Dining

Darren shot his head forward and stared at Kyley with a dumbfounded expression. He opened his mouth to speak but he had no idea what to say.

" I saw the dining earlier and I think it would be the best place to eat this meal. Besides, I don't think I can climb back up the stairs just yet, and I don't want you carrying me. I wanna start walking on my own from now on" Kyley rambled on in a low tone, finding an excuse after another. She just didn't want to go eat alone in boredom up in her room.

Darren hearing this stared at her for a while before shaking his head. He rubbed his temple in thought for a while then sighed. " Fine."

" The dining it is" He turned around and dished both his and Kyley's food, then placed it in a large tray and said to Kyley as he headed out of the kitchen. " Let's go."

Kyley nodded her head and slowly stood to follow behind Darren. Getting to the small dining hall that was next to the living room.

Kyley had only taken a glance at the dining hall most of the times that she passed by the living room, but finally getting there, she was appalled by its elegant setting and decor that seemed to be inspired by nature itself. The long charming mahogany table surrounded by wooden chairs with plush seats was nestled near a fireplace that crackled softly in the background, creating an inviting sensation to sit and dine on it.

The lights in the lamp on the walls danced and bounced softly, casting a gentle glow over the rustic surrounding and mixed with the slight light of morning that shone in through the window covered by the white curtains.

Darren walked towards the table unperturbed and placed the tray on the table. He then stood aside to help Kyley pull a chair. " Thanks" Kyley pursed her lips and hopped in to seat in the chair as she said.

Darren nodded his head and placed Kyley's plate directly before her, allowing the delicious aroma to waft its way up to her nostrils. He placed the cutleries by her plate and said. " I'll go get us some water" Darren said and went back to the kitchen. He grabbed two bottles of water and two glass cups to drink them with before returning to the dining table to place one each before Kyley.

" Thank you" Kyley said timidly. Darren just nodded his head and moved to take the seat directly opposite Kyley's with his plate in hand.

After settling down, Darren held his palm together and closed his eyes to bless his food before starting to eat.

Kyley who had begun eating couldn't help but look at Darren weirdly. Curious, she couldn't help but ask." What was that?"

Kyley had lived here life in a secluded end of a town where the Moonblood pack residence was. She had never seen anyone do that before eating their food before and it was strange to her.

" Hmm? I blessed my food. It's nothing really, just a custom I grew up with" Darren said dismissively. " By the way, I see you can move your hands freely and eat by yourself now" Darren added.

Kyley creased her gaze at Darren for a moment, obviously not satisfied with his dismissive remark about the blessing thingy. She wondered just what kind of upbringing he had ' Is he raised by a priest?' Those where the only people Kyley knew who did such things.

However, she didn't linger on it. " Yes. Thanks to you, my wounds are healing faster than I could ever imagine. This way, I might really leave for the city in few weeks to come" Kyley said.

Darren nodded his head and dug in his food. He asked shortly after " Speaking of the city, have you got some relative over there?" Darren knew it was stupid to ask, but he still had to ask. After all, he needed to drop her off in safe hands. Only then would he be able to rest easy.

Despite the fact that he still had certain questions as to why he'd spared her life back then while in a state where he normally wouldn't have spared anyone's life, Darren still thought that perhaps this was a chance to redeem himself. Being an accursed being, Darren would be able to carry on knowing he'd at least saved a life.

" No I don't."

However, hearing Kyley's words he couldn't help but be put in great shock and surprise. Darren paused on his hands that he raised the fork with to eat and stared at Kyley incredulously. As though he had misheard what she'd said just now, he waited for a long while for her to reiterate her statement.

" Thankfully, I have you to take me" Kyley shrugged happily and continued with her meal.

Silence reigned for a while as Darren put down his fork and knife and cupped his upper lip with a finger in thought. ' If she knows no one in the city, doesn't that mean she'll be alone. That's crazy! Does she have an idea what life in the city is like?' Darren was baffled as to what had Kyley so assured that the city was her safest bet. ' Well, it's better than staying here with me' He concluded.

" Kyley, have you ever been to the city?" Darren asked after a while as he picked up his fork and knife to continue with his meal.

Kyley looked up and looked at Darren as though he were asking the obvious. " No I haven't. But Sam told me it's way safer over there than in the Moonblood pack residence."

' Just as I'd thought. Wait...'

" Sam?" Darren frowned as he asked.

" Yeah, she's like, the only one who has been kind to me in the whole of the Moonblood pack. She even helped me escape. I wonder how she's doing..." Kyley responded swiftly. She didn't hesitate to tell Darren things anymore as she'd come to see him as someone he could tell her stuffs to and trust. After all, her safety was in his hands.

" Hmm" Darren hummed in thought. ' Poor girl, she must have suffered a lot to even think that the city was better than her life in the Moonblood pack, its quite pitiful.

" This Sam. Just who is she to you?" Darren asked after a while. He wondered if they were relatives.

Kyley paused for a second as her expression darkened. Nonetheless," She is Jason's lover but she's more of a friend to me" Kyley said with a grim face.

Darren hearing this couldn't help but feel upset to the stomach. Just what sort of crazy being was this Jason of a dude? He'd heard from Kyley in the past few days when they would speak about her relationship with Jason. He was supposed to be his mate, however, for some reason, he hated her so much that he made her life so miserable.

' Just because she's powerless and weak?' Darren couldn't stand the thought of anyone doing that. He felt that Kyley was a very kind and intelligent person, she didn't deserve to go through any of what Jason put her through.

" Kyley" Darren called and asked the question that he'd been keeping himself from asking for a long time now. " Where are your parents?"

Kyley raised her gaze to meet Darren's. Her face contorted bitterly being reminded about them. She lowered her head in sorrow as she said in a dispirited tone. " They're dead. Ever since I was 7"

Darren felt bad for asking, after seeing Kyley's mood. " I'm sorry," he put down his fork and apologized with his gaze lowered. He already thought that this was the case, however, he still had to know.

Kyley just shook her head and stared at her meal. She'd lost appetite and was not in the mood to eat anymore as several memories from her past resurfaced in her mind. She couldn't push them off of her mind try as much as she could.

" Listen, Kyley. I know I said this countless times over and over again before but rest assured, I'll take you to the cities when your wounfs are healed. So do not worry about anything okay?" Darren consoled in a soothing voice.

Kyley looked up to him and nodded her head, she didn't doubt that Darren didn't mean any of his words. " I'm done" She said pointing at the meal before her on the table.

" Mm. Leave it, once I'm done I'll take it along with mine" Darren said, however, just as he was about to continue with his meal, a thought surged in his mind.

Seeing the slight dark spots and dry rashes on Kyley's face, he couldn't help but smile wryly and add " On the other hand, why don't you use the shower?"

Ever since he'd brought her in, she hadn't had the liberty of taking a clean bath due to her condition. Although Darren wiped her face and arms with a towel and warm water, it still couldn't match that of a clean bath. And the spots on her face made this evident.

Kyley frowned hearing this and couldn't help but take a sniff at herself to see if she was smelling. For some reason, she felt annoyed and embarrassed at Darren's words and it hurt her.

" I'll go get you a towel and something to wear" Darren said and quickly escaped the scene. He'd seen the annoyed look on Kyley's face and he didn't mean to come on to her as rude, but it had to be said that she needed a bath. Taking offense or not, she needed it.

" Come upstairs with me. " He said as he walked towards the stairs. Kyley, still with an annoyed frown, stood from the dining table and followed behind Darren.

" Once you're done bathing, I'll attend to your wounds." Darren half-turned and stated as he climbed the stairs. Kyley was still pissed off at Darren and couldn't help but pout. However, she couldn't deny the fact that she needed a bath either. She just didn't like that Darren was the one to point this out to her.

...