Mine to Claim

Chapter 14

"You should rest now, Nikita," says Sierra while untying her hair from that thick holder. I nod and then sigh, knowing that I won't be able to sleep tonight, as well. They both know that I can't sleep but they do not ask me questions, giving me enough space so that I can deal with one thing at a time.

"Yes, you should. I will be leaving. Meet you all tomorrow," says Cayden while walking out of the house with a quick goodbye. I sense his presence in my mind till he goes out of my range. However, he doesn't return to his home. No, he went to the school where Fenris sometimes takes me, for some fighting lessons.

"He didn't go home?" I ask, unable to keep the curiosity out of my voice. Hearing my question, Fenris raises a brow at me and I wave towards the door, signalling about Cayden who just walked out of the house a minute ago.

"Oh, Cayden. He must have gone to visit Mila. He usually wishes her good night and then goes home," whispers Sierra, confusing me a bit.

"Who's Mila?" I ask, unable to let it go since I have already raised this topic.

"Oh, Mila is Cayden's, underage mate. She'll turn 17 in a few months now. But Cayden is not allowed to court her until she turns 18."

Hearing Sierra's reply, I become more confused. "Cayden has a mate?"

"Yes, Nikita. Everyone has. He found his mate in the dungeon where you were kept," whispers Fenris as if talking to a small child.

I gasp in surprise because I never knew if anyone else was found in the dungeon. I had thought that only I was kept there because of my lineage. To know that there were other innocent people being harmed by Xavier makes me sigh in relief that he is no longer alive and causing havoc on this planet.

"What happened to her?" I ask, unable to quite keep my mouth shut. Looks like I am becoming more talkative.

Fenris sighs at my question and then shakes his head. "She has not shared it with anyone," he says and then looks at me pointedly as if trying to hint that I have done the same thing.

I kept my time in Xavier's dungeon, a secret because of what he did to me. If Mila is also not comfortable sharing her time in the dungeon then does it mean that the girl was raped, like me?

Also taking in the fact that the girl is only 16 years old, 4 years younger than me, making her more fragile to handle this situation, and all the more vulnerable to this world.

I have a family with me but does she have a family as well?

Or is she alone?

Feeling a kinship towards the girl, I make a mental note to visit her some time tomorrow so that I can at least let her know that she's not alone. No one who was raped should feel like this. I might not be strong enough considering my lack of trust in anyone but still, I won't let anyone fall victim to the memories of their torture.

I have Fenris and Sierra along with Cayden and his mother who support me unconditionally. Somewhere I sense that Dominic cares about me as well and will be there if I ever ask for his help considering how he came to find me today and kissed my head.

That felt special somehow.

Shaking my head at the direction of my thoughts, I wave at Sierra and Fenris who then start walking towards their room upstairs while I turn around and march towards my room, feeling restless all of a sudden.

Opening the door to my room, I walk inside and close the door behind me. Walking into the bathroom, I quickly remove my dress and clean myself. Washing the wound on my hand, I am surprised to see that it's already healed.