32

She was uncomfortably tossing and turning in her bed. The familiar pain on her navel was bothering her and what's making it worse was the person lying just an arms length away from her restless position. It was already late in the evening and it seemed like Langdon was already in deep sleep. Usually, when she was having her cycle she would spend it near a hot spring but since the dwelling was gobsmacked in the middle of the main island and walking to the nearest spring would be stretching her dead. She just came from the district and traveled a long time. Walking a few more extra miles was already exhausting her mind.

The thought of being found out as a female was giving her the chills. It was a secret she was hiding for the longest time. Her mother, Amelia, taught her to hide her true self. To survive and live a peaceful life, she would have to forget the sex she was born in. As a child who saw how her parents act cautious all the time, she obeyed all the things her mother wanted her to do. With her father looking at her in apology and helplessness, Tahlia was forced to mimic his brother, twin brother. The facade went so well until she lost her whole family from the people who wanted her mother back where she belonged.

It was still vivid in her mind, the recurring nightmare she would have every night. It was her father who first passed, stabbed to the heart while her mother decided it was not worth it to live anymore and took her own life after the men took turns on her body. It was a mind numbing nightmare she witnessed firsthand. Her family perished that same night under the hands of those barbaric men and turned to ashes in the burning house they used to call home.

Even so, her mother told her to flee and never look back, so she did just that. She did not hold onto grudges but she never forgets. It is how the wild world works after that deadly tragedy that almost wiped out the earth's population. With that inculcated in her mind, she made sure to stay hidden even if it was easier to assimilate herself in a district. She would not share the same fate her mother did and the man who was now sleeping peacefully beside her in bed.

Sighing heavily, she realized that she hadn't had any nightmares weeks ago, but it occurred again when she stayed over for a night in the pleasure pub. She stared at Langdon's sleeping face for a long time. Whatever is going to happen in the future, she will make sure of this man's safety.

Tahlia fell asleep.

****

"Talon, wake up!" She was woken up rudely by someone shaking her shoulders. Mumbling in protest, she turned away from the hands that were disturbing her sleep. However, it was not enough as the person continued to prattle in panic. Irritation rising dangerously, she suddenly sat up, sending some of the pillows flying. Even so, Langdon was undeterred as he kept on shaking her like a ragdoll. She was irritated and disoriented at the same time. In addition to that, she got body pains from the trip and a pesky cramps. She just wanted to sleep in peace.

"Stop it!" She snipped at him, flicking his hands away with her hands. It was not helpful. His hands remained firm and steady on her shoulders. Since when did he become strong? His strength was nothing to hers before. With jumbled thoughts in her head, she did not notice the change in the man's face.

"Who did this to you?" He asked in a curt voice, seemingly on the verge of bursting into a hysterical sob. Gathering her wits, she looked at him this time with more focus. Why the hell is he misty eyed?

'Shit, is he crying?' she thought.

"What?" The only word that she could mutter after seeing his expression. It was new to her and the fact that tears were falling one by one from his eyes was making her feel a mix of emotions. Is he crying for her? What's happening? Did something happen while she was asleep?

"What's the problem? Why the hell are you crying?" She asked with an unsure voice. It's too early in the morning for this kind of conversation or a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

"Who did it to you?" He repeated, eyes displaying a perfect mixture of hurt and hate in his eyes. To whomever those emotions are for, she's not sure.

"Did what?" Asking in confusion, she shrugged his hands from her shoulders which she successfully removed this time. He was gripping her shoulders so badly in anxiety that it left a mark. Even though she did not make a fuss about it. Whatever's making him upset was the priority right now.

"You're bleeding in your pants, Talon!" He exclaimed, a sudden burst of anger. The words took a long damn time to sink in. If she was attacked in her sleep, why didn't she feel anything? Bleeding, he says? Another full minute ticked by before she decided to check on herself. Her eyes slowly bulged out of their socket when she noticed the blood stains on the sheet. Specifically, the sheet that's underneath her.

"Tell me who did it to you, Talon? I'll find them myself and kill them." The words tumbling out of Langdon's mouth were full of sincerity. Tahlia was torn between listening to his sincere oath of avenging and the damning blood stains on the bed.

How the hell is she going to explain where the damn blood came from? She can't tell him that it came from her, can she? She should've sacrificed hours of rest and sleep in one of the dugout shelters nearby after taking a bath last night. Now, she is in a situation that warrants an explanation she never wanted to share.

"Don't mind it. I guess I have cut myself last night." The excuse was lame, and she knew it. Her head's blank and there's not much information coming in to support a denial believable enough to continue hiding her identity. She's doomed.

"Who among the people in the district touched you, Talon? Give me names." Langdon's gritted teeth could be heard in the pin drop silence. His jaws were grinding against each other, cementing the anger in his eyes. For a moment there, she pitied the person who would receive that anger.

"There's no one." She looked away, taking a pillow and covering the stains on the bed and another pillow went to her lap. Embarrassment was slowly creeping in.

"Talon, hear me out. I know it was not a pleasant experience for you just by looking at the mess on your pants, and you might be scared. Maybe you're in pain. I could not imagine traveling in that condition but believe me when I say I'll avenge you. Just give me their names and I'll take a trip back to the district right now and end their lives for you." Langdon's lengthy, heartfelt words seeped into her mind while the pieces of whatever he was hinting to gradually morphed into a sensible conclusion.

Did he think someone used her body? Her behind to be precise? Color scattered on her cheeks, heating them up in embarrassment. He somehow drew a conclusion on his own, an excuse, saving her from coming up with one. However, should she use the reason he was implying? That someone forced her and left her backside in a bloody mess? Would that be enough to chase the truth away? And if she ever uses that reason, how is she going to calm the seething man, crying silently for her unfortunate fate?