Page 73 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Natalia
While Natalia was grateful Taredd had reached her before she was raped, he hadn’t managed to rescue her in time to prevent the beating she’d taken. Her whole body hurt from where he used her as his personal punching bag before ripping her clothes to shreds.
Natalia didn't complain about Taredd carrying her back to the tavern. She could have walked back easily enough on her own, but Taredd refused to put her down.
She didn’t have the strength to argue with him. So, instead of insisting that he put her down, she held on tightly as he carried her effortlessly back to the tavern.
Taredd's friend didn't say much as they walk along either, which suited her just find because she was in no mood for small talk. Natalia didn't have a clue what species Dain was, but she could tell that he wasn't a Demon like Taredd.
For starters, he didn't have any horns on the top of his head. Well, at least none that she could see anyway.
The blanket Dain found for her didn't help her body feel any better. It rubbed against the cuts that were all over her skin, but she was grateful all the same. After all, it covered her body since her clothing couldn't do the job after being ripped to shreds.
The small amount of fabric remaining from her clothing was barely holding together, and it definitely wasn't enough to cover her.
By the time they reached the tavern, Natalia found it hard to fight back the tears. She wanted to lock herself away so nobody could see her cry, least of all Taredd. Not once did his hold on her loosen at any point on the walk back. The way he held her so tightly made her think that he was afraid of letting go and dropping her.
Natalia didn't want him to think of her as weak, which was one of the reasons she was fighting so hard not to cry in front of him and his friend. She knew that being carried by him would make her appear that way, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. That didn't mean she was going to burst into tears in front of him though.
"We're here now,” he whispered in her ear as he climbed the stairs two at a time with her still in his arms.
Natalia nudged him with her head to let him know that she heard him. She didn't trust her voice not to give away how close she was to tears.
Once they were in the room, Taredd lowered her to her feet and Natalia instantly excused herself.
"I'm gonna take a bath,” she said quietly.
With her head lowered, holding on tight to the blanket so she didn't drop it, she made her way to the bathroom without saying another word.
"Okay," Taredd replied. "Just shout for me if you need anything, I'll be in here."
Natalia nodded her head, but didn't look back as she closed the door behind her.
As soon as the water was running, Natalia let loose the tears that had been threatening to fall since the moment Taredd had found her. They soaked her cheeks in seconds even though she kept wiping them away, and no matter how hard she tried, now that the floodgates were open, she couldn't close them again.
Natalia didn't wait for the bath to fill completely. Climbing into the bath when it was half filled, Natalia bit her bottom lip as the water stung her cuts. Closing her eyes, she laid back in the water to wet her hair, but when she didn't stop crying, she sat up again.
Holding her legs to her chest, she let the tears fall unchecked. There was no point in fighting them, so she might as well let them have free reign.
It seemed to take forever before they finally stopped, she was completely exhausted by the time they did. Natalia didn't have the energy to move, let alone wash herself. So, she just sat there as the water started to go cold around her, waiting for her energy to return for her to move, at least enough for her to add some hot water so she could finish bathing.
