Lunar Rising

Snow Fall

Aura's POV:

I was listening to every single little noise that echoed across the room. The fire crackled and a few embers popped from the sizzling wood startling me a bit, but Kane's rasping, shallow breaths were my main focus. I waited for what seemed like forever for them to slow, and soon enough, I felt confident that he was finally asleep.

I moved painfully slow from the spot I was laying in, praying to everything holy that the bed wouldn't creak under my shifting weight. As I was propped up on one of my elbows which had me leaning over this man, I took a moment to really look at him.

His rugged features were handsome, and his usually tight jaw was more relaxed than I had ever seen it before. When he wasn't posing like a wound-up asshole itching for a kill, he actually looked somewhat normal. I briefly wondered what kind of man he was before this life found him; Before Casimir dug his claws into him.

Another thought flickered across my brain, and I pondered what chances I would have against killing him while he slept. Yes, I could try and take the key from around his neck while praying he didn't wake up, or I could ensure my success by extending a claw sharp enough to nick his corroded artery, leaving him to gargle and suffocate on his own blood in his bed.

I shook the idea away. I couldn't kill a man in cold blood while he slept defenselessly. I didn't have it in me... Right?

I may have killed before, but I killed while defending myself against an attack and while defending my loved ones. I was being held captive and this sure felt like self-defense, but something just felt so wrong about killing a man while he slept.

If I did that, I felt like it would make me no different than the monster Casimir himself...

I opted for the key.

I reached my fingers over the edge of the covers, pulling them down a gently as I could manage.

"So far so good." I chanted to myself internally.

The chain around his neck fell to the side, draped along the curvature of his collar bone. I froze for a moment and instantly mouthed a silent curse word to myself.

When my fingers ever so faintly grazed his skin, Kane's eyes shot wide open. His thick, meaty hand rushed up to grab me, dwarfing my small wrist into a death grip. The sudden reaction had caused me to yelp out in surprise.

He sat up in the bed, pulling my wrist into the air while showing me the deadliest narrowed eyes I had seen him make yet. His growl was unmistakenly furious.

"Now just what do you think you're doing little rabbit?" He gritted.

"I-I just...I" I stammered, desperately searching for some sort of excuse that would be passable enough to get myself out of this mess.

"You 'just' what?" He raised an eyebrow, actually waiting for my response. Was he toying with me?

It was like a light bulb flashed in my head and I had a sudden hail marry idea. It might have been a really bad one, but I didn't have a whole lot of options in front of me to be picky. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves before replying sheepishly.

"I thought about what you said... I-," I paused, forcing myself to hold back the instinctual urge to gag at what I was about to say. "I want the easy way. I'll let you claim me. I don't want to do it the hard way." I said, forcing my voice to sound sincere.

Kanes narrowed eyes lingered on me for a long moment, trying to assess the level of honesty from what I had said.

His grip loosened and he let my arm drop down from where he was still holding it up.