Circle Of Caim [Completed]

His Past

I stilled at his show of affection directed at me. Rafeial Slade offering me comfort. The same Aulora Murdock he so wanted to kill when he first laid eyes on.

My rigid posture might have made him think this was a mistake making his hand on my wrist slowly loosen its grip but before he could step away, I uttered, "how do you read me so well?" I let out the breath I didn't even notice I was holding, giving in into his hand and the comfort it provided.

"I once stood where you stand." The brown in his eyes reflected a flash of suffering, leaving me to wonder just how many demons of the past haunted him. His thumb rubbed circles over my skin which in turn compelled me to close my eyes and drown in the feeling of his touch.

His hand slowly moved to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear, his hand tilting my head the slightest before resting it on the side of my head, "Your neck's in a bad state, Miss Murdock, " I opened my eyes to Rafeial focused on my neck, "Weston nearly bit your flesh off." He growled lowly.

"It will heal." Hopefully.

"I'll heal yo-"

"No, you won't, " I snapped, stepping away from him and his solacing touch. Speaking of healing, my stare dropped to his chest and my eyes nearly bulged out of my sockets, "Weston also clawed the shit out of your chest!" His white button-up was fully stained with his blood, making it hard to believe the shirt was ever white, to begin with.

"It will heal." He repeated my words which made me roll my eyes at him whilst I diminished the distance between us once again, my hand raising up to his chest and moving the ruined tie and torn fabric over to the side and assessing his wound. A shiver ran through my body as I took in the deep gash running diagonally across his front. Drops of blood were still trickling down. My eyes went down, noticing the other four identical tears and I winced.

"It is nothing, " he tried to steer my focus by dismissing his injury, "I will heal."

His words went over my head as my hands continued to part the cloth away from the wounds, examining them and grimacing occasionally.

"Miss Murdock, " I ignored his calls, "Miss Murdock, listen to me, " when I gave him no response, he let out a sigh before I felt both his hands come up to either side of my face, tilting my head up to meet his eyes, "you do not need to worry about me-"

"How can I look past this, " I expressed as I lowered my head again to take in the gruesome gashes.

"I am a Lycan, Miss Murdock, " he lifted my head, his eyes meeting mine, "give it two hours, at most, and it would be as if it never existed. You on the other hand, " his eyes travelled down to my butchered neck and then the bruises on my face, "you don't heal for days, weeks even." His hand slowly crept up to the open wound on my neck, his fingers brushing past the area around the bite and I couldn't help but shrink away is pain. As I backed away, my hand accidentally grazed over his wound causing him to flinch and shut his eyes tight at the burn.

I let out a gasp as the apologies started to flow, "I am so sorry! I did not mean to-"

"It's fine. You didn't do any damage, " he lightly chuckled as he opened his eyes. He parted his lips to say something but I beat him to it.

"You see my point, " I gave him a pointed look, "We all heal sooner or later, Rafeial, but that doesn't mean you don't feel the pain." My gaze softened, "the last time you healed me you ended up so weak. Your body shuts down, which means it will take your wound more than two hours to heal. It could even take days."

I took a few steps away from him, his scrutinizing gaze following my movements as I turned my back to him, walking towards his room, "and besides, I can't have you dozing off on me again." My hand twisted the knob, pushing the door open as I glanced over my shoulder to see Rafeial with his hands in his trouser pockets gazing intently at my being.