My Mate Watched Me Bleed to Death

Chapter 2

I set the comm down and walked to the rest chamber door. Through the wood came the dull thud of something heavy slamming against the leather sofa. His breathing was so fractured it sounded like he was trying to expel his lungs. The rasp of fabric ripped aside followed. A low, strangled groan followed, forced up from deep in his throat and barely held in check.

I did not push the door open. I spoke through it.

"She'll be here in ten minutes."

Dead silence fell inside the room.

Then another breath, low and trembling, as though he was forcing something surging back down.

I did not wait for his reply. I turned and retreated into the shadows at the far end of the corridor.

Minutes later, the crisp click of Sophia's heels on the marble floor drew closer.

She stopped before me. Her sharp eyes swept over me from head to toe, taking in the loose collar of my thin silk nightgown, the small glimpse of pale skin it revealed. But my clothes were intact. There was no damning trace of a mark or a bite on my neck. Her tight shoulders eased slightly.

Before pushing the door open, she shot me a glance, the triumph in her voice spilling over.

"Get some rest, Elara. I'll handle things from here."

I said nothing. I turned and walked away, back to the Healer's Lodge at the southwest corner.

Soon, sounds of frantic urgency spilled from Kael's room. His low growls and Sophia's moans drifted through the corridor. Even after I slammed the cabin window shut, the relentless rhythm of their cries still reached my ears.

"Sophia, you can't leave me..." Kael's ragged breathing was thick with raw hunger. Before Sophia could answer, a sharp tearing sound cut through. Kael had already shredded her clothes.

A violent shudder went through me. It felt as if a thousand knives were sinking into my chest. My fists clenched at the hem of my nightgown. My teeth bit into my lip hard enough to draw blood before I even noticed.

"Kael, you... you can't do this..."

Sophia's voice came, half refusal, half invitation. Then came Kael's overwhelming breathing and Sophia's shrill cries of excitement. I buried my head under the blankets, but the sounds would not stop. The pounding against the faraway walls, the sickly sweet noises the two of them made, all of it clung to the air and refused to fade.

It was deep into the night before the commotion in the east wing finally died down.

I sat by the window, eyes blurred with tears, staring out at the pine forest under the moonlight. My fingers traced the edge of the migration writ I had hidden beneath my pillow. I knew then that my heart had truly died.