Ryker Dare
The door opened, and I stepped inside Kei’s mind, the furthest that I’d ever gone since we created the mate bond. I was sucked in, and everything turned black.
I couldn’t see anything, only black. That’s when I realized I was in Kei’s memories and that I saw everything in her eyes, “seeing” being a relative term.
“Rei, where are we?” I was surprised to hear a voice talk abruptly, sounding high and had the tone of a child.
“I don’t know, but wherever we are, it’s not good.” This time, this voice echoed around me, belonging to Rei who was speaking in Kei’s mind.
“Yeah.”
Suddenly, there was a sound of a door opening off to the right. As I heard footsteps walk in, colors sparked in front of her eyes.
What in the world? I thought. The lights blended together, and I couldn’t make it out. Neither could Kei it seemed.
I can’t understand his feelings, Kei thought.
“Come here.” I felt a hand grip my, more specifically, Kei’s arm.
“Let go!” Kei hissed, getting a smack across the face in return. I had forgotten that this was a memory, and I snarled.
“How dare you hit your queen?” I growled and cursed, but nothing happened. Nothing would happen.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, little girl.” A hand suddenly appeared on her stomach, and Kei kicked. Her foot made contact with something that resulted in a fleshy smack. A howl of pain reverberated through the room.
“You bi—”
“Stop right now,” a deeper voice commanded, power filling the room. It became silent for a moment until footsteps drew near. They stopped right in front of us, and a hand gripped her arm before yanking her up.
“Who told you that you could touch her?” There was a long pause, different colors swirling in the darkness.
“No one did, sir.”
“Then what are you doing putting your hands on her?”
He was met with silence. The voice sighed as if disappointed. “What a shame.”
There was a fleshy rip that was then followed by an earsplitting scream. A warm liquid splashed on Kei’s face, the substance dripping down her cheek. The heavy smell of metal permeated the air, and the trail of what she concluded was blood left a coldness in her heart, seeping into her bones. She slowly lifted a hand and touched her cheek, pulling it away with her hand now sticky with it.
“Why did you kill him?” A thud sounded just right beside her and Kei sat frozen.
“Why, you ask?” There were colors of a horrible yellow and green as if that person was sick. A rough, calloused hand cupped her cheek, and Kei held in a flinch. “Simply because he had the audacity to touch what was mine.” A new sense of boldness took over Kei, and I felt proud yet knew deep down that whatever she was going to say next was not going to be the best option.
“I am nobody’s.” She spat. “And I will not bend to your will.” As if it was an instant reaction, something yanked her hair, pulling her across the floor. Kei let out a cry and clawed at the hands blindly.
“We’ll see about that,” the man growled out and dragged Kei across the concrete floor. The skin in her bare legs was getting cut, and the feeling of blood oozing down her skin made me hate the man more. Kei finally stopped fighting and instead hung limply. The man didn’t seem to care for her state and kept on dragging her. After making the billionth turn around a corner, he stopped. He let her hair go, and Kei was luckily quick enough to catch herself before letting her head hit the ground. She looked up and glared at the man. Or I thought so, as I didn’t have any sense of direction in the blackness and there were occasional flashes.
“Stand up,” he ordered. You can only imagine how Axel was doing, cursing and snarling. Even if this was a memory, we did not take well to be ordered around kindly as you can imagine. Kei sucked in a breath and stood up with shaky legs. There was one terrifying moment where her legs lost all feeling, but then she locked her knees and gritted her teeth.
“Now, do try not to die. I want to have some fun with you, and you interest me.” Before Kei could utter a sound, she was pushed from behind and into what seemed like another room. She tried to keep her balance but still felt too weak and ended up in a heap. A door was slammed behind her, and she inhaled. The smell of sweat and metallic blood filled her nostrils.
“Hey, look. We have a new toy,” a child’s voice sneered, sounding like a boy.
“Ain’t she pretty too? It makes me sick.” This time, a nasally high-pitched girl’s voice joined in.
“Let’s see how far we can push her until she breaks,” the same voice said, sounding gleeful. Kei stayed still, but her thoughts were a blur. Several footsteps padded over to us, yet Kei still stayed in the same bent position, her hair tickling her face.
There are five in total. Can’t tell what ages they are but I’m going to guess they must be a couple years younger, Kei began thinking.
Don’t take them lightly. They’ve seemed to be experienced in whatever sick twisted game this is. Rei sounded disgusted, and I couldn’t blame her.
Don’t worry, this isn’t my first rodeo. A smile appeared on Kei’s lips as the feet finally stopped in front of her, the air becoming still. When the first fist made contact with the back of her head, everything in me snapped to pieces, and I had to do everything in my power to rein it in. Yet I felt that control waning as each punch pounded my mate.
That’s how everything in me froze as she laughed. It wasn’t maniacal or crazy. It was just her blissful laugh. This reaction caused everyone else to freeze also, as there wasn’t another blow to her body. Kei slowly stood, still chuckling. She had her eyes closed so not even the flickering colors could be seen.
I’m so tired, Rei, she spoke weakly with fatigue and my already fully healed heart cracked once more.
I know, Kei. So am I.
But you know, I still have the will to fight. Am I stupid for fighting?
Rei was silent for a moment.
No, Kei. That just means you’re strong.
Tears filled her eyes, but they didn’t fall.
That’s a relief, she said before everything in her world sparked with color.
* * *
I was pushed out of the doors and back into my own mind. My eyes popped open, and I straightened. Kei was breathing heavily while leaning back against the headboard. She smiled weakly at me.
“I think both of us need a break to calm our emotions.” She tugged at my hair playfully. “You, especially, when you go all Hulk like that, it’s hard to keep you in.” I had caught her hand before she pulled away.
“Was it too much?” I asked softly.
She smiled and tugged my hand for me to get closer. I did. But before I could hold her in my arms, she pecked my cheek and slipped underneath me. I blinked and turned my upper body to see Kei skipping her way towards the bathroom.
“Sorry, babe, but I really need a shower.” She blew me a kiss and shut the door behind her, leaving me dumbfounded in the way that she only could. Finally, I tipped my head back and laughed. I laughed for the joy to have my mate, for the love that filled me, and for the simple feeling of being happy.
My existence finally meant something. And that something was Kei Valancia.