Caged

Chapter 2.

I hesitated and he sighed, shooting me a reassuring look. "Don't worry. Most won't even recognize you, and those that do will sense the bond between us immediately. You won't be questioned if that's what you're worried about."

I took a timid step forward followed by another as I fell into step with him. I had to force my legs to move faster as I matched his long smooth strides. After several quiet moments, he finally spoke softly, looking ahead. "So what made you come back now?"

I exhaled and tried to compose my words. "I had to. I told you. I had nowhere else to go."

He nodded and continued walking toward the clearing ahead. "Hm. And why is that?"

My chest tightened and I realized I had not thought this far ahead. I wasn't prepared to answer questions about where I'd been since I walked away so soon. My jaw clamped shut and I tried to hold my expression neutral as we entered the clearing. The sky was darkening as the sun slowly moved behind the trees and I hoped he couldn't sense my internal panic. I wasn't ashamed of what I'd done, but I wasn't ready to just spit out my entire history to someone I barely knew, regardless of who he thought he was to me now.

He let out a low chuckle and stepped in front of me as we came to the main house. He placed a hand on the handle of the large wooden door and looked down at me with a smirk. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but you will eventually need to talk to me. Otherwise it will make this all much more difficult."

As his hand moved to open the door my legs stopped, freezing in place as my stomach tightened into an anxious knot. He paused and his hand reached out to gently touch my shoulder, sending a jolt of energy through me beneath his touch. I jumped and his hand dropped like his hand had been burned against my skin. I felt my heart thumping in my chest and I could hear his was doing the same as we both tried to control our breathing. "It's ok. No one is here right now. They're all in the dining hall. If you'd like, I can have dinner brought up instead."

I nodded stiffly and met his warm gaze. He nodded and gave me a small smile before opening the door and letting me walk through, guiding me down the hall and up a set of stairs before landing in a short hallway with only four doors lining it. One was separated further down from the other three.

He motioned to the one at the end. "My room is just there, and this is where you'll be staying for now. It's this room closest to mine." He opened the next door from his and my eyes widened at the view in front of me. It was a large master room with a king sized bed and floor to ceiling windows looking out over a huge section of the forest, the rolling hills scattered behind the trees. A door stood next to the window, opening out on to a small balcony. Across the room was a small sitting area with a love seat and two leather chairs. I walked in and placed my bag onto the bed before following the wall to an opened door leading to the bathroom. I turned the lights on to reveal a large room lined with white marble tile and a huge walk in shower. In the corner sat a gigantic claw foot tub big enough for multiple people and thick fluffy towels hanging above it.

"This is incredible." I breathed. It was more than I'd ever hoped to have. I'd never known anything this luxurious in my entire life. Our home here was a simple bare cabin on the edge of the meadow. Since I'd left, I'd only been in one place as richly decorated as this. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of him and I tried desperately to push it away before he noticed.

"Are you all right?" He spoke lowly. I jumped as his voice broke through the silence, tension rolling through me. I hadn't even heard him come in behind me. I turned abruptly and his hands shot up in the air. "Whoa, it's ok."

I raked a hand through my thick waves and exhaled the breath I'd been holding. "Sorry, I didn't hear you. Yes I'm fine."

He raised a dark eyebrow at me and stepped away from the door, letting me past him as I walked back into the room. My body warmed at his closeness and I shook my head at the roller coaster that was running through me. I walked toward the bed and zipped open my bag, letting out a tight laugh at how ridiculous I must seem to him. I stared down and spoke quietly. "I swear I'm not normally this crazy. It's just...weird being back here and everything since I walked across that border."