Losing Your Memory ° Kai Parker

Chapter 35

One Month Later

The cabin smelled faintly of wood smoke and Kai. Jennifer had learned to navigate the space as if it were its own cage: the narrow kitchen, the single bedroom, the cold living room where the sunlight never seemed to linger long enough to warm anything.

She rested her hand on her lower belly absentmindedly, a soft curve already visible beneath the shirts Kai insisted she wear. The life inside her was both terrifying and magnetic—a permanent tether to the man who had consumed everything in her life.

Kai sat across the room, reading a book with one leg tucked under him. His head tilted slightly, as though he could feel her touch through the air. His piercing blue eyes met hers, and the weight of them pressed her down into the chair.

"You're restless," he said, closing the book and standing, each step measured. He approached her with a predator's grace, hands brushing her arms as if testing her resolve. "You feel him moving?"

Jennifer nodded, unable to speak. The tiny flutters were undeniable. She hated herself for feeling a pang of awe, and something darker—a spark of connection—to the child inside her.

Kai's smile was slow, almost feral. "Good. Soon, this will be ours."

She shivered and looked away, pretending to busy herself with tidying the single table between them. But she couldn't escape him—never for long.

⸻

The sound of the wind shifted outside, and Jennifer stiffened. A faint humming of movement, not quite the usual forest breeze.

"Kai?" Her voice was cautious.

He followed her gaze to the window. "No one's here. Relax."

But she wasn't relaxed. The hair on her arms was standing, instinct screaming that this time, help had come—and she could feel it.

Before Kai could turn, the door burst open.

"Elena! Bonnie! Nate!" Jennifer gasped, her heart leaping.

Her friends were inside, and everything she had feared and hoped collided at once.

Kai's head snapped toward them. His body tensed like a coiled spring. "You think you can just walk in?" His voice was calm, but the menace in it made the air vibrate.

Jennifer didn't wait. She bolted toward them, tears streaming, her hands grasping their arms. Nate caught her, spinning her behind him. Bonnie's hands flared with magic, shielding them all.

Kai's eyes narrowed. "You think you can take her?"

"We have to," Elena said, voice tight. "We can't let him—"

"Stop." Jennifer held up her hands. "Go! Protect yourselves. I'll be fine."

Kai's gaze flicked to her belly, and something raw, dangerous, and possessive twisted through him. "You can't." His voice dropped low, almost a growl. "This is mine. All of it. Every part of you."

Bonnie moved closer, gently guiding Jennifer toward the door. "It's okay, Jen. You don't have to do this anymore."

Jennifer's hand lingered on the doorknob, her chest tightening. One last glance at the house—the cabin where she'd been trapped, where everything had begun, where everything had been taken from her.

"I—" she whispered, voice trembling. "I can't—he's... he's too dangerous."

Kai's roar of fury followed her as they slipped out, the forest swallowing the cabin behind them.

⸻

Safe—temporarily—they stopped in a clearing. Jennifer sank to her knees, hugging herself. Bonnie crouched beside her, hands glowing softly with magic.

"Jen... I can help," Bonnie said quietly. "We can end it. It's your choice. No one can force you to carry it."

Jennifer's chest heaved. "I... I have to."

The spell was quiet, solemn, gentle—almost reverent. Jennifer felt the life inside her dissolve, the tiny flutters fading to nothing. Tears streaked her cheeks, but her hands felt lighter.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, to no one, to everyone.

⸻

Kai's fury didn't wait for them to return. Within hours, his presence was inside her mind like wildfire, the rage pure and uncontained.

"What did you do?" His voice thundered in her thoughts, sharp, suffocating, venomous. "You ended it? You—MY CHILD?"

Jennifer's body shook, but she refused to respond. She'd chosen, and that was all that mattered.

"You'll pay for this," he hissed. "Every single one of you."

Jennifer's hands trembled. She had escaped—barely—but the weight of his obsession, his anger, and the darkness inside him pressed down like a storm ready to consume her.

Outside, the wind whispered through the trees. Somewhere deep in the forest, Kai's scream echoed, promising that the nightmare was far from over.