Page 66 of Kai's Hunger

Kai’s gaze dropped, his voice thick with the weight of long-held secrets. “Yucilon.”

The term sent me back to that moment in the woods when the wolf-like animal had leaped into the clearing, baring its teeth at me. “You said...” It all made so much more sense. “Fostine. Your sister and that creature are one and the same,” I surmised. “Oh, God.”

He hesitated, as if grappling with the truth. “Yes. You would call us shapeshifters. Our family has been around for a very long time.”

Time. Suddenly the word held so much more meaning. I struggled to contain the fear riding my spine. “Just how long is a long time?”

“My father is over three hundred years old.”

I pressed a hand to my mouth, then instantly regretted the action as pain sliced a path from my forehead to my lip. “This can’t be happening.”

“I know this is overwhelming, but you need to understand that we aren’t savage beasts, Lily. I won’t hurt you. My family would die to protect you.”

“Why? Why me?”

“Because you and I have a bond.”

The memory of being able to communicate with Kai with only my mind slammed into me. “That’s how you did it. That’s how I was able to speak to you telepathically.”

His eyes darkened. “Yes. Normally that isn’t possible until after the mating is complete. Somehow you managed it, though.”

The note of pride in his voice was woefully inappropriate considering the out-of-control rollercoaster barreling through my head. “You might look a little less excited right now.”

“What you were able to do has never happened before. Linking your mind to mine before the mating is complete shows how strong our bond is already.”

“Bond. Mating,” I groused. “I’m still trying to figure out what you are, Kai.”

“I’m the same man who tasted your lips last night. The same man who made your heart race.” He leaned closer, his finger touching my chin, distracting me beyond reason. “Admit it, Lily. You feel something for me.”

“I do, but...”

“I’m throwing too much at you. You need rest more than explanations.”

I shook my head. “No. I need to know why Patterson tortured me. I deserve that much.”

“You do, but you’re exhausted. And I’m not going anywhere. You will get the truth. All of it. I swear it.”

All the fight in me disappeared. I shut my eyes and attempted to block out the last twenty-four hours, but it was no use. Patterson’s twisted smile stayed at the forefront, taunting me. “He took my blood,” I whispered, my lower lip trembling. “He took so many things. And I’ll never be the same again.”

“Because he knows about us, about our relationship,” Kai explained. When I opened my eyes again, our gazes met. His jaw clenched in fury. “He believed that by hurting you, he could control me. He wanted to use you as leverage.”

My heart raced, a rush of fear mingling with the determination that burned within me. “So, all of this ... everything that’s happened ... it’s not over, is it?”

Kai shook his head, his grip on my hand reassuring. “No, but I won’t let him near you. Ever again. Patterson’s a dead man walking. He’s driven by his twisted fantasies. But you’re safe, Lily.”

Tears welled in my eyes as emotions swirled within my chest. I was glad for his honesty, for his willingness to share the truth. The weight of it threatened to drag me under, though. Kai had a mad scientist gunning for his family. And I had just been thrust into the middle of it all.

The air was thick with the weight of the conversation that had just unfolded. My eyes fixed on the ceiling, our words hanging in the air like the remnants of a storm just passed. The pain medication that Creeg had given me, offering a respite, was starting to wane, allowing the persistent ache of my injuries to creep back into my awareness.

“I do think I need time to figure this all out,” I admitted grudgingly. “After all, it’s not every day you meet an immortal shapeshifter.”

“I’m sorry,” Kai murmured. “I wanted to ease you into my world. It wasn’t my intention to have you dragged into it this way.”

“I know. It’s not your fault that Patterson kidnapped me, Kai. I know you think it is, but it isn’t.”

“It never would’ve happened had you not met me,” he grumbled. “There is no one else to blame here.”

I smiled over at him. “I don’t regret meeting you.”

---