Primordial

Chapter Twenty-One

"Tea would be lovely, Grayson," Mila answered, slowly scanning over every detail of the room as she lowered herself into a chair at the island. Asa's eyes were glued to me, like he was afraid to lose sight of me. I bent down to retrieve the tea from the bottom cupboard, and behind me, I heard a soft gasp. I turned, confused, but found three pairs of eyes on me. Two sets of blue eyes were staring at me in horror, and the green eyes of my mate held a knowing sadness. I stood slowly, setting the tea on the counter before examining myself for something wrong. My cheeks burned red as my heart sunk to the ground. My shirt had ridden up, revealing the ends of silver scars that marred my back. They had seen.

"Are those..." Asa began to ask, choking on his words. "How did you...how did this happen?" he murmured, and he stepped back as Mila stood, walking over to me.

"Can I see?" she asked, and my eyebrows furrowed together. "Kida, I need to see. Please, I have to... I need to see." Her eyes plead with a desperate need I didn't quite understand. However, I would do anything for this girl, despite having little clear memories of her. So I nodded, my fingers finding the hem of my shirt and pulling it up over my head. Tears immediately brimmed her eyes as she brought her hand up to her mouth. A grieving choke escaped Asa's lips as he gripped the edge of the island, eyes scanning my naked torso. I thought I had looked much worse than I did now, but then again they hadn't seen where I'd started from. Grayson still said I was too skinny, but my bones poked from my skin less, and a sinewy layer of muscle was present over the bones. However, no amount of food and exercise could erase the silver lines that were painted all over my body. Mila slowly brought a hand up to trace my zipper scar on my sternum, making me shiver. She walked as if in a trance around me, her fingers ghosting over my back.

"How did this happen?" Asa growled, turning with blazing blue eyes towards Grayson. Grayson calmly set some mugs on the counter top, pouring tea into each one. "Who did this to him?" my brother yelled, slamming his hands down on the counter. The bang made me nearly jump out of my skin, and Mila whipped around to shoot daggers at our brother. I quickly pulled my shirt back on again, my feet rooted to the ground as my heart raced in my chest. She turned back to me, her hand grasping my bicep.

"Was it them, the hunters? Did they do this when they took you that day?" she asked softly, and my eyes peeled themselves from the floor to her face.

"I don't actually remember much about the day they took me," I found myself saying as I nodded my head, the small of my back pressing into the cabinets behind me. "I don't remember much from before, just pieces. I remembered you guys, but that's about as far as it goes." My feet suddenly moved forward, and I slid myself into a chair next to Grayson. His hand immediately found mine under the table, and I squeezed it in silent thanks. Mila and Asa sat across from us, eyes begging for more a story I knew they didn't truly want to hear. "They were werewolf hunters. They studied me like an animal. I guess it was to get an advantage in their hunting practices, I'm not totally sure," I explained, swallowing as I tried to push down awful memories that were struggling to rear their heads. "I grew up in a dog crate and was used like a lab rat. They used me to test their weapons, their medicines, to train their youth, and sometimes just to take their anger out on. I thought I was going to die there, but one of the young hunters who rejected their practices set me free four months ago. I ran for my life, and I stumbled right into the pack to Grayson." I turned to him, taking a shaky breath as he leaned forward to continue for me.

"When he came to us, he was severely underweight, dehydrated, and bleeding out from bullet wounds," he said lowly, closing his eyes briefly as he recalled the day we met. "He wouldn't speak at first, because the trauma was too much for him. Our resident witch, Nehtiri, performed a memory sharing spell in order to show my father, who was then the Alpha, that he was no threat. It's not very pretty, I'll tell you that much. Our chief concerns rested in two areas: the serum and his accelerated healing abilities. They tested a healing accelerant designed for humans on him, and it has put his body on overdrive. He heals faster than anything I've ever seen, and he can sit there and eat all day long and still look like a twig by the end of the day," he explained with a chuckle. Mila smiled wistfully as she studied my face.