Caged

Chapter 16.

My eyes fluttered open as the light trickled in. The day was overcast but the room still filled with enough light to slowly pull me from my restless sleep. My night's dreams were filled with past horrors plaguing me all night long. I felt every pain. Every bit of grief.

I vaguely remembered Rhett coming in to comfort me and groaned, running a hand down my face. I don't know what he heard but it had to have been bad for him to come and wake me. Even after the painful words in his office, he still seemed to want to help me.

He probably just wanted to be able to sleep. The bond pulled him awake. That's all.

My mind turned to dark thoughts, remembering that he had asked me to reject him. But I wasn't ready yet. Something just seemed off about his sudden change. He'd been so kind before. So understanding. Why would that change so suddenly? Unless being faced with it in person was just too much for him. Maybe seeing the real me that had been hiding deep inside was more than he could handle. 

I checked the clock and saw that it was already well after lunch time. I'd slept the entire morning. I lazily pulled myself from the bed, my body aching from a full night of tense sleep. I jumped into the shower and let the warm water run over my tired body before hopping out. I dried off and put on my leggings and a sports bra before pulling on my slouchy tee. It hung off my shoulder due to ill fit but I didn't care. I knotted the hem to draw it up some and threw my hair up into a loose top knot before headed out the door. 

I made my way down to the hall and turned the corner to the dining hall when I collided into a giant wall of muscle. "Shit!" I said in frustration as I staggered back. 

A pair of strong hands reached out and grabbed me before I could fall to the ground and I felt a familiar tingling warmth against my skin. "Woah, in a hurry?" Rhett's voice said with a chuckle. 

I steadied myself on my feet and quickly stepped out of his hold, feeling my skin go cold without his touch. "Sorry. I overslept." I mumbled, keeping my eyes on the floor. I couldn't bring myself to see his face right now. "I didn't see you."

He sighed and took a step forward. "Lili, please try to..." 

I reflexively took a step back, my eyes finally pulling up to glare into his. "Look. I get it ok. You don't have to feel bad about it just because you think I'm wounded now. I'll be fine. Can I go now?" My words came out angrier than I'd intended, but I realized that I'd meant it. The pain from his rejection was still too fresh to be around him right now. Even if I thought there was more to it than he was letting me see, I couldn't face him right now without the emotion grabbing a hold of me. 

His jaw ticked and I could see the pain flash across his eyes before he scowled, nodding once and straightening. 

"Alpha." I said lowly before stepping around him and heading into the dining hall. I made my way to the front table, placing a few items on my plate. 

"If you're going to come to training today you'd better eat more than that girl." Ivy's voice said over my shoulder. I turned to smile at her and she raised a well arched brow. "Not much sleep last night huh?"

I sighed and walked over to sit at a nearby table. She moved around to sit in front of me with her own plate. "I slept, just wasn't great sleep is all."

She nodded as she ate. "I have nights like that too. It's nights like that that the mate bond is the most helpful. It's so comforting." I let out a shaky breath and she caught it. "I guess you aren't with whoever gave you that anymore?" She pointed to the mark at my neck and I quickly shook my head before shifting my shirt to the other side to cover it.

"No. It was a long time ago." I said quietly.

"Well, don't worry. We have plenty of sexy guys to choose from. And from the looks of it, you already have two interested parties no?" She winked at me and looked over my shoulder with a smirk.