Chapter 360: Aftermath (II)
Killian brought Inez to a room. The tension in his shoulders was yet to ease. "Are you alright?" He asked her, his feet heading straight to the couch placed at the corner of the room, like he was a man on a mission.
Inez slowly nodded. The panic that had been running high in her body slowly started to subdue. Her mind, which had been working tirelessly, anxiously to help her escape from the dangers in front of her, turned quiet. She was finally safe; she didn’t need to worry about being caught or her identity as the siren being known to others. She wouldn’t be caught, trapped and used as a breeding sow or blood bank.
She was safe.
"Where are your shoes?" Killian helped her down on the couch and asked calmly. Trying to ease the tension that was still stuck right between her shoulders and body. He glanced at her clothes, which were torn. He knew that it was done by the guard, but where were her shoes?
Inez’s lips parted. She looked down at her feet and replied softly, "I lost them when I was trying to run away from the guards... I don’t know where I dropped them."
Killian noticed that the woman’s voice had turned hoarse. He walked over to the mini fridge and took out a bottle of water from inside it. Taking it out, he placed it in front of Inez.
"Drink."
Inez took the bottle from him and heard him say, "Be gentle. I don’t want you to hurt yourself anymore."
Inez nodded as she unscrewed the bottle and started taking slow and small sips. But as the chilled water made its way down her throat, she couldn’t help but suck in a breath. Her throat started to burn, and her eyes started to tear up as well. The stress that she had been controlling till now could no longer be controlled. She finally broke down into tears.
The emotions that had been tangled within her finally found the release they had been waiting for. She reached out and hugged Killian, quite forgetting that she needed to stay away from him. With her face buried in his neck, she softly sobbed in his arms. Even though she was trying to hold on, Inez just couldn’t stop herself.
"Shh... It’s all over," said Killian. With his arms wrapped around her, he comforted her softly.
His hand rubbed her on the back as he gently spoke to her. Inwardly, however, he was furious. He wished to kill those who had hurt her all over again. Killian had never seen Inez show such a vulnerable attitude before. Even the first time the two of them met, Inez had looked him in the eyes. Something not many could have done. However, after what happened in the orison, it seemed like she was thoroughly shaken.
"No one is going to hurt you now," Killian spoke to her kindly. His words were gentle and soft, like a warm, fluffy blanket being draped on her shoulders. "You were really brave. You not only survived the ordeal, but you also kept your sister alive and safe. That’s all that matters, bubbles." She was the only one who would think of escaping from the prison cell of the council, he thought to himself.
"I—"
"That’s enough." Before Inez could say anything more, Tracy pulled Killian away from her. She had just left the two of them alone for two minutes, and they were already all over one another. Sure enough, the mating bond was really troublesome. And speaking of troublesome. She turned and looked at the man who had followed her. "And how long are you going to follow me?"
Dominic glared at her, but Tracy didn’t even blink her eyes. She simply tilted her head and stared at the man with a smile on her lips. Oh, what else could she do? There was something really special about watching an arrogant man crumble into bits and pieces and be filled with regret. Dominic—all six feet tall—bunched with nothing but alpha muscles—was now staring at Inez as if she was the one who had stomped on his heart and squashed it into pieces.
Oh, the mistakes of youth. They stuck around for a long, long time. This was something that she knew very well.
Inez also snapped her head up. Her eyes widened when she saw Dominic, and she willed away those tears right away. Yup, she hated the man. Even though she didn’t show it, she did. The difference between the two men was apparently easy to detect. With Killian, she was willing to show her vulnerabilities. Dominic, on the other hand, he was not even allowed to see her tears.
"I want to talk to her." Dominic was looking at her, but Tracy knew that his attention was fixated on Inez.
"Do you think you are worthy of doing that?" Tracy asked him with her sweetest smile. "You lost that opportunity ages ago. So why don’t you turn back and walk the road of shame and regret with as much arrogance as you have shown in the past?"
The alpha wolf turned to look at Inez; his stormy eyes looked troubled. "Can we—"
"No." Inez interrupted. Her eyes were ice-cold as she looked at Tracy. "She is right; since you have already made your choice, we are done."
Tracy pumped a fist into the air and cheered. "You go, girl. Finally, you are not acting like a little rug mat."
Inez’s face crumpled with genuine annoyance. Her green eyes widened as she spoke with some anger in her tone, "I was never a rug mat—I was just ...just..."
She stammered a lot, probably trying to find the correct word but appranetly she was struggling to find it too.
Tracy took pity on her. "Alright, alright. You are not a doormat. Calm down. You are turning blue. Relax."
Inez’s shoulders visibly relaxed. The tension melted away slowly as she exhaled a long breath. "That wasn’t funny." But there was no heat behind her words because she knew that Tracy was right.