Chapter 14 Dare to defy me again
Both Thane and Rue turned their heads towards the door.
Rue's chest heaved with suppressed anger, her fists gripping the cage tightly. She was still hurt from the words Thane threw at her.
As for Thane, he frowned. He could clearly perceive Katherine's scent from the door, yet he couldn't understand why she was here.
He only sent for her when he needed her.
"What are you waiting for?" Rue shot out. "Go open the door. I'm pretty sure it's your favourite lapdog who has come to please you for the night."
Her voice dripped with sarcasm, yet Thane ignored her.
He turned abruptly and stormed over to the door, then yanked it open.
Katherine had been leaning her ear against the door, trying to eavesdrop. When the door opened, she lost her balance and landed on the floor.
"Ouch." She muttered, rubbing her arm and keeping her eyes averted. She felt embarrassed.
"What are you doing here?" Thane's hard voice made her flinch. She rose and faced him, her eyes darting into the room, searching for Rue.
"Is she here?" She asked. "I know she is because I didn't find her in her room. I thought she was a slave, Alpha Thane."
"I asked you a question, Katherine." Thane said again, his eyes furious, his lips pressed into a straight line.
"I wanted to see you." She moved closer and leaned into him. "I missed you. I heard you cancelled the hunt. Why?"
While she talked, she tried to move into the room. She badly wanted to know if Rue was in there. The thought of Rue spending the night with Thane instead of her made her blood boil with envy.
However, Thane was having none of it. "Go back to the harem." He said dismissively.
Katherine stepped back in surprise. "The harem? But I've always stayed in the castle."
"Don't piss me off, Katherine." Thane snapped coldly. "You're beginning to get on my nerves."
Katherine was dumbfounded for a moment. Thane had never spoken to her this way. Thinking about it now, she realized that his attitude changed the moment Rue stepped into Eryndor.
Without thinking of the consequences of what she was about to do, she pushed past him and barged into the room.
Rue, who had been pacing around the limited space of the cage, turned around and froze. For several seconds, she and Katherine stared silently at each other.
Then Katherine laughed, a loud mocking laughter. "Talk about being treated like a dog." She said smugly.
As she continued with her taunting words, Rue turned and glared at Thane. This was all his fault.
A surge of scathing retort burned at the tip of her tongue, but she knew if she lost control, she would end up implicating herself.
Thane noticed the hurtful look in her eyes, the one she so desperately tried to hide.
Instantly, he felt that familiar feeling of protectiveness, the urge to protect this she-wolf with blue eyes that burned with hate.
He looked at Katherine, and all the fondness he once felt for her disappeared, only to be replaced with disgust and rage.
"Katherine, get out." He said calmly, his voice cracking dangerously.
Katherine stopped mid-sentence and looked at him. "Alpha..."
"Get out of the room. Now!" He repeated.
"I won't stand here and let you disrespect me right in front of this dog!" Katherine shot back. "You can't treat me this way, Thane..."
The sound of a hard slap echoed through the room as Thane back handed her.
She shrieked, falling to her knees. She could taste blood on her mouth, and her face stung badly. Tears brimmed in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she looked at him.
He had never lifted his hand to her.
"I will only say this once." Thane continued coldly. "Remember your place. The next time you address me without Alpha, I'll kill you. Get out of my room!"
Completely humiliated, Katherine rose to her feet and ran out, her sobs echoing after her.
Rue had been shocked initially when Thane hit her. She certainly didn't expect him to do that for her.
But now that Katherine was gone, he turned on her.
"I think I've been too lenient with you." He said in a hard voice. "I tell myself I would punish you, but I end up not doing it. It ends now."
He walked up to the cage and grabbed the tarp lying on the floor.
"A night in there should teach you a lesson. Dare to defy me again, and you'll be spending a week without food. Should you defy me yet again, I'll lock you up in the dungeons for a month. You've been warned."
Rue watched him as he lifted the tarp and threw it over the cage, plunging her into darkness.
She opened her mouth to scream, but then she remembered his warning. She had tested him severally and he had forgiven her. She didn't want to push her luck.
She lowered to the floor and brought her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. The cage wasn't even big enough to lay on. She wouldn't be able to get any sleep that night.
Tears stung her eyes as she lowered her head and sobbed. Maybe trying to escape was a bad idea. Yolanda had warned her, yet she hadn't listened.
She felt frustrated and helpless. Her plans of taking back her pack looked bleak. She would never succeed if she kept acting reckless.
She needed to submit to Thane.
But submission had never been part of her. Her father had trained her to always stand for herself. How was she supposed to submit?
On the other side of the room, Thane listened as she cried. His heart broke at the sound, and his wolf howled within him, demanding that he release her.
But he didn't. He needed to teach her a lesson. If he was going to bend her to his will, she had to learn first that she couldn't defy him.
He turned and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
...
It was past midnight when he returned.
He had been in the forest, alone, checking for the skinwalkers and lost in thought.
He didn't understand the sudden attraction he had towards Rue. And there was that damned golden thread of light.
What did it mean? He had no answers.
After a cold shower, he prepared to sleep. But as he walked past the cage, he stopped. Something shifted within him.
He pulled off the tarp and stared at Rue who was fast asleep, her head bent in an uncomfortable position.
He didn't have the heart to leave her there.
Muttering a curse, he unlocked the cage and lifted her into his arms.
She stirred and mumbled incoherently, her arms wrapping snugly around his neck.
To his surprise, he smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, he loved the feel of her body against his.
By morning, he would send her back to the harem. But tonight, he wanted her in his bed.