Chapter 53 - TAKING CARE OF HER

[KYLE POV]

Once I had Jacy settled on the bed I ran outside to get the things I had grabbed from my rental car. I needed to clean Jacy up. I needed to take care of her. She was all that mattered right now.

With everything that I needed inside the cabin I started to frantically search the place for what was available. I needed a bowl to put the water in so that I could clean her up. I could do it without the bowl but it would be easier with it.

I didn't find a bowl, but I did locate a pot in the kitchen along with other cooking utensils. I took the large silver pot to the sink and filled it with hot water. I wanted it to be soothing as I cleaned the blood away from Jacy's abused body. 

I had to keep reminding myself that she is a shifter and can heal. I knew that these wounds probably weren't enough to kill her. But that didn't stop me from worrying about her. She was my mate, whether she had accepted or admitted that fact yet or not.

Once I had everything ready I went back into the bedroom to get to work. Jacy was still out cold. She hadn't moved at all and I was guessing she would be out for a few hours at the very least.

When I was kneeling by Jacy's side I took an inventory of the damage she had received. Her face was so swollen that I couldn't see her eyes. I could tell that she had some broken facial bones, there was no way she had taken this much damage and hadn't broken anything.

Aside from the bruises and blood that were all over her face Jacy also had severe bruising on her upper body and arms. She had tried to fight them off, but by the time that asshole was using her as a punching bag she was being held down by four men.

I needed to clean her up now though. I couldn't dwell on what had happened right now. I needed to focus on her and the future. First of all, I needed to get the blood stained clothes off of her.

The shirt was ripped and therefore was a lost cause, but the jacket was also trash now. It was covered in so much blood that it wasn't likely to be salvaged. I lifted her gently off the bed, cradling her in my left arm while I shifted just the index finger on my right hand to have a lethally sharp claw.

With my hand now basically equipped with a razor blade I cut away at Jacy's jacket, the back of her ripped shirt, and her bra. Now that I could grip the material from the sides and pull them off of her from the front I sat her back down on the mattress. 

I could possibly save the jeans that Jacy was wearing. When she woke up I could give her one of my shirts to wear, the image of which made my heart race and my dick twitch but now wasn't the time to think of that. But even if Jacy could wear my shirt there was no way she could wear a pair of my pants. So, cleaning her jeans was my only option.

I unbuttoned the denim at her waist and slid them off of her body slowly. This was not something that was arousing me in the least. I was staring at my mate who had been beaten, the only thing that I felt was rage toward those that touched her and worry for her.

With the clothes removed I threw away the cut and ripped pieces and went into the bathroom to fill the tub with water. I needed to soak the pants so that as much blood as possible would come out of them. I threw a little soap in with them as well. Too bad I didn't have laundry soap, or borax, or something.

I once again returned to Jacy's side where I knelt down once again and grabbed a soft washcloth that I had found in the bathroom. I dipped the rag into the water that was now cooler than I had intended but it was still warm enough.

After wringing the excess water from the cloth I gently wiped away the blood from Jacy's face. I would swipe a few times then rinse the washcloth and repeat the process. The water that I was using had started as clear, then after the first rinse it became a light pink. On and on I went and the water slowly darkened to deeper shades of pink and eventually into an almost pure red.

I wasn't done cleaning Jacy yet and I needed to go rinse the pot. I needed to get freshwater now. There was more blood than water in the pot and I was just leaving red smears on Jacy.

With the water dumped and refilled I went back to Jacy's side and began to clean her once again, this time with water that was hot like I had intended.

My rage was ebbing now. It was sliding away as it was replaced with sorrow. If I hadn't waited to go after her this wouldn't have happened. It was just like I had said earlier. I shouldn't have let her go when I knew she wasn't in her top form.

I had nearly lost her. I hadn't even had her accept that she was my mate and I nearly lost her. I know that we weren't close yet, but I already knew that I couldn't live my life without her. And then there is the baby. I haven't even had the chance to talk to her about the baby yet and now it was possible that we could lose it. I don't care though, as long as Jacy is alright and I have her that is all that matters. We could always have another baby when the time was right.

I continued cleaning the blood away as I thought about all these things. There wasn't much else I could do at the moment. 

When things were cleaned up to the best of my ability I put some gauze onto the few cuts and splits in Jacy's skin that were still bleeding. I was doing my best to be gentle and careful.

When she was cleaned up I moved her to the other side of the bed so that she was not laying on all the blood.. I tucked her into the bed and started planning what I was going to do next.