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Chapter 23 – Yelena
A man dressed in black ran across the snow, terrified, as if he had seen a ghost. A few steps later, he fell to the ground, a hole in his forehead.
A few minutes later, a man in white, carrying a sniper rifle, approached the body. He pulled out a piece of paper and marked an X on a map.
"This is the last one."
It was William, who had been hunting the pursuers one by one over the past half-day. Because of his eyes, he had lost a lot of time. He took a vial from his bag, poured its contents onto the body, and left. Moments later, only a dark, slimy substance remained.
After a long walk and erasing the tracks of the dead men, William returned to the cabin. Beta lay by the door, showing that the girl was still unconscious. William patted the wolf's head and entered the cabin.
He looked at the pale-skinned girl beside the bed and thought to himself:
"I forgot one step of saving her. If Merlin and Mary were here, they'd scold me… the blood transfusion step."
Quickly, he took a syringe from his first aid kit, drew some blood from the girl, and placed it into a special glass container. He mixed it with a little of his own blood. It depended on luck; William's O- blood could be given to her, but testing was still necessary.
A few minutes later, seeing the blood in the vial pure and free of clots, he nodded. He took a narrow tube with needles at both ends. First, he pricked his own arm, then inserted the other end into the girl's vein once blood entered the tube.
About ten minutes later, after sufficient blood had entered her body, her skin color changed from pure white to white with red patches—a clear sign that the rescue was successful.
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Suddenly, the girl awoke, tears in her eyes:
"Where am I? I died… I can't accept it… I haven't seen my sister yet!"
She opened her eyes and looked around:
"Is this heaven? No… just a strange room. Where am I?"
Yelena pushed the blanket aside. The stitched wound on her side was poorly done. She slowly got out of bed and went to the window.
From outside, the rhythmic sound of an axe hitting wood reached her ears. She drew the curtain and saw a tall, muscular man—bare-chested, with long white hair—chopping a thick tree in the freezing cold. His blindfold made him look even stranger.
Yelena stepped back cautiously. She searched for her belongings but found nothing. She gritted her teeth and grabbed one of the swords hanging above the bed.
"Where am I? Who is that man?"
She hastily put on the men's clothes from the wardrobe and quietly moved toward the door. But just as she was about to leave, she saw a huge wolf lying outside, staring at her with piercing eyes. Yelena held her breath, closed the door slowly, and backed up.
A few moments later, a loud noise from outside startled her. In fear, she dropped her clothes and sword and hid under the blanket again. After a few minutes, she cautiously lifted the blanket and muttered to herself:
"Why didn't I run? Why did I throw the sword? What was I thinking?"
At that moment, the door opened. Yelena, terrified, hid under the blanket once more.
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William had heard Beta growling. He plunged the axe into a log, wiped sweat from his body, tied up his long hair, removed his blindfold, and put on his glasses. Then he headed to the cabin.
Opening the door, he saw his clothes on the floor and the Spartan sword stuck in the wooden ground. He smiled and entered the room.
Yelena was there—a beautiful girl in only her underwear, reaching for the other sword. The moment she saw William, she quickly hid under the blanket.
William picked up the fallen sword and returned it to its place. He threw the clothes on the bed and pulled the blanket off her. The girl grabbed it again and covered herself.
William chuckled:
"Are you pretending to be asleep? Or do you think I'm blind? Or maybe you think you're ugly and don't want to show your face?"
Yelena snapped back:
"Who said I'm ugly? You're the ugly one!"
William smiled:
"Ah, okay…"
Yelena asked seriously:
"Who are you?"
William immediately replied:
"And who are you?"
Yelena protested:
"I asked first!"
William repeated:
"I asked first!"
This childish exchange continued until William finally said:
"Enough! This is my house, so I ask the questions."
Yelena crossed her arms and said:
"It doesn't matter! I'm more curious!"
They agreed to take turns asking questions.
Yelena took a deep breath:
"You're in danger. We're both in danger. They're after me. If you stay here, you'll die."
William calmly replied:
"They're dead… Beta ate them."
Yelena was shocked:
"The wolves?! You saved me from wolves?"
William shrugged:
"Kind of…"
Yelena continued:
"But there were more than three of them!"
William said:
"Yes… all of them are dead."
Yelena sat on the couch, lowered her head, and quietly said:
"I'm Yelena… a temporary resident of your cabin."
William smiled; he liked the girl's childlike innocence.
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Yelena exhaled and relaxed on the couch:
"I've been running for a long time… since my mother was killed in front of me. I was only four. Since that day, I've always been running. That night, my mother told me she loved me, and then… I never saw her again."
Tears filled her eyes. She placed her hand on her wounded side:
"They told me: join us or die. I chose to run. But every time I thought I escaped, they found me… until I reached this cabin."
William, listening quietly, said:
"You're safe here. As long as you're with me, no one dares touch you."
Yelena lifted her head:
"Who are you to speak so confidently?"
William just smiled and didn't answer.
Beta growled beside them, stretched, and lay down in the corner of the cabin.
Yelena looked at her wounded side:
"Is there a place to wash up? I hate the smell of blood and smoke."
William calmly said:
"You want a hot bath? I'll make it for you."
Yelena, surprised, asked:
"Here? In this freezing cold?"
William went to the storage, brought some planks, dug a hole next to the snow outside the cabin, reinforced the walls with mud and stones, and placed a large metal container on top. He lit a fire with wood and poured snow into the container.
Yelena watched from the window in amazement. The man, blindfolded, worked with precision, as if he had done this many times. Steam rose from the container, and soon it was filled with hot water.
William smiled:
"Here… the bath is ready."
Yelena gasped. For the first time in years, she felt she could finally breathe freely.
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