A Hybrid's Hunger

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

I sit alone on the bed, my legs hanging off the side and my feet barely touching the ground. The night's colder than the day and I believe it's worse when I'm all alone in the tower, surrounded by an eerie silence and my own thoughts. I try to sleep, but I can't, not here, not again.

There's something odd about the tower. I don't want to be in here for another day, even another minute.

My eyes travel over the walls and then to the window at the top. The wind whistles through the cracks and floods in, making the room colder than it is already.

I slip my feet under the sheets and lay down, contemplating my own life, my situation. Would it have been any different if Zade hadn't caught me marrying another man? I doubt it, but it could've been. Maybe. My eyes shut, only for a moment as I hear someone at the door the next minute.

"I thought you'd be awake," Estella enters, a smile hanging on her face. Is she trapped too? I wonder. "And in need of some peace of mind so I got you this tea. It's herbal, it makes sleep so much better."

I sit up straight, my shoulders against the headboard of the bed. "What if I run?" I ask her, a brow cocked.

"What?" She looks at me with surprise.

"What if I run away from him? He's despicable. I can't imagine myself mating with someone like him. And he's cruel," I fold my arms over my chest. "One call, I just wanted to make one call that to my mother. What is the big deal with it? I just don't understand." I rant on, and on, sharing the hundred tensions in my mind.

Estella sets the cup of tea on the side of the bed, where there is a table and a lamp. It's surprising how electricity can even reach this high in the tower. She doesn't sit, instead, she stands near to me, her face confused.

"You may not understand his reasonings, but I do, dear. He doesn't want anyone to know that you're his mate—"

"It's my mother."

"No one."

"Why not?" I furrow my brows.

She looks away from me as if she's hiding something. I can catch liars, not easily, but I still can. "There are things you don't know, things you can't understand yet. In his own twisted way, he is protecting you and I'm not in a place to explain why, or what he's protecting you from."

I nod and ease my shoulders back. "Thank you for the tea."

As much as I want to push further, to demand answers, I can't. Estella is older than me, surely wiser and she isn't going to spill any information on her own alpha. Her loyalty lies with him, with Zade.

She returns my smile and steps back. "I'm arranging a room in the house. It will take a night or two, then, if you wish, you can come to stay in the house."

"I thought they were plenty of rooms, weren't they?" I ask her while bringing the cup to my lips.

"They are," she nervously looks away as if she's hiding something. "But it's been a while since there has been a guest in the house. There are some arrangements to be made. I'll be awake the entire night so I'll check on you before dawn. Try to get some sleep, dear." She quickly ends the conversation and I question the secrets she's keeping from me.

As she heads to the door, I stop her again. "Did he change his mind? Or did you convince him to let me out of this cold, imprisoning tower?"

"He—he changed his mind." She responds and then leaves me to my thoughts.

Relief mingles with frustration as I struggle to understand my mate's own mind and whims. I'm caught in uncertainty. I don't know what he intends to do next with me, or what his true intentions are. He's bought me here as a prisoner even when I'm his mate. What is he going to do with me?

I finish the tea in only a few minutes and then bury myself under the thick sheets. They provide warmth. I need it more than anything else. It's cold and crippling here. Lying on my back, I stare at the ceiling for long till sleep catches onto me. When it does, I drift into a deep slumber, hoping I wouldn't wake from it till this all is over.

I dream of being home, with my mother. It goes on for hours and hours, or so I thought. When I wake, it's morning, and surprisingly, my mate isn't here to force me off the bed. I'm still alone, all to myself. But there's a throbbing ache spreading through my head and body. My first thought is heat, but I can't go into it yet.

Still a few days left.

Fucking hell.

I throw the sheets off my body as I felt a fire spread through me. It's not heat. It's something else, worse. When the first cough chokes me, I understand what's wrong.

I'm sick. Sick.

I sit up in bed, my head spinning with a dull ache that refuses to subside. There's only one person to blame. My mate. I could not run in the cold for hours with all those male wolves from his pack. What else was going to happen?

Grabbing a glass of water from the table, I take a sip of it, feeling the cold liquid scrape against my raw throat. The pain worsens, mirroring the rage simmering within me. How could he have been so cruel? He could've done anything then making me run for hours straight.

Another painful cough flees my throat, leaving me gasping for breath. I lay back down, breathing heavily while the frustration within me swells. I want to scream, to unleash my anger upon my mate, to make him understand the torment he has caused.

When I finally get the energy to get up from the bed, I reach the door and try to open it. But to my terrible luck, it's locked. My teeth grinds and I step back in disbelief. There's no way to leave from here and I don't think it can get any worse than this.

Can it?

By the time there's someone at the door, I'm wracked. There's pain all over my body and the headache has worsened. I beg Estella, who finally comes, to get me some medicine or something I can relieve the pain. She rushes off, promising to return as quickly as possible.

Minutes feel likes hours as I wait, my body trembling with illness.

When Estella returns, she enter the room and gives me a bottle of medicine. "I didn't know you'd so sick. How long had you been awake for?" She asks while sitting near me.

"I have no idea," I whisper, keeping my voice low. "I hate being sick more than anything else. It makes me so vulnerable."

I take the medicines she gives me without wasting another second. The way Estella sits in front of me reminds me of my mother, of how she had spent days in my bedroom the last time I got sick and wouldn't dare to leave my sight until I was all better.

"It's okay, dear. We all get sick sometimes," She responds, placing her hand over mine. "You'll feel better in a few hours. Just get some more rest and let the medicine do its work."

I nod weakly and turn to the side. My eyes burn, everything burns. I hope I don't go into heat at the same time when I'm sick. It's going to be torture, especially with my wolf who has found her mate. She's not going to control herself and I doubt if I can control her.

With blurred thoughts, I fall asleep again with Estella by my side, keeping a watchful eye on me. The room feels a little less cold and lonely with her company, but it's not going to be long before she leaves.

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