Page 48 of The Demon of the Wood

Melina nodded, desperate for some answer. Aife took her back to the loft, asking Jorah to bring up water for the tub. He did and after he left, Aife helped her undress, rubbing her back in soft, slow circles as she doubled over in pain.

“Does it always hurt this bad?” she gasped.

Aife frowned in sympathy. “Maybe. I think it’s different for each woman, and different each month.”

“Each month!” Melina groaned, having forgotten that horrifying detail.

Aife examined her, confirming it looked very much like a cycle, then left to get supplies as Melina bathed. She wrapped herself in a towel, standing, waiting as Aife brought back strips of cloth. She showed Melina how to use them to catch the blood and told her when to change them. There was a bucket she left by the door, and she was to drop the used ones in there and then she would show her how to clean and sanitize them. She ordered Melina to lie in bed and brought her hot stones, wrapped in a towel, to place on her stomach. Aife had her drink a tonic and soon her stomach settled, and the pangs lessened.

“I will have the human physician come by later to examine you, but I think you have just had your first cycle,” Aife said.

As Melina lay there, her symptoms lessening and her body getting sleepy, she smiled. She had her cycle. It was painful and horrible, and she wondered briefly if it hadn’t been better before, but in the end, she realized it meant her health was coming back. And it meant that maybe one day she would have children. But they would be children without Kaemon and that well of emotion rose in her again. She swallowed, refusing to think of it. There was no point in it.

twenty-five

Kaemon

Weekspassed,springspreadingover the landscape fully, the trees budding, and the blooms painting the forest a myriad of colors. Kaemon still visited Orc Haven often, though it was to see Enid, Aife, and Jorah. He always asked about Melina, and they told him she was well. But he never saw her. He suspected they warned her about his incoming visits, and she left to avoid him. He’d seen her once in the market, their eyes meeting from across the square. She’d looked tormented and then a crowd passed by and when they were gone, so was she.

She didn’t feel the mate bond like he did. She would have heartbreak, but she would move on, find someone else. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen plenty of men and males flirting with her at the tavern. She maybe even already had someone. The thought lit him with a rage, and he growled to release it. He felt, most days, as if half his limbs were dead and rotting, him having to drag them heavily around, a vital part of him missing. But Melina was safe and thriving. He reminded himself of that fact on repeat, the words a small salve to his sore spirit.

Enid landed in the clearing in front of his cabin, a bow strapped to her back with a quiver of arrows. She moved silently and nimbly, as if she was made of shadows herself. Her hair was pulled back by a band of colorful fabric, and he had the distinct feeling Melina had made it for her.

“Ready to hunt, brother?” she asked.

The addition of Enid helped with the loss of Melina, even if it could not fully assuage it. It wasn’t uncommon for a demon to find another mate, but it also wasn’t uncommon for them to never find one again. Kaemon knew he was the latter. He couldn't imagine life with anyone but Melina.

“Let’s go,” he said, leading her into the forest.

Her steps were steady and quiet, softer than even Kaemon’s. They padded through the forest, looking for any signs of animals.

“Did Melina make you that headband?” he asked, his voice too casual.

Enid gave him a side glance. “She did. She has more business than she knows what to do with now, you know.”

He hadn’t known, and he felt the lack of that knowledge like a whip. “She’s a hard worker and talented.”

“And beautiful and kind,” Enid offered.

He frowned at her, and she shrugged.

“Why are you being an ass, brother?”

He scowled. “What do you mean? I’m being an ass by protecting her?”

“You’re being an ass by protecting her against a phantom enemy. Where have the attacks been? Have the Hunters come after you again? She loves you so much it hurts to look at her, Kaemon. The same with you. Both of you are limping about, sulking, as if this is some mountain that can’t be climbed.”

He heaved an exasperated sigh and kept walking. “You don’t understand, Enid. You don’t know what it was like to lose everyone that day. To be held captive and hunted, reviled. Melina will be treated poorly for being with me. This isn’t some fairy tale.”

“I can’t understand all of it, Kaemon, but I can understand the overwhelming fear of losing the ones you love. It’s something I’ve barely overcome. You can, though. But you won’t, if you aren’t willing to take a risk. Melina is. She would die for you.”

“Yes, that’s the problem. I don’t want her to die. I want her to live and be healthy.”

“And she wants the same for you. But instead, you insist on holing up deep in the woods, keeping everyone at arm's length so that you never feel that pain again. What kind of life is that?”

Kaemon stopped and glared at her. “You’re back in my life for a month, and you’re already acting like an annoying little sister.”

She shoved him in the chest. “Good. Iamyour annoying little sister. And I’m here to tell you to take her as your mate. She wants you too. And you aren’t alone anymore, brother. You have me. I will protect you both. You have Aife and Jorah. You have plenty of people who will have your back in a fight.”

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