Chapter 57
Eleanor:
“Hey,” Natasha said, entering my room.
I smiled and turned to face her, putting my earrings on as I did.
“Hi,” I walked toward her and wrapped my arms around the woman, pulling her into a hug. She hugged me back with the same fever before pulling away to look me in the eye.
“I can assume that this was not a normal ‘good morning’ hug.” She said, and I laughed.
“It was a thank you hug, for what you did for me yesterday.” I said, and she smiled. “I don’t know what I would have been able to do if not for you and what you did, but thank you so much.”
“I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, Eleanor.” She said, making my heart swell. “You are my sister and friend. And I was not blessed with having many that stayed around long enough to prove worth the friendship.”
“I didn’t stay for long, and you seem to find me a good friend.” I said, and she smiled before nodding at me to come with her. The two of us walked out of the room and she looped her arm with mine.
“That is because I don’t need to stay with you for a long while to believe that you are my friend.” She said. The two of us entered the kitchen, and I smiled at the sight of Liana who was cooking something with one of the maids.
“Good morning, Liana.” I said, taking her off guard. The woman turned to face me before nodding.
“Miss Eleanor, to what do we owe the honor?” She asked, making me raise an amused eyebrow. The girls started murmuring amongst themselves and I couldn’t help but shake my head at her statement. Her eyes met mine and she winked.
“I was wondering if you could teach me how to make something that Alpha Killian likes.” I said, and she smiled. “I figured that it is about time that his mate learned how to make and also cooked for him his favorite dishes.”
“It would be an honor, Luna Eleanor.” She said, and I smiled. She nodded at the maid to step aside before allowing me to stand in her place. I raised an eyebrow at the woman and she smiled.
“Miss and Luna?” I whispered, and she winked.
“That is how I want them to address you, and in front of them, it is how even I will.” She whispered back before nudging me gently. I shook my head and watched as she took a step back to pull out an apron. She handed it to me and I nodded before putting it on. My legs and knees were still bandaged, but I could tell that I was healing a lot faster than I normally would have in such a situation. And that was something that I couldn’t help but feel proud of.
“Do you want us to do the cutting and I will teach you how to make the recipe? This would kill time and would help you with the process.” She said, and I nodded.
“I don’t mind, but do you think that I can cut an ingredient or two? Or do you want the girls to be taking care of the whole thing?”
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I jumped at the sound of the front door being slammed shut.
My heart raced against my ribcage, and both Natasha and I walked out of the suit to see what was going on. However, I never did expect to see Killian holding a man by his hair, his face was filled with blood, and I could tell that he had a bullet wound.
“Killian?” I called before I could stop myself. He turned to face me for a second before turning to look at the man once again as he dragged him to what he called ‘the basement’. I looked at Natasha who took a deep breath.
“He must have done something very bad for him to end up dealing with this. If anyone knows Killian and how he feels about the basement, it is me.” She said, and I shook my head in question before she pulled me toward the suite.
The two of us sat on one of the couches that were outside the room, in the little sitting room that we had there. And I couldn’t help but find myself shaking my leg as I processed what I just saw and what I was about to hear.
“The basement is a torment room.” She said, and I frowned, recalling how Killian wanted to once take me there. The fear that I had as he punched the wall beside my head was one that I knew that I wouldn’t forget easily, and though I couldn’t blame him for the way he reacted, I couldn’t help but find myself fearing that he would do it to me. Just the idea of it was one that frightened me. “Those who tend to do things that would end up affecting the family badly, or those that break deals in ways that deserve a punishment worse than death are brought here. Killian tends to them, interrogates them, and even has them begging for their death before offering it.”
“Why not just kill them directly?” I asked as the door opened.
“Because it is an easy punishment,” Killian said, entering the suite. “And you, Natasha, need to know what to and what not to tell her. There are things that I don’t want her finding out…”
“Coming from the man that just entered the house holding a bleeding man, I am surprised.” She said, stopping Killian who growled in warning. She shook her head and took a deep breath before taking a step back. “I am going to show myself out. I can assume that you would tell her what YOU WANT her to know.”
She didn’t bother waiting for his response before walking out of the room and closing the door. Killian looked at me as if I'd grown a second head for a second before taking a deep breath.
“You know, Eleanor, I don’t want to tell you not to try and get to know things or try and understand how things go within the pack.” He said, and I frowned in confusion. “But I do suggest that you don’t ask about everything that is happening around you, because the more you know, the more danger you can oppose on yourself.”
“I woke up and didn’t find you in bed beside me and you disappeared through the entire day.” I said, looking down at my feet as I avoided his eyes. “My apologies if when I saw you holding the man the way that you were, glaring down at him as if you were some kind of hungry monster…”
“Well, guess what? I am a fucking hungry monster, and that man deserves everything that he is going to get.” He said, taking me off guard. “However, I do not expect you to try and be nosy about my work and how I do things.”
“Be nosy? I was curious and I asked.”
“Don’t be.” I froze, and he took a step back before turning to the door. He looked at me over his shoulder for a second before his next words took me off guard. “The man almost sent a file that contained evidence that you are Bernardi’s lost bride, and we barely managed to get to him before he sent it out. If this feeds off your curiosity, I suggest that next time you have a question, you choose to ask me directly…”