Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
LAITHOG
I slowly stretch, enjoying the pull of muscle as I inhale, processing the scents of everything around me. The external stimuli assaulting my fleshly body is almost overwhelming after being deprived of it for so long.
Wetness on my face catches my attention.
My hands reach up and wipe the tears from my face, almost without conscious thought, but it is the last step in embracing the second chance I have been given. Ilayahan will always be my mate, but that does not mean that my life ended when hers did, no matter how I have wished it so many times over the years.
She would also have beaten me within an inch of my life if she knew I had shut myself off from the world in my grief. My mate embraced life to its fullest and would be very unhappy with me that I have, essentially, squandered centuries. My chest expands in another deep breath as I allow myself to enjoy the simple act.
I am going to have to work on my female’s situational awareness. She does not seem to notice that the stone statue in her peripheral is no longer stationary but is slowly climbing down from the pedestal and walking towards her.
I pause for a brief moment.
My female?
I am not entirely sure when I decided that this delicate human is now mine, but it feels right. It is of no matter. I have decided she is mine, and mine she will be. I … will just have to woo her into it… and pray she doesn’t scream or faint at the sight of me.
That would be rather counterproductive.
Slowly , ever so slowly, I step in front of her and extend a clawed hand, gently grasping her chin to lift her head. I ignore the look of shock on her face, my thumb softly feathering along her contused jaw, as I kneel in front of her. “ Who did this to you?”
I watch as her eyes widen in shock, and her body braces as her flight or fight reflex takes over. A slight wince is the only outward indication that the sudden tightness in her body causes her any pain.
My eyes drift over her small form, assessing the damage as they trail across her body while I wait for her to overcome her initial shock, absently noting the pieces of blue-green stone jewelry in her ears and around her neck.
I wonder if she knows that’s a protection stone.
Her lips are split where they impacted with her blunt, white teeth. In fact, the split is significant enough that it should have been seen by a healer. I could tell from the semi-healed edges that it is too late to have the wounds sutured.
Her lush lips will surely scar and provide a visual reminder of her experience. I wonder if humans still consider scars to be things of scorn, instead of trophies of survival like my people did. Truth be told, the damage would have been much worse if she had sharp teeth like mine.
One eye, a luminescent golden-brown color, is wide open and staring at me in astonishment, while the other is purple, so dark it matches my hide with only a sliver of color to be seen. It is not completely closed, but it is a near thing. It pains me to see the bruising extend down her nose and across her jaw as well.
Her delicate neck sports bruises in the shape of a hand, the delineation of fingers and thumb clear. What little skin she has exposed beneath her pliable garments shows more bruises hiding the delicious sprinkling of freckles that should be the only thing adorning her body.
Wee hands, tightly clasped in her lap, show fingernails broken off to the quick. A sign that she tried to fight back. Unexpected pride flares up. My female tried. She didn’t just admit defeat when her opponents obviously far outclassed her soft frame.
Making sure my movements are measured, so as not to spook her further, I reach out and grasp her tiny hands in one of mine, massaging the rigid digits and easing the tension from her abused fingers, absently noting the varied collection of stone and silver jewelry littering her person.
Whoever did this…
I am going to make them bleed.