Chapter 39 The Stranger’s Gentle Cage
Isabella’s POV
My eyes fluttered open slowly, the world blurry as I opened them fully. For a long moment, I just lay there, staring at the wooden ceiling above me, trying to make sense of where I was.
The bed beneath me was surprisingly soft, covered with thick furs used as blankets. On the far end of the room, a fire crackled quietly in a stone hearth, filling the room with warm light.
I forced myself to sit up, my body protesting with every movement while my abdomen still ached with a deep, hollow pain, and my thighs felt sticky with dried blood.
Where am I?
I pushed my legs over the side of the bed and stood on shaky feet. The last thing I remembered was the forest… those bloody rogues trying to ravish me…the stranger with glowing red eyes who had torn them apart like they were nothing.
He had asked who I was, and I had tried to answer before everything went black. And now—
I was inside a small cabin. One large room with simple wooden furniture, shelves lined with jars of herbs and dried meat, a few weapons neatly arranged on the wall, and a single door leading outside.
No one else was in the room with me.
Did he bring me all the way here?
And if that was true, then where the hell was he?
My heart began to race as many unwanted thoughts slammed into me brutally. How did I get here? Did the stranger bring me? What did he want with me?
Landon had taken me against my will, used me like a fucking sex toy, and thrown me away like trash. What if this man were the same? What if he saved me to keep me as his sex slave, just like Landon had done?
“No…no…”
I couldn’t let that happen again.
Before my brain could think twice, I stumbled towards the door, even though my legs felt like they might give up any second now. I had to get as far away from here as possible before he came back and decided to claim what the rogues had almost taken.
My hand closed around the wooden handle of the door, and I pushed it open and stepped outside, the cool morning breeze hitting my face instantly. I took one, then two shaky steps away from the cabin door—
“Where do you think you’re going?”
A deep, calm voice stopped me mid-step.
I spun around too quickly, my vision fading just a little, but I caught myself against the doorframe. The figure stood a few feet away, carrying an armful of firewood, his dark piercing eyes locked on me without looking away for even a second.
He was much taller seeing him up close, broad-shouldered and powerful, with dark hair that lay gently on his back.
“What did you do to me?” The words tore out of me immediately as I staggered back, my voice trembling. “How did I get here? Who are you? What do you want from me?”
The questions rolled out of my mouth all at once, my fear making them sharp and frantic. I didn’t trust him. I could never trust anyone in my life after what Landon had done to me.
“I’m Finn…” he set the firewood down slowly, his movements slow and deliberate as he took a step toward me. “I told you that was my name before you fainted in the forest. You shouldn’t even be walking right now…you’re still very weak and need a lot of rest.”
He took another step toward me.
I took two steps back, my heart pounding so loudly I swore he could hear it. “Stay away from me!”
My eyes darted around desperately and landed on a sharp, broken branch lying on the ground. I picked it up immediately and pointed it at him like a weapon, my hands shaking badly.
“Where is this place?” I demanded, my voice cracking even as I tried to act brave. “What do you want with me? If you plan to use me as your sex slave like Landon did, I swear I’ll fight you…I’ll rather die than let another man touch me against my will!”
“Sex slave?” A humourless laughter tore out of him, confusion flickering across his face just for a second before it turned into something that almost looked like irritation. “If I wanted to ravish you, I would have left you with those rogues. They were already trying to do that but I saved your life…you should be thanking me instead of pointing a stick at me like I’m the enemy.”
His words should have calmed me down, but instead it made me more agitated. I didn’t believe him. Every man who had shown me any kind of attention so far had hurt me.
“I don’t trust you,” I snapped, the stick trembling in my grip. “I don’t trust anyone in this world…not even myself. So you better let me go! Now!”
Finn exhaled slowly, clearly trying to stay patient. “You fainted in the forest and I brought you here, cleaned your wounds, and stopped the bleeding as best I could. I don’t care where you came from or what happened to you before…” he paused for a moment, his eyes raking all over me with pity.
“….I’ve been alone in these woods for a long time because I don’t want trouble. And you… You look like nothing but trouble.”
He took another careful step closer.
“Stay back!” I warned, pointing the stick toward him.
In one smooth, impossibly fast motion, he closed the distance between us, grabbed the branch, and yanked it out of my hands. He tossed it aside without even looking.
I turned on instincts, getting ready to run, but he caught me before I made it two steps. Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, lifting me off the ground as if I weighed nothing.
“Hey! Put me down!” I barked, struggling and kicking weakly against his strong grip, but my body had no strength left.
Finn carried me back inside the cabin without a word and laid me down on the bed with surprising gentleness.
“You’re not going anywhere until you’ve rested properly,” he said firmly, his huge frame towering over me as he stood beside the bed. “When you’re strong enough, you can leave if you want. But for now…you’re going to stay here because I say so.”
My mouth parted to speak in response, but the words got stuck. Instead, I just lay there, staring up at him, tears of frustration and fear burning in my eyes.
Only one question kept ringing over and over in my head as I lay on the bed…
How was I supposed to know whether this man was my savior or just another monster like Landon?