The Golden Wolf

Truth

Trust your heart

if the seas catch fire.

live by love

though the stars

walk backward

Petra helps me out of the bath. The collar still hangs around my neck, warm from the water. The short length of chain swings slowly, grazing my back between my shoulder blades. Petra had told me that Abarron would be able to remove it later. I wrap a towel around my small figure, clutching it tightly.

She opens the bathroom door and cold air flows in, releasing the warm steam and causing me to shiver violently. We make our way out into the hallway and toward her room, my bare feet padding gently on the hard floors.

Abarron appears just as we're entering Petra's room at the end of the hall. "Oh, hey. How you feeling?"

"Better." I comment quietly, shifting my eyes toward the floor. I can't stand his eyes on me. I can feel myself going bright red.

"Can you guys meet me down stairs in a couple minutes? I want to have breakfast and address a couple things."

"No problem, Boss." Petra says. "Let me get her dressed first."

"Yeah; good idea. Ciprian is a horn dog and I don't want to have to kill him."

I follow Petra into her room, right across the hall from Abarron's. I sit on her bed, the towel still wrapped around me. She moves to her dresser, pulling out clothes. "So." She begins. "How do you feel about Abarron?"

"Uhm..." I stammer. Why is she asking me this? He's hot. I kind of like him. I cant tell her that. "I mean, he's nice. He tried to protect me when I was taken."

"Hmm." She muses. "Any other feelings? He's very attractive, but I don't have to tell you that. You have eyes." She stands, clothes in her hand, making her way toward me. "He and I used to date, you know. We called it off when we realized it was hurting us being together rather than with our mates."

I nodded along, not knowing what she expected me to say.

"Do you like him?"

"Uhm, well like I said, he's nice." I cannot tell her that I may have feelings. I don't even know for sure that I have them myself. Plus, I just found out about Tuwile. I found out he is alive, and that he doesn't love me, and that he never did, and that he was the reason my parents were killed, and I was kicked out of my life. He is the reason for all of it. I'm not ready to have feelings again for another person who could do something like that to me again.

Petra sets the clothes down beside me. "Nice, huh? Why aren't you jumping into his big, muscular arms?"

I look at her, putting the clothes in my lap. "If I could tell you, I would, but I cant tell you the whole thing or bad things would happen. I can tell you that I just found out that my ex-boyfriend isn't dead and also is the reason my family is dead, so I'm not too ready for a relationship yet. Especially with the guy who kidnapped me."

Petra's eyebrows are raised. "Damn, Kallie. Now my interest is piqued. Why cant you tell me more?"

"Bad things." I respond. You'd kill me. Abarron would kill me. I'm trying to stay alive for now.

"Well you gotta tell me eventually. Do you need help getting dressed?"

"I think I can do it." I smiled at her, thanking her silently.