Page 80 of Wolf
The pain in my chest sharpens, and I have to blink back tears of my own. I know they're right that Matias is dangerous and unpredictable. Still, I also know that walking away from him would be like tearing a piece of my soul away.
The door to my bedroom swings open, and Matias strides in. My friends tense, their protective instincts kicking in as Blake jumps to her feet.
“Matias,” I say, my voice trembling. “What are you doing here?"
He doesn't even glance at Alice, Luna, and Blake. His eyes are locked on me, burning with a vicious intensity.
“I need to speak with you,” he says, his voice low and commanding. “Alone.”
Alice opens her mouth to protest, but Matias silences her with a single look. “This doesn't concern you,” he says.
Luna and Blake exchange a worried glance, but they know better than to defy Matias. Slowly, reluctantly, they rise from their seats and head for the door.
Alice lingers for a moment. “Kali, do you want to speak with him?"
I nod, swallowing hard. “Yes.”
With one last concerned look, Alice follows Luna and Blake out of the room, leaving me alone with Matias.
The air crackles with tension as he approaches the bed, his gaze roaming over my bandaged form. For once, there's no hunger in his eyes, no predatory gleam. Instead, he looks almost... troubled.
“Kali,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I need to know what happened.”
I suck in a sharp breath, memories of my brief captivity flooding back. The pain, the fear, and the hopelessness all come rushing back in a tidal wave of emotion.
“I don't want to talk about it,” I whisper.
Matias reaches out, his calloused fingers brushing against my cheek. The touch is gentle, almost tender—a stark contrast to the roughness I'm used to from him.
“Please,” he murmurs, his eyes searching mine. “I need to know.”
There's something in his voice, a rawness that catches me off guard. For a moment, I see a crack in his armor.
I take a deep, shuddering breath. “The men, they broke into the apartment while I was studying,” I begin, my voice trembling. “They grabbed me, tied me up, and took me to some abandoned warehouse.”
Matias's jaw tightens, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. But he doesn't interrupt or speak; he waits for me to continue.
“Afterwards, they transported me to that basement. Suarez wanted information about you,” I say, my gaze dropping to the bandages wrapped around my wrists. He kept asking about your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. But I didn't know anything to tell him anyway.”
A muscle ticks in Matias's jaw. Still, he remains silent, letting me speak.
“When I couldn't give him what he wanted, he...” My voice catches in my throat, and I swallow past the lump. “He started torturing me.”
Matias's entire body becomes rigid, his eyes blazing with a rage so intense it scares me—but it's not directed at me.
“He used knives, pliers, anything he could get his hands on,” I continue, my voice barely above a whisper. “The pain was... indescribable. I thought I was going to die.”
Matias's fist connects with the wall in a sudden, explosive movement, the impact so forceful that I jump. He doesn't even flinch from the pain or care that his knuckles are now grazed.
I watch him while he stands there, his chest heaving, his entire body trembling with barely contained fury.
Matias turns to face me with an intensity that steals my breath away. “Did he touch you sexually?"
I shake my head. “No, he just hurt me.”
My heart races when his hands cup my face. His touch is gentle.
“Kali,” he says, his voice raw with emotion. “The past two days have been the worst days of my life. Unable to find you, not knowing where you were or what was happening to you. It was torture.”
