Bounded To The Reaper

Ch. 19

I twisted and turned in the bed all night. I couldn't get comfortable even if my life depended on it. All I could think of was Cavalier and how I wanted to be in his presence...and that irritated my soul so badly. Why was I yearning for him?

"Ma'am...please get into the tub it will help with the pain," the older lady who had been sent to assist me pleads for the fifth time as I sat in the bed with my knees up to my chest about to literally rip my hair out of my head. I felt like I was on fire, I felt hot, horny, and tired.

I couldn't sleep not knowing where my mate was...my body wouldn't let me. As much as I wanted to ignore his existence, escape this place, go be free...I couldn't.

"Tell me where Cavalier is..." I say looking up to meet her elderly puffy eyes.

"I do not know where they are holding the young prince...if I did I wouldn't hesitate to tell you," she says softly walking closer to me.

I eye her wearily scooting further away onto the bed.

"But I do know that Cavalier wouldn't be happy to know somebody he cares about is denying treatment for something causing them harm." She says sitting down and tossing the sweaty blanket I had laid on earlier to the side in the laundry basket.

"...he doesn't care about me," I spit out in a bit of a matter of fact voice, "I'm nothing but a prisoner here, and the only treatment to this is to mate with him...I know that much."

The lady tilted her head and her eyes softened as she placed her hands on her lap and dusted the wrinkles away from her long skirt. "May I tell you a short story?" She asks politely making eye contact with me.

I eyed her before nodding my head and holding my knees to my chest, resting my head on top of them.

"On the 21st moon of December...the longest day of the year around that time, there sat a male Lion on top of the highest rock that lied amongst the safari he called his kingdom...he had a large pride amongst him, a pride that feared yet respected him." She started to look down at her skirt as she spoke and smiled softly.

"He was ruthless...he killed any other male that posed a threat to those he lead. Those he cherished." Her eyes landed on the large mirror in front of the bed as she looked at me that sat behind her against the bed board.

"He had killed every living thing that posed a threat to his pride...except two." Where was this story going?

"There was a being in the shadows that kept hunting on his lands...leaving little food for the pride he had to carry for. His pride grew slightly weaker due to less food, he couldn't let that be." She shook her head furrowing her eyebrows together.

"So every night, he searched for it. He hunted it, he dreamed of the day he would taste its blood...until one day he seen it, the creature had slipped up...it got injured. As he spotted the creature through the thick bushes and tall grass he eyed it down. Ready to pounce and ends its life. But as he looked closer he saw it wasn't a strong male lion, nor a beast such as a leopard. Not even an animal with the speed of the cheetah...what looked back at him was the eyes of defiance and strength. The eyes of a lioness."

"As he took a step forward, she took one back. She was smart, she knew she couldn't win in a battle of strength against him. He knew this as well..he knew he could kill her in that moment and the threat would be gone. But he didn't, he couldn't. As he looked in those eyes he had realized the years he spent chasing her...he enjoyed the hunt. He enjoyed the chase, she brought a thrill he hadn't felt in a long time."

"What happened next?" I asked, my eyes wide.

"He let her walk away, weeks had passed since he seen her...then those weeks turned into months, she had not returned. Until one day, at night she did, she was on the run from a pack of wild hyenas. She was injured, she was exasperated, she could no longer run for she had been running her whole life. Just as she had crossed into his borders and dropped to the ground as a hyena nipped at her Achilles. She accepted her fate that she knew would come one day. She accepted her death as the hyenas bit at different parts of her body and surrounded her." I cringed at the images that popped into my head.

"Her eyes rolled shut and her heartbeat slowed. But soon a rawr was heard that shook trees, it was the lion that had claimed her as his prey all those years ago. He peeped from behind the tall grass and stood over her weakened bruised body. He saved her. He killed every hyena that had a taste of her blood on their tongues." She smiled and gave a strong nod of the head as she told this part.

"But he had hated her? Why did he save her?"

"Because she had saved him."

"After he fought every hyena there was off of her he stood over her and examined the lifeless body...he knelt down and laid down placing his head on top of her body. Guarding her. He felt a strange emotion as he laid there for almost a hour in the same position. Soon however he could hear a loud thump. A vibrant pulsing noise. Her heart had started to beat. She opened her eyes and looked around before noticing his heavy bead resting on top of her. He was also weakened in the battle against those hyenas. He was also weak from carrying burden after burden on his back for so many years. Soon as raised her head up, she turned to face him and once again he was able to look into those fearless eyes of hers that burned a golden color. As she rose from the ground terribly weakened and sluggish she turned to him as he stood up as well. They both turned to the sight of more hyenas approaching them yet this time it was different."

"How so?" I ask finding myself scooting closer to her.

"They had taught each other that asking for help is ok...there is no need to fight alone when there is one that will fight with you...they denied each other and play a game of cat and mouse for years, but in the end they were fighting together." She says with a soft elderly smile rubbing my leg with her thumb.

"There are plenty of details that are left out...I am old so do not judge me. But you get the gist."

With that I stop fighting against her and allow her to help me bathe. She was actually very sweet, we spoke the whole time in the bathroom and for the moment I had forgot about the entire heat process.