Rejected and Pregnant Claimed By The Dark Alpha Prince novel Chapter 682

Chapter 682: Don’t you fucking lie!

"Yes. You can’t possibly sleep with all the stains on your body," Aisha stated. "Stay here. I’ll be back soon."

Karmen watched her retreat into the washroom. When she returned, she set a small tub of lukewarm water on the bedside table and met his gaze.

"Open your shirt," she said softly. Karmen reached for the top button, but even the slight rotation of his shoulder sent a jagged spike of pain through his chest. He winced, his fingers fumbling.

Aisha noticed his hesitation immediately. "Let me." She reached out, her fingers steady as she undid the third button, then worked her way down the rest. She peeled the ruined fabric away from his skin gently, then gestured for him to lean back. He settled against the headboard, his breath hitching slightly, while Aisha took her place on the edge of the bed in front of him.

She wrung out the towel before pressing it to his left shoulder. She began to dab away the dark with slow strokes.

"You didn’t ask me to go home," Karmen noted, his voice a low rumble in the small space. "Were you planning on taking care of me all along?"

"Your parents would have been devastated seeing you in this state," Aisha replied, her focus never wavering from the task. "I imagine you’ve never been injured like this before."

She moved the cloth down to the bandage on his muscular, tanned arm, cleaning the skin around the dressing with feather-light touches. Karmen didn’t look at his wounds; his eyes remained fixed on her face, watching the way her brow furrowed in concentration and the way the lamplight caught the tracks of her dried tears.

"This is the first time anyone has ever truly looked after me," Karmen murmured. "I was wounded once before, critically. Back then, there was no one. I was entirely alone."

Aisha paused, the damp cloth hovering over his skin as she searched his gaze. "You didn’t go to the hospital? How did you survive?"

"I was stationed at the border, leagues away from any medical facility," Karmen explained, a distant shadow flickering in his eyes. "Gabriel used to tell me that having a mate, or even just a partner, grants a person a different kind of shield, a secondary instinct for protection. I never understood the weight of those words until tonight." He paused, a small, weary smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I mean, we aren’t mates yet, but we are a couple. I think I finally see what he meant."

Aisha said nothing for a moment, her focus shifting entirely to his torso. "You have so many bruises here," she whispered with admiration. "I must say, you are a remarkable Beta. Taking down that many wolves alone is no easy feat."

She continued her work in a companionable silence. Once the last of the blood was cleared, she set the basin aside.

"I don’t think any of my oversized t-shirts will truly fit you," she noted, glancing at his broad shoulders, "but it’s better than nothing. Wait here."

She disappeared to empty the basin and drop the stained towel into the laundry. A moment later, she returned to the guest room holding a chocolate-brown oversized t-shirt. She held it up against his frame, measuring the width of his chest with a discerning eye, before stepping closer to help him.

The fabric was soft and smelled faintly of her vanilla perfume. She carefully guided the shirt over his head and eased his bandaged arms through the sleeves. Karmen’s breath hitched, not from pain this time, but from the sight of her so focused on his well-being. Once the shirt was settled, Aisha smoothed the hem over his lap.

"Now, you can have a good rest," Aisha stated. "You don’t feel any sharp or lingering pain, do you? If you do, we can head to the hospital right now," she suggested, her eyes scanning his face for any sign of a hidden grimace.

"No. The painkiller has already started its work," Karmen reassured her. "Thank you." Though a part of him ached to pull her close for a kiss, he held back; it didn’t feel like the right moment to push boundaries while he was covered in bandages and she was still coming down from the incident in the forest.

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