Lilly gasped as she fell, pain flooding through her body.
Chapter 9
Kai cursed as his leg throbbed with pain, and he clenched his teeth to suppress the screams of pain.
“I am afraid that shifting into a bear did no favor to your injury,” Gilly, the head of the recovery, said. “Whatever healing was happening has not only been stalled, but the new injuries have aggravated it. You need to completely rest if you are to heal and recover the full use of your leg.”
“I know,” Kai said. He had known all this before he jumped into the battle, but when he saw Lilly in danger, he couldn’t stop himself.
“Well, I have given you some medicine for the pain and dressed your injuries,” Gilly said. “I am afraid I can’t give you an IV because we don’t have any supplies left. Just try and rest and hopefully, with your fast healing, we will have some improvement tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Kai replied, closing his eyes. He tried to rest and relax, but the shouts from the outside were keeping him awake. He tried to tune out the noises and let himself fall asleep. He was physically injured, but the emotional pain was more severe and hurtful. He couldn’t believe that he had lost Lilly, just like that.
It was pretty obvious that the bastard was abusing her. Kai had noticed the bruise marks on her face and on her arms. He wished he could tear that man apart, but Lilly refused to talk to him. She kept insisting that the past was past and that he should forget her.
Kai swallowed as the thought of never being with her again tore through his mind. Why was she acting like this? Why did she keep pushing him away? Why wouldn’t she tell him what happened and let him back into her life? Why the hell had she married that bastard anyway?
The door burst open, startling Kai. He looked up to see Lilly standing there, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears.
“Gilly!” she shouted, running over. “Gilly, have you seen Elisabeth?”
“No,” Gilly said, standing up. “Why, is she missing?”
“Yes.” Lilly sobbed. “I-”
“It’s okay, calm down, and tell me what happened,” Gilly said.
“I left-” Lilly sobbed, crying so much she couldn’t even speak.
“It’s alright,” Gilly said, hugging her.
Kai felt a sudden wave of panic, almost as if someone had stabbed him through his heart. He stood up, ignoring the pain in his legs and limped toward Lilly as fast as he could. His mind flashed back to the little baby with her beautiful green eyes, grabbing his arm as she giggled.
Lilly was having a panic attack by now, her body shaking as she struggled to breathe. Kai limped to her and sat down on the floor, putting his hand on her knees.
“Lilly, I need you to breathe!” Kai said, taking her soft hand in his. “I want you to take a deep breath in and now exhale. Inhale one more time and exhale.”
Kai made her repeat this until she had managed to sufficiently calm down.
“Where did you last see her?” Kai asked once she was calm enough.
“Abigail,” Lilly said, between tears. “I left her in Abigail's cabin-”
“Shush,” Kai said, placing a finger on her lips and cutting her off. He closed his eyes and concentrated his bear before setting it off like a sonic wave. He frowned as he received the location of everyone in camp, but he could only spot adult humans. There was no small baby nearby. He concentrated his power once again and pushed it out even further than before, trying to cover the entire forest. It took a lot of mental strength and energy, and Kai was exhausted at the end of it.
Kai frowned as he failed to find any sign of her. How could she have been out of the forest so soon? He did it once more, this time concentrating on every life source that he could find. He had almost given up any hope of finding her when his senses spotted something abnormal.
“I think I have an idea where she is,” Kai said. “She is not very far.”
He struggled to get up as Lilly instantly stood up. He shifted into a bear, ignoring the pain that radiated through his body. He started to run, barely managing to do so because of his useless leg. Regardless, he was still faster than humans. He gave them an approximate location and ran off, knowing he had to get to her before she somehow got hurt.
He didn’t know why, but his heart was in his throat. He thought about the animals and beasts that roamed these forests and the danger she could be in. He flinched as he imagined all the bad things that could happen to her.
His body protested, and his leg hung uselessly as he tried to run on three limbs. He was struggling and kept falling as his exhausted body refused to cooperate. Yet, Kai refused to give up. All he could think of was the beautiful baby giggling and playing. How terrified the poor thing would be right now.
He reached his destination and instantly started to look around. His senses told him she was here nearby, somewhere. He looked around until a small growling sound caught his attention. He instantly turned toward it; his senses heightened. It was coming from a small bush and Kai slowly made his way toward it.
He knew he had to be careful. The growling noise either belonged to an animal or another shifter, and he knew he might end up in serious trouble. Nevertheless, he walked on and slowly used his paw to push the bush away.
