A Hybrid's Hunger

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

I watch Zade as he buttons his shirt quickly, but I have already seen what he's trying to hide. My name, on his flesh. It makes my stomach twists into knots. I don't know what to think about it. It's cruel, it's thrilling, it's terrifying.

My gaze shifts from his now covered shoulder to his face. Once he's clothed, he nears me, prepared to leave.

"I don't want to leave." I say, barely able to move. I don't know if it's the shock of the events or simply my body being tired. But it's something that's making me numb.

"But it's cold here."

"I'm fine." I assure him.

His brows furrow slightly and he takes the blanket off my bare legs. I don't have the energy to wear my pants either. The shirt's far more than enough to keep me warm, but that's not enough for Zade.

"You'll be warmer in your room, Aurora." His tone is final.

Before I have the chance to respond, he takes me into his arms and turns to leave the room. I curl into him and let him take me down, unable to say anything anymore.

We pass through cold stairs and pitch black darkness that wraps inside the walls of the tower. It takes a while before we halfway down the stairs and then completely down. Only then I wonder what it's like to live here, in this tower, for a whole year, or maybe more.

I draw my face away from his shoulder and glance at him as he takes me inside the house. The hair over my skin finally rests as we reach inside, in the warmth. He takes me straight to the room and pushes the door open before lowering me onto the soft bed.

I sit back against the headboard, conflicted. There's a part of me that wants to know the truth, from him, but I know him—he won't tell me. I see it in his eyes, what he hides and the struggle it takes to hide it all from me.

He can't tell me.

Yet, I can't shake off the need to know.

I can forget what I saw tonight. From the letters, to the names and to my name on his shoulder. How was any of this possible?

Before he leaves the room and me alone, I stop him with a question.

"I thought you wouldn't be coming back until tomorrow," I say, and he stops. "Why did you come up to me?"

I see him breathe, heavily before he turns to me. "I came looking for you. Perhaps, I had been a little rude earlier and I wanted to make sure that you were doing alright."

"And if I said to you that I wanted to go, would you let me go?"

"Yes," He nods, a small frown on his face. "If you wanted to leave, I would've let you, but now that momentary offering is off the table. You should've taken it when you had the chance to."

His hand goes around the handle of my door and before I can blink, he's gone. The door shuts quietly behind him, but his words continue to echo in my mind.

I lean back and take a few minutes to breathe. But even then, I can't silence the storm inside my head. It's too much and I'm not sure if I can let any of it go. I sit up on the bed and plant my hands on either side of the mattress. My head lowers and I try to contain myself, but the more harder I try, the worse it gets.

Tears well up in my eyes, blurring my vision as they spill over my cheeks. I raise my hand to wipe them away, but they keep coming. Every emotion that I've ever felt crashes into me.

I'm scared, not because I don't know what this all means, but because I might know what it means.

The silence stretches on, broken only by the sound of my sobs and the ticking of the clock on the wall. When another sound appears, I quickly turn my head and stand up.

I walk closer to the door and open it a little after hearing some mumblings from outside.

"It's too cold at this time of the year for anyone to be up there. She could've gotten sick," It's Zade's voice and I can only presume he's taking to Estella. "You should've stopped her from going there."

"She didn't seem fine," Estella's voice is a whisper, so low and soft. "And I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop her."

"She..." His voice trails off, and I hear him struggling. "Did something happen when I was gone?"

"No, she had been in her room since she returned. Do you suppose something may have happened?" There's a warning in her tone now. But I don't understand well what they are talking about.

"Like?" Zade asks her. There's a pause before he continues, "No, that's not possible. She mostly heard her mother's voice and missed her. I think it overwhelmed her if nothing else happened."

I sit down near the door and pull my knees to my chest. My mother.

"Isn't it cruel, Zade?"

"It's not, and I don't care anymore. She's here, Estella. There's no one taking her away from me and now that I know she doesn't wants to leave, she's staying. She belongs here. With me. I told you eight years ago that she's mine and her being my mate after everything proved me right."

Eight years?

My eyes flicker back and forth in my room. I want to understand what that means, but it's too dark. Eight years is a long time.

"What about your mother?"

"What about her?" Zade asks.

"She would never agree to this."

"She's sleeping and for as long as I know, she won't be waking up anytime in this century. You and I both know what she said when she went to sleep. She doesn't wants to wake up—"

"Unless there's trouble." Estella cuts him off, her voice a bit urgent.

"There's no trouble here."  

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