Chapter 20

Chapter 20

After nights of uncompleted rest, I woke up well-slept, warm under the covers and with no painful headache.

One of my greatest worries was gone—Gerald. He wouldn't come here again as nothing would lead him here. Soon enough, he'd understand I had died somewhere in the national forest while fleeing the attack on the pack and after that, his life mission would change.

During the last few days at my old home, with my dad and Gerald, I recalled being tormented being by him, day and night. He'd call me everything from his evil dictionary, everything that deemed me unworthy. He'd force me to do things I didn't want to do, burn my hands, set my clothes on fire, force me to the healers, degrade me in front of his friends till they laughed to where they couldn't even breathe.

Once thrown out, I lived on the streets for months and months, begged both dad and Gerald to let me stay with them, but they didn't accept me.

A runt.

Nicholas' house was heavily guarded. Wherever I went, someone was trailing me today, which made me assume he wasn't here. Thank god. It was better if he had other things to do than to grab me out of bed and force me outside with himself.

My shoes clicked over the marble flooring of the kitchen as I entered. Behind my shoulders, I could sense a guard watching me carefully. The smell of food was lingering in the air. My stomach grumbled, and I reached in for whatever could come into my hands.

A chicken sandwich. For breakfast? Not that I had another option.

I washed it down with some tea before leaving the kitchen. My intentions were to return upstairs and stay there as he had told me to do so, but my thoughts diverted elsewhere when I climbed up the stairs and there wasn't anyone behind me.

Not one guard.

A smile crept on my face. I went past my bedroom, going straight ahead into the room at the end of the hallway, which was the only one shut. There were many more rooms, but only one piqued my interest.

My fingers reached to the door, and I pushed it back.

It opened.

Nicholas' room.

My eyes lingered over the dark furnishing and the slightly opened curtains, which let some of the morning light into the room of death. My body became taut. It was the first time I was inside a man's bedroom, let alone a man's house—a man who had touched me.

There was excitement rushing in my veins, and some desires until my gaze fell on the black table by the large wall.

My bracelet glimmered at me.

Stealer.

I parted my lips and quickly rushed toward the table to grab it and keep it. I had been finding for it, and all this time, Nicholas had it and he didn't even tell me. He knew it meant something to me.

My fingers went around it, but before I had the chance to take it, someone else did.

A gasp left my throat as I turned to find Nicholas' large frame only an inch away from mine. His gaze darkened. "What did I tell you about wandering around?" he asked, holding my bracelet in his hold now. "Do you not listen? Or do you find it simply better to disobey what I say?"

"You took my bracelet—" I stuttered out.

"And I'll keep it."

My mouth lined straight while I gave him a long stare. It was going to be difficult to pry it off his hands. Surely, there was something else I could do. The bracelet meant everything to me—everything.

It kept my mother closer to me, even when she was no longer here.

"It's mine and I want it back." My breath didn't stutter this time, instead my spine went straight, shoulders stiffening in defiance. There were some things that mattered to me more than anything else, and I couldn't imagine losing it. "It means something to me, and what could you possibly do with a bracelet? You wouldn't even wear it."

"What is so important about it?" he questioned, holding it up. "Did somebody special gave it to you? Lie to me and I'll break it right now."

"No, it was my mother's. It holds sentimental value, that's all, and I want it back."

I could snatch it off his hands before he broke it and flee. But where?

He stepped to the side, closer to the table. Warmth from the heated flooring beneath my feet crawled up to me. My gaze fell over the table as he placed it down and then lifted his hand from it.

"Take it, and start running. If I catch you, the bracelet is mine and so are you." he said, mischief lingering in his eyes as he drew his hands away from the bracelet.

"You're joking." I trailed off as my stomach did a little roll at his words.

"I'm not," he shook his head and my eyes fixated on his face. "I'll only look for you for a minute. More than a minute and the bracelet is yours and if not—"

I didn't wait around to listen to his rules. Instead, I fled as quick as I could out of the room with the bracelet in my hand. My head went left and right before I went past my room and entered another hallway. The house was entirely unfamiliar, and it had many, many rooms.

It was too bright outside to run and too dark inside to find anywhere to hide.

Further, far away from the foyer and the grand staircase, at the end somewhere, I found a bedroom that seemed like it hadn't been used in years. Slipping in through the door, I quietly closed it before hiding behind the large bed, which covered the entrance and made it difficult for anyone to see it.

My heart raced hard and fast.

What was I doing?

The fear of being caught by Nicholas drove something wild inside me. It kept me on the edge. It made me feel different.

I knew he wouldn't kill me—not after he and his pack had nearly killed everyone in Frostshire and he spared my life.

There was a reason.

It kept me interested, along with what my body felt at his presence. And his touch, his fingers—it rose desires inside me. A chill crawled down my spine. I held my breath in while a playful smile hung over my lips.

I wanted him to find me, but a minute later so I could gloat while keeping the bracelet with myself.

Only a moment later, the door slammed open. I stilled. How? It took me longer than a minute to find somewhere to hide and I knew he wasn't trailing me while I was running around.

The mattress behind me went a little down as his hand went over it. I turned away from the side and glanced at him, who had crouched over me.

His other arm stretched, fingers splayed and palm waiting to be filled. I hesitated while giving him my bracelet back. It was mine to begin with. But a deal was a deal.

"I'll make sure to keep it safe for as long as you're here." He sounded sincere for the first time, and I managed to believe in his words. It was better if someone else kept the bracelet than I did.

I lost it left and right and then searched for it for hours and hours. This wasn't the first time and neither the last.

"And how long is that?" I rose, and midway getting up, the side of the wooden side table scratched up my leg.

"For as long as I want to," He grabbed the bracelet and placed it in his pocket as if it was his possession. "Now, onto the better part of the deal—"

I cut him off and instead asked, "How did you find me here?" It wasn't the first time either. I had ran twice, once from here and once from Madame's house. Both of the times, he found me as if he knew where I was exactly, as if he was inside my head.

What gave it away?

"Do you really want to know?" He stepped closer.

My breaths raced, "Yes." More than anything. My mind was running wild with different thoughts and conclusions and unless he was some-sort of mind-controlling creature, he couldn't have found me all these times.

His head lowered to my shoulder, mouth closer to my ear. My chest clenched tight.

"The smell of your cunt dragged me here."

Read the full book on Patreon; www.patreon.com/miakerr