Helga?" she asked, confused. Then she looked around. Panic filled her brown eyes as she looked back at her. "Where are we? What's going on? Where's Chase?"

"Shh," Maya hissed, gently brushing a strand of brown hair away from her face. "Don't worry, Miss Karen. You're safe here."

"Tell me what happened," Karen demanded in a brusque tone, clutching her arm. "Where are we? And where is Xavier?"

Her expression, which had been open and full of strong emotions that Karen could not grasp, became closed, her eyes closed, making her even more worried.

"Tell me!"

"Everything is fine. After you fainted, Alpha Xavier appeared and saved you. I followed him after I heard about your situation and he told me to take you to a safe place. We are far from the pack house, hiding in this cave, waiting for a signal that all is safe." Then she said in a worried tone, "You worried me. You didn't wake up for hours during the night."

Karen blinked in confusion.

"It's a new day already?" Then she looked outside and realized that Helga was right, the sun was already in a different position than before. It was past dawn, but still morning. "I-I didn't realize I was asleep for so long. Why didn't you wake me? And why isn't Xavier here yet?"

"I couldn't wake you," she answered with a heavy heart. Then she asked, "Are you hungry? Thirsty? I can find food for you, and there is a spring in the cave."

Surprisingly, even though it had been hours since her last meal, Karen realized she wasn't hungry, she was thirsty.

"Ah, just water, thank you. I'm not too hungry now."

"You should eat something and keep your energy up," Helga said, the worry still in her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll do it. Maybe later. Right now I just want a drink and maybe a shower." Looking around again, she muttered, "Although I don't think it's possible to bathe right now."

"You can use the water from the spring, Miss. It's a pretty big pond. I can show you."

******

Karenina

Miss? Why was Helga being so formal with her again? Had she called her that before? It sounded... familiar, somehow. Trembling inwardly, she accepted it. Maybe after she had a cold shower - hopefully not too cold - she would be able to sort this out and maybe convince Helga that they didn't have to wait for Xavier to pick them up and go home on their own. Even though she had obviously slept for hours after hitting her head, she felt fine.

It was only when Helga helped her to her feet that she realized she had been lying on her lap. Never before had any of her friends made contact with her when she wasn't helping her change bandages, get dressed, or do her hair.

She must be very worried about me, she thought, feeling guilty about the incident and how little time she had spent with her after waking up. Expecting Helga to be formal again, she was surprised to feel her hand being grasped instead. She did not pull away, however, and squeezed her hand reassuringly before allowing herself to be led deeper into the cave.

Having gotten used to Helga's assistance in undressing, she waited a few heartbeats as they stopped near the pool of water - which she feared would be cold. Not that she really cared, as long as she could wash the dust and sweat off her body. When Helga made no move to help her undress, she looked up at her.

"Are you okay, Helga?"

Helga seemed to snap out of her reverie before returning her gaze.

"What? Oh, no. I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Ah, yeah. I mean... you usually help me... Never mind." She laughed awkwardly, wondering why she felt so uncomfortable around her friend. Obviously, she was thinking too much.

"Oh, right! Of course. Let me help."

"No, you don't have to..."

******

Maya

Her hands were on her back, untying the straps of her dress, leaving her speechless, and as before, she was willing to let someone else help her. She really didn't need - or really want - help, but Helga always seemed hurt if she couldn't perform her servant duties for her.

Her fingers trembled as she untied the elegant knot. Fumbling was a more apt description. Was she really going to see Karen naked for the first time? She could hardly believe it - or wait. It was like a dream come true... Until she remembered that Karen didn't know who had actually helped her into the bathhouse. That made things calmer, but not for long.

As soon as she had folded and set aside her strap, her beloved girl was already lifting her outer robe. Without really knowing what she was doing, having never held such an expensive dress before, Maya decided not to fold the elegant fabric and placed it on a large rock, hoping that it would not wrinkle any further than it already was.

Then she stood before Karen, her fingers trembling again as she unfolded one of her undergarments, and grasped both halves before opening them. What she saw almost took away what little breath she had left in her lungs.

"It's beautiful."

"What?" Karen asked, shocked and wide-eyed, looking at her with a confused expression.

Realizing that she had said it out loud, Maya cursed inwardly.

"Uh... your dress. It's so pretty," she immediately made an excuse out of her head, only to curse herself silently. How stupid could that be? She would never believe such a bold lie. Her ruse was exposed. Karen would be-

"Oh, thank you. When you picked it out for me yesterday morning, I thought so too." Then Karen smiled, unconsciously.

Maya could only stare at her as if she had lost her mind, but then she shook her head. Maybe that wasn't an entirely bad thing considering how naive she was... and also ignorant. Still, she loved that silly girl.

"Let's get in and out of the water quickly. I don't want you to get cold and get sick."

She's so weak, she thought with some concern. How could she take care of Karen if she got sick? Well, she just has to be able to improvise.

After that, Maya couldn't help but stare at the sight of her naked body, feeling her blood heat up at the dazzling sight. She was so beautiful, beauty incarnate. None of her fantasies could compare to reality. Her fingers itched to graze her ass as those firm globes taunted her with their perfection as she walked away.

She was snapped out of her lustful reverie when Karen entered the water and squealed.

"Karen!" she shouted, lunging forward to stand at the edge of the pool, glancing into the clear pool for any sign of danger. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Shivering, Karen gave a jerky nod. "Yeah, it's just... very, very cold!"

Letting out a sigh of relief, she immediately made up her mind and quickly began to take off her clothes. Karen didn't seem to notice, having immersed herself, only to reappear in a hurry, shivering, her teeth chattering loudly. At least she kept her hair up with her hands and out of the water.

Upon entering the pool directly behind Karen, she had to grit her teeth as the cold water washed over her skin almost up to her waist. It was cold, very cold indeed. There was no way she would let her beloved girl linger in the pool, afraid that Karen would meet her death.

Reaching out, she touched her shoulder gently. Suddenly Karen jumped in surprise and spun around.

"Oh, Helga. You scared me." Crossing her arms, hiding her cold hardened nipples, hoping to warm herself and not defend her nakedness, Karen tried to smile, but her lips were too trembling for that.

"Do you want to take a quick shower too?"

Gritting her teeth at the name she disliked, wanting to be called by her own name, Maya nodded, reaching out again. Her hands traveled down her cold body, feeling how soft her skin was.

"Your wounds have healed."

"Yes, isn't that good?" Although her words implied that it was a good thing, her eyes were filled with sadness. "My wolf aura has gotten stronger since the first time Xavier... gave me some of his aura."