Ella’s POV
“A rogue.”
His eyes widened at my words and his hands clenched into hard fists. He seemed ready to kill and I wished the rogue who did to me was right here with us. I would like to have my revenge on the bastard as well.
“Those blasted rogues again. I should have killed them all when I had the chance.” He growled.
His eyes was starting to get red again and I was afraid of him flipping out. I leaned closer and embraced him, pulling him into an embrace.
“Relax, Kevin. I’m alright.”
“No, you are not.” He hissed. “You are scarred, with an humiliating tag at that. I will kill that bastard who did this to you.”
“I will heal when I have the mark removed.”
“I will get it removed.”
“I don’t think it’s easy to get it removed. I’ve been trying to do that since I got here. I’ve used almost all the herbs and flowers I knew and could get my hands on since I got here.”
“I will find a way to get that mark of your skin. Trust me.”
I nodded. I trusted him. His presence made me feel better than I would admit.
He placed his hand on my shoulder and held me, trapping me under his intense gaze.
“Tell me how it all happened. Tell me everything.”
I nodded. How could I not spill out my guts with the way he was looking at me?
“I realized I was wrong to not have gone with you the other day.”
“You were.” He smiled.
“Are you going to be cheeky or let me talk?” I smirked. I should have known he was going to tease me if I said that.
He cleared his throat, dropped his hand from my shoulder and leaned back. “Please continue.” He waved at me to keep talking.
I swallowed, recalling the memories that brought me here.
“I was on my way back and almost at the border leading home when the coachman stopped. There was a severely injured man lying down on the road and we got down from the carriage to help him. Immediately we were out and got closer to him, he jumped off the road and killed the coachman. He attacked me and sold me off. The next thing I knew, I was at an auction in the utopian town. The count bought me and marked me as his slave. That was how I got here.”
I had no idea tears were running down my face until he placed a finger to my cheek and wiped it off gently.
“Do you blame me?” I asked, afraid to look him in the eye.
“Why?” He looked shocked by my question. “Why would I blame you?”
I sniffled. “You know. I got myself in this mess because I was nice. I wouldn’t be here if I had ignored him and didn’t bother to save him. I could have gone on my way. I would have been home by now. The coachman wouldn’t have died. It was because of me the poor man died.”
He pulled me into an embrace. “Why would you say so? You are a good person and that is one of your charms. I love your heart and I wouldn’t have that changed. Why would I blame you when you need what anyone with a good brain and a good heart would have done? Don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”
I let my tears flow freely down my cheeks and wrapped my hand around his neck as I let him console him. He patted me lightly on the back and waited for me to compose myself.
“If at all you want to blame anyone, blame me. Blame me for being too late. I took too long to find you and that is why they had enough time to brand and treat you as a slave.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Ella. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
I pulled away from him. “It’s not your fault, Kevin. You couldn’t have known that I was going to be abducted on my way back home. I shouldn’t have been stubborn. I should have gone with you then when I knew I was eventually going to leave.”
“Stop blaming yourself, Ella. That’s enough.”
“How did you know I’m here?”
“My men and I fought with some rogues. I fought with their leader, Kenneth. He taunted me with you. He pretended to see you coming back home to the pack but I didn’t see you. He escaped while I was searching for you and wondering if he saw you and you were truly coming back. We ran in pursuit of him and that was when we found the upturned carriage lying by the side of the road. I suspected that you could have been the one in danger when I saw herbs and a woman’s bag. I had Liam check if you were still with the Blue River pack and he came back to tell me you weren’t with him. I started looking for you since then.”
I sighed, knowing how anxious he would have been while he waited for Liam to be back.
“Thank you for worrying about me, Kevin.”
He snorted. “Who else would I worry about if I can’t worry about my mate?”
“I checked everywhere I knew and decided to check here as well to find you since this was the only place I haven’t searched through.”
I was impressed. He must have had a hard time combing all the surrounding cities to look for me.
“Now that I think of it, I think the rogue who sold you off was the leader of the rogues. He seemed sure of himself when he was taunting me and he couldn’t have done that if he didn’t know that you were on your way home and weren’t going to show up.”
I widened my eyes in regret when I heard his words. I couldn’t believe it. I felt like crap. I hated myself at the moment. I couldn’t believe that I had saved the mastermind behind my mother’s murder. If I had known, I would have crammed poisonous herbs down his throat while he was lying down on the road.
The bastard. I shouldn’t have stopped to save him. I had no doubt that I was going to regret that for a long time. He had killed the innocent coachman and was the reason for my mother’s death.
I growled, feeling anger run through my body. I was going to make sure that he pay for his crimes.
I was a blood moon wolf and we never let go until we have resolved our grudge.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt Kevin’s hand on my arm. I looked down to see him stroking the mark on my arm, his eyes filled with sadness and regret.
“If only I didn’t reject you back then, you wouldn’t have had to leave the pack and this wouldn’t have happened.”
I shook my head. “Don’t think too much about this. If I hadn’t left the pack, I might not have gotten my voice.”
He smiled. “True. I love your voice.”
I smiled, relieved that the sadness was slowly creeping out of his eyes. I loved my voice too.
The sadness in his eyes was replaced with anger. “I will make sure everyone who hurt you pays.” He vowed, gritting his teeth.
I would like him to start with the butler but I didn’t dare tell him that now. He was already on edge and was going to fly off the handle if he heard that. I wasn’t ready to watch him lose him control like I had seen him the other day he was fighting with Luke.
“Calm down, Kevin.” I said, watching the rapid rise and fall of his chest. He was mad with rage. “I’m fine. You don’t have to keep blaming yourself.”
“But I’m not fine.” He sighed. “I don’t want you here for even one more second.”
“We will find a way around that. Breathe. Okay?”
“Let’s get you out of here. I don’t care about the mark. I’m sure we can sort that out later. I’m not leaving you to go back there and pretend I’m fine doing that.” He said and stood up, pulling me up by holding me by the hand.
“Let’s go.” He urged me.
I was tempted.
“Let her go now!”
I jumped at the sound of that angry bark and turned, my heart pounding at the sight of the count. Busted. I wondered how he knew that I was here. Was there a tracker inside the mark? I guessed there was. I really couldn’t leave here without having the mark burned off my arm.