*MATURE FANTASY*
Bound by fate, torn by betrayal.
Their souls are intertwined.
She is his mate, and he is hers, whether or not this is something they want.
Elara has spent her life hiding from the oppressive forces of the Light, a powerful cult th...
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As we made it back to the inn, I instructed Garreth and Finnian to wait downstairs while I escorted Elara to the room. She fought against me every step of the way, her struggles growing more desperate as we entered the chamber. Still, she had not said an actual word to me since we left the Dunes Clan tribe.
The anger within me was powerful enough to set the entire forest around the inn on fire. It fueled my coldness, tainting my preference to treat Elara kindly or gently. Fuck that. She ran and nearly got herself killed. Was she really so quick to judge a mark I once had on my shoulder that it voided every other conversation we had. That she refused to even talk to me, choosing to see me as something evil and unworthy without any questions.
"Get on the bed." I growled, my arms around her as she dug her heels into the floor, pushing back against my chest and trying to turn to the side. Despite her injuries, she was relentless, surprisingly scrappy for her slender size. I dragged her to the bed, shoving her into it. Instantly, she went to jump back onto her feet. I dove for her, straddling her and pinning her down. Her resistance only fueled my determination.
I released the hold on the golden cuffs, slipping them around the bedpost and locked each on a wrist of hers. Her thrashing soon ceased as she realized how futile it was, but the tension remained palpable, a silent reminder of our fractured everything. The defiance in her eyes burned through me as she viewed me, chest rising and falling with quick breaths.
And Spirit cursed, I wanted her. Despite the blood that now stained my hands because of her, despite the look of defiance in her eyes, despite how difficult she was making things, I craved the feel of her, the touch of her, all of it. This link between us was toxic to my mind, my logic.
I got up from the bed and placed a few healthy steps between us.
"I need to talk to Garreth and Finnian, and since I can't trust you not to run, you leave me no choice." Frustration seeped into my words; this was not something I wanted. It was a bitter reality. But her actions left me with little choice. I hated that this was the position we were in. That she learned something of me, and that one fact had the power to sway her so much that she didn't even want to hear me out, didn't want to try and understand.
Turning to leave, her voice stopped me in my tracks. It had felt like a lifetime since I had heard it. "You couldn't have expected me to go with you willingly." Her tone was ice cold.
My hand lingered on the doorknob as I struggled to contain my rage. "I don't know what I expected," I admitted tersely before pushing open the door to exit.
Her plea echoed in the room as I stepped towards the threshold to leave. "Wait. You can't leave me like this," she said, desperation seeping into her voice. She should have thought about that before running.
Frustration surged within me, a volatile mix of anger and disappointment clouding my judgment. Elara's existence distorted everything. I let the door close again and turned to her. "You could have died out there with your recklessness." The blood in veins boiled, unable to mask my outrage. "So yes, you will be tied to the fucking bed until I know you won't do anything stupid whenever you're not directly supervised."
