The ride in the back of the semi was rough and dark, but at least, for the time being, Kayla and Damian felt safe. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness after a few minutes, soon it was like they wore night vision goggles.
"You're bleeding!" Kayla gasped when she looked at Damian's arm. He glanced at it, suddenly becoming aware of the spiking pain he felt on his shoulder, where a silver bullet had grazed him, ripping and burning flesh as it had torn by.
He shuddered and his eyes watered slightly with the pain. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, he was starting to feel everything like a punch. He knew he should lick the wound, so his saliva could begin to combat the poisonous silver particles boiling his blood, but it was in an awkward spot that he couldn't reach very well.
"Don't move." Said Kayla as she took off the cardigan she wore and shredded it with her claws. She gently grabbed his arm and brought it closer to her, two strips of the cardigan tight in her hands. However, she knew that she couldn't bandage him up, not yet.
She paused, suddenly feeling her heart throb in her ears. She couldn't tell if it was a headache from when Kevin had handled her, or if it was from something else. She licked her lips.
Damian fidgeted. "You don't have to." He tried to pull away.
She didn't let him. "You and I both know that I do."
He sighed, and without another moment wasted she leaned in on his arm, running a soft tongue across the deep wound. His blood was thick and metallic, the silver particles poisoning him were sour and bitter. A Pelisian cleaning the wound of a Serian was unheard of, and the first of it's kind. Normally wounds were licked by family or close friends, mates for those who had them, never by rivals. It was a highly intimate act that made Damian's heart race, and his cheeks heat up.
Kayla knew the silver was all cleaned out when his blood no longer tasted acidic, but rather, somewhat sweet. She backed away, tying the bandages tightly so it would begin to clot. Her own chest felt strangely fluttery. She took a deep breath and nodded, satisfied that the silver would not stay in his system and poison him. It's a deadly mineral to her kind. It burned their skin to the touch, and if left long enough it would eventually burn all the way through to the bone in an agonizingly slow way. But that wasn't the main worry, the biggest worry was if a silver knife, bullet, or any other sort of weapon actually broke through the skin, drawing blood. Because once skin was broken and blood was drawn, then poison was in, and would move through the bloodstream, poisoning the organs and sickening it's host over just two nights. After a week, if left untreated, the Lobain would die of silver poisoning. It only took a few particles from one silver slice to do the trick. He would be okay now that she'd rid him of the toxin.
"Thank you." Damian said rolling his shoulder out. It was beginning to feel better already.
"I guess I kind of owed you, after all the ways you've helped me." She gave him a small smile.
They gazed at each other, glowing green eyes and sparkling amber seeming to float like ghostly orbs in the darkness. Damian searched the rest of her face, he smirked when his eyes landed on her lips. They were stained with his blood. Without thinking, he reached forward and wiped it away with a gentle thumb. She didn't move, but her heart seemed to jump and kick violently.
The softness of her lips made the tip of his thumb warm and numb. His action didn't even register to him. He felt as if he was looking in on himself. When it finally did hit him, the tenderness at which he had touched her, the way he hadn't wanted to stop, he couldn't justify it in any way, and he didn't care. He didn't want to ruin the warmth he felt for her at that moment. She was magnetic, and he didn't want to fight the way she pulled him in.
She looked down, cheeks heating up, stomach flip flopping with a storm of butterflies. They sat close. Very close. In silence, they listened to the rumbling of the truck as it traveled down the interstate. He rested his hand on her knee, it created a concentrated warm spot on her leg, she didn't mind it.
Hours floated by when they fell asleep, waking up every now and then to shift in someway, but never fully coming to their senses. Kayla had leaned and began to slide off of Damian's shoulder. In order to keep her from falling, he brought his arms around her, cradling her in them and allowing his chest to be a pillow. He leaned his head against hers, burying his nose into her hair, and in his dreams he smelled something deliciously sweet.
She drunkenly hugged one of his arms as if it were a teddy bear, and felt so comfortable that she dream she was in her room, laying on her bed. Her parents were somewhere in the house, and Raul sat at her desk. She felt so happy to be laying on her own bed, she never wanted to move from it. Raul stood to leave, saying with a cotton like voice that he had to find Silvia. Sadness and loneliness suddenly consumed her when he left, as she was reminded that he would never come back. She wanted to cry but looked up to see Damian handsomely hovering over her. He pulled the covers to her soothingly in reassurance. His hand brushed the side of her face, making it feel numb with the unreal touch of a dream.
She opened her eyes, greeted with darkness and the dry smell of cardboard. Damian was already awake, his green eyes scanning the box truck and listening to every sound he could. He glanced down at her, and she felt as if his emerald eyes were peering straight through her.
"We've stopped." He informed.
For a moment, she stared at him, unable to discern dream from reality. Then she felt the arms wrapped around her, she heard his heart beating, and felt his chest rise with each breath. Suppressing a gasp, she shot up, nearly shoving him aside. Anxiety welled up within her, her insides felt like they couldn't work properly. She forced herself to breathe normally.
"How long was I asleep for?" She swallowed. She was lightheaded. What would her pack say? What would his pack think? It was bad enough that she cleaned his wound and now she'd practically been snuggling him like... a mate!
He shrugged, "I don't even know how long we've been still for." He scanned the truck again, listening to the driver snore. "I think we're at a truck stop."
Kayla tried to read him. Had he not noticed what just happened? Did he care? A thought struck her, sending her into another spell: How long had he been awake, just holding her there!? Thankfully, he was too distracted calculating how long the truck had stopped to see the bright flush her cheeks adopted.
"Maybe we should get out of here." She suggested.
"And go where?"
He had a point, but she wasn't satisfied with sitting idly in darkness, with him, alone. "What else are we supposed to do?"
He shrugged. "We'll figure it out as we go."
Silence again, Kayla shifted uncomfortably.
He sighed. "I don't know how you feel, but my instincts say this is our safest bet right now."
She didn't say anything to that, she observed him again to see if she could read any hidden meanings in his words, but there was nothing. As she considered what he said more literally, she was forced to recognize he was right. There was no itching bother in the back of her head, or the rear of neck. It was definitely safer here. Safer from the hunters at least, but other dangers worried her.
She didn't exactly fear for her life in his presence, she knows he's trustworthy and means no harm. Mistrust for herself clutched her instead. She felt a heart attack coming on, it was on a rampage. As if the bolts and gears that keep her heart pumping broke loose and let it go wild. If it wasn't for her ribs to keep her raging heart caged in, it would tear out and destroy the truck.
She stared at him, unable to look away. He'd caught and trapped her like the sneaky predator he is, and she wasn't sure she wanted to escape. She wanted to roll over and be his prey, let him open her up and expose her quivering heart, let him take it and keep it. She recalled the last days they'd spent together, the way he showed her how to trust her instincts and drive a car with gentle patience. He had been a new person during those times! The muscles of his back when she'd seen him coming out of the shower, the spiraling mark of royalty on his shoulder. The amused snickering smile that played on his lips whenever she was particularly disagreeable. The way his green eyes settled on her, looking through her, touching her fear and helping her rise out of it.
She couldn't believe that she had hated him and loved Cody. Why Cody? He had stolen a kiss from her twice, strung her and Amarie along behind him, unable to discern the two, and when she'd needed him most, he ran away with his tail between his legs. Damian had hated her back then, but he still came after her. He faced the people who murdered his mother and polluted his darkest fears, and braved the ultimate betrayal, to save her.
She became aware that he was presently looking at her and shuddered as his eyes searched her face. She knew he wondered why she stared, but she couldn't stop. She wanted him to make the kill, to sink those teeth into her neck and leave the scar, leave the scent. She wanted to feel his kiss, and his hands on her.
Though she was sure she would die of starvation before she got any of that. He had to be hungry too, but showed no sign of it.
There was a grumble that started in the deep dark pits of her, and it rose like a skyscraper, becoming louder. She clutched her stomach and doubled over, willing it to shut up. But her body had different ideas. Her stomach growled hungrily and then subsided reluctantly.
She dropped her head back against the wall of the truck. Mortification seeping through her, cheeks sizzling. Damian looked at her softly, his grin made Kayla want to crawl into a hole.
"Is the poor princess hungry?" He teased, nudging her with a gentle elbow.
"Shut up!" She snapped.
He chuckled in a low voice. She found herself really liking it, despite the fact that he was laughing at her. "I'm hungry too." He admitted.
Silence descended upon them when they heard the driver grumble out of sleep. Before they knew it, the truck was rumbling on the interstate again. Kayla looked over at Damian in the darkness, he looked right back at her boldly.
"Let me ask you something." She started, hoping to forget the whole stomach ordeal before she embarrassed herself even more.
He smirked. "No, let me ask you something." He shifted in order to better face her. "If you could have anything to eat right now, what would it be?"
She blinked back at him, making him question whether she'd respond.
"Rare Tri-Tip, with a side of mixed veggies and mashed potatoes."
He lifted a brow with a gleeful smile. "Excellent choice, Princess. I wouldn't have guessed you had that kind of stomach."
She narrowed her eyes, but there was no glare. "I am a Lobain." She sat taller proudly. "What would you eat?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, seeing a large menu unfold on the box closest to him. So many recipes to choose from. "I'm not gonna lie, Tri-Tip sounds great. But I think I'd have to go with baby back ribs, a side of brown rice, and..." He trailed off. "A salad of some sort."
"Ugh, I can't stand ribs, they're so messy."
He gaped at her. "That's the best thing about them! It feels like actual hunting when the sauce is all over your face."
"Oh please, blood and sauce are completely different things."
"They may taste different, but they feel the same." He shrugged. She disagreed.
"Have you ever even tried ribs?"
She paused a moment. "Well... no, but-"
He laughed. "How can you judge them like that? You don't even know how good they are."
"They don't look good."
He shook his head. "You're going to try them."
"Is that so?"
"It is so and you are going to love them."
She smiled and lounged back. "We'll see about that, Serius prince." A frown came over her suddenly, and guilt developed. He leaned a little closer, subtly, to ask what was on her mind.
"I judged you before knowing you."
Her words hung thickly in the air between them. It felt strange, the way she had hated him with every part of her at one time, and now she couldn't justify ever feeling that way. He was an excellent creature, and an even better leader, much more suited for the role than she'd ever been.
"I judged you too. We were both wrong to view each other the way we did." His green eyes locked her to the spot. "But now I know that you are so much more than what I thought."
She felt herself flutter. She ached for him to make a move. But what kind of move? She quickly forced the thought out of her head, though a tortuous pull caved into her breasts.
"I'm glad we know better now." She forced herself to smile at him.
He looked back steadily, right through her. There was a strange glint in his eyes, an emotion that she felt she could identify, but wouldn't name. He couldn't possibly be looking at her with any relation to fondness. She'd be lucky to have him consider her a friend. No, there was no way he could like her even that much, not with the hell she'd single handedly put them through. They were merely civil partners of circumstance. He tore his gaze away from her suddenly.
"So, what were you going to ask me?" He continued.
She shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."
"We need to pass the time somehow." He pressed.
She bit her lip. She could think of a few other ways to make the time go by, techniques that wouldn't involve spoken word, but would still utilize the articulate tongue. If only--
She took a sharp breath. These thoughts were not her own, those bewitching eyes and magnetic lips had her delusional. But, she'd rather be delusional than bring up their grim reality. The unfortunate truth about reality, however, was that it could not be escaped, no matter how dark and isolated their world seemed to be at the moment.
"What happens when we get home?" She asked finally.
He stiffened, thinking deeply on the subject. "Well, we'll have to go to our own packs. From there, the most important situation to address will be hiding Bermuda from the hunters. The alphas will meet to change the entrance as soon as possible, and I'll deal with my brother." He paused a moment. "By now, our engagement has been forgotten, just as you wanted."
The engagement. How strange that she was on a path to marry him. She thought she was being dragged down it, and yet, now it seemed quite a gentle path compared to the terrifying uncertain one they currently traveled.
"It's what you wanted, too." She said.
He didn't agree, but he didn't disagree either. Kayla racked her brain for something to say, while he studied the boxes for something meaningful to relate to her. The address on one of the closest boxes caught his eye. He swallowed indefinitely. How convenient.
"This truck is taking us to Pennsylvania." He stated blandly.
Kayla nodded. Unfortunately, neither of them could find the relief they should have about going home.