Louisa’s POV
When I woke up, I couldn’t open my eyes.
It seemed that they were covered by something moist.
I tried to lift my arms or move my legs, but I couldn’t.
Then, I felt that someone was on me.
My chest was being pressed, so it was difficult for me to breathe.
"I can’t… breathe…" I opened my mouth and gasped with air.
My chest was still being pressed.
Then, I started to feel the warmth between my legs.
Waves of shooting pain started to be sent through my spine and spread all over my brain.
I felt that I was ruptured.
"Ah…" I moaned. I couldn’t move my body at all. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get away.
Deprived of motion and visual abilities, the only thing I could do was endure the throbbing pain.
"Please… Stop…" I whispered.
But that made the pain more unbearable.
It overrode all my other senses and made me deliberate.
"Big paw… help me… please…" I cried out in despair.
The pain suddenly stopped.
The heavy thing on my chest was lifted.
I could breathe normally again.
Then, I felt something cold and slimy licking my face.
The thing covering my eyes was licked away.
I opened my eyes and saw the blurry image of the big black wolf.
I couldn’t see him clearly, but I knew it was him.
"Big paw!" I wanted to hug him, but I couldn’t move my arms, so I wailed, "What happened to me?"
He put his head underneath my arm and wrapped me around with his tail.
He lowered his head and licked the tears from my face.
"What has just happened to me?" I panicked and cried, "I can’t see you clearly. I can’t move. And my… my legs hurt…"
The wolf grunted. He stood up. Then, he curled up around me.
I knew he wanted to tell me everything was all right, but I just couldn’t stop crying.
He licked my eyes and whimpered.
I felt that he was more anxious than I was.
I turned my head and looked around.
My vision was still blurry, but I could tell that we were in a cave.
I started to recall what happened.
The wolf was about to be attacked by a cobra.
I blocked its bite for him.
I didn’t want him to get hurt.
And then…
During my half-consciousness, I heard a man’s voice.
He was arguing with somebody about something.
That voice sounded familiar… but…
My head was about to explode.
There was a slight tickling feeling coming from the tip of my fingers.
I tried to squeeze my hands.
Once. Failed.
Twice. Failed again.
I panted heavily.
A terrible thought struck me in my mind, "What if… I won’t be able to move for the rest of my life?"
I freaked out.
"Big paw…" I whispered, "I can’t feel my arms and legs…"
He stood up again and sat on his back feet, alternating his front legs on the ground.
Then, he poked his snout into my arms and legs, trying to push and lift them up.
Still, I couldn’t feel a thing. My limbs were like noddles.
The wolf started to walk around me back and forth. He looked frustrated.
The way he behaved made me even more nervous.
I told myself that I must calm down.
"Big paw… Hey, big guy. Come here." I said.
He quickly came forward and wrapped me up.
"I have a box. You’ve seen it. The wooden box with potion…" I gulped, "I need that box, big paw. Maybe there’s some antidote inside. Could you please get it for me? It’s in my tent… in the package."
He instantly stood up and was about to get out of the cave, but he stopped.
He curled up next to me again.
I knew he didn’t want to leave me alone in the cave.
"I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me." I said.
The wolf shook his head, stood up and curled down again.
He was wavering.
"Go ahead, big paw." I tried to sound as encouraging as I could, "Walk very quietly so nobody hears you. Take care and don’t let anyone hurt you. I’ll be waiting for you here. I’m not going anywhere."
He licked me again and eventually jumped out of the cave.
The moment he was gone, I started to feel regret.
What was on my mind? I was paralyzed and practically blinded, being left alone in a cave without anything to protect myself.
What if there were more bears or snakes coming?
What if there were some hungry coyotes?
What if…?
I really should have evaluated all the possibilities before I encouraged anyone to do anything.
And what was that just now? That kind of ruptured feeling between my legs?
That kind of pain felt so familiar…
Was Alpha Lucas here?
He was inside of me before, so I remembered it.
Maybe the wolf had driven him away just now.
So, he knew I was here.
He knew I was paralyzed.
Was he going to come back and assault me again?
This thought made me feel like throwing up.
It overcame all my other fears.
I had to move my arms and legs.
I had to stand up.
I had to go find somewhere to hide before he came and found me.
Lucian’s words appeared in my mind.
"You need to concentrate."
Yes, I need to concentrate.
If I was in fear, I wouldn’t be able to heal.
I focused all my efforts on moving my fingers.
The tickling sensation from my fingertips came back.
And my thumb started to move!
I felt overwhelmed with excitement.
If I could concentrate and be brave, I guess I could do anything in the world.
I tried it again.
All other four fingers started to move.
The magical tickling feeling was spreading from my fingers to my hand, my forearm, my upper arm, my shoulder, my neck and then…
My face.
Wait…
What?!
There was something on my face.
It was giant and with hairy legs.
Was that a…
…spider?!
It was its hairy legs that were tickling me.
I couldn’t see it clearly, but its size and hairy legs suggested that it might be highly poisonous.
I had a giant spider sitting on my face and the only thing I could move on my body was my fingers.
This wasn’t the only thing that I had to worry about.
The worst thing was that…
… I got more similar tickling sensations coming from my legs and belly.