6. Looks like he cares
“No! Stop! Don’t hurt him!” I shrieked, spreading my arms to shield Aiden.
Damen raised an eyebrow at me, crossing his arms across his chest, “I didn’t even move.”
“Yeah, you okay, Emerson?” Aiden asked from behind me, “Stop being so dramatic, geez.”
I turned to glare at Aiden, “I am trying to save your ass here. So, shut up and cooperate.”
“Please,” Aiden rolled his eyes, “he can’t do anything to me.”
“Aiden,” I started calmly, “do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up.”
“Are you nuts?!” he said, exasperated, “why are you behaving like this. I am trained to hunt supernaturals. Why are you so worried about me? Move out of the way, Emerson. I will take care of this.”
I turned to look at Damen. He was observing us quietly. Too quietly. I gulped. This was not going to end well.
“Yeah, Lilith,” Damen took an intimidating forward, “move out of the way. Don’t worry, I won’t touch him,” he gave me a lopsided smirk, and my heart fell to my stomach. Before I could stop him, I heard Aiden’s painful scream, as he fell to the ground clutching his head.
“No! Stop, Damen! Please, stop!” I begged, crouching down in front of Aiden, and instantly tears welled up in my eyes when I realised that Damen was ripping his mind apart.
“He tried to take you away,” Damen replied simply.
I turned to him, fuming, “And, you fucking kidnapped me!”
“I did ask you nicely,” he shrugged, “it didn’t have to be this way.”
I couldn’t help it, I started crying- because my traitor tears couldn’t support me for once. All the events that had happened since masquerade attacked my brain at once and I felt overwhelmed. I heard Aiden’s screaming stop. I looked up to see through watery eyes that Damen was standing there, avoiding eye contact and clenching his fists.
Did he- did he actually backed down for me? I didn’t want to get ahead of myself but whatever it was, I was thankful that he stopped.
I turned to look at Aiden, who seemed disoriented for a moment, before he shook his head and spat on the ground, “Lilith, you are better off dead than staying with this- this monster here.”
Shit!
There was a loud growl and my eyes widened when I saw Damen moving towards Aiden, looking him right in the eyes as if he was ready to pounce on a prey. His growl slowly became louder as he got nearer and Aiden stood up straight, as if challenging him.
“No! Stop!” I jumped in between them and tried to shield Aiden from Damen’s view.
Damen stopped in his tracks, narrowing his eyes at me. My breath hitched when I saw that his eyes were pitch black now, with barely any trace of blue present in them. It was an effort to maintain eye contact but, I had to. I wasn’t letting Aiden die just because he wanted to help me.
“Move Lilith,” Damen’s voice came out low and deadly.
“No.”
Damen growled- more like roared loudly and I felt the floor beneath my feet shake from the impact but, I refused to move even then. He could take me down for all I cared but I was-
“Let go of the hunter, now!” he bit out menacingly, “don’t make me go through the trouble of ripping his body apart, limb by limb.”
I was about to protest, when suddenly a head splitting pain coursed through my veins and I felt claws digging in my mind. I fell to the ground, screaming like a banshee, as the pain got unbearable with every passing second.
Damen was in front of me within a flash while Aiden backed away from me, fear shining in his eyes. damen clutched my arms and made me look at him. I had to use every ounce of energy and will power to even keep my eyes open.
“Lilith! Lilith! Look at me!”
It felt as if Damen’s voice was coming from a distance. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would live to see fear on his face. But, there it was, as he glanced down at me helplessly.
“Lilith, please, listen to me very carefully,” he started, as he stared into my eyes powerlessly, “Try to block him out. Use all your strength if you have to. Only you can do it Lilith. Try lifting up the walls. You have to-”
I silenced him with another ear splitting scream, as the claws now started pulling from all sides. Suddenly, I was transported to some other place. I could vaguely feel Damen’s arms still around me, but, my eyes were seeing things that I never even knew existed. It was a view from the edge of a cliff and I was watching bloodshed and war taking place in the battleground below. I suddenly jerked out of the vision and for a second Damen’s stormy blue eyes came in my view before I was transported to another vision.
This time I was standing in a court amongst people that I didn’t recognize. All I could decipher was they were engaged in verbal spat while a human girl stood in the corner, staring down at the floor. I felt a pull towards her but, my body was numb. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. In front of my eyes, the scene changed and the people changed, while that human girl materialized into someone else…her form faded and she turned into…me.
I screamed, jerking up again as the pain threatened to tear me apart. I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to bear the pain. So, I gave up. I closed my eyes and gave up whatever strength I had left.
I felt long fingers caressing my cheeks gently. The pleasurable tingles forced me to open my eyes and find out the source.
The first thing my eyes landed on was Damen’s beautiful face. It took my disoriented mind a few minutes to make sense of his otherworldly features and then, finally regain my consciousness.
Damen’s eyes were marred with dark circles and he seemed completely drained of spirit and energy. I focused on his disheveled silky locks as he spoke, “How are you feeling?”
I was taken aback for a second by how weak and tired his voice sounded.
I blinked before replying, “It feels like my mind was a battleground for a war,”
He shook his head, taking both my hands in his, “I shouldn’t have ignored it when this happened for the first time.”
“Um, can you tell me what happened?”
“Your mind was attacked,” Clint answered, entering the room with a glass of water in his hand. Trent followed after him with a bowl of soup.
“And, Damen almost got himself killed trying to shield you,” Trent added.
“What?!” I exclaimed, “What do you mean? Shield my mind? Why? From whom? What happened back there?”
“Damen used all his powers to protect you from the attack,” Clint explained, “It almost cost him his life. But, thankfully, you both are safe now.”
Damen’s grip on my hands instantly tightened and he clenched his jaw, “We are still not safe. I helped you today, but, it won’t be possible for me always. You need to learn to shield your mind. And, considering you are human, it’s going to be really difficult.”
I suddenly realised something, and glanced around the room, “Where is Aiden?”
Damen’s eyes hardened, “You are still worried about that hunter?”
“Well, it’s not like I tried to kill her, and also,” Aiden’s voice traveled towards us, as he entered the room, directing a glare at Damen, “the only person who can play with someone’s mind like that is you. So, cut the crap and tell us what you are trying to do.”
Oh no...Did Aiden just go there?
I closed my eyes in fear of what was to come, but, a few seconds passed, and my eyes flew open when I heard the sound of receding footsteps. Damen had walked out of the room, and slammed the door behind him.
I turned to Aiden, fuming, “are you for real? Why would you say that?”
“Come on, Lilith,” Aiden rolled his eyes, “don’t take his side now. we both know what he is capable of.”
“He would never do anything to hurt Lilith,” Clint mumbled quietly, from where he was.
Trent nodded, “he was already upset about what happened as it is, and now, you went ahead and accused him. You are lucky he spared your life-”
Before Trent could finish his words, there was a loud crash from outside. Trent and Clint turned to me with wide eyes, while Aiden frowned.
I got up from the bed and was making my way towards the door, when Aiden stopped me by grabbing my arm.
I shook my head, removing his hand, “Aiden, don’t. Please stay here.”
He looked at me as if I had betrayed him, but, I didn’t care. All I could think of was that Damen had almost killed himself trying to save me. The least I could do was acknowledge him, especially now that Aiden had wounded him with his words.
I walked out of the bedroom and almost immediately a scream left my mouth as my eyes landed on the devastation that was the living room. My eyes fell on the dent on the wall, which looked like someone had punched it.
Was that the sound I heard earlier?
My heartbeat picked up when I saw the trail of blood from the dent in the wall, trickling towards the floor, and then, following through the open front door.
Shit, did Damen hurt himself?
I quickly rushed back inside the room, and asked Clint for a first aid box. He was confused for a moment before he grabbed it from a table and passed it to me. I told them that I was going after Damen, they didn’t have to worry. I don’t know why Clint and Trent found this amusing. And, Aiden, on the other hand, well, he was sulking in a corner.
I ignored them all, and rushed out of the cabin. I just had to follow the trail that was made by the blood droplets. It was difficult, considering that it was really dark outside, but, I managed it somehow. I was led deep into the forest.
My feet halted in place when I made out the dark silhouette of Damen, sitting on the ground, his back leaning against a tree. His eyes were closed but, of course, he sensed my presence.
“You shouldn’t be out of bed,” he said, without opening his eyes.
I swallowed and walked towards him slowly, “I- uh, I saw the b-blood back there. I brought you a first aid kit.”
His eyes flew open, and he furrowed his eyebrows at me, “a first aid kit?”
“Yeah,” I crouched down in front of him, “now, show me your hand. You did something stupid, didn’t you?”
He kept his hands fisted by his side, and his lips twitched, “Are you perhaps worried for me, Lilith?”
My cheeks burned but, thank God, it was dark so he couldn’t see it. Wait…he was a supernatural, he could see everything. Oh shit!
To cover my expressions, I rolled my eyes, “Please, this is just payback. You saved me from whatever happened back there. And, I dress your wound. I don’t want to owe you.”
I grabbed his hand from his side, and was about to examine it, when he suddenly, pulled me closer, taking me by surprise. Heat rushed to my face when my eyes locked with his intense gaze. And, it was not helping that those darned tingles decided to course through my body where he was touching me.
“My wound has already healed,” he drawled, as his eyes flickered towards my lips, “but, you still owe me something.”
My mouth dried, and my lips parted of their own accord. I was so hypnotized by his eyes, his words…his alluring features…that I didn’t even register what was happening.
He was leaning towards me, and almost automatically, I leaned forward too. I felt his hands gently cupping my cheeks and shivered from the electricity buzzing in the air.
It would be safe to say that what happened next, was totally my fault.