Page 62 of Kai's Hunger

Kai’s gaze widened. “Me? I think we should concentrate on you for now.”

The prison. Patterson and his guard torturing me. I closed my eyes tight to fend off the images slamming into my mind. It did no good. “Oh, God,” I groaned, covering my mouth with my palm.

“Easy,” Kai warned. “You are safe, I swear it.”

Safe. I let the word bounce around in my head, wondering if I’d ever feel that way again. That’s when I remembered the café, and Tessa. My eyes popped open and I turned a pleading gaze toward Kai. “Is Tessa ... is she—”

“She’s well,” he quickly reassured me. “She’s here, actually. In one of the bedrooms upstairs.”

Creeg cleared his throat. He stood directly behind Kai. I hadn’t noticed him there before. But I knew what his presence meant. “I need to examine you, Lily.”

He would attempt to mend the physical wounds that had been inflicted upon me, but as Creeg approached, my attention went back to Kai. “It’s not ... you might want to leave.”

He stiffened. “I will turn around, but I’m not leaving this room.”

“Brother,” Creeg warned, “she needs privacy.”

Kai wavered, as if unsure what to do. “Lily? Do you wish me to leave?”

Did I? He’d saved me. And for whatever reason, I felt connected to Kai. And having him close gave me comfort. “No, don’t go,” I answered. I reached for his hand, entwining our fingers. My panic subsided. “Please don’t look, though. I-I don’t want you to see ... my injuries.”

A muscle in his jaw flexed and he offered me a jerky nod. “You have my word.”

I took a deep breath. “Thank you,” I replied, turning my attention to Creeg. “I’ll need help. My arms ... I can’t lift them.”

Creeg’s eyes warmed and he stepped around Kai. “I’ll be as quick as possible,” he promised, his voice soft. After Kai closed his eyes, Creeg inched the sheet open. When cool air hit my belly and chest, humiliation suffused me. He cursed under his breath and I quickly looked away. I didn’t want to see the horror on his face. Didn’t want to see what Patterson had done.

A shuffling of feet tore my gaze back to Creeg and I watched him open a tube of cream or ointment. He held it in the air. “It’ll help with pain and stave off infection.”

I nodded, squeezing Kai’s hand tighter. “There are also cuts lower.”

A growl emanated from Kai’s chest, and a change came over him. I instinctively knew he was about to lose control. “I’m alive, Kai. And I’ll heal.”

Kai’s nostrils flared and he threw his neck back, face toward the ceiling. “I’ll tear him apart for what he’s done to you.”

“Talk to him, Lily,” Creeg urged, as he spread the ointment on my exposed wounds. “Keep him calm.”

I obeyed, offering Kai soothing words, even as Creeg slowly peeled away the sheet that clung to my battered body. The pain intensified with each movement. My fingers trembled, and my breath hitched as Creeg revealed the extent of the damage that had been inflicted upon me. Ribs were marred by deep, angry cuts that oozed blood even now, and my chest bore a tapestry of bruising that spoke of Patterson’s violence, the kind that defied comprehension. But it was the marks on my breasts that cut the deepest—the stark evidence of a violation that made my stomach churn with nausea and my heart ache with a wounded vulnerability.

Tears welled in my eyes as I looked down at my own body, a landscape of suffering that echoed my inner turmoil. I held back the sobs that threatened to escape my throat, fighting to be brave in the face of unimaginable horror. I had always prided myself on my resilience, and yet in this moment, I felt like a shattered mirror reflecting a distorted image of myself.

As my gaze shifted to Kai, and the helplessness etched across his features, a pang of guilt joined the storm of emotions within me. Rage radiated off him like heat waves, an almost tangible force that made my heart ache in sympathy. I couldn’t help but feel responsible.

Tears spilled down my cheeks. I wanted to reach out, to comfort him in the midst of my own suffering. A fierce determination surged within me—the need to ease his burden.

Summoning all the strength I could muster, my voice barely more than a whisper, I spoke. “I’m ... I’m going to be okay. I promise.”

He flinched as if I’d struck him. “You never should’ve suffered. Patterson will pay for touching you.”

I’d wanted to soothe the storm of emotions that were so clearly raging within Kai, but it’d had the opposite effect. “You saved me, Kai,” I explained, aching for him to understand that he’d torn me away from the darkness.

“Lily,” he groaned.

“Look at me,” I urged, no longer caring that I was nude. No longer worried about my appearance. All I wanted was to see Kai’s eyes. His beautiful golden gaze. That’s what I needed.

When his eyes met mine, a tempest of emotions swirled within their depths, and I saw his anger waver. My heart swelled. We had a connection that went beyond words. In that moment of shared vulnerability, we were united in a way that only true soulmates could understand.

With my body marked by pain and my heart aching, I realized that together we would face the monster. I would heal from my wounds and emerge stronger than ever before. And as I reached out my trembling hand to touch his cheek, something inexplicable passed between us. My gaze shifted from Kai to Creeg, my breath shaky as I tried to calm my racing heart.

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