Chapter 19

Arielle’s POV  

I hadn't expected him to come back twice in one day,I had been enjoying the book he gave me but I had stopped reading it for a while now so I was  lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling, counting the small cracks in the plaster just to keep my mind from spiraling. 

I turned my head and saw Damian standing in the doorway, his expression unreadable as always.  I sat up slowly, narrowing my eyes. 

“What do you want now?”  

“Come walk with me.”  he said , his gaze flickered over me before settling on my face. I almost jerked in surprise, why was he trying to help me,I scoffed, crossing my arms. 

“Oh, so now you’re asking your hostage if she’d like to take a little stroll? How considerate of you, Alpha.”  

We argued as we usually did, it was mostly to make me feel better about myself than anything else. But when I had finally gotten too riled up and settled back down I looked to him and asked.

"Why are you doing this." I asked and he sighed.

“I just want you to get some air,” he continued. 

“You’ve been locked up for days. Walking around a bit won’t kill you.” I frowned. That wasn’t an answer. He had left me in here for days , he could’ve left me in here for days, weeks more even. But now, suddenly, he wanted to take me outside?  

It didn't add up but still, the thought of being out of this damn room, even for a little while, was tempting. I held his gaze for a long moment and gestured  to the door.

"Fine.”  

"But don’t expect me to be pleasant.”  I muttered under my breath and his lips twitched slightly,he didn't say a word though. I half-expected him to place a hand on my back to guide me out, but he didn’t instead, he turned and led the way, giving me space. It was a small courtesy, but it unsettled me that he was being this nice to me, what was the catch really. 

Why did it feel like he was trying to be careful with me?  We walked in silence through the dimly lit corridors of house, this was my first time seeing the space like this.

I hadn’t seen much of the place, only glimpses from the one time I’d been here before— years ago when I was young and my stepfather had been invited to Damian father's banquet just before everything had gone to hell.  I kept my steps slow so I could look at it even longer than possible and notice things that I hadn't when I was brought here the first time. 

It didn't take us long to reach outside and once we stepped outside, the cool evening air washed over me. It was nice and liberating to be able to breathe in air that didn't smell of soap and softeners. I breathed deeply, enjoying the scent of pine and earth, the ground was wet like it had rained not so long ago.

I must have missed that since I hadn't been outside for so long .

My anger toward Damian lessened a bit, this felt good.  

We walked side by side, the silence between us surprisingly comfortable. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to speak to him at all but then I wasn't sure what to say either.

Being this close to him without us arguing was a first, with my curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to risk it anyway. 

“This estate,” I said, glancing around at the sprawling land and towering trees. 

“It hasn't always been yours, has it?”  I asked and he looked to me brows arched.

"Why are you asking that.” he asked and I shrugged.

"I remember a banquet here and a very crochety old man.” I mumbled and he laughed.

"I remember that but I didn't know you would, you were maybe five then." he whispered and I smiled, I remembered that time not as vividly but well enough.

I had been happier then.

Damian glanced at me, then shook his head. 

“No. It belonged to my grandfather.”  he replied to my question. I raised a brow a bit surprised.

"Not your father?”  His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t look at me when he spoke.

“My father didn’t want it. He preferred to build his own legacy elsewhere.”  

Something in his voice told me there was more to the story, but I didn’t push. I knew how hard it was talking about parents, my father was dead andy mother hadn't cared for me in any way so I let the silence settle in between us again. 

The estate was beautiful but some buildings seemed older than others.

“How long has it been in your family?”  I asked breaking us out of the silence. Damian glanced at me, seemingly surprised by the question. But he answered.  

“A long time,” he said. 

“One of our ancestors built the main structure but the land wasn't his then, one of my many great grandfather's bought it and soon over the years, different alphas added to it. The western wing was expanded when my grandfather took over. He wanted more space for warriors to train.” I nodded admiring the building.

“It looked… old.”  He let out a quiet chuckle. 

"It is old. But it’s sturdy. Our pack has always been one of the strongest, and this place was built to reflect that.” I knew that much, Damian's father was a sturdy and stubborn old man but he had been a strong man too. 

“You're feeling better then ?” he asked. I hesitated but then, reluctantly, I nodded.  

“Good.”  I looked back to the rest of the estate grounds that stretched out into the dark only.

I didn’t realize how much I had missed being outside.  

The sun setting made it even more beautiful with the fading light falling over the grass and the trees.I looked to the left and if I looked well enough, I could see the well maintained gardens, it had an elegant pathway lined with a few lanterns that cast a soft golden glow and somewhere in there was a fountain by the sound of trickling water. 

"That looks beautiful.” I mumbled and he smiled. 

"You can look at it when you want " he offered and I blinked looking up at him.

"And how do you suggest I do that." I asked and he sighed walking down the path with me. 

We reached the end of the path,before he finally stopped and turned to face me, his face was unreadable again, but there was something different in his eyes something warmer it was a stark contrast to the Damian I had known—the cold man with dead eyes each time he had rejected me. 

I was still drawn to him and hating that fact was too exhausting for me at the moment. It was up to my wolf and if she wanted this grumpy man I would just have to endure it.   

“Arielle,” he said, his keeping his voice measured.

“I want to make a deal.”  I narrowed my eyes glaring up at him.

“A deal?”  I drawled and he nodded.

“If you promise not to cause problems or try to escape, I’ll let you come outside every day.”  

"Intresting" I muttered and he nodded.

"You'll have to make your choice. " He shrugged towards the library.

"What will be your choice.” I folded my arms. 

“And if I refuse?”  I asked.

“Then you stay locked in that room,” he said simply. 

"It's your choice.”  he mumbled and I sighed searching his face and looking for any sign of deception. He was serious but I had definitely not expected him to make this offer. I wanted to refuse and tell him I didn’t take deals from kidnappers if only to spite him but that would have no point. 

But the truth was, I wanted to be outside, I needed the air, the space and the freedom as well but the biggest reason of all was unwanted to stop fighting him and give myself a chance to understand him.  

I clenched my jaw and made my decision. 

“…Fine,” I said after a long moment. 

" I won’t try to escape.”  His gaze sharpened, like he was trying to detect a lie. 

"And no causing problems?”  he added like he wanted to cover all his bases. I smirked, more than a little bit amused.

“Define ‘problems.’”  I asked just to torment him. He groaned.

“Arielle.”  I rolled my eyes. 

"Fine. No problems. I’ll behave, Alpha.”

"Good.”  he said his eyes flickering with something unreadable before he gave a small nod. I grinned up at him.

"You worry too much" I muttered and he winced 

Then, without another word, he turned and started walking back toward the estate, I stood there just staring at him as he walked away, he turned to face me.

"You don't mean to stand there all night do you.” he asked and I jerked.

"What, you have very nice shoulders." I muttered and he froze this time as I walked past him, smiling to myself.