Elaine's POV
I ran towards him to assist Damien in helping him to get inside.
"You're bleeding," I panicked.
"He was fine not too long ago…" Damien tried to explain weakly.
I didn't direct questions to Kai or Damien. I just gathered some of the things I asked Damien for and used them to clean his wounds. They were deep and so bad that I couldn't help but sob silently at how everything went wrong in a little space of time.
Was he attacked? Was it the curse? Was it the cult? Those were all of the questions that I wanted to ask, but somehow I couldn't because I didn't want to stress their day further.
Luca himself was at the other side taking mental notes of everything that was happening. He didn't move a muscle to help, say something, or show pity towards the terrible state Kai was in. He just typed on his phone and vanished without saying a word.
"Why is he here?" Damien asked with detest evident in his voice.
"It's a long story, but I promise to explain everything when you two are in good shape," I rushed to answer even though he didn't seem satisfied with my answer.
"I hate Luca, and I don't want him near my properties ever again."
His words came out as a threat more than they did as a warning, but I just swallowed hard, choosing to conclude that the fae just had a very bad reputation—or maybe it was just Luca.
"He helped me get here, though," I tried to explain, sincerely not with the aim of starting an argument.
"Luca doesn't help anyone but himself, and if you're confident that he has helped you, then you have to brainstorm all the possible ways he could exploit you in the process of what you call help from him."
Damien's words got to me. I tried to speak up, but I had already lost track of my thoughts and had nothing to say.
While listening to the sound of the two men breathing, Damien's phone rang. He soon handed the phone over to me. It turned out that it was Cordelia. However, she just dropped a message about the head of my department wanting me to report back to him as soon as possible.
The line went dead on her end, and I returned the phone back to the owner in shock.
"What's wrong?" Damien asked in a way that tried to hide his worry.
"As you know, I'm supposed to report back on the cases of murder in Raven Hollow, and my time is almost up…"
"So?"
"I was asked to return while a special team substitutes me while I'm gone. Cordelia sounded uneasy… Her last sentence was, 'They already know who they are coming for, Elaine,' before she ended the call," I explained.
After a momentary silence, Damien spoke up again, this time, holding so much emotion in his voice.
"Could it be that they're lying? Or maybe they suspect that you're keeping something away from them, and they're just attempting reverse psychology on you?"
"I'm not sure. I highly doubt my boss would make a joke out of a very serious matter, and whatever happens, I can't let them substitute me… not now at least, and not with Kai in this state," I sighed.
"Or maybe someone spilled something to them. Does Luca know about this?" he snapped.
I reviewed all my conversations with him mentally and just responded with a slow nod, recalling that Luca had told me himself the reason I came to Raven Hollow and how Kai was the culprit as to why I was here.
"Maybe I'll just cook up some excuse for Kai to be able to get back on his feet, and once he has recovered, you two can leave this place," I ranted.
"I am not running away from my comfort over a human threat. And mark my words, if this has something to do with Luca, I'd tear their limbs one by one," he threatened through gritted teeth.
"Okay," I kept my answer short, brainstorming a possible way out and a faster way to get Kai back on his feet.
"I thought lycans could heal themselves. Why is his taking so much time, and why won't the bleeding stop?" My voice was dampened in worry as I spoke. Kai was already turning pale from so much blood loss, and I couldn't stand that there was nothing I could do to help him.
"I stabbed him multiple times with a silver dagger, and perhaps it has something to do with his curse."
"You what?!"
"He was losing himself, and he tried to push me away during his blood thirst. However, I knew that if I hadn't found a way to stop him then, he could also lose himself entirely to the monster inside of him. He attacked me—though as a result of the thirst—and giving him a severe injury was the only thing I could do to stop the fully grown evil he was," he explained carefully.
My shoulders slumped downwards in disappointment. The sad truth was that no matter how I tried to understand everything surrounding Kai's curse, the more my knowledge on it proved to be very little or abstract from what it truly was. Maybe I had thought too little of it, and the image of him in my head, running about as a bloodthirsty lycan, ready to kill and destroy anything to quench his thirst, made me weak to my bones.
"I'm glad you're safe," I whispered, glancing over his bloody shirt. "Perhaps you can clean yourself up while I stay here with him," I suggested.
"I'll go to the motel afterward to get you something decent to put on…" He eyed my robe with a hint of disgust in his eyes. "I'd also try to believe that you didn't meet Luca in that robe," he mumbled before walking out of sight.
I waited patiently while monitoring Kai closely. Damien was quick, and we soon switched positions when he had brought my things from the motel.
"The bathroom is on your left," he said simply, earning a nod from me as a response.
I wouldn't lie—my mind wandered everywhere at the same time, trying to know if I could possibly make up something that would be of good use to the situation.
I was forced to speed up when I heard an ear-piercing scream from outside. It sounded like Kai, and knowing that Damien was there if anything happened wasn't enough for me. I operated at my maximum speed, putting my clothes on without drying my body.
"Kai," I gasped.
"Elaine, you have to go somewhere far and f***ing dry your body before intervening in matters like this!" he scolded.
"What can I do to help?" I ignored his warning. "He looks like he is going through hell already," I whimpered.
"He is, and he is about to lose control of himself again, so get out!"
Ignoring his warnings again, I ran to squat in front of Kai. "Please, hold on and don't give in to whatever it is pulling your soul out," I begged, hoping that the Kai that always listened to me was still somewhere behind those dark eyes.
"Run!" He pushed me hard, sending me crashing against the wall while Damien quickly changed to be able to match his strength. Kai was slowly shifting to his lycan form while Damien was doing all he could to slow him down, earning Kai more injuries than he had healed from.
"Run!" Damien repeated when Kai successfully shifted.
He flung Damien across the room as though he weighed nothing. However, Damien's sharp claws cut through my wrist in the process.
Kai's head snapped in my direction, approaching me slowly like a wild beast in the forest walking quietly towards its prey. To this new lycan, I was prey, and even though it was never in my heart to leave him at a time like this, I scanned for an exit to escape the monster he currently was.
He raised his hands into the air, about to shred me into pieces. A scream escaped my lips while I held up my hands up to shield my face from witnessing my own death. Surprisingly, nothing came.
I was panting heavily with my eyes shut, too scared to open them, but the silence I got forced them open. Kai was withdrawing from me as he slowly changed into his human form.
"Kai," I called out carefully, wondering what exactly was happening to him. The closer I walked towards him, the farther away he moved until his weak limbs failed him, and he fell to the ground.
"You have to tell me what is going on so I can help you," I whispered.
"Blood."
That was the only word he kept repeating.
Damien gasped from behind, confirming what I saw as my blood fell on Kai's wounds. "He is healing."