Hunted

2

Slowly, Zora opened her eyes as she glanced around the brightly lit room. She felt pain radiate into her arm causing her to look down at her freshly bandaged arm and then her hand. She noticed a little blood on the slight brown bandage.

As the door slowly opened, she was met by her father. A tall tanned skinned man with wrinkles beginning to set upon his face and a large mustache hiding his upper lip. His eyes were almost dark as night. His hands with large knuckles and crooked fingers as if they have been broken over and over.

She pushed herself up wincing at the pain she felt in her arm.

"Relax." He stated flatly. He towered over her in the bed. Already repositioned she stared at him. "I think it would be a good idea if you stayed here."

"Here?"

"Yes. My home, I can have someone get your belongs and I'll move you into one of the other rooms."

"Umm..." She rubbed her eyes. "That's an extremely generous...Beren." She hesitated thinking of what she should call him as saying dad didn't feel natural.

"I wasn't asking!" His voice echoed in the room. "You will be safe here. Do you feel alright to get up?"

She answered with a nod. When her father turned her head she swiftly wiped away the tear that managed to escape her eye. She slowly swung her legs over the bed. A grunt of pain whispered out of her mouth causing her father to turn back and extend out a hand to balance her as she stood up.

They walked down a hallway with artwork framed in gold and massive windows that almost took up a whole wall. They walked past an impressive black iron staircase with the iron bending and twisting into a repeating flower shape.

They stopped in the kitchen. Beren walked around the island leaving Zora on the opposite side. She rested her hand on the cold marble counters as she looked at him.

"If you are hungry I can have one of the cooks make you something."

"I'm okay." She declined.

"You need to eat. I bet you haven't eaten since."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, the glass doors to the right of them opened, and in walked a tall man with black wet hair in front of his eyes. He steps into the kitchen wiping drops of water off his shirtless muscular tanned chest with a white towel. He combed his hands through his hair pushing it out of his eyes. He looks up and his familiar green eyes met her dark brown eyes. Zora quickly turned her head back to the counter to look for something to distract her from his presence.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would be in here this late." He said with a husky voice.

Zora willed herself to not look at him, she felt her cheeks begin to heat up and her stomach twist. She bit the inside of her cheek to give herself something else to focus on.

"This is Domenico." Beren nodded towards the shirtless man. She looked up with a slight grin then instantly looked away. "I'll get one of the cooks in here to fix you something."

Domenico walked past Zora in the process of following Beren out of the kitchen, allowing her to sneak a glance at him. For a moment she could smell the earthy scent that surrounded him.

Zora sat on the plush bed in the room that she was ushered to after eating a sandwich she was guilted into eating. Her mind was racing thinking of all the events that led to this moment. Being stuck in her father's house, a man she barely knew.

She changed into the clothes that had been left on the bed for her. She slid underneath the silky sheets and rested her head. Before completely succumbing to sleep she thought about her situation and knew that she had to talk to Beren again. She didn't want to stay here, she couldn't stay here.