CHAPTER 366: YOU DON’T HAVE TO GO

A slight frown appeared on Healer Anderson’s face and he glanced at the woman. He took a sniff of the air and remarked, "But for a siren, she smells too different." He reached out to touch Inez, only for her to flinch as the man was studying her as if she were a specimen to be studied. Healer Anderson pulled his hand back and continued, "She smells of shifters, vampires, witches and ... dungeon."

"Well, she does." Killian glanced at her before asking, "Can you heal her wounds?"

"We first need to clear the residue of the wolfsbane. You know that no healing spells will work on these wounds if we don’t clean the wolfsbane. Fortunately, I have a cleanser that can be used to clean it off." as he finished speaking, Healer Anderson started to pull a small vial from his bag. He used a cotton ball to wipe off the traces of the wolfsbane on Inez’s back and then used his healing skills to heal the many lash marks on her back. Once he was done, Healer Anderson turned to look at Killian and said to him, "We found something interesting a few days ago, if you want—make sure to drop by the laboratory."

"Sure."

Healer Anderson took his leave and Killian locked the door behind him. She heard Killian say, "Your wounds are healed but the blood and muck stay. You should take a shower. I don’t have a jacuzzi here. So you have to make do with whatever we have at the moment."

"I am actually surprised that you even have a shower in here." Inez glanced at the glass door, feeling a bit bamboozled by the sheer fact that Killian actually had a showering place in his office. Wasn’t this his workplace?

"We have certain privileges in here," replied Killian. When he saw the confusion in her eyes, he arched a brow and questioned, "What?"

"I thought you were not closely linked with the council," remarked Inez with a hint of a frown on her face.

Killian smiled at her. "I am not but I do things—certain dangerous things for Seth. This is the least he can provide me. After all, I don’t like reeking of blood. Usually, I come here after submitting my reports and wash off the blood clean. I would have done that but then again, I am afraid your siren wouldn’t have been able to keep her hands off me then."

"I think I could have done that; you underestimate me too much," said Inez, her cheeks turning red.

When he raised a brow, not bothering to hide his scepticism, her face turned even redder. She rolled her eyes and said to Killian, "Of course I could have kept my hands to myself. Do you think I am that — I am lacking that much control? You are fine; don’t worry, I will not do anything; your virtue is safe with me."

The man scoffed. Something shifted in his face and the tiniest smile broke over his lips. Not quite a smile, but close enough for that. Just for a second, he smiled and the tension in the air cracked.

He exhaled and rubbed his hands over his face. The gesture was enough to showcase his vulnerability. It caught Inez off guard.

"You have no idea how scared I was, do you?" he said finally. "And the situation with Dominic doesn’t ease the tension coursing in my veins."

Inez’s face turned awkward. "I never thought that I was going to be caught. I swear I was going to return in an hour or so... I never wanted to be caught and definitely I had no intention of running into Dominic."

Killian met her gaze directly. Inez tried to resist the urge to look into his eyes, because every time she locked gazes with him, her siren would start stirring awake and that was not good.

Not at all good.

"Dominic is going to be a problem. Bigger than the one where you ended up getting involved in a murder case—bigger than Alpha Remy." He sighed, pinching the space between his brows. "Remy has never been loyal to me even though he swore an alliance with me. If he was, then he wouldn’t have allowed those witches to trespass into our lands or hidden the fact that he was connected to them. He doesn’t trust me and I don’t trust him. He will certainly think that I used you to kill his mate."

"I am sorry—"

"There is no need to apologise." Killian waved his hand off carelessly. "I am not blaming you. It was never my intention." He sighed again. "What I am trying to tell you is that Dominic is going to be in even bigger trouble than Remy. He is not at all thrilled to find out that you are with me and I don’t think he is going to stop at all."

Inez didn’t stop him because she knew that he was correct and there was not an ounce of exaggeration. She knew Dominic too well. He might have stopped tonight out of courtesy for her injuries and the hard time she had in the dungeon or maybe it was all because of Tracy. But he was not going to let her go. Whether it was due to his hatred or something else, he was not going to let her escape from his clutches.

Inez hesitated; the sharp line of her jaw tightened as she glanced away. "I don’t want to go with him. I never want to go back to that pack ever again."

As she spoke, she pulled her legs close to herself, and she muttered, "In the dungeon, I realised that the wounds he had caused were never healed. I could still remember those nights where he would lock me up and punish me for things—that never made sense."

Killian leaned forward and Inez’s breath got caught. The air between the two of them shifted; from turning cautious and guilty, it charged and turned into something more sensual. The energy started to crackle within her very bones.

"Then you don’t have to go, Bubbles. I will protect you."