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“Girl, where are you?!” I try again, and somewhere ahead of me, there’s a soft splashing sound. I run toward it, my hunter’s intuition guiding my movements as I rush toward the edge of the water on pure intuition.
I can smell her.
There’s a startled yelp, and then my eyes find her right as her body goes limp. She collapses against a large stone by the edge of the water, and I hurtle toward her.
“Flower.” The word leaves my lips without me even thinking it.
I reach her and crouch by her side, something tightening in my chest. She’s completely soaked and wearing nothing but an equally drenched pair of panties and bra.
But she’s breathing.
I scoop her into my arms with little effort, her slender form folding into my frantic embrace as I rise to my feet and hurry back towards the little path. She’s so small and cold, and she twitches slightly as I carry her toward the villa.
The slight movement is enough to make me gasp in relief, and I all but run back to the villa.
I take her back to my room instead of hers, my feet moving on autopilot. She moans softly as I lay her down on my bed, my fingers sliding away a slick strand of hair that clung to her face and tucking it behind her ear.
Her pulse is faint, but it’s steady, and she’s breathing evenly.
I’m about to turn and head out of the room to send for the healer when my eyes land on a scar, and I go rigid.
Now that we’re back in the light of the villa, I can see her clearly. Droplets of water trickle along her alabaster skin, and I realize I’ve never seen this much of her. There’s a large bruise on her abdomen below her ribs that’s fading. It looks about a month old, but if it’s still so violent and visible after healing, I can only imagine how bad it looked when she got it.
That’s not the worst of it.
There’s a patch of burned skin on her forearm where it looks like someone extinguished a cigar against her bare flesh. There are scars along her shoulders and claw marks on her legs, and I have to look away as I feel myself shatter at the sight of what she’s suffered.
I gathered that her uncle and the others in her old pack were unkind to her, but I never imagined... this.
My hands clench into fists, and I have to remind myself to breathe as the wolf within me howls, hungry for blood. I want to slice the Banes into pieces and burn the remains to the ground. One life for every cut on her skin would not be enough.
The marks were scattered all over her body in places that were easily concealed, as well as parts of her that she should never have to cover.
I take a long, slow breath and walk back to the bed, folding the covers across her to cover her as a single thought slips through among my thirst for revenge:
When my mate bares herself for me to see, it should be her choice.
She’s already been refused the dignity and mercy that she deserves by her own people.
As I drape the blanket up to her neck, she stirs with a little sigh. My heart quickens, and my hands go still as her lashes flutter and her eyes open to meet mine.
“Hi.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I blink a few times, trying to gather my bearings. I remember the lake and the strange whispers that chased me through the dark. I remember Tristan’s voice calling out to me from a distance. I remember falling...
“Hi,” he says, and it’s such a simple, familiar little word. My mind clings to it like a lifeline as I drag myself into consciousness, and my vision comes into focus.
I’m still in my wet underwear, but we’re no longer by the lake. My head is spinning as I take in my surroundings. We’re in Tristan’s room, and he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his amber eyes narrowed on me.
“I- I wasn’t trying to run away,” I mumble.
It wasn’t the first thing that came to my mind when I saw him, but for some reason, it’s the first thing that slips out of my mouth. I instantly regret it.
Hurt and anger flash across Tristan’s handsome features, and I’m not sure if it’s because I implied his home was a place to escape or if he’s upset that’s what I’d assumed he’d think of me.
“I don’t care,” he says simply, his tone strained. I try not to flinch at his words.
