Page 106 of Scorned

Chapter 30

Winnie

There was an odd scent coming from Luka when we found him that worried me, and when he went to sleep before the sun had risen, my concern intensified. I took on the responsibility of staying awake all day, closely monitoring him and guarding against potential attacks.

In the bigger room, Marcus and Zeke shared a bed, and Lynx got the other one to herself while Erik slept on the pullout couch.

Sage fell asleep, but woke up constantly, making sure Luka remained by her side. Lyric slept on and off, and since we didn’t have a couch, Carmen slept next to her. Ravage diligently checked on us every thirty minutes.

I swear the dude doesn’t sleep.

He had called Peach to let her know we’d found Luka, everyone who’d gone on the mission was safe, and he’d explain the rest of the details when we arrived back home. He also detected the peculiar odor radiating off Luka and suggested we return to the camp immediately for Drag to examine the scent.

The next evening when the sun was still high in the sky, I had already packed everyone’s bags and helped Lyric clean up the room. Knowing Luka always awoke when the sun set, I’d patiently waited at the foot of his bed.

When darkness came, and he didn’t even stir, my concern turned into panic, and I immediately grabbed Ravage, dragging him into the room.

“Why is he still sleeping?” I asked, stopping at the foot of the bed next to Sage, and pointing to Luka.

Ravage’s eyes were uneasy as he went to his side. His gaze raked across Luka’s body before he reached down, placing his hand on his chest. Then he sniffed the air and turned his head toward us. “He’s gone through a tremendous amount of torture and needs time to heal.”

“I can feed him again if it’ll help,” Sage suggested, her arms crossed and her face somber.

I glanced back at Ravage as he headed toward us, and judging by the look on his face, a feeding wasn’t the answer.

“I don’t think blood is going to fix him, Sage Stick.”

She turned toward me, her brows pinched. “What do you mean? I thought you guys needed blood to regenerate or whatever.”

Ravage slid between us and clasped a hand on each of our shoulders, his sad eyes staring at Luka. “Unfortunately, being a vampire doesn’t change who you are as a person or how emotions work. His body has healed. It’s his heart and soul that haven’t.”

My chest tightened, and I bit back my feelings.

Even though Luka was an arrogant, strong dude, they’d tortured him until he broke. His soul was exhausted and needed time to decide if it wanted to live or not. And even though I’d just dealt with a similar issue with Sage and her depression, I felt helpless.

“I wasn’t in there nearly as long as he was,” Carmen said, pulling at the front of the pink crop top Lyric gave her. “But the things I had to endure while I was . . .”

Sage shook her head. “Nobody should have to go through that.”

Ravage dropped his hands from us and turned toward Carmen. “You don't seem as bad as Luka. How long were you in there?”

“Only two weeks. They gave me just enough blood to keep me alive, but not too much, so I’d stay weak. I was hungry when we got back, but I only drank half the blood bag Lynx gave me, so I wasn’t really starving like Luka. He told me I was lucky not to be bonded to anyone, that the blood they gave him was disgusting. The blood tasted good to me and I devoured every drop they offered.”

“He starved because of our bond?” Sage whimpered, taking a deep breath and blowing it out through pursed lips.

“Not entirely,” Carmen answered. “Dr. Ishman didn’t focus nearly as much on me as she did Luka. She was constantly putting him to the test, experimenting with things she never did to me. It was like she was searching for something specific in him. I couldn’t see what she was doing to him, but I could hear it. Hear his screams.”

Carmen shook her head, tears brimming her lids. “The more she tested, the more he refused the blood they gave him, and the weaker he got. He was to the point where he just kept spitting it out at them and I could hear them complaining about it.”

Sage dropped her head, tightly shutting her eyes, and I knew she’d had her fill of the conversation, so I stepped in. “We can just load him up and go home. Maybe he’ll heal better the further we get away from this place.”

“That’s a good idea, boy,” Ravage said, moving toward the door, stopping with his hand on the knob. “You help Sage get him to stand. I’ll get Zeke and Erik to help me load the vehicles.”

Ravage left and I kicked the bed Luka slept in. “Hey, asshole. We’re going home with or without you.”

Luka didn’t move and my forehead creased, concern filling me.

Sage punched me in the arm and I completely lost my train of thought. “What the hell.”

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