Chapter Eleven
Kai was getting herbs when he heard someone scream but he decided to ignore it.
They were in the middle of the forest and anything was possible.
Using his enhanced sense of hearing and smell, Kai could hear the brawling of wolves and then the smell of one of the things he detested most…
Rogues…
His heart palpitated as he thought about the possibility of his mate in danger.
Kai growled and morphed into his wolf. He ran out and his eyes met his mate in the middle of a pack of rogues.
He charged toward them and launched on one of the wolves. The wolf fell with a loud thud.
The rest of them kept growling angrily but when they saw him, they took steps backwards and ran into the woods.
He morphed into his human form and ran to Cassy’s body on the ground.
He chuckled when he saw the twig on the ground close to her but then he became angry.
Why did she not try to scream for his help? Why did she act like she could take them down?
He shook his head and lifted her up in his arms.
Putting her into the carriage, he realised that the footman was no longer there.
“Fucking traitors,” he grunted under his breath.
He got dressed and took the driver’s seat. He needed to find an inn and a theta to take care of Cassy.
••
Her body felt heavy. She felt like she could not lift a finger.
She wanted to continue in the slumber she was in but she felt someone touch her rib, just below her breast.
Cassy pried her eyes open weakly.
She found him with a piece of cloth, staring at something. She traced his gaze and found him staring at her chest.
Her cheeks and neck turned red. She used the last strength she had left in her to sit up quickly.
Kai stared at her in surprise. He had not realised when she woke up. He was so focused on taking care of her injury since he could not find a theta.
“Wha–what are you d–doing?” she stuttered.
Kai sighed and looked away. “What do you mean?”
She opened her mouth to speak but she felt a sharp pain in her ribs and arms. Why did she not feel this before?
“Perhaps the pain relief is wearing off,” Kai spoke like he could read her thoughts.
“I asked a question,” she said after some minutes of silence.
Kai let out a breath through his mouth. “What do you want as an answer? Or do you think I would take advantage of you in such a state?” His eyes trailed to the torn part of her kirtle which exposed a part of her breast and she quickly used the quilt to cover up.
“You should know that I do not want to have anything to do with weaklings,”
Cassy’s eyes widened. He was calling her that again.
She wanted to yell at him and warn him to stop calling her that but her body was becoming weaker.
Kai stood up and ran his hands through his hair.
“What were you thinking? That you could fight off a pack of rogues!?” his voice was raising a pitch higher as he spoke, making her flinch.
Cassy lowered her head, picking on her fingers. Why was he so angry?
“Why did you not call for me?” he asked when she did not respond. “What do you think you are? Do you feel you are strong? Do I always have to constantly remind you how weak –”
“Stop there! Just stop it Kai!” she yelled, cutting him off. She was tired of holding back and giving him the chance to say whatever he wanted when she could not.
Kai’s movement stilled and his eyes went wide. He had not expected her to retaliate.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
“You are telling me to ask you for help now?” Cassy scoffed. “You have always humiliated me when I needed your help. Who knows? Perhaps if I had asked for your help you could have–”
“I do not want to hear it!” he interjected and exhaled. The thought of allowing those rogues to kill her angered his wolf. And maybe him too?
“Henceforth, I am going to stay clear from anything that has to do with you. I would make sure I keep my distance,” he declared.
Without waiting for a reply, he swivelled around and took long strides out of the room.
“Damn it!” he yelled, kicking the doorpost.
Cassy exhaled as soon as he left and rubbed her forehead with her fingers to soothe the ache she felt there.
Having that conversation with him expended most of her energy and she felt weak.
She tried to get down from the bed but the burning pain she was feeling in her arm, ribs and shoulders plus a weak body would not let her.
She exhaled and used the last strength left in her to lay properly on the bed.
Cassy noted that she was in a large room decorated similarly to the one they were in before they encountered rogues but this one looked older. It had a gold coloured theme and a fire place across the bed.
She sighed and closed her eyes trying to relax but her head was racing with thoughts of the conversation she just had with her mate.
She opened her eyes and glared at the ceiling, recalling his words. Did he ever genuinely worry about her until yesterday…
Wait. How long has she been out?
She was not even able to ask him.
She sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to force herself to sleep.
Eventually, sleep came and she succumbed to it.
Cassy woke up when it was dark.
Despite the pain, she was feeling all over. She felt rejuvenated and even better as she stood up without wincing in pain this time though the pain was still there.
She looked around and found her trunk. She took out a chemise and moved to the bathroom.
After taking a warm bath filled with herbs she had found in the bathroom she walked out clad in her chemise.
She did not want the incident of the other day to occur again, especially now that he had made it clear to her that they should stay away from each other.
Cassy found ointment on the vanity and applied it to her wounds.
That night, she stayed up waiting for him to return but she could not even catch a glimpse of his shadow.
Again, she was foolish. What was she expecting?
Cassy woke up the following morning feeling better than she was the previous day.
She took her bath and got dressed after applying medicine to her wounds.
Not wanting to leave the room and encounter Kai, she decided to eat the fruits and snacks she had kept in her trunk.
She found books on a shelf in the room and busied herself with reading them all through the day. She had also tried to write.
Thankfully, doing these made her not to think of her mate. She had been so busy that she had not realised that it was evening and she had not eaten.
Cassy kept back the books and moved out of the room. Just like the other inn, she found a place to eat.
Luckily for her, she did not bump into him before she returned to the suite.
She was in the suite writing when he came in. Cassy wanted to yell at him but she recalled that they had nothing to do with each other anymore and she was going to stick with that.
Cassy kept writing, ignoring his presence as he moved in the room.
Kai went into the bathroom and came out dressed. He expected her to ask him questions or even speak with him but to his dismay and surprise, she did not utter a word.
“Perhaps… Have you had a meal?” he asked, touching the towel in his hand. Why was he nervous?
“Mm,” came her reply, her hand moving swiftly on the paper.
Kai could not understand what was going on with her. At the same time, he wondered why he was worried about her.
He had only one person he cared about and he had plans for her.
“We only have a few miles away. We would set out at dawn tomorrow, we are not stopping until we reach the Blessed moon pack,” he picked up his cravat and waltzed out of the room.
Cassy released the breath she did not know she had been holding since. It took everything in her not to let out her emotions and curse and hit him for always treating her cruelly
Growing up, she was open with her mother. They literally discussed everything together and she never held anything back.
This made her used to letting out her thoughts and feelings whenever she wanted. She just could not hide her feelings.
But now, she was going to learn how to.
Cassy stood up and went to the bed. Covering herself with a quilt and shutting out the thoughts in her head, she allowed sleep to take over.
Cassy woke up the following morning to the sound of movements in the room.
She pried her eyes open and found him in his breeches standing in front of his trunk with a paper in his hand.
Again, she wanted to ask him what he was reading as she stood up but she kicked against it.
Cassy could feel his eyes on her as she padded to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later and headed to her trunk.
She was pulling out a dress to put on when he spoke.
“So, you have a step mother?”
Cassy stilled and tightened her small palm around the dress, squeezing it. She took in a deep breath before turning to his frame which sat on a wooden chair which seemed too small for his gigantic structure.
“H-how did you find out?” she asked. She did not want to remember Tabitha nor did she want to tell him about her family.
Kai smirked and raised the paper in his hand.
Damn! He was reading the letter she had written!
Cassy glared at him and rushed to snatch it from him but he raised his hand taking it away from her reach.
“Arghhhhh,” she groaned loudly and leaned forward, stretching.
Kai raised his hand farther away, making her lean more into his body, stretching.
While she was trying to get the letter, she had not realised that she was now in between his legs leaning close to him. She was almost putting his breast in his face.
Kai was lost staring at her while she struggled. Why was he suddenly finding her cute?
He was so lost in his daze that he hadn’t realised that she had snatched the paper from him until he heard her squealing.
“Yasss! I won!” she squealed, twirling around.
He did not know when a smile formed on his lips. He was finding her more adorable now.
“Kai?” her soft voice dragged him out of his thoughts and the smile disappeared immediately.
He cleared his throat. “We should leave now,” he told her and walked out of the room leaving Cassy to her thoughts.
Cassy could not help but wonder what went wrong.
They were playing just a minute ago and he was smiling and then in a twinkle of an eye, everything stirred?
What was really wrong with him?
Cassy sighed and returned the paper to her trunk, the zing of happiness she had felt dissipating.
Again, she was foolish to read too much meaning to his actions.
She needed to change…
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