With a careful motion, I peel the blood-stained bandage from Logan's wounds, his sharp intake of breath making me instantly look up at him. Sitting upright on our bed with his head tilted back, he keeps his eyes tightly shut, his face contorting with pain. "Sorry...", I murmur, and he responds with a stiff nod of understanding. My attention shifts back to the stitching beneath the bandage, which I had done in the car two days prior. The laceration has started to heal, the edges slowly knitting together.
After inspecting the wound, I carefully apply a fresh bandage. "I told you it wouldn't get infected. Silver has natural antimicrobial properties.", Logan breathes out and I hum in agreement, remembering the urgency in his voice when he insisted on returning home instead of going to the hospital. 'I just want to return home... Please, Collen, take me home...'
I chew on my lip before gently retorting, "I was just concerned; you can't blame me for that. Besides, a doctor would have done a better job stitching you up."
"We city hunters lead a relatively sheltered life.", he remarks, glancing down at the bandage, "Out there in the wild, medical aid is a luxury. Forest hunters have to rely on themselves to stitch their limbs back together. We're trained in those skills for that very reason."
"I know...but practicing on a silicone dummy in class is worlds apart from stitching up someone I love...", I explain, my gaze lingering on the lash wounds on his back. They've faded from their angry red hue to a soft pink, and soon enough, they'll disappear altogether. But that doesn't erase the fact that Logan endured it all without any resistance. And it was evidently not the first time he endured something like this.
My heart goes out to the male and I settle behind him, trailing delicate kisses along the temporary scars etched into his skin, "Did your mother never step in? How could she stand by and let this happen to you?"
A soft groan reverberates in his chest at my lips gliding over his bare back. "I...never knew my mother.", he confides, his breathing quickening slightly as I nip at his shoulder blade. "My father separated from her shortly after my birth and raised me on his own. He always said he wasn't one for carnal gratification."
"Or perhaps he's incapable of feeling love...", I muse, my fingers tracing patterns across his heaving chest. As my lips find the name of his neck, he instinctively reaches back to cradle my head, retaining me close to his beautiful skin. Our attention suddenly shifts as my phone chimes on the nightstand, interrupting our moment. I reach for it, tilting the device to check the caller ID displayed on the screen.
Unknown caller?
Worry creases my brow as I stand up, a knot of dread tightening in my stomach. Could it be Mr. Cross? What if he's discovered my number and is now targeting me? What if Logan discovers it and submits to that monster once more?
"Who is it?", Logan's inquiry sends a shockwave through my nerves and I swiftly decline the call. Feeling all jittery within, I turn back to the male and summon the best smile I can manage.
"Probably no one. Why don't you rest while I dispose of these bandages and cook us something to eat?", I propose, claiming his lips. The silver-haired male initially appears hesitant, but then he surrenders to me, reciprocating the kiss. I separate from him after delivering his bottom lip a playful nip.
Leaving the room, I navigate down the stairs and step onto the porch, ensuring enough distance from Logan to prevent any eavesdropping. Checking my phone, I return the call from the unknown number. The caller picks up on the first ring, and a familiar voice greets me, "Collen! Is that you??"
My brows shoot up in surprise, "George??"
"Good grief!", he exclaims, "I was terribly anxious when you declined the call! How are you? How's Logan?? You both have been offline for so long, which had us worried, but then we received an official report from Rogerdale Headquarters mentioning a Pureblood sighting! And in its details, Logan's name is mentioned as a miraculous survivor! And that's it; not a single mention of you or what happened to you, and we've been in a panic here!"
