Chapter 15 --15
The man, upon hearing her answer, looked at her without a word—his expression unreadable, cloaked only in calmness.
"It hurts a little," he murmured, lowering his head.
Gently, he reached down and began removing Kaya’s shoes. As they slipped off, he noticed a strip of white cloth tightly wrapped around her foot. He moved slowly, carefully undoing the knot. Kaya flinched slightly, a soft wince escaping her lips. His hands froze for a second, his gaze lifting briefly to her face. Then, without a word, he resumed, gentler this time.
As the cloth finally fell away, pale skin was revealed—marred by a scar, large and unmistakably old.
The scar looked like a centipede had once burrowed beneath her skin—its bite and legs leaving behind a trail of twisted, raised marks. It was grotesque in detail, yet somehow carried a story of survival.
The man suddenly froze.
Noticing the shift, Kaya glanced down—and there it was. His gaze fixed on the scar.
A scoff slipped past her lips, dry and sharp. "What? Getting disgusted already?"
His head lifted slowly, eyes meeting hers with an unreadable mix of emotion. Then, without a word, he looked back down. His fingers brushed the scar—soft, hesitant, reverent. A tingling sensation rippled through Kaya at his touch.
"It must have been painful," he said quietly, voice weighed with something close to sorrow.
He couldn’t understand it—how a female so breathtakingly beautiful could be wandering alone in such a dangerous place, without even a mate to guard her.