Chapter 86 - Feeding the Need

In a flash Kai was back in the castle, in Rae's childhood bedroom. The familiar scent of her room, instantly stoked his memories. As he scanned down, he could see Rae’s small lifeless body in front of him. His hands trembled slightly as he realised what he was seeing.

“R…Rae?” He knelt down to touch her in a panic but his hands passed through her, like she was air. He reached for her again but there was still nothing. His hands went straight through her like he was a ghost.

He shook his head as he remembered the conversation that he had with her just a moment ago. “This isn’t real”

“Rae?” Kai stood up abruptly and looked around for her, the real her. Previous times that he had been in her dream world, there had always been a form of her that he could touch or hold. Rae's true self.

As he continued looking around, his eyes suddenly caught sight of two familiar blue eyes peering out from a gap in a cupboard to his right. He didn’t need to see much to recognise the look of terror etched in to the little boy's face. His face.

“It’s me?” Kai questioned. Rae had brought him back to the day that her family was slaughtered. The day she shut him in the cupboard to protect him.

Before he could do anything else, he heard the chatter of two men standing just in the doorway. Sirran soldiers. One of their gruff voices boomed in the room as he laughed at Rae’s still body in front of them.

“Well, that takes care of that” the blonde haired man laughed as he threw the pole that he used to hit her over to one side of the room.

“You idiot!” The mousy haired man next to him shouted. “You weren’t supposed to kill her! Nolan wanted her alive to try and make the mother comply. Now what are we going to do?”

“We came here to kill them, how was I supposed to remember this brat was the one he wanted alive” Blondie barked back annoyed. “Go check her, she might still have some life left in her.”

“You asshole! With the way you just clocked her round the head that’s highly unlikely,” Mousy replied. He wearily stepped further in to the room whilst holding on to the hilt of his sword that he had hanging from his belt.

“What are you creeping around for? Just go in there and grab her.” Blondie gave Mousy a boot up the ass for encouragement.

“Hey!” Mousy shouted back. “I’ve had enough of being jumped on by fucking Aldians.”

As Mousy stepped further in to the room, Kai instinctively tried to swing for him, to stop him from getting close to her, but again his arm just passed right through. With everything feeling and smelling so real, Kai was struggling to remember that this was just a vision. It all felt like it was happening now. Playing out in front of him like a nightmare.

“Stop!” Kai shouted at him as Mousy got closer and closer to Rae’s tiny frame. This whole scene felt like torture to watch. He hadn’t recollected any of this from when he was in the cupboard, none of the conversation that Mousy and Blondie had. If he knew that there was any chance that she had survived, he would have come looking for her ages ago. She wouldn’t have had to suffer or remain hidden for all this time.

Kai turned to the cupboard where he knew his smaller self was. His mind was willing his younger self to try and help her. To do something, anything. If there was some way of rewriting history, he wished he had the power to do that now.

As Mousy reached Rae he lifted her head up by her hair. Blood trickled down her forehead where Blondie had struck her. Her eyes flickered slightly showing the faintest sign of life.

“See, what did I tell ya!” Blondie called out. "The bitch is still alive. These fucking Lauriels. You have to poke half a dozen holes in them before they give up the ghost and even then, they still don’t want to lay down and die.” Blondie massaged his wrist. A red welt that looked like a bite mark was oozing blood.

“This one was like a fucking zombie trying to bite me to stop me from getting in to this room.” Blondie kicked over another boy directly outside the door who was slumped to one side. Rae’s older brother Jasper.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Bring her over here.” Blondie beckoned Mousy.

Mousy dropped her head then scooped her up in to his arms. “Alright, alright I’m coming.” As he turned to walk back towards the doorway. He stopped in confusion as he looked at Blondie’s startled face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Blondie struggled to make any words. Instead he gargled as blood started to trickle down the side of his mouth. He dropped to his knees as his hands felt around the back of his neck. A dagger was plunged deep in to the back of his throat. Mousy watched as the life quickly left Blondie’s eyes. He dropped to the floor with a thud.

Kai watched on in disbelief as a younger version of Mya appeared behind Blondie’s lifeless body. She flipped another dagger in her hand.

“You little…!” Mousy shouted as Mya launched the dagger directly at him. It landed plum in the centre of his throat. As blood started to pour out, his hand reflexively dropped Rae to reach for his neck and Mya caught her in arms just before he fell to the ground.

“Please be okay little one,” Mya pleaded as she checked Rae for signs of life. Mousy's blood has spattered her body but she visibly relaxed a little as she saw Rae's little chest rise and fall. "Let's get you out of here." Mya held her close to her chest and raced out the room with her.

Kai went to follow her but the whole room suddenly flickered and became distorted, like a broken VHS tape. "What's happening?" Kai asked himself.

The room flickered again and then suddenly disappeared as he was thrown back to reality on the balcony. Kai blinked a few times to regain his bearings before he realised that Rae was stooped down in front of him, panting heavily. He knelt quickly in front of her.

"Rae? Rae? What's wrong?"

Rae placed her hand on his chest. "I'm okay, I'm okay" she said between laboured breaths. "I'm just struggling to....be able control it"

Kai rubbed his hand across her face. Her face was hot and damp with sweat. "Stop. It's okay, don't try again. It's taking too much of a toll on your body where you're not used to it. You're gonna need some time to learn how to control it."

"But we don't have time Kai!" Rae snapped. The look of annoyance and frustration was etched in her face. It was an emotion he was very familiar with.

"I hear you, believe me I do, but your gift is more than just a physical ability. It's not long since you realised that you even had it. You're gonna have to build yourself up physically so the burden on your body isn't so high."

Rae was still panting from the expended energy. Almost like she was having a panic attack.

"Listen to me. Just breathe. Slowly." Kai said softly.

"Sit." Kai sat down on the cool marble floor and pulled her down with him. Her breaths slowly started to even out with each exhale.

"Good. Feeling a bit better?" Kai tilted his head and smoothed his hand across her neck. She didn't feel as warm as a moment ago.

"Yeah...I think so". Kai's touch alone seemed to have a soothing effect on her. Her wolf hummed inside her at the closeness of her mate.

Kai sighed in relief as she seemed to be back to her normal self.

"Do you remember what you showed me just now? In that memory?"

"Yeah" Rae nodded.

"You couldn't have been conscious when any of that happened, but you remember it?" Kai was still confused as to how she could have recalled that as a memory when she wasn’t awake.

Rae lent back against the railing of the balcony and looked up as she tried to recall.

"It's hard to explain. It's like I remember bits and pieces of it, but it's like it's not from my direct memories. I think it's from Tara's memory."

"Tara's? But you couldn't have been any more than about 6 then. Tara should have still been dormant inside of you."

"I know. But I remember almost like I can see it from her viewpoint. It's the same with my mother. When she gave me her gift. I don't remember it happening in person but I just know that it happened. Like Tara remembers her giving me her gift. It was like my mother knew this was going to happen, she knew they were going to come that day, and something inside me knew too."

Rae's eyes started to well up. "It's like a piece of my mother is still within me." She clenched a hand over her chest as memories of her mother flooded back in to her mind. "I miss her Kai. I miss them all." Her voice started to crack just as Kai pulled her in to his chest.

"I know." He ran his hand gently over her hair and back. He could feel her sadness pulsing through their bond, like it was his own. Both he and Pax were desperate to try and comfort her and take away some of her pain.

Just as a few tears silently streamed down her cheeks, Rae started to run her hands ran up his bare chest. Her head followed her hands as they steadily worked their way up to his face. When her hand reached his lips, she leant forward and kissed him tenderly. His soft smooth lips reciprocated the gentle kisses she bestowed on him, seeking the comfort that only his touch could provide.

As they kissed, her need for more started to get more and more intense and she crawled fully into his lap and allowed her legs wrap around his waist. Her kisses became more and more heated as she started to gyrate slowly in his lap. She could feel his arousal growing to meet hers.

"Rae?" Kai said between kisses. Her scent was already intoxicating as the need for him physically started to build in her, but he was conflicted with how emotional she was. "Baby…"

Rae silenced every attempt he made to speak with her lips. Her tongue forced its way in to his mouth, repressing any attempt for him to stop her from getting what she wanted. What she needed from him in that moment.

As Kai ran his hand over the side of her face in their now frenzied kiss, he could feel the wetness of her tears actively down her cheek. He couldn't help but feel unsettled at how her mind and her body were in two different places.

" Rae…wait a minute..."

As he tried to pull back a dominating growl resonated deep within her. Kai stood still, momentarily stunned. Not only by the sound that she made but the force behind it. The sound reverberated right through his chest, causing Pax to stand alert to attention. Alert and immensely aroused to the calling of his mate.

Her eyes were now as black as the night. The look of both lust and need was engraved in her face. It wasn't just Tara, it was Rae as well who wanted him. Wanted him to heal her and comfort her in a way that only her mate could. The dominating look clearly indicated that she wasn't going to take no for an answer and if anything it made his desire for equally just as charged. In that moment, she didn't need to say or do anything more. If sex was what she needed from her mate, then he wasn't going to disappoint her.

"I hear you baby. I've got you," he whispered against her ear in a sensuous growl as he scooped her in his arms and led her back inside.