Beyond the Border | ✔

21 | rule 18

RULE 18: YOU MUST FORGET THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT THE BORDERLANDS.

✷ C H A P T E R      T W E N T Y - O N E ✷

"Do you want me to rewind — don't blink you'll miss it otherwise. Sage, I said don't blink!" Heath exclaimed, pausing the video that was displayed on his laptop.

"I can't help it," I countered, my eyes drooping. "I'm sick."

"No excuses," Heath scolded me, his thumb hovering over a button on his laptop before turning to face me. "Don't blink this time."

Heath unpaused the video that was of the Final Fight that occurred a couple days ago. Since Theo, Mina, and I were unable to watch the Final Fight, Heath took it upon himself to film the fight on his phone. The footage was shaky — so much so I could not bear to watch it a couple days ago as my nausea was too unrelenting. I had to squint my eyes to try and see what was going on in the grainy video. I wouldn't have been able to decipher anything if Heath was not beside me explaining it all.

"I said don't blink."

"I'm sorry!" I coughed out, covering my mouth with my hand.

Heath sighed, his fists clenching before focusing his attention back on the fight. He explained Kai was up against Alpha Manny. Alpha Manny was the one, going into the fight, everyone thought would win. Heath proudly proclaimed he placed half his life savings on the fight. Luckily for him, Alpha Manny came out the victor, just barely, though. Several of Alpha Manny's teeth got lodged in Kai's skin, and he later laced them through a necklace to display as a consolation price, Heath eagerly explained to me in a much too chipper tone.

Heath continued to talk on and on as he rewound the video to give me a play-by-play of the fight over and over again until his eyes went glossy. Theo had summoned him — pack business, Heath had muttered to me.

For the first time in a couple days, I was finally in a more stable headspace, the fever dissipated, my mind less foggy. In clearing my mind, I was surprised to find I was not too unsatisfied with the deal struck between Theo and me. While he was a beast and sympathizing with someone like him made my skin crawl out of instinct, I could not deny it was a good way to get closer to my real goal here: a witch.

Admittedly, I knew I would have to actually put my guard down for me to make any headway in the witch department. I was proven to not be a good liar, and I did not want to risk Theo finding out what I was actually after. A potential side effect could be that I might actually find myself truly sympathizing with the beasts that now lived among me, but it would be a small price to pay for the continuation of the Borderlands — even if it sealed my fate as good as dead.

However, I knew all of this was easier said than done. While Theo was not making it hard to at least be somewhat friendly with him, he was still a beast. As I had said before, I had been taught these beasts put up a front to their mates in order to reap the benefits of such a bond. I could not be certain Theo was not taking this very angle and lying about it.

It had been a couple days since Theo and I struck our deal. No progress had been made on either front, though. Theo had made a couple visits to me in my weary, sick state. Slowly, over the course of these past days, my body was recovering from the illness that plagued it. I was subsequently started on a vaccination plan, so my body would be able to properly fight off all the potential foreign illnesses awaiting me.