Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven

Thunder clapped loudly from high in the sky as lightning crashed against the waves before they rolled and smashed onto the shore violently, lighting up the whole island before it disappeared.

It was cold, so cold, the kind that sunk below the skin and dove straight for the bones so deep, eliciting a violent shiver.

But Saffron stood unmoving, enjoying the cold that kissed her naked body, but she didn’t shiver; instead, she embraced the cold, even though every bone in her body wanted to quiver at the intrusive coldness.

Another thunder peal cracked loudly across the sky, drawing her attention back to the storm, and she smiled sadly because the storm matched her emotions perfectly.

Tiny droplets of rain pelted against her exposed skin, but she paid no heed to it, her mind faraway as she stared at the shallow water with a racing heart.

Her eyes closed involuntarily, as she wondered what would happen if she were to just take a leap, go underwater, and end it all.

Would it end all of her suffering?

The pain and the heartache of knowing that she could never go back home, or that her choice had been ripped away from her when her father had sold her pulsed harder, as finally, she shivered against the cold, wrapping her arms around herself.

Out here, she could let loose her tears without fear of having someone discover her and having any more reason to despise, taunt, or abuse her.

It was nerve wracking how her life had changed drastically, all in a matter of minutes, because of a stupid decision her father had made.

Yes, she was still bitter about it. And still thought about it every waking moment.

How could she not, when every moment that she was still here, being kept against her will and forced to become a slave to people who see her as nothing more than an annoying bug that needed to be squashed beneath their foot, she was reminded of the fact that she had been let down by the person who was supposed to be her parent.

And even though he had failed astronomically at being a father to her, a part of her still loved him, even when every inch of her detested him.

His betrayal still stung, and her hatred was now a gaping wound that kept on festering with each degrading word that was being hurled at her and the humiliation she had to endure every single day.

Her eyes snapped open when the back of her neck prickled with awareness.

She was no longer alone.

Panic overwhelmed her senses as she frantically searched for her discarded clothes, wanting to hide away her nakedness from whoever it was that had intruded on her private moment.

It was late at night when she had snuck out of the room she shared with Kiera, and she had made sure that no one had been lurking around when she had made her way to this heavenly body of water, so sure that no one was awake at this ungodly hour of the night.

Quickly, she slipped back into her nightdress and grabbed her underwear, not wanting to waste time putting them on and presenting the intruder with any more opportunity to attack her.

Coming out here tonight had been foolish on her part, knowing that there were people on the island who had it out for her—not just the Alpha and his men, but some of the slave girls as well.

Why they went out of their way to torment her was anyone’s guess. But, that was a thought for another day. Now, she had to figure out who was on the shore besides her and whether that person was a friend or an enemy.

“Who’s there?” she called out, as she tried to peer into the darkness. It was foolish, calling out and announcing her location when she should have just ran away. Saffron knew it.

But it seemed like tonight she was making a slew of foolish decisions, starting with sneaking out of bed.

Perhaps, whoever it was would take pity on her and end her miserable existence, effectively putting an end to her humiliation, pain, and torment, at the hands of the Blood Moon gang.

How such a beautiful place could be turned into a house of horrors still baffled her.

“Didn’t anyone tell you that calling out to a stranger in the dark is very dangerous?” the intruder replied, his voice a soft whisper that caressed her skin like silk.

A gasp of relief escaped her lips when she recognized the tenure of his voice, even against the roaring of the waves behind her.

How she could hear him as if he were standing right next to her and whispering against her ear, was one of the mysteries she was yet to solve.

It seemed like her life was now a big open revolving door of mysteries when it came to this particular man and the island itself.

“When it’s a stranger as dashing as you are?” She paused, as if she was considering her answer, her lips tilting up into an eager smile. “Then, no, I can’t say that anyone has.”

A chuckle was her answer, but he still remained in the shadows, not gracing her with his physical appearance.

And oh God! What was that? What had she just said?

Dashing, really? The voice in her head mocked, shaking its metaphorical head at Saffron’s stupidity.

Saffron was so shocked by the appearance of the voice in her head once again that she let out a gasp of surprise, followed by a yelp when she slipped against a rock and fell face first into the wet sand.

How utterly ladylike of you, the voice chided, and Saffron could swear she felt it roll its eyes.

Was her captivity finally making her go crazy?

The handsome stranger was on her before she knew it, plucking her out of the sand as if she weighed nothing and placing her on his laps as he sat down on the sand, circling his arms around her.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice laced with concern, the moment she barked “Shut up,” at the voice which kept on taunting her.

Yeah, earlier, she had felt like a piece of her was missing when the voice had stopped interacting with her, but now, she wanted it gone because it was back to being its annoying self.

“What?” the stranger asked as she pulled out of his protective embrace, like her butt had been set on fire.

“Nothing,” she replied, as her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment.

She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and now, the one person who didn’t treat her like a slave was going to think she was crazy.

He stared at her quizzically, as if she was a puzzle he intended to figure out before he rose to his feet and wiped at the sand on his jeans.

“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked, as he grabbed her chin and tilted her head right, and left, much like he had done that first night they had met.

“No, I’m fine,” she replied, feeling strangely out of breath, as he used his palm to wipe off the sand that had stuck to her face.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked out of the blue, as if he had just remembered that it was still drizzling.

“No.”

He stared at her once again with that quizzical expression before he grabbed her hand and began walking back towards the slave quarters.

“You should go to bed before you get sick,” he stated when they arrived at the door of the slave quarters.

I don’t get sick, she wanted to say, but before she could open her mouth and respond, he was gone just as suddenly as he had appeared.