“ Ever since I arrived here, I have been treated unfairly by you and your men! I have been accused of trying to steal. I have been locked in the dungeon without food or water to drink, and then I was handled by you afterwards. And might I remind you about the kiss you gave me while I was asleep? Here I am, tired from walking for god knows how long, to a secret magical kingdom, and decide to take a little nap, only to be awakened by a stranger kissing me. Here I am with people that have magical elemental powers, only to discover that I am also one of them with these strange cold fire powers that I never even knew I had. And also, I was locked up again by you in your personal sleeping chambers. Maybe if you showed me just a bit of decency since I arrived, I would not have wanted to leave or think the worst of you!” I listened intensely as she poured her heart out from all the frustration. Maybe she was right; maybe I was unfearful of her. I would have probably felt the same way if I were in her shoes.
“You are right.” She looks at me, shocked.
“Perhaps I did treat you unfairly, and I am really sorry. It was not my attention.” She looks shocked, like she didn’t expect me to apologize. I take a seat next to her on the couch, putting my hand on hers and stroking her knuckles. My heart aches not to hold her in my arms, to sit her on my lap and kiss her neck, and to reassure her that I won’t hurt her ever! If only she knew how much I needed her to save me from myself.
( Meara )
He totally caught me off guard. I did not expect him to apologize, and then he reached down and touched my hand, causing heat to rush to my cheeks and making me blush. Chills went up my spine as he held my hand. Before I could ask him more about this mate thing and what it required, there was a knock on the door. It was one of the guards he introduced me to earlier.
“ Enter!” He calls out.
Seth, which I assume is the youngest of the guard brothers because he had a younger-looking face and didn’t have a beard,. He was neatly shaved. Kaden walked over to Seth, taking the tray of food from him and placing it on the table. He heads back to Seth, and I take the opportunity to mind-link Merilla again.
“ Merilla?” I called for her, and in seconds she answered back.
“Don’t worry, Meara, I am here.” She said it happily.
“So, how are things with you and Kaden?” She asked excitedly.
“This is weird to me.” I whispered in my head. I don’t know why I did that, because Kaden couldn't hear what I said to her. Maybe in my subconscious, I thought that Kaden could hear me.
“It will be at first because you haven’t fully accepted the fact that you are his mate. Your mind is fighting the bond because you think it can’t be real. There must be an undeniable attraction, and I am sure you can feel it, but you are fighting against it. You just have to let go and accept the bond. Around here, it is the most natural thing. People won’t think less of you when you stay with your partner. We aren’t the same as humans, that I can assure you.”
“But what if I open myself up and he leaves me? I can’t get attached and bear the thought of losing another person.” Merilla gaped at my question.
“ That won’t happen with a mate bond. He will never leave you. He has waited for you for a very long time, and believe me, Kaden He is a lot older then he looks, so he really has waited a long, long time for you. If this whole thing makes you uncomfortable, just tell him that you want to take things slow. He may have a different past; his culture might be different, but he has wanted you for so long.” On that note, we broke of the link because Kaden finished his discussion with Seth.
Kaden walked up to me; if we were the same height, we would have been eye to eye, but my eyes only came to his chest area.
“Listen, little One, from now on you will be sleeping in my chambers. You won’t be sleeping anywhere else. It is for your own safety. You are my mate, and you must be by my side at all times. End of discussion.” His eyes darkened, and he caught me completely of guard with his announcement. I am so shocked that I have to take a minute to get my breath back.
“I am trying to be patient, but this attitude of yours is quite irritating. You are my mate, and you should accept it for what it is.” I am utterly stunned. Where this side of him suddenly appeared out of nowhere, I did not know. The first minute, it sounded like he actually cared about me and my feelings, and now he is acting like a complete barbarian again.
“ Why? You don’t own me. I don’t care if we are friends, as everyone here claims. You are a stranger to me. I barely know you more than a day.” I snipped back at him. He gave a smirk and took a step closer to me, so I took a step back. He towered over me, and the light in the room was slowly fading as I retreated back into the far corner of the room. There was nowhere else to go as my back was pressed up against the wall. One of his hands came up to the side of my face, placing it against the wall, and then the other. I could feel the warmth from his hands inches away from my face. His head lowered down to the side of my jaw. His breath was hot, and his eyes were turning dark red, not like before, when they had little specs in them. Something in his eyes looked so evil. I can’t help but feel frightened. I put my hands up to push his chest away, but I failed because he was too strong for me.
“I meant what I said, Little One.” His lips tickled my neck as they brushed against my skin, making me feel this strange sensation in the lower part of my stomach. These darn strange sensations I get when he is near me are going to drive me insane.
“I will bend you over and spank you until you listen to me and be a good little one.” He whispered in my ear with a deep, low, husky voice. My bottom lip quivers out of fear because I don’t know if he is actually meaning it or just trying to scare me into staying with him. I stayed quiet, not wanting to test that theory.
The entire night, I laid in bed with my back turned to Kaden. The morning light was coming into the room, only reminding me that today is another day I would have to spend stuck in this place with the barbarians in a kingdom I had never even heard of until a few days ago. My heart ached, knowing I wouldn’t be going back to the farm soon.
Even though Kaden said that I was his mate and Merilla said he would never leave me, I couldn’t help but feel the doubt in my heart. I am afraid to get too attached to Merilla and Kaden because what if I lose them too and am left alone again? I have gotten so used to the fact of being alone that it doesn’t bother me that much. I didn’t have any friends in school; the only friends I had were the animals on the farm.
This barbarian wanted to love me and care for me, but all those good intentions could also bring great pain. My own parents most probably had good intentions for leaving me all alone in the woods, but I would never know because they also just left without ever leaving a note to say why. It always ends up with me being left alone. Even my own parents abandoned me.
Last night, I didn’t have much strength to argue anymore. Kaden told me to get ready for bed, and for once I listened and did as I was told. The large bathroom was larger than my own bathroom back home. I think it is even bigger than the kitchen and living room combined. The bath was big and had many different oils and soaps to choose from. Sitting there all night looked like a good idea, but the emotional rollercoaster I was on just wanted me to get into bed. I was way to tired to start an argument.
I put on a white silky gown my two servants left for me, and when I got the bed, Kaden was already in bed with no shirt on and reading some paper in his hand with one hand behind his head, which showed the stretching of his muscles. He was definitely not built like the other men I have seen so far. His skin was tanned, with scars all over his body. I gulped and kept my eyes to the ground as I hopped into the bed.
There was a massive stack of pillows on the floor next to me. I pulled them up to build a wall between me and Kaden.
“What do you think you are doing?” Kaden smirked as he put his paper down on the nightstand.
“I am creating a wall, so you don’t cross over to my side during the night.” I put on one last pillow that caused me to really sit up and look over. “ Goodnight.” I said it sternly while quickly covering myself with the blankets.
"Careful, little one, your age is showing again.” I give him a glare.
“ And what is that supposed to mean?”
“ Exactly what it means Little One.” How dare he insinuate that I am behaving like child.
“ Goodnight.” I said sternly while quickly covering myself with the blankets. He was making me sleep in the same bed as him, a man I have only known a few hours. It is absolutely scandalous?!