Bound

Precious Little Moments

Sophia's POV: 

"There. All patched up." I said as I finished stitching Kai's stab wound. He smiled, weakly, but it was there. I tried my best to focus on the wound while stitching and not on the fact that him shirtless was the most insane sight I've ever seen.

"Thank you." He said, "You must have questions."

I nodded, putting the needle and thread back. "Who was that guy? And why was he trying to harm us?"

Kai sighed and pulled out his phone, showing me a text that he got from and unknown person.

He'd even texted back, saying that he'd cut off the guy's hands if he touched me.

"You shouldn't have done that." I said, despite the fact that the unknown contact had said that they could take me anytime they wanted.

"I know. That's why I told you to stay inside the house." Kai said, switching his phone off and placing it back into his pant pocket. I sighed as I took in how tired he actually looked.

His usually neat black hair was a mess, sticking out in all 10 directions, his shirt was crumpled and his cheeks had lost their colour. His eyes lost their shininess, and his body was slumped.

This is what it must be like for him. Working as a CEO, and as a pack leader. Now I was his mate, which increased his burden.

As if sensing my feelings, Kai looked at me and smiled. "You're quiet. And I think I know why."

"Really?" I asked, grinning, "What am I thinking, then?"

"You feel that you're a burden to me." He said simply. My eyes widened.

"How did you-"

"Werewolves can read minds. Especially if the person they're reading is their mate." Kai smirked, looking at me as he said the word "mate".

His hand held mine for a bit, and he squeezed gently before letting go.

 
"Sophia, I want you to know that you will never be a burden to me. Ever. You're my mate. I agreed to it. You're my responsibility, and responsibility and burdens are never the same thing."

"I think that's the most gentle tone you've ever talked to me in." I said softly, not believing that he talked to me like that.

He smiled, a full grin, "Well, sometimes, it's okay to break character."

"Let's get back home. Marina seemed worried about me. She texted me an hour ago."

"Sure. Let's go." Kai said, slowly getting up, cautious of the stitches.

I said my goodbye to Allen and then got into Kai's Jeep. 

"Are you sure you can drive?" I asked him. Kai sighed and looked at me, then he gave me the keys. 

"Nope." he said and got out, coming over to my side and opening the door for me.

I got out and went over to the driver's side, getting in and starting the car.

I drove out of the driveway and continued straight. Kai relaxed against the seat and sighed.

"You need rest. A lot of it." I told him, chuckling a little. Kai smiled, his eyes still closed.

We reached home shortly, and I helped Kai get to his room. 

"Could you help me take my shirt off? I don't want to pop the stitches." Kai asked, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. I blushed.

"Sure, yeah. We don't want popped stitches. It's not pleasant." I told him and cleared my throat as I unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off of his shoulders. The action did almost pop his stitches when he moved his arms back to remove it, but they stayed intact.

That's when I saw his tattoos in absolute fine detail. The rose that the dragon on his rib carried was actually in the shape of a broken heart. The writing on his chest was actually a poem about an ex-lover. It read:

Even after the way you walked away,

I won't stop myself from loving again,

I am sure someone special is out there,

Who can soothe all my heart's pain.

And beside it was a picture of claw marks scratching a heart. I took it in and then went right back to earlier this morning. The woman that gave me the nasty looks.

"Oh, Kai...." I said quietly, looking up at him. He was looking down at me, too.

"I suppose you'd want an explanation." Kai said, his cold expression and harsh tone back on, "But, unfortunately, it's late and you should sleep. Thanks for everything."

"But-"

"Leave, Sophia. Now." He growled, his eyes flashing golden. That happens when a wolf is mad, and he's right. I need to leave before his wolf takes control of him and he eats me.

Kai growled once more, his fangs elongating. I gasp and scramble across the room to the open door. I quickly got out of there, closing the door behind me. 

What happened to all the nice moments we shared today? They just disappeared?

I sighed and gripped the door handle, opening it back up and going in. 

Only to see that Kai's window was opened and he was nowhere to be seen. I ran to it and looked outside, just in time to see a black wolf running through the barely-visible path in the woods.

"KAI! COME BACK!" I screamed into the night, hoping he'd hear me, "No.... he's hurt. What if he gets hurt even more?"

I immediately ran out of his room, but I knocked over something from the tiny table beside the door. I picked it up and took a look at it.

A picture, of that woman from earlier and.... Kai! He was smiling, super happy, and so was she.
He was nuzzling his nose against hers and she had her arms around his neck. 

On the back, there was writing in pen. Kai's gorgeous loopy writing. 

"I love you, my gemstone" it read. The date was in 2021, so this was 3 years ago. And there was something attached to it that fell to the floor.

It was a ring, that had an outline of a butterfly. And the outline of a thin line going through it. It must be a soulmate ring! And she must have the other one.

 I tucked the photo and the ring into the pocket of my skirt.

"I'll have to calm him down, but to do that, I need to find him first."