Protecting Kai (True Mates Book 3), page 8
Kai remembered waking up the morning after his first shift to find himself shackled to a bed in the basement. He’d been terrified, yanking at the chains and cuffs in desperation to get free. Until then Jerrod had merely ignored him, giving him the bare minimum he had to. Thinking back on it, Kai didn’t understand why Jerrod never abandoned him to the foster care system during the year and a half after his parents’ death. In fact, it might have been better if he had.
Jerrod kept him chained to the bed in the basement every minute except when he sent Kai on a job, threatening to kill him if he tried to run away. Too afraid to do anything at first, Kai believed Jerrod and did everything his uncle asked. As he got older, he started to mouth off and tried to refuse to steal from unsuspecting people, only to end up beaten severely anytime he attempted to deny Jerrod’s demands. It wasn’t until he turned twenty-one that he started to plan to get away. He squirreled away money he’d stolen whenever he could, a quarter here, a dollar there. For the two years it took him to save up enough money and a small amount of food to take with him, he lived in terror his uncle would find the stash and finally carry out his promise.
Somehow Kai managed to keep Jerrod from discovering it, and he made his escape one night while Jerrod slept off his latest alcohol binge. He’d stolen the key when his uncle came downstairs to the basement to intimidate him and kick at him. Too drunk to feel it and too angry at life to see it, Jerrod didn’t notice when Kai fell against him and slid the keys free from his pants pocket. After Jerrod had tired of bullying him, he’d stumbled upstairs and passed out on the couch. Kai freed himself, gathered the things he’d hidden all over the basement, stuffed them in the backpack his uncle placed on him when he sent Kai into a house, and left. He didn’t stop to rest for well over twenty-four hours, putting as much distance between himself and Jerrod as possible.
He’d been moving ever since, stopping only long enough to sleep for a few hours and then running again. The last two days were the first time he’d slept for more than two or three hours at a time. Since being with Cole. Kai frowned and lifted his head up from the side of the bed. He was still in a cage, though. He couldn’t leave and he couldn’t do whatever he wanted to do. Cole’s face when Kai had called it one flashed through his mind. Kai sensed he’d hurt Cole, and his stomach turned at the idea. Everything Kai’d expected to happen hadn’t. He hadn’t been tied up or locked in his room. Cole didn’t actually seem to want anything from him.
Except this mate thing, he taunted himself. He didn’t even know exactly what being Cole’s mate meant. What did it mean Cole wanted from him? Kai rested his forehead against his knees as Cole’s words echoed in his mind. “I want nothing but to make sure you are safe and happy.” The idea of someone caring enough about him to want him to be happy seemed foreign to him. His parents had wanted him to be safe, loved, and happy, but they were his mom and dad. Cole was a stranger, someone he’d bumped into once and only known a couple of days. He couldn’t accept the idea of someone who didn’t even know him wanting to take care of him.
Kai knew his fox seemed inclined to believe it. The struggles he’d had with his fox made it more than clear how he felt. He’d never distrusted the instincts of his fox, but their ideas of what Cole wanted didn’t align at all. Cole might also be a shifter, too, but a wolf, a completely different species. Yet Kai knew his companion would accept Cole without reservation if Kai gave it half a chance.
Kai realized the room had grown dark, and his stomach gave a painful growl. He dragged himself to his feet and clicked on the light, blinking against the sudden brightness. The digital clock on the stand beside the bed read 9:00 p.m. No wonder he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since early that morning.
He left his room and headed to the kitchen. He hoped to get something to eat before Cole returned. Where did Cole go this time of night? Maybe he’d gone to the greenhouses, or maybe he’d met up with the pretty woman from earlier. The idea of Cole meeting the dark-haired woman twisted Kai’s guts, and he jerked open the refrigerator door angrily. It frustrated him to not understand the feelings raging through him whenever he thought of Cole with someone else. He’d never experienced any of these emotions before. Anger because of his uncle, yes. Fear and pain, for sure. The emotion seemed to be a combination of both, and yet another unknown element mixed with them, causing his blood to burn beneath his skin. Overwhelming agitation made his hands shake and his jaw clench.
Kai grabbed packages of cheese, sandwich meat, and mustard from the door. He’d make a sandwich and take it to his room to eat. He also snagged two cans of soda—one to drink with his sandwich and the other to put away. Once he’d finished building his sandwich and replaced everything in the fridge, he turned off the lights and trotted back to his room, shutting the door behind him. He heard Cole enter the house as he put his sandwich and the can of soda on the nightstand. He didn’t want to analyze the relief that poured over him too closely. Cole hadn’t been out but an hour or two, which couldn’t have been long enough to have met anyone. Right?
Kai listened to Cole’s footsteps trail through the house, past his room, and into the other at the end of the hall. He really needed to get out of there. The idea of running again scared the hell out of him with what had happened in Phoenix, but he couldn’t stay. The longer he remained at Cole’s, the more in danger he was of believing Cole’s words about wanting to help him. He planned for the next day while stashing the extra soda in the same place he’d put the few packs of crackers and small bags of chips he’d already taken.
He managed to eat the sandwich he’d made, although each bite scraped harshly along his esophagus whenever he swallowed. His fox prowled and paced in his mind. Kai knew his fox wasn’t happy with his intention of leaving the following evening after Cole went to bed, but he had to go. He had no other option. His ribs were almost entirely healed, and by tomorrow they’d be nothing but a bad memory and another scar on his subconscious.
He finished the last bite of the sandwich and set the plate on the nightstand before gulping down the remainder of the soda. He flipped off the light and slid between the covers, curling into a small ball. “We can’t stay here,” he whispered into the darkness, trying to persuade his companion but also to convince himself.
At some point he fell asleep because when he next opened his eyes, sunlight shone into the room. Kai sat up, gingerly testing his ribs, and smiled when he found he could move without pain or even tenderness. He remained in bed for a moment, listening for any movements in the house. No sounds met his ears, and he got off the bed, exited the room, and went into the bathroom to relieve himself. He decided to scope out the house to make sure he was really alone. After a thorough inspection, Kai knew Cole had gone. He returned to his room and grabbed his backpack. Guilt stabbed him briefly on his way to the kitchen, but he shoved it aside and entered the pantry to stuff as much food as he could in the bag. More crackers, a jar of peanut butter, a few ready-to-open cans of vegetables, a box of pretzels, and a tin of cookies joined the few possessions he owned. He stashed the bag in the closet for later. Tonight, once Cole had gone to sleep, he’d make his escape.
Kai had already explored the house and didn’t want to leave the safety of his bedroom. He’d seen a TV in the living room, but he didn’t want Cole to find him on the couch watching it. He left his room and wandered down the hallway. The house reeked of money, and Kai knew Cole had a lot. His uncle would love to hit Cole’s home, to steal anything possible. The idea rankled more than usual, and Kai frowned.
The wood flooring throughout the house gleamed in the light, and Kai knew Cole took pride in his home. Thinking of his uncle defiling it made him angry. Why should someone who hadn’t worked hard to get it take something from someone who had? He’d hated doing what his uncle wanted. There were a few times he’d walked away empty-handed on purpose. Pictures of a smiling family sent remorse crashing over him, and he’d lied to his uncle and told Jerrod the family had nothing. It had earned him a beating more than once, but he didn’t regret his choice.
Colored photographs in frames drew him to the counter between the kitchen and the living area. He’d noticed them yesterday during his exploration but hadn’t stopped to look at them. Cole had a lot of family from what Kai could tell. There were pictures of picnics, smiling groups of people, Cole as a kid with two adults—Kai figured they were Cole’s parents because of the resemblance—and Cole with Nick. Kai touched the edge of one frame, studying the wide grin on Cole’s face. If he’d been normal, Kai would definitely admit how gorgeous he found Cole.
Sighing, Kai moved to the small bookcase close to the couch and read over the few titles he saw on the shelf. He figured maybe he could try reading a book. He’d never progressed past a fifth-grade reading level, but he’d always been a little ahead of his classmates in most areas. There were about twenty books overall. Kai only recognized a couple of the authors: Stephen King and J.R.R. Tolkien. The rest he’d never heard of. George R.R. Martin stood out, and he pulled the book off the shelf. A Game of Thrones sounded interesting from the outline on the back of the book.
He grabbed an apple from the kitchen and returned to his room. It didn’t take long for him to become engrossed in the story. The various characters were not easy to keep track of, but he did his best. The idea of dragons made him wonder if there’d ever been dragon shifters. After all, there were apparently foxes and wolves. Why not dragons? Kai would love to be a dragon shifter. He could have eaten Jerrod. Maybe gotten indigestion from him too. Snorting, Kai focused on the book. He became so engrossed in the story, most of the day passed by before he pulled himself away. The sun hung low in the sky, and the room had grown dark. He had started to strain to read the words in the dimming light, and he gave up, setting the book down, marking his page in the process, and sat up on the bed. Maybe he’d take the book with him in order to finish it.
The scent of body odor reached his nostrils, and Kai sniffed at his armpit, wrinkling his nose as he realized how bad he smelled. He decided he’d gone long enough without bathing and got off the bed to pick up the borrowed jeans and T-shirt he’d dressed in on the plane. He only had one other shirt and another pair of pants besides the ones he wore at the moment, also from Cole’s friend, and he wanted to keep them for wherever he ended up. He needed to at least look halfway presentable to get a job. Although he wasn’t sure what he could qualify for. He didn’t have any official skills, and he’d never finished school because of his uncle. Despair loomed over him, but he refused to let it get to him. Someone would give him a job. They didn’t need to know the truth about his past. Maybe he could be a simple dishwasher in a diner somewhere or something.
The shower felt amazing. He hadn’t bathed in hot water for years. Once his uncle had locked him in the basement, he’d been forced to rinse as best he could in the sink downstairs on the nights when Jerrod was too drunk and passed out to notice the noise of the running water. The hot tap hadn’t worked, and he’d only been able to use the cold side to wash off with. Kai wondered more than once how he hadn’t ended up with pneumonia during the years down there. The hard, cold cement and lack of central heating during the winter months had been brutal, yet somehow he’d managed to survive it all.
He scrubbed at his skin with a bar of soap he found on a small ledge jutting from the wall, cleansing away some of the memories of the men in Phoenix and their hands on his body. Bottles of shampoo and conditioner sat on another larger shelf built into the tiled shower, and Kai used some to wash his hair, closing his eyes in pleasure. The differing clean scents almost made him dizzy. He sighed and dipped his head under the spray, rinsing off the suds. The sound of Cole entering the house made him tense, and he tried frantically to remember if he’d locked the bathroom door.
Kai needn’t have worried because Cole’s footsteps didn’t even hesitate near the bathroom. They kept going, and Kai relaxed, but the knowledge Cole didn’t seem to want to check on him as he had every other time disappointed Kai. Maybe Cole had finally given up on him. He should be happy, yet the truth caused him a small bout of depression. He really needed to get the hell out of there.
Finishing his shower, Kai turned off the water and grabbed a towel from the rack beside the tub. He dried off and dressed in a matter of minutes. When he exited the bathroom, he couldn’t help but glance toward Cole’s room. No light showed from beneath the door. Had Cole already gone to sleep? Kai scurried to his own bedroom and glanced at the clock. He’d taken longer than he’d thought. The red letters showed almost eight. He sat down on the bed and yanked on his shoes before retrieving his bag and putting everything in it. The backpack weighed quite a bit, but Kai had carried heavier in his fox form. His uncle never let him leave a house without taking anything of value he could fit in his bag or mouth. If he did, he’d regret it later when Jerrod beat the shit out of him for missing something. Of course, Jerrod used whatever excuse he could to hit Kai, a valuable object left behind or not.
Kai sat on the bed, waiting. His pulse sounded loud in his ears as he listened for Cole’s heartbeat to even out, signaling the man had fallen asleep. It wasn’t until almost one in the morning when he heard Cole finally slip into unconsciousness. Kai ignored the cry his fox gave as he stood and hefted his bag onto his shoulder. He just needed to get outside, and then he could shift and run. An acrid taste built in his throat as he crept out of the room and into the hallway. Time moved slowly, and by the time his hand was on the handle of the front door, Kai thought for sure his heart would explode out of his chest. He swallowed hard as he carefully unlocked the door and turned the knob. When it clicked, he froze, listening to the sound of Cole’s heart. The sound never wavered, never increased, and Kai knew Cole still slept.
Despite the darkness outside, Kai could see as if it were daylight still, his eyes easily shifting to canine form. He didn’t latch the door, just closed it to where the door rested against the jamb. An owl hooted close by, and Kai shivered a bit. The sound seemed ominous in the empty night. Kai waited to shift until he’d reached the trees. He set his bag down, closed his eyes, and gathered the energy around him. When he opened his eyes again, the ground appeared about a foot away from his face, and the slight breeze tickled each individual strand of hair covering his body. His ears twitched at the new sounds he could pick up: the same owl ruffling its feathers, the scurry of some small creature in the underbrush of leaves beneath the trees, and the howl of a lone wolf far off in the distance.
He hesitated for a moment, remembering Cole’s words, but he shook his head. What sane person would be roaming the woods at one in the morning, he mused as he wriggled his legs into the arm holes of the pack and hefted it onto his back. Years of experience made it easier than one would think for a fox to accomplish. Kai trotted toward the trees and followed along the edge in the direction Nick had driven from a matter of days ago.
The night air felt cool. Drops of dew built along Kai’s whiskers as he traveled, and he shook his head once in a while to dislodge the water. A sense of despair and anxiety edged in on him the farther away he got from Cole’s place. He fought it and kept moving, continuing to follow the same tree line. Once in a while, he’d glimpse a light shining from a car driving by or from a nearby house. He remained hidden in the shadows, never allowing the glow to reveal his presence.
Kai couldn’t be sure how long he’d been moving or how far he’d gotten when another howl came, this time closer than the one he’d heard when he first started out. The sound sent a tremble of fear along his spine, and he picked up his pace. His paws dug into the soft soil, and dead leaves crunched loudly beneath his feet. Kai heard the rustle of bushes a few yards away, behind him and to his right. His heart jolted, pounding at his rib cage. He started running faster, but the bag hindered him, slowing his stride a fraction. Oh God, was he going to die out here? After everything else he’d endured, would this finally be his end? Killed by another animal? Maybe it was his time. He’d cheated death for ten years while under his uncle’s eye; it would only be right for it to be over now.
Midstride, something hit Kai in the side, and he tumbled down, the backpack dislodged and sent flying into a nearby tree with a loud crack. His attacker wrapped around him, they rolled in a ball of fur for several feet before coming to a complete stop. A heavy weight on top of Kai pinned him to the ground. Kai issued a sharp, high-pitched scream. The sound echoed eerily through the forest. He scrabbled for release, punching his hind legs at the soft underside of whatever animal had tackled him. Another cry, an alarming bark, rattled in his throat. He didn’t want to die, not here, not as some wild animal’s dinner. He screeched again only for the sound to die halfway when the warm length atop him shifted in a bright flash of light and Cole’s human form appeared, holding him down.
Elation rushed through Kai, followed by relief and then fear. Would he beat Kai for running? When Kai met Cole’s gaze, the disappointment and despair there punched him in the gut worse than a fist.
“Why?” Cole asked, his voice a broken sound in the silent night.
Kai couldn’t answer, not just because of being in his animal form, but because he didn’t know how to answer Cole. He didn’t understand the feelings eating away at him the longer he remained in Cole’s presence, or the way he wanted to bury his furry face in the hard chest above him and beg for forgiveness. Kai closed his eyes and returned to his human form, keeping his head turned to the side to avoid the piercing stare. “I don’t know.”
“You promised to give me a month. I didn’t ask for anything else. Just one month.”
