Mated to the Vermore Brothers

Chapter 5

Bailey

I watched them walk out of the room, my hazy gaze fixed on the intruder whose sudden presence had caused a drastic shift in the atmosphere. I hated the pungent smell of antiseptics and disinfectants around me, but there was something dark about the older man that had come in and even in his absence, it lingered on like a shadow. My skin crawled when I thought about the nasty scar on the old man’s face, what a devastating sight.

At first, I hadn’t recognized Hallowell when I saw his handsome face hovering over me. But the moment the nickel dropped, I felt my heart clench and my skin was probably too cold to show any emotions on my face.

I shut my heavy eyelids again, feeling the sharp, biting pain as a result of the injuries all over my body. I took a deep, shaky breath and it was after only a moment of tranquility that my thoughts poured into my mind like a stampede.

What were the chances of me falling into the hands of one of the brothers from that night? What was this? Fate? It didn’t make sense. No matter how much excitement bubbled within me from the reminiscence of that extraordinary night, it made no sense to me. In the midst of my confused thoughts, a smile slowly trickled on my lips, hurting my cheek bones in the process.

I heard a light chuckle that made the thin hairs on the back of my neck hackle and my eyes tore open immediately. He stood beside the small bed, his hands thrust into the pockets of the black loose-fit trousers he wore. He had an innocent smile on his face, his face and gorgeous warm, blue eyes totally void of the ravenous hunger that had blazed in them that night. It was crazy how I remembered them so quickly, but how could I forget? When they were the only ones that had sparked up a part of me I had no idea I possessed.

“Y-You…”

“Shh.”

His brother, the more muscular one, had done exactly the same thing he was doing and the scene flashed through my mind like déjà vu.

His palm caressed my right cheek lightly and his thumb stroked my temple. My body slackened, the doubts I had in my mind floating to the back of my head momentarily. The white look of shock on Ethan’s face when I felt my self falling from his push flashed in my mind and I gasped.

“How did…you find me?”

“I didn’t,” he replied, “some guards did and brought you here..”

His smile dropped as he examined my wounds more closely. Every part of my body his eyes glazed over felt a cold chill until he finally looked at me again, his eyes soft, his face compassionate and pitiful, but his fists were clenched so tightly that veins bulged out from the back of his palms.

“Your injuries are terrible,” he said softly, “even after they have been cleaned and treated by the doctors. What happened to you?”

I remained silent and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as it actually dawned on me now that Ethan had tried to murder me without thinking twice about it. I didn’t love him, I couldn’t love him, not after being deprived of every emotion a husband owed a wife…but for some reason, it hurt…like a harpoon sunk into my heart. I sniffled and looked away, unable to blurt out the words of accusation that gathered in my throat.

I felt his soft palm on my hand, caressing and gentle. I didn’t want him to see me cry, not after he had watched me moan. A comical situation really, but he already had access to my body, I didn’t want the same access to my emotions.

“This is very awkward,” he said and through the corner of my eyes, I saw a smile on his face again, “I know I should have asked this earlier, but I won’t ignore the fact that I do recognize you from that night and I am very curious to know.”

For some reason, I didn’t want him to forget that night, no matter how awkward it might seem. It made me feel whole, knowing the memories were etched in his mind as much as they lingered in mine. “Know what?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“What is your name?”

I scoffed and he laughed softly. My emotions perplexed me at that moment, or it was probably the way I was wired. But when I was with the other brother, I felt safe, like no harm could ever come to me unless he willed it, my mind was at rest but with his brother now, I felt…comfortable. A tranquil state of mind that I hadn’t experienced in a while. Either way, my body warmed up to both brothers in a different way and I couldn’t wait to be with the both of them at the same time.

“I’m B-Bailey,” I replied, moisturizing my chaff lips with my tongue. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and tried to adjust my body so I could rest my back on the wooden bedhead, but I felt an excruciating pain in my spine that made me cry out. His arm was wrapped around me almost immediately and as tenderly as one would cradle a baby, he helped me back into position until the pain was bearable.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he said, gently brushing aside the strands of hair that dropped on my face and tugging them behind my ears. “You will be well taken care of until you can walk again and all your wounds are completely healed. That shouldn’t take long, you won’t feel a thing soon.”

I nodded and muttered a thank you to him and then it suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t know his name either. For some reason I was thankful that I didn’t know their names that night, it would have been awkward to moan both their names at the same time.

“What is your name?”

He smirked, “Hart Vermore,” he replied, “Welwyn Hart Vermore.”

The name didn’t ring a bell just yet.

“Judging from where you were found, you dropped down from a cliff,” he said, his hands in his pocket now and his docile look thoughtful, “you were petty sane that night, no hint of being suicidal, so I scraped out the possibility of you jumping off that cliff in the hopes of dying. So, the other conjecture I was left with is that you were pushed by someone.”

My eyes widened, “I wasn’t!” I blurted out.

He nodded, but his eyes didn’t believe me, “Of course, you weren’t,” he agreed and walked to the door, “The nurses will come in soon.”

I swallowed when he halted as he was about to leave.

“Do you know why I know you were almost murdered?” he asked, “because no outsider will purposely end up in the Lycan Kingdom.”

My heart froze instantly.