Stefan’s POV
I waited longer than I should have.
The sun was already sliding down, dragging the heat with it, and my ribs still ached every time I breathed too deep. The healing oil had closed the worst of the damage, but it hadn’t done a damn thing for my mood.
Getting jumped, beaten, and tossed in a river like a sack of trash was not how I preferred to spend my early afternoons. My ego was still sore about it.
I stayed in the shadow of a stacked-stone wall across from the sacred home, watching the doors. Noblewomen trickled out in twos and threes. None of them was the one I wanted.
"Come on, Kara. You can’t hide in there forever."
Finally she appeared.
The second I saw her I knew something was wrong. She had a thick scarf wrapped high around her neck like she was trying to choke herself with fabric. In this heat?
That alone was enough to set off every con-man’s instinct I had left. Her usual sharp walk looked careful, almost brittle. She went straight to the carriage, climbed in, and the Bounds lifted the poles. The servant woman walked alongside instead of riding as usual, her head slightly bowed, matching the pace.
I didn’t bother with subtle trailing this time. I cut through the side lanes I had already memorized, came out ahead of them where the road pinched narrow, and stepped into the middle of the path with one hand raised.
The Bounds slowed. Kara pushed the curtain aside and frowned down at me.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked. Her voice sounded thinner than it should have.
"You were supposed to wait back at my home."
I gave her my best harmless shrug.
"Got bored sitting around like a decorative Bound. Figured I would stretch my legs and see if the streets looked any less murderous in the evening."
She didn’t call me on the lie or could it be she didn’t understand what I was saying. Probably sounded like a meaningless ramble to her. Either way, that was the second red flag. The Kara I knew would have given me that flat, unimpressed stare and told me to stop talking nonsense. Instead she just exhaled like the argument wasn’t worth the energy and tilted her head.
"Get in." she said simply.
I climbed up and dropped onto the bench across from her. The servant continued walking outside. Up close, Kara looked even worse. Her skin was a little too pale, her eyes missing their usual bite. When she shifted, it was like every movement cost her something.
"Are you well?" I asked, watching her carefully.
"I am well."the reply came out sharper, coming that of course nothing was well.
I could tell that much but I filed it away instead of calling it out. Blunt force had never worked well on her. I leaned forward, rested an arm on my knee, and let my voice drop into the low, private register that usually got a reaction.
"I’ve got plans for you when we get back to the house," I murmured. "The kind that will make you forget whatever has been chewing on you today. You should be looking forward to today’s lesson."
"You will scream from pleasure until you can’t no more by the time I enter you and claim every corner of you.." I bit a corner of my lower lip and even my cock twitched to that.
She should be dripping by now... I was confident of how effective my flirty words were.
I reached up and brushed my fingers lightly along the shell of her ear, half teasing, half testing.
But Kara jerked like I had pressed a brand to her skin and let out a short, pained sound.
I pulled back fast. "What was that?"
"Nothing." She turned her face away, one hand already rising toward the scarf. "I am simply feverish. A hot bath will correct it."
The System flickered at the corner of my vision like it had been waiting for the perfect moment to be helpful.
[KARA — Current Mood: Sick. Sad. Afraid.]
Three moods stacked on top of each other. That was never good news.
The last mood was somehow though. Why would she be afraid?
I stared at her. The scarf sat too high. Her shoulders were locked. Whatever was going on, it wasn’t a regular fever. My earlier plan of using sex and charm to pry the secret out of her suddenly felt like the wrong tool for the job. She looked like she might snap if I pushed too hard in the wrong direction.
Fine. Soft approach first.
I shifted across the small space, careful, and settled an arm around her shoulders. The second my hand came near her neck she flinched hard before I could even say anything. Then the scarf slipped.
I saw the bruises.
Dark, ugly, finger-shaped marks wrapped all the way around her throat. Some were already turning deep purple. Someone had grabbed her like they meant to leave a message. And the strange part of it... There was a glowing effect on the marks.
Kara’s eyes went wide with panic. She grabbed for the scarf, trying to yank it back up, but I caught the edge of the fabric and held it down.
"Who did this? Who put their hands on your neck like that?" The charm was gone from my voice. One thing I hated was seeing women getting harmed like this.
She shook her head quickly, raw fear now obviously on her face and she quickly replied; "No one."
I hissed.
"Don’t insult me. I’ve left enough marks on women to know what finger bruises look like." I pulled the scarf down the rest of the way. The damage was worse than I’d thought - layered, ugly and glowing faintly.
"Tell me who hurt you. And I will deal with them for you, love."
Kara opened her mouth but nothing came out. A fine tremor ran through her whole body. Then the color drained from her face completely, her eyes rolled back, and she slumped sideways against me like someone had cut her strings.
"Kara!"
Outside the carriage, the servant woman turned at the sound of my voice. Her gaze landed on her mistress collapsed across my lap, scarf gone, throat exposed and dark with bruises. For one frozen second she just stared, trying to process what she was seeing.
Then she screamed.
"The Alien has hurt my mistress!"
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