Apprehended Ch. 04

"I cannot tell you everything right now, Annie. As much as you want that. I can't."

I sighed. "I'm trapped here. With nowhere to go, Ethan. The least you can do is tell me more. Please."

I thought he wasn't going to break. I thought he was going to shut me out and keep secrets like he had been doing since yesterday.

I was wrong.

"I will tell you of the bond. Of the main reason why you are here. Will that satisfy you, petal?"

Wow. It wasn't nearly enough, but it was better than nothing. I'd take it. "I guess."

He barked out a laugh. "You guess?"

There was nothing funny about this. I glared.

He quieted down once he noticed that I wasn't joining in on the laughter. "I am not laughing at you, Luna."

"Annie," I corrected.

"No," he said. "Luna. My Luna. Now, I will tell you. But I want you bathed first."

Without warning, he lifted me from the counter and simultaneously pulled open the white curtain of the large bathtub. He gently lowered me inside-fully clothed.

"Get undressed here. You cannot fall, as you are already in the tub. I will place a towel here," he said, gesturing to the toilet's closed lid, "along with some clean clothing. I am sorry that they aren't new, but I made sure they were clean for you. I promise that once you are better, I will take you shopping for your own clothes. My treat for you, Luna. No limit."

I swear, I gaped. That's all I seemed to do since he took me. "You...what?"

He smiled, revealing that damn dimple again. "Shopping," he repeated. "You can choose whatever your heart desires."

I gulped. "Really?"

"Yes. Really. Now bathe. I will be right outside that door. It will be unlocked for safety reasons. I will explain soon ." He lowered himself to press a kiss to my forehead before grabbing a towel from a cabinet below the sinks and placing it on the lid. He winked before closing the door and leaving me alone.

I sighed deeply, letting all my muscles relax. It felt good to be alone. Truly alone with enough time to gather my thoughts. I striped my clothing carefully and slowly, wincing a few times as I moved. When I was finally done, I turned the knob and had to mess with it a little to not only get the water out but make it hot and steaming. My muscles needed it. My feet did not.

I winced again and groaned lowly when they burned through the gauze. But I honestly welcomed the pain. It reminded me that this was real. That this experience was not a figment of my imagination.

I waited until the big tub filled and shut off the running water. I sat back and washed myself. Ethan's soap smelled like him, only less potent. It seemed that his natural scent was much better when used in conjunction with the soap. I liked using it, nonetheless. His shampoo and conditioner were masculine in scent. With all of his male products, I assumed that the bathroom was solely his. Not a feminine product in sight.

If he did have any feminine products, I'm not sure how I would take it. Surely, he had other women...right? Someone as handsome and godly as himself had to have pleasurable moments with the opposite sex...right?

That thought made me mumble a vile curse. I didn't want to think of him with another woman. It made my skin crawl. I hurried to wash myself and rinsed in the water, letting my head dunk underneath it. When I was finished, the water was soapy and filled with bubbles that smelled like him.

I released the plug from the drain and waited until the water was gone before rinsing off again. Once I was bubble free, I grabbed the towel and dried myself as best as I could. I wrapped the towel around my torso and realized that Ethan didn't put a spare set of clothes for me in here.

I groaned again. Shit.

"Ethan?" I called out. I didn't mean to say his name so lowly. I just wasn't sure if I wanted him to come pick me up with a mere towel covering my naked body.

I waited.

I was about to call out for him again-this time, louder-when there was a soft knock on the door. "Annie? You okay?"

Damn. How did he hear that? I said it quietly. "I need clothes."

He opened the door without asking for admittance and approached me. Before I could protest, he scooped me up -towel and all-and carried me to the room, where he set me down on the edge of the mattress. I was breathing heavily at the contact of my bare skin on his bare chest. He was too. We were affecting each other so strangely, that I grew embarrassed and felt my face flush with heat.

"Clothes are beside you," he said, huskily. "I'll give you some space."

He left without another word and closed the door behind him. I exhaled sharply and looked at the clothes, feeling better that he wasn't here to witness my embarrassment. I wondered why he gave me my privacy now, when he was so against it before. Perhaps he was more than affected by our heated touching?

I removed the towel and put on another flannel shirt. His flannel shirt. This one was green plaid. I lowered my head to sniff it. It smelled so good. I worked on the pants next. Which were also his. Sweatpants to be exact. These were grey. I had to tie them at my waist tightly several times due to them being large.

He knocked on the bedroom door. "Can I come in, bellula?"

I ran my fingers through my brown hair to smooth it out. "Yeah."

He entered and looked me over quietly, his eyes lingering on me longer than necessary. "Beautiful," he whispered, softly.

I felt my face flush again and looked away.

"Eat," he said, capturing my attention once more. "Please."

I looked at the food on the tray. Bacon, eggs, toast and jam with a cup of orange juice. It looked delicious. "Thank you," I said, grabbing a piece of bacon and eating it.

"For you, anything. Do you drink tea? Coffee?"

I nodded and swallowed. It was so good. "Yes. Tea."

He smiled. "What flavor, love?"

I felt butterflies take off in my lower belly, making me feel like a fucking teenager. Never-in my twenty-five years of being alive-had any man ever made me feel the way Ethan did. Jerry certainly didn't. Not even when we were dating, and I was getting to know him. That was before the abuse. It felt like a long time ago.

This feeling in particular was new and...different. "Earl grey," I said, lowly.

He cocked a brow. "You like earl grey?"

"I do. But if you don't have any, that's okay."

He chuckled and swiftly approached to tuck a few strands of hair behind my ear gently. I almost leaned into his hand. "I have earl grey, mea vita. But just to be sure that we don't run out, I'll order more today."

My brown eyes found his. "You will?"

He lightly tapped my nose. "I will. Sugar? Milk?"

The thought of having my relaxing tea made me feel better. I hadn't had any in three years. "Oh, yes...please, Ethan."

He liked that. A lot. "Of course, my sweet. Anything."

He was about to leave again as I ate but stopped short. "Cookies," was all he said.

I made a sound. "What kind?"

"Chocolate."

My eyes went wide. "You have?" I squeaked.

He laughed. Loudly. The sound was glorious. Deep and rich. "I do, sweetheart. I love chocolate."

Interesting. "You like earl grey too?"

"The only tea I drink."

This was weird. He didn't seem to think so. "May I have...please?" I tried to sound sweet, just to get more goodies. If I ever tried that with Jerry, he would've called me a greedy pig and hit me.

I swear he groaned deeply and made an odd sound that I was not familiar with. It was a cross between a growl and a purr. Odd. "You can have whatever you want, love. You never need to ask me for permission to eat. If I don't have what you want, tell me and I will get it for you. It's that simple. I meant what I said when I promised to take care of you."

I smiled a little, feeling a little safer. It was progress. "Thank you."

He inclined his head. "I'll be right back," he said with another wink.

When he was gone, I reveled in the food. Sure, I was a big girl; but by all accounts, I shouldn't have been. Jerry starved me most of the time and when I finally left his clutches, I could barely afford my stay at the inn; let alone have a decent, homecooked meal. I couldn't even remember when was the last time I ate breakfast in bed like this. Nor could I remember when I had cookies.

Chocolate cookies.

I groaned again and finished everything on my plate. I was ravished. Ethan came back with steaming tea and a plate full of chocolate cookies. He placed them on the tray and took the cleared plate and empty cup away. "Good girl," he whispered, leaving once more to clean up.

With trembling fingers, I grabbed a thick cookie and dunked it into the hot tea, moaning in pleasure when it melted in my mouth. The texture was rich. The flavor was amazing. The tea was just the right amount of sweet with the prefect amount of milk.

Ethan was spoiling me right now. This was the first time I was ever spoiled. I thought of Jerry as I chewed, and I felt tears burn the back of my eyes. He called me a fat whore. He told me that I shouldn't be eating. That the lack of food would do my body good. That no one else would want me besides him, so I should be thankful that he cared enough to let me starve.

I remembered the nights and days that I would be hungry. The fridge was always empty. He never let me leave to stock it. He controlled everything. The groceries. The bills. Everything. And now? Now I was being treated like a human. Like I actually had worth.

It was unbearable.

"Hey," said Ethan, suddenly coming into my line of sight. He kneeled on the floor by the bed, his head at my level. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Why are you crying?" He brushed my tears away. "You were so happy when I left. What changed?"

I couldn't answer him. My voice seemed to be non-existent at the moment.

"Please tell me," he whispered, brushing away more tears. "I only want to see you happy, mea vita. Right now, you are anything but. Talk to me. I promise to listen. I will never judge you. Ever."

I sniffled and looked right at him. "Thank you."

He jerked in surprise. "For what?"

"For feeding me."

He shook his head back and forth. "You never need to thank me for taking care of you, Annie. That's what I am here for. That's what I was made for."

I didn't understand. "What?" I asked, stuffily.

He brushed away a few more tears before pushing the tray over so he could sit beside me. "You finished?"

"Not with the tea."

"I'll leave it here. I want to talk to you. Will you let me?"

He was asking me for permission now? This was confusing. "Yes."

He nodded and rubbed his hands over his sweatpants in what appeared to be nervousness. "Before I speak of the bond, I would like you to have an open mind. What you are about to hear may sound crazy, but I swear on my life that every word is true. Please don't react too harshly. Please try to understand. Do you think you can do that for me, love?"

"I will."

He smiled a little. "Thank you." He stood quiet, gathering his thoughts for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "Alright. I'll start at the market where I first caught your scent. You see, I smelled you and only you. Your scent was a lure for me, taking me in and leading me to you. I've never experienced anything like that before. Nor will I ever experience that again. It happens once in my lifetime. I never knew when it would happen, nor did I know where. I didn't get to choose."

I was lost. "Choose what?"

"You. You see, you were made to be mine, bellula. Mine. Your scent is like a drug to me. It called to me in the market. It still does. When I followed it, it became stronger. Like a starved male, I followed, already knowing that my bonded female was near. The trail lead me to the diner, where I saw you for the first time. One look and I knew that you were my special female. My Sol Luna. I wanted to approach you and take you home with me immediately, but I realized upon staring at you, that you were human."

Human? What the fuck? Did that mean he was-

"Before you ask," he interrupted my thoughts. "The answer is no, sweetheart. I am not human."

I froze, not really knowing how to respond to something of this magnitude. I was about to open my mouth and assault him with a barrage of questions, but he cut me off again.

"I left with so much reluctance that I debated whether or not to just take you right then and there. What held me back was the fact that I didn't want to risk scaring you. I couldn't and wouldn't allow that. I wanted you to trust me. To feel safe with me. My brother called me after four hours of not hearing from me. When I answered, I was a complete mess. He knew what it was...that I had found my mate. So, he drove to town and picked me up. I showed him my female...you... through the diner's window, and we formulated a plan. A neighboring clan was having some issues and I needed to tend to it. He offered to get you in my place...but I did not agree to the usage of drugs against you," he specified. His eyes never left mine. Nor did they waver.

"I would never allow or do such a thing to you. You must believe that." He took my hands in his and wrapped them in his warmth. "You don't understand the severity of a bond, bellula. I cannot simply ignore it. I cannot ignore you. You were born to be my mate. For life. I need you more than I need the air to breathe. We are one soul. Bonded to one another. Now that I have your scent...that I have you...losing you could kill me. It's happened before...males who lost their mates. They rarely survive. If they do, they are broken. A shell of their former self.

"I cannot and will not live like that. You are mine. I've waited centuries for you. For my special female to complete me. I was made for you too. To protect you. To care for you. To love you. A life without you in it is no life at all. My Alpha needs you. I need you. To keep you, I will do whatever I have to. That includes claiming you. I will explain more about that later. Right now I want to focus on the bond. You feel it too. I know you do. Mine is so strong that I feel your heartbeat when I am not with you...I know that that's hard to believe. That this is all hard to believe. But every word is true.

"I'll start with asking you for your forgiveness, my precious female. For taking you against your will so selfishly. I was blind in my desperation to have you after hundreds of years without you that I grew impatient. I still have a lot to learn when it concerns the bond and you...my mate. I'm truly sorry. I never meant to alienate you. Or frighten you. I tried not to scare you away and I did it anyway. I trapped you. That was not my intention. However, you must know that as Alpha, I will have you. My dominant instinct expects nothing less. You are mine. You cannot escape me. But know that I also don't want to keep you as my prisoner. You will never be a prisoner to me. You will always be my mate. Your comfort and happiness is my priority.

"I also ask that you please give me a chance. I will do it right this time, I promise, love. I fucking promise. I'll take you out. I'll clothe you. I'll feed you. Anything you want, you can have. Money is of no consequence to me. You will be well taken care of. You will want for nothing. No limits for you. Ever. I only want time. Time for you to acclimate not only here amongst my clan, but with me. I know I can be stern in my resolve. I only want what's best for you. However, I promise to speak with you, Luna. In all things...please...please."

He was begging.

I wanted to throw up. Did I believe him? Abso-fucking-lutely. There was not a hint of doubt in his words. It was also something I felt so deeply, that it made my chest and head hurt with its severity. This...bond was definitely real. I felt it every time we touched and every time I got his scent. I felt it in every caress. In every whispered word. In every kiss, no matter how quick or deep it was.

I blinked a few times, my face stark and devoid of emotion. He waited patiently, not saying a word. I'm not even sure how long I sat there, but I blurted the one thing that rang through my mind like a mantra. "What are you, Ethan? If you're not human...then what are you?"

He hesitated and at first I thought he wasn't going to tell me.

But he did.

He fucking did. And what he said made my blood run cold.

"Wolf," he answered, staring directly into my eyes. "I am a wolf, Annie."