"You either come with me silently, or I drag you out of here kicking and screaming with no one to help you. Take your pick," Alpha Evan muttered low, so only I could hear, still holding my arms in a vice like grip.
I looked up at him, knowing he was right. No one would come and help me even if I screamed bloody murder while he took me away from here. There was no point trying to run when I had no where safe to run to. This was my fate. And I had to accept it.
"I'll go with you quietly." My voice didn't sound like my own. It sounded broken, defeated. That was what this man had reduced me to in the span of a few minutes- a defeated mess. And I hated him for it.
I let him say his goodbyes to Alpha Adrian before he dragged me behind him, much like he had done moments ago, probably taking me to one of the many guest rooms he was staying at. I kept my gaze down as I walked behind him, not bothering to look up.
His hand was holding mine. I still felt the shock of having his skin in direct contact with mine. It still made me feel safe. He still made me feel safe.
And I hated myself for still feeling this way around him. I shouldn't. Not after all that he had just done.
We came to a halt and I assumed we had come to his room when the sound of a door opening met my ears.
Alpha Evan slipped his hand out of mine, and then I felt it's imprint on the small of my back as he placed it there, giving a light push.
"Come on in," he murmured, his voice unusually soft, just like it had been when we'd been talking at the clearing earlier.
For some reason, it filled me with anger. Who did he think he was? Treating me like shit one moment and then acting so nice the next?
"Why are you trying to be so nice now, huh? Specially when you accused me to of being a bloody spy moments ago?" I burst out, whipping my head up to look him in the eye, my gaze furious.
Alpha Evan smirked at me, his expression mischevious, almost as if he found my anger amusing. "Get in and maybe I'll tell you."
"You say it like I have an option," I muttered snidely, more to myself than him before walking into the room.
It was a normal guest room, one I'd spent way too many days cleaning. Right from the hardwood floor, the large king sized bed in the middle to the fireplace and sofa set off to the side, I'd cleaned it all.
I turned around as Alpha Evan casually closed the door behind him, waiting for an answer.
But he completely ignored me, going into the walk in closet instead and coming out moments later with what looked like a fresh pair of clothes folded into a neat pile in his hands.
He held them out to me before nodding his head towards the en suite bathroom. "Go shower and change."
My brows raised in response. What was he playing at here? Didn't he bring me here to give some sort of punishment to me? This definitely was far from it. And I would know, I'd been punished plenty over the years.
"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.
"So you can be more comfortable. Besides, I've heard that one sleeps well after a long warm bath."
I couldn't help but scoff at his antics. "You know that's not what I'm asking."
He titled his head at me innocently, as if he was utterly confused and clueless as to what I was getting at, but with the way his eyes crinkled in amusement, I knew he was anything but innocent. "Then what are you asking?" He asked. And he looked cute while doing so. Very cute.
I shook my head. No. Just because he looked cute did not mean he could get away with not answering me. "Why are you acting all sweet now? Didn't you bring me here to punish me?"
Suddenly, his expression changed, the temperature in the room rising a few degrees as he stared me down. Ever so slowly, he stepped towards me, his moss green eyes darkening the more he looked at me. Almost involuntarily, I gulped, my throat feeling dry as the air between us charged with something hot and sweltering, making something warm flutter low in my belly.
When he was but a hair's breath away from me, his heady scent invading my senses, he bent a little, so his mouth was right next to my ear when he spoke, "Trust me, my little kitten, you don't want me to punish you. Because when I do, the last thing you would want from me would be for me to stop. Now, be a good girl and go shower, yes?" he murmured, his voice huskier than ever, sending chills down my spine and making my knees weaken.
All thoughts fled me as the flutter in my belly increased to a dull ache, making me squeeze my legs together to relieve the tension building up down there. I did not waste another second as I nodded hurriedly before practically snatching the clothes from his hands and walking towards the bathroom on shaky legs.
Once inside, I locked the door, noticing how my fingers shook, and slumped against it.
Goddess, what was that?
Was that what being sexually turned on felt like?
And how could his voice and a look alone make me feel like every part of me was on fire?
I should be angry at him for what he'd done. Instead, I was feeling all sorts of flustered. I looked at the mirror off to the side, noticing my flushed cheeks. I walked closer, taking in my appearance.
The girl staring back at me looked like me, but not entirely. My cheeks were a dark shade of pink and my pale blue eyes seemed brighter, almost as if someone had breathed life into them.
I shook my head, letting my gaze wander around the bathroom, taking in the large built in bathtub on the opposite wall. I nearly jumped with joy as I looked at it, all others thoughts fleeing my mind at the sight of the monstrosity. I'd always been the one cleaning it, but today, for once I could actually bathe in it.
Grinning to myself, I placed my clothes on a nearby rack, quickly running a warm bath for myself, adding a scented bath bomb which I found on the shelves to the water before quickly shedding my clothes.
I soaked in the tub for a good few minutes, revelling in the feel of the warm water surrounding me before washing myself up and getting out. I'd always wanted to try a bath and I couldn't help but grin like a loon as I towel dried myself and wore the too large t-shirt and sweatpants Alpha Evan had given me to change into. I had to roll the sweatpants a few times and pull the drawstrings a little too tight to keep them from falling off but I was too happy with my bath to care.
Alpha Evan was sitting on the sofa near the fireplace with a book in hand when I entered the room.
"Took you long enough," he said, raising a brow at me. But his teasing tone told me he was only messing with me.
"I got a little carried away after seeing the bathtub," I admitted a little sheepishly as he stood up.
He nodded before disappearing into his walk in closet and coming out moments later with a change of clothes for himself and going to the bathroom.
I sighed a little to myself as the bathroom door closed behind him, taking a seat at one of the sofas much like he had before me.
I picked up the book he had been reading, a well worn hardcover. It was War and Peace. I'd spent night reading it over and over. By now, I had nearly memorised it, along with a few other classics my nanny had slipped to me surreptitiously.
I flipped to the first page of the book, gasping. It was a first edition! These were hard to come by, specially for someone like me. Eagerly, I flipped to the page he had bookmarked.
"A wound in the soul, coming from the rending of the spiritual body, strange as it may seem, gradually closes like a physical wound. And once a deep wound heals over and the edges seem to have knit, a wound in the soul, like a physical wound, can be healed only by the force of life pushing up from inside." I read out loud, running my fingers over the words as I did so.
"You like Tolstoy?" Alpha Evan's voice from behind startled me, and I jumped in my seat a little, the book dropping to my lap.
"I do," I answered, nodding as I stood up and placed the book back on the table with the bookmark in place. "I love reading classics. Oh, and this is a first edition! How did you get your hands on..." Words died down in my throat as I turned around to look at him, freshly showered and in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. He looked hot with beads of water still sticking to his skin, making it glisten.
He rubbed a towel through his hair, the strands standing up every which way, but somehow, that made him seem even hotter. "I have my ways," he said, answering my incomplete question and successfully breaking me from my trance. But the smirk on his face told me he'd noticed my flustered state and was enjoying it, too.
"I have a lot of first editions back at my place. I'll show you when I take you there," he told me, sauntering further into the room until he was a foot away from me.
I frowned as his words registered. What did he mean take me there? What was this man playing at?
"What do you mean take me there?" I asked, determined not to let his woody scent or smart words deter me from getting answers this time around. "With me. When I leave here. That was the deal we made, wasn't it?" He remarked casually as he lay the towel across one of the sofas to dry before picking up his book. "But... but you told Alpha Adrian that...." I struggled to form any words, or thoughts, for that matter. Alpha Evan tsked, shaking his head at me. "You, my kitten, are dumber than you look," he said, pivoting around on his heel and walking towards the bed before laying down. His words made anger flare anew in my chest, and I glared at him. "Think before you get catty with me," he warned before I could say anything. He then opened his book back again, going back to reading as if he hadn't just insulted me. But, I paid heed to his words and did think before speaking this time. For the first time since the incident back at Alpha Adrian's room, I considered the possibility tha
"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you," Raymond exclaimed as soon as I entered the kitchen and my eyes landed on him doing the dishes. I got to work doing the dishes right along with him as I filled him in on the events of last night, leaving the part about Alpha Evan being a hybrid, and finishing with how I'd had the best breakfast ever this morning. "That's.... that's unbelievable," Raymond said, his expression mimicking his words as he wiped his hands on a rag before passing it to me. I nodded in agreement, taking the rag from him and drying my hands. "I know! But after the way he has treated me last night and this morning, I think he really is going to take me with him when he leaves. I don't know how he will do it, but I know he will."Raymond seemed skeptical at best as he looked at me. "He has been behaving nicely, but you can't deny that the man is scary as fuck. What if it's just an act? What if you end up going to some place worse than here?" I contemp
"I don't have anything to wear," I all but wailed as I looked at Miss Lillian. Her deep brown eyes twinkled in amusement, the crow's feet around her eyes deepening as her perfectly shaped full lips pulled into a broad grin. "I never thought I'd see the day you went on a date.""It's not a date!" I exclaimed for the umpteenth time that night, recalling the conversation I'd had with Alpha Evan during that scrumptious lunch. "Yes. Like a date," he'd said and I'd stared at him like a fish out of water, my mouth opening and closing of it's a own accord, but no words coming out. "For real?" I'd finally managed to ask. Then, he'd smirked at me, the kind that made him look deviously handsome. "What do you think?" I'd shook my head then. Why would an Alpha take me, a good for nothing slave, on a date? It was absurd. His smirk had only deepened. "I want to show you something. Tonight. Wear something comfortable."My mind seemed to have a single track at that point. One that was focused on
"Shift," Alpha Evan told me once we made it out of the house and had walked a few steps towards the woods. "What?" Dumbfounded, I looked at him."Shift into your wolf, Melody," he explained patiently as if talking to a three year old.I squirmed a little as he looked at me, suddenly embarrassed that I couldn't shift into my wolf. "I, uh, can't," I managed to mumble."Can't? What do you mean you can't?" He asked, his voice sounding impossibly loud in the stillness of the night, making me flinch a little. "I've... I've never shifted into my wolf," I admitted softly, looking anywhere but at him, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. It truly was embarrassing. What twenty six year old werewolf hadn't ever shifted? "Why not?" Alpha Evan asked, making me look up at him. I'd expected to see disgust in his expression, maybe even amusement, but he looked completely serious, if a little curious, as he looked down at me. "I, uh, wasn't allowed to," I replied, giving him a short, wate
The light was coming from a flower I hadn't noticed before. It was a beautiful little thing, glowing a bright blue under the moonlight. I watched entranced as more and more of those bright blue flowers I hadn't noticed before in the dim moonlight began unfurling all around us. Soon enough, we were standing in a circle with blue lit up flowers all around us, casting a warm glow on the both of us. It was a beautiful sight to behold, one I couldn't help but grin at. "This is beautiful," I admitted softly, looking around at all the numerous tiny flowers glowing all around us. "It is," came Alpha Evan's even softer reply and I looked at him, only to find him already looking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up, squirming a little under his intense gaze. "What are all these flowers? I've never seen flowers that could glow like that." "They're called nocte caeruleo. Literally translating to blue night. These are a special type of flowers that glow bright blue when they bloom at the stroke
"Alpha Evan, let's not do this," I tried to cajole him, not knowing what else to do. The truth was too humiliating and painful for me to admit out loud. "I want answers, Melody," he told me, his voice stern. I closed my eyes, unable to look at him any longer. Not when I could see the worry for me and anger on my behalf shine so plainly on his face. "Please, look at me, kitten," his velvety smooth voice met my ears, making me open my eyes. The tenderness I saw in his gaze made my knees feek weak. And when he oh so gently placed his hand on my cheek, I was surprised I hadn't melted into a puddle on the ground, because that was exactly what I felt like doing right then. "Tell me what happened, baby," he murmured, his voice low, almost hypnotising. Trance like, I nodded, before I realised what he wanted me to tell him. The thought of reliving those old memories was like a bucket of ice cold water had been dumped onto me. I pulled back from his touch at once, wrapping my arms around m
"And I can't decide if that was a compliment or an insult," I couldn't help but reply, both in an effort to lighten the mood and to change the topic of discussion to something that didn't weight my heart down like a tonn of bricks. "Take it as you may," Alpha Evan shrugged, still looking at me strangely. "Stop looking at me like that," I finally said fidgeting under his thoughtful gaze.Much to my chagrin, he smirked at me. As relieved as I was that he was back to smirking, and not a volcano ready to erupt at any given moment any longer, I didn't like the way he was smirking at me either. "Like what?" He asked. "Like you can't decide if you want to wrap me in your arms and never let go or go and drown me in the nearest river," I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind, regretting it almost instantly when his smirk deepened and he stepped closer to me. "I would much prefer the first option, kitten," he said, his voice low as he stalked towards me. I couldn't help but roll
I was being dragged down the stairs to the dungeon, my frail body hitting each step with a resounding thud. I whimpered, willing myself not to let out any noise. I knew they'd only hit me more if I screamed so I didn't. Once we had reached a dingy cell, I was thrown into it unceremoniously. Too weak to get up, I simply laid there. Even breathing was a task. Then, I was suddenly being held up by my arms and tied to the silver chains mounted on the wall behind. I screamed as the silver bit into my arms, burning my flesh. I was punched in the stomach. A punishment for screaming. I didn't let out another sound, knowing it would only get me in more trouble.These men had explicit orders from my father and their Alpha that I was to be punished every time I let out a noise. "Put a sock in it, bitch," one of the soldiers spat in my face. "The Alpha will be paying you a visit soon."No sooner had he said that, Alpha Adrian's looming presence filled the small cell. He sneered at me, his gl