Page 12 of Tavarr's Mate
* * *
Shifting colors. Cold fear. Screams. Strange faces. Agony. Sorrowful cries. All blur together into an unintelligible torrent of images, sounds, and sensations.
The cries might be mine, but I’m not sure. I blink and everything’s hazy, and for some reason my eyes won’t open all the way, as if they are almost swollen shut. My head throbs and piercing pains stab at my ribs, like dozens of knives slicing into me all at once. Nausea rises in my throat.
A human woman is standing above me, and even a few Kleaxian males.
But not Vonn.
My mate isn’t here.
I don’t recognize these Kleaxians, especially the elderly one who is touching me and holding weird blinking devices over my body.
I hear a woman crying, but I can’t see her. Or is it me who’s sobbing? I don’t think it’s me. I don’t have the energy for tears.
An elderly human woman approaches and strokes my hand. She whispers in my ear, though I can’t discern her words. But I lean in her direction, because she smells like berries and flowers, and the pleasant scent is a brief distraction from my current torment.
Maybe I’m dying. Breathing hurts. Each moment is pure agony.
The elderly Kleaxian male presses something cold to my neck, and once again I tumble into darkness.
* * *
Sunlight.
It’s the first thing I see when I open my eyes.
Pretty white beams of light dancing upon a blanket that’s covering my body.
I’m in a bed, but that can’t be right. Vonn has never allowed me to sleep in a bed. Only the cage.
I stare at the light on the blue covers and wiggle my toes, luxuriating in the soft sheets and penetrating warmth of the sun. I suspect I’m sleeping, but I plan to enjoy every second of this blissful dream.
Usually, I only have nightmares, and I welcome this experience with an open but sad heart. Sad because I’m certain I will jolt awake at any instant, and Vonn will be looming over me, preparing to fuck me or punish me. Or make me lick watery breadcrumbs off the floor.
I think I dreamed of this room before, the room resting in my peripheral vision, though I’ve yet to actually tear my eyes from the sunlight on the covers to inspect it in further detail. I also dreamed of human women and male Kleaxians tending to me, which can’t be real either.
No one would take care of me. I belong to Vonn and he would never abide it. He hasn’t allowed me outside his house since taking me away from Capital Acres. He’s never even permitted me to peer out the windows.
I like dreaming.
When I’m asleep, I don’t hurt.
My head doesn’t ache, my ribs aren’t pierced with pain, and my pussy doesn’t throb from Vonn’s rough mating sessions. The back of my throat doesn’t burn from him fucking my face, either.
If only this dream would last forever.
I would give anything to remain here in this soft bed while the warmth of the sun spreads over the covers, warming my soul as much as my body. Then I catch the scent of berries and flowers, prompting confusing memories to stir in the recesses of my thoughts.
“Katrina, honey, you’re safe. Can you hear me? You’re safe and he’ll never hurt you again.”
The voice must be part of my dream. I’m certainly not safe. I’m far from it. Vonn won’t rest until he’s finally beaten me to death during one of his rages. And even if he never beats me to death, I’m still not safe, because he’s consumed by darkness and hatred, fueled by his grief over the loss of his mate at Harry’s hand.
Harry. He’s dead. How long since the attack and his death? My mind is fuzzy and I can’t remember. A month? Three months? A year?
“Katrina, honey. Everything is going to be all right. Please wake up.”
A warm hand closes on mine, and I finally peer to my right. The elderly woman from my last dream is sitting next to me, the lines on her face drawn with concern. She gives me a tentative smile, but she still looks anxious. Is she worried for me? What’s going on?
