The Erinyes's Bond (Wolfguise)

Chapter 27-Eska

Lily went inside after we finished talking. I didn't know what to call her anymore. She wasn't my grandmother but I wasn't comfortable calling her mom. I was left with more questions than answers which seemed to be my new normal. I told her I needed time to think, to formulate what I wanted to ask.

I let the bubble of the fountain carry me away into nothingness. It didn't sooth me how I wanted. That nothingness didn't free me from the insurmountable chaos that had been unleashed into my life. I couldn't see the shore through the fog.

"Eska?" Shade's voice pulled me from my stupor. His brow furrowed with concern.

I looked at him and the tears started flowing. "I don't know who I am anymore."

Shade sat next to me and pulled me into his lap. He held me close, stroking my hair and rocking us. I clung to his shirt and let the tears out. This man, a man I'd only known for a month, held me while I wailed. He protected me while I was vulnerable and incapable of protecting myself. Shade didn't speak, he held me tightly and let me cry.

When my sobs finally turned to deep breaths, it had gotten late and chilly. I tried to push away but he held me firm.

"I want to carry you back, please let me do that." He kissed my head.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in its crook. "Okay."

As he stood he grabbed my bag Lily brought. I kissed his throat, so grateful for him in this moment. I was beginning to feel the desperation to love him. Not get to know him, not simply like him, but an unbelievable urge to love him. I'd never been with someone that cared about me like this. I didn't think it was because of the bond. The bond was an amplifier and our emotions simply the music playing.

Shade carried me down the path that led to his home. The wind rustled the leaves creating a soothing melody. Nocturnal insects chirped in concession with bats and owls. With each step my anxiousness slipped away freeing me to think. I pressed my nose to the pulse in Shade's neck, calming my heart to match its rhythm. 

The lights from the cabin turned on as we approached. Shade took his time taking the steps to the door. He didn't even set me down to open it. He carried me all the way up stairs and only sat me down once we reached the bathroom.

"I know it is late but would you like to take a bath?" Shade began emptying the bag he held.

Lily had a key to my apartment, and if Sage could tell the future they had known what I needed. He pulled out my absurd amount of hair products and make up bag. Then came my clothes, Shade sat some night clothes on the counter.

"That would be nice." I bent and untied my shoes.

"Stop." He walked past me turned on the tub. "I am taking care of you. Let me take care of you."

I swallowed hard, fighting the wave of emotion. I didn't speak only waited for him tell me what to do. Instead, he pulled his clothes off and came over to me. He started with my shoes and socks. Then my pants, tugging them gently down my legs and helping me step out of them. He stood then pulled my shirt over my head.

Shade scooped me up into his arms again and climbed into the tub. He had sat my shampoo  and a cup on the edge.

"Lean your head back." I did as he said.

He poured water over my hair wetting it. He grabbed the bottle and squeezed it into his hand. "Why is it purple?"

My laugh was soft. "I don't dye my hair. The purple keeps it white, helps to remove any staining."

"Ah, that makes sense." When he worked his fingers through my hair I sighed.

He worked the soap against my scalp, ensuring he touched every section of skin. Once he finished the top he worked the soap down to the ends, careful not to tangle it.

"Your hair is beautiful. It reminds me of moonlight on snow. It is also soft as rabbit fur." He tipped my head back and rinsed the shampoo out.

"Richard used to dye it. When I was eighteen I finally shaved it off and let it grow back out. I'm lucky it grew fast. The in between stages were rough."

Shade grabbed a bar of soap from the tubs edge and lathered it between his hands. He ran his hands over my back and down my arms. His fingers and hands calloused from all the wood working he'd grown up doing. I felt my body relax under his careful bathing. Shade didn't linger, didn't tease only cleaned the anxiety from my body.

"Do you want to know who I think you are?" He pulled me against him, keeping me wrapped in his arms.

I nodded and crossed my arms under his.

Shade laid soft kisses across the crown of my head. "You are a warrior. The way you carry yourself exudes confidence and power. Men cower in your presence. They give you berth because they know you will tear them down.

"You are a protector. You have no qualms placing yourself between the threatened and the aggressor. The defense of the defenseless, it seems to flourish like a living thing from you. Shocking those around you with its demand.

"You are enigmatic. A woman like you should not exist in the plain of humanity. Those around you see your otherworldlyness and quiver in fear and jealously. They wish they commanded a presence like yours. 

"You are selfless. You give your time to those you do not know, and ask nothing in return. Placing their needs before your own. Making sure they feel safe and content with no regard to your own well being. You give abundantly of your self.

"Lastly and most important to me, you are my mate. I have long wished for a woman to care for. For a woman to love. Someone to spend my days with under the night skies. I know that you will be a partner, a lover, a comforter and my whole world. You are everything I have ever wanted, and fantasies I have never dreamed."

Shade leaned to the side and tipped my head back. His eyes golden orbs, filled with so much conviction, demand, and truth. "I know who you are and excited to see you change and become even more. I find myself in love with you Eska. I did not know it could happen this quickly. Yet, it has."

He kissed me with such an intensity, I felt the calm I had built back up shatter. When he pulled back his eyes gleamed in a way that made my breath catch and my heart stop. The adoration and devotion.

His smile was gentle. "I love you."