Page 45 of Craving Darkness

Valen

I wasn’t sure if Kallista was aware of how much her body was shaking throughout the shower. I was so proud of her for battling the demon and winning. I shudder to think of what would have happened if we hadn’t arrived when we did. I had faith that she would have been able to find the strength to get out from under the Aswang demon, but there was no use dwelling on it. She was safe, and I could touch her again and feel how alive she was.

Once I turned the water off, I quickly dried her and wrapped a towel around her body. It didn’t escape my notice that while she had a nice bedroom and attached bathroom, she had just the barest of essentials available. With as much money as the large, fancy house indicated her parents had, I would have expected more.

I peeked my head out of the bathroom door to see if anyone was around, only to find the bedroom empty except for a young woman who held a pile of folded clothing. When she heard me open the door, she jerked her gaze away from the bloody mess on the other side of the room. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in my appearance with just a towel wrapped around my waist.

“Are those for Kallista?” I asked in a gruff tone to get her attention back from my body.

“Um, yes.” She walked over to me, scanning my chest again, her gaze turning predatory. “I am usually responsible for taking care of her. If you want, I can come in…”

I didn’t like her eyes on me, and I didn’t like the way her face had changed when she mentioned my mate. I grabbed the clothing from her. “No, thanks. You won’t be needed any longer.” I replied curtly and shut the door in her face, reaching for the lock only to realize there wasn’t one. I shook my head and turned back to Kallista, who was leaning heavily on the counter.

“That was Martha. My mother put her in charge of bathing and dressing me to make sure I didn’t do anything she would disapprove of. She has taken her job a little too seriously.”

“I don’t like her,” I muttered as I took her panties and had her step into them.

She huffed out a laugh. “Neither do I.”

I froze at the strained tone of her voice. “Did she hurt you? Who else in this house caused you harm?” I demanded, lifting her eyes to meet mine with a finger under her chin. “Tell me, Mate.”

She blinked at me, then smiled brilliantly. “Are you going to avenge me?”

I growled, then bent to nip at her bottom lip. “You’re damn right I am going to avenge my woman. No one is going to get away with hurting you. Ever.” I had plans to make my mate’s parents suffer as well, though it would be a much longer torture than what the others would get.

She was hesitant but told me what I needed to hear. “There is a guard that I may have threatened last night.”

I cocked my head as I studied her. “Oh yeah?”

She looked sheepish as her face turned red, but didn’t break eye contact. “I, um, may have said that my mate would kill him for laying his hands on me.”

I carefully pulled her close with my hand against her lower back, mindful not to jerk her body as I did so. “He touched you?” I growled as my demon came close to the surface. She immediately began shaking her head.

“Not the way you are thinking. He was just rough when he grabbed me.”

It was enough, in my mind, to deserve to die. The guard, as well as that woman. I kissed the top of her head as she rested her cheek on my chest. “Thank you for telling me.” She said nothing in return, and I could sense her guilt. I would have tried to convince her that she had nothing to be guilty for; she wasn’t the one who’d hurt another. But her soft heart would just have to get used to having a mate who wouldn’t allow transgressions against her to go unpunished.

As soon as we were finished getting dressed, I found a brush and worked the wet tangles from her hair as carefully as I could, not wanting to cause her any more discomfort than she was already in. After I set the brush down, I looked her over. She was wearing a plain beige pantsuit that, while she looked good in anything, it just didn’t suit her. I cursed myself for leaving behind her bag of clothing in the SUV.

“You ready to get out of here?” I held out my hand and she took it with a relieved expression.

“Yeah, pookie bear. Extremely.”

I growled, but inside, I was secretly smiling.

When we exited the bathroom, the room was empty. Even the body of the dead demon had been removed. I opened the bedroom door but paused. “Is there anything here you would like to take with you?”

She looked around the room and shook her head sadly. “No, there’s nothing here for me.” She gave my hand a squeeze, and together, we exited the destroyed bedroom and headed toward the stairs. As we descended toward the main floor, voices could be heard nearby. We followed the sound to see Crispin standing in front of what looked to be the entire staff.

It only took a minute to figure out what was going on. I could feel Kallista relax into my side as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She, too, had realized Crispin was using compulsion to manipulate their minds. He was erasing our presence and everything that had happened this morning.

“Kallista is free to go and will no longer be under your control. You won’t have any contact with her in the future. If asked by anyone, you will explain that she is exploring the world and that you support her, wishing her a happy life.”

Her parents nodded, agreeing with his commands readily. The rest of the staff, including the maid who had delivered the clothing, all murmured their agreements as well. Crispin turned to Kallista. “Is there anything you want to say or something you would like for me to include?”

She looked at her parents, the same sad expression she’d had while looking at her bedroom crossing her features briefly before turning away from them, her spine straight and her shoulders held back. “No, I think you’ve covered the important bits. Thank you.”

Crispin inclined his head regally. Before we turned to leave, I stepped forward and eyed the guards with speculation. With his menacing glare even Crispin’s compulsion couldn’t tame, it easily became clear to me which one had placed his hands on my mate. I turned to Kallista and indicated the man with a jerk of my head and a raised brow. She sighed but made me proud when she squared back her shoulders and lifted her chin, giving me a jerky nod.