Page 32 of Caging Fire
I put her into my bed.
Mine.
Chapter 18: Rowan
Horror washed over me as Killian pulled his shirt off to clothe me. His body was dangerous, all sharply cut bulky muscles, a few scattered tattoos, and a light dusting of black chest hair that worked its way down his stomach and under the band of his pants. But that’s not what sent a chill of fear and nausea through me. It was the wounds and scars, at various points of healing, which absolutely littered his body, that horrified me.
I had seen the fresh scar running through his brow and the older one along his jaw. While Cade had told me he was healing from his injuries, I couldn’t have pictured this level of destruction.
Something had mutilated one of his pectorals, gauging deep, angry claw marks into the muscle. Whatever tattoo had previously adorned it was no longer recognizable. The bandage that wrapped his shoulder made it look as though a creature had tried to rip his arm off, and blood was seeping through the crisp white gauze. He must have re-injured the wound during his scuffle with Cade.
More slashes and bite marks scattered across his torso and back. The doctor had stapled shut one particularly deep slash, which started at his waist, curved around his hip, and disappeared beneath his waistband. This hinted that whatever creature attacked him hadn’t spared his lower half.
I suddenly realized I was staring and tried to look away quickly. When I met Killian’s eyes, he was watching me with the same curious look he usually regarded me with.
Picking me up, he deposited me on his bed.
“You’re bleeding,” I said, motioning to the seeping bandage on his shoulder.
He glanced down and shrugged before exiting the room. I overhead muffled voices, and he soon returned with the medical kit he had used to bandage my neck. Sitting at the foot of the bed, he opened the kit and gathered the supplies needed.
There was a substantial amount of blood seeping through the gauze by the time he started removing the dressing. He was having an awkward time unwinding it from around his shoulder, and I decided helping him might be an excellent way to win some trust points.
“Um, you seem like you're struggling. Can I help you? After all, you bandaged me, so I guess I would be returning thefavor…” I wanted to add,even though you're the one who bit me,but held my tongue for once in my life.
He grunted and held out a fresh roll of gauze for me to take. I scooted down on the bed and finished unraveling the old bandages before cleaning out the horrifying sutured wound with antiseptic. He must have re-opened the stitches during his scuffle with Cade. It looked raw and bloody.
I was positive now that something had actually tried to rip his arm off. From the looks of the wound, it was possible that the creature had been successful, and doctors reattached it like Frankenstein’s monster.
“Does it hurt?” I asked him. I couldn't help the sympathy that bled into my voice.
“Yes” was the only response I got.
As painful and sore as the wound looked, Killian didn’t react or flinch when I changed the dressing, and he was completely stoic even when I applied the burning antiseptic. I knew how badly it had stung, but he barely blinked. He was clearly desensitised to pain.
When I finished changing the dressing, my curiosity got the better of me.
“What exactly did that to you?”
He turned to look at me, still sitting on the edge of the bed, and cocked his head to the side so his black shaggy hair fell away from his face. His usual curious expression, and icy blue eyes stared at me for a moment.
“Direworgs,” he finally said, then added, “Lots of them.”
I had no clue what a direworg was. Was it a creature of some type? Maybe a shifter, or even a race of humans, although I seriously doubted the last one based on the condition of his injuries. I wanted to ask more questions, but he turned away, clicked a button on his game system below the TV and slipped some headphones over his ears. I guess the conversation was over.
While he busied himself with whatever combat-style video game he was playing, I catalogued the items in his room to learn more about him and possibly find a weakness that might help me escape. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting in his room, considering Cade had said that most of their personal items were at another base.
His closet was ajar, and I could see that all of his clothes were camo or solid black. A few crumbled clothing items sat balled on his floor, and more hung from an overflowing hamper in the corner. I guess he wasn’t a complete neat-freak like I’m sure his brother was.
His unmade bed was large and soft, with a navy comforter, and white sheets. There were no pictures on the wall; in fact, the only things hanging were the slatted blinds on the window and a flatscreen TV. Next to his bed was a photo of who I assumed were Cade and him as children. Neither was smiling, which was very on-brand for them both.
I thought I would feel anxious, stuck in an enclosed space with Killian, but a calm settled over me. His oakmoss scent was everywhere, wrapping around me, and cocooning me with comfort. His scent made me sleepy and warm. I felt safe, which was strange considering he had contributed to kidnapping me and then bit me hard enough to break my skin.
I gave up pointing out the contradictions between my mind and body.
They each had different agendas.
Every few minutes, Killian would reach his arm behind himself, without even looking, and wrap his big hand around my ankle. He would squeeze softly before releasing me and focusing back on his controller. It was almost as if he was checking to make sure I was still there. I don’t know where exactly I thought I could go considering the one time I tried to leave his bed, using the excuse that I needed to pee, he growled and told me to sit back down.
