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CHAPTER 08. Little Rabbit

— VITA

I look at Derek with resentment and open my lips to answer him, but I give up before a word escapes. There’s nothing I can say, so I give up and sigh tiredly, crossing my arms and walking randomly again. I don’t know where I’m going, honestly... I just want to get away from Derek as soon as possible.

And I keep on my way without looking back or really noticing my surroundings. As much as I hate it — and I really hate it — I can’t get Derek out of my head. He’s so different from the young man I knew. It’s been long three years without seeing him, and I’m just… argh, I don’t know!

I’m walking fast when a car slows down next to me. The dark glass doesn’t allow me to see who is on the other side, and I hug my own body, pretending that I haven’t noticed or that I don’t care...

However, the glass slowly lowers, revealing Derek’s face.

“Where are you going?” He asks me, but I don’t answer... I keep walking, looking ahead. “The city is two hours away. Are you planning to walk there?”

I don’t stop, and I don’t dare look at him properly... I think the smug smile on his lips will be bad for my heart.

“Vita, get in the car.”

I stop abruptly and turn to Derek, still with my arms crossed. He parks the car and sticks his arm out of the window.

“Get in the car.” His voice, so firm, mated with his intimidating and dominant smell, makes me shudder, and my legs suddenly go weak. I really hate the power he has over me, and sometimes, I wonder if Derek also feels the same way about me.

“Why would I come in?” I gather my strength to say these words, which come out shaky.

“Vita.” My name comes out firmly at his lips, and I swallow hard. “I won’t say it again.”

I take a deep breath and give in, crossing the car to get in finally. I open the door and sit next to him, pulling at my seatbelt with trembling hands, trying not to look at him, but Derek takes it from my hands and gets so close that I hold my breath...

“Are you scared, little rabbit?” He gives a low laugh. “Not human, not a wolf... you look like prey, but you’re a sly fox in rabbit’s clothing.”

I cast a harsh glance at Derek and immediately regret it because his face is so, so close that our breaths are merging. His blue eyes are focused on mine, but they seem tempted to lower and look at my lips.

“And do you know what predators do with rabbits, Vita?” He moistens his lips, and I get caught up in this damn movement. “We devour them.”

Derek’s hand reaches for my face, and his touch brings electricity to me... a shiver that runs down my spine and spreads through all of my body.

“Whether it’s just a disguise or not.” He slides his thumb down my cheek slowly and stops at my lips, as if sealing them, “Do you understand?”

I nod, completely speechless. The way he watches my face carefully, like checking every detail, takes my breath away. I don’t know what’s this palpable tension so suffocating; it’s something new between the two of us.

Suddenly, his touch moves a few inches away, only to become three light slaps on my face, low, without any pain — yet, this awakening flames of anger inside me. He may not hurt me, but he breaks my dignity by treating me like an obedient dog.

Still, even when he pulls away and takes hold of the steering wheel again, I can’t say anything. Derek’s intimidating smell is so strong that I’m suffocating, trying to roll down my window to get some air.

“Where are you going? As far as I know, your father disowned you.” He says, without taking his eyes off the street, and I do the same, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “You have no right on the Virginia estate.”

“I’m aware of that,” I say through my teeth, still not looking at him. As much as it bothers me deeply to know that everything my mother and her family built is in that man’s hands, there are still things I need to do — one thing at a time.

A long moment of silence falls between us, and I think it will stay that way until he breaks it with his deep, almost indifferent voice, “So you’re going to stay on the street like a beggar? Well, it suits you.”

“Yes, yes… you can drop me off at the gate of the city,” I say without much care, looking beyond the window at the road surrounded by nature that will take us to the Citadel. Really, if there’s one thing I have to admit, it’s that Royalland is really beautiful. It may not be the biggest country, nor the richest... But here, all shapeshifters find a home…

“Just tell me the fuck address.” He says between teeth, and I just do as he asks, hoping the trip won't be too long.

[…]

Derek stops in front of a suburban house with a yellow fence and a well-kept garden. Looking at this facade brings me so many emotions that they almost overflow from my lips. I hurry to look for the spare key that used to be in the same place, in the fifth flower pot of the row in the left window — where my mother used to keep it.

I open the door slowly, smelling the memories and inflating my lungs to the max. Taking a step into the house, I’m already turning on the lights, and turn to close the door… but Derek is still standing there with his arms crossed, his strong muscles bulging out of his shirt. I grip the handle tightly, trying to look only into his eyes and not at how strong his arms are...

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" He finally asks, cutting our silence with his deep voice.

I take a deep breath, ad shrug, making room for him to enter, knowing that this is definitely not a good idea. However, I still close the door, and the click makes my heart skip a beat.

He's looking around, and I do the same, noticing every detail.

The house doesn’t smell musty, nor is it stuffy... in fact, it’s scented with jasmine. Everything is exactly as it should be, and of course, thanks to the housekeeper who, even without being paid for it, has looked after this house like it were her own, waiting for a real Virginia to return. They used to be very good friends, as things like caste never really mattered to my mother.

"It's a lovely house." Derek says, putting his hands in his pockets.

"It used to be my mother's favorite." I cross my arms, suddenly uncomfortable that his eyes are now on me.

"You lived here?" He’s still looking around until he finally lands his eyes on me.

"Yes, for a while... Until my mother died." I give a weak, sad smile, looking away, and my chest hurts.

Derek's expression softens for a moment, and he walks over to me, stopping only a few inches away. We're so close that I can smell his scent even more overwhelmingly, stirring something inside me... an intense heat that spreads through my chest and makes me sweat.

"And you're staying here?" He asks once again, looking me straight in the eye.

"I don't have anywhere else to stay. Besides, it's the address I gave for parole." I clear my throat, suddenly afraid that the mention of reality will snap something in Derek, and he'll once again shout and insult me...

However, he just nods and moistens his lips, turning away slowly and walking back across the room. I notice his broad back, his shirt, which is a little tight, and his black hair disheveled from its traditional hairstyle. Now that I notice it, he seems to have just left work.

When he rests his blue eyes on me again, slowly lowering his face... a bead of sweat trickles down my spine.

His predatory gaze makes me hold my breath and say out loud, my voice higher than I'd like, "Well, you should get going... I'm exhausted, and I need a shower."

Derek’s eyes move down from my face to my body, and I confess the way he watches me so intensely brings butterflies to my stomach — no, it brings a bloody tickle between my legs.

I press my thighs together and clear my throat, staring into another corner and squeezing my arms even tighter.

"Am I disturbing you?" He asks with fake worry and a pretentious smirk.

"Yes, you are." I retort, sighing, then run my hand through my hair, making the black waves sway. That attracts Derek's eyes, who looks curious and somehow mesmerized.

"What a shame." He approaches me, stopping again at a dangerous distance. It seems that he doesn't like to respect personal space. Still, with the smirk, Derek takes a lock of my hair between his fingers. "Deal with it."

I grimace and try to pull my hair away from his touch, "You said you'd give me a break..."

"I'm changing my mind." Derek grips the strand firmly between his fingers and pulls, although it doesn't cause any pain. His eyes remain on mine as he adds, "Maybe I'll just completely crash you here, now... finish the service. What do you think? That sounds like fun, too, right?”

I take a deep breath without breaking our eye contact, "Have it your way, Alpha." Then I pull my hair harder than he does, finally getting it out of his hands. "But first, I'm going to take my shower."

No, you're definitely not going to take this little pleasure away from me, Derek — that's what my sharp eyes say as I turn my back on him and start walking towards the bathroom...

However, Derek pulls me by the arm, making my back bump into his chest, so firm, so muscular...

Ah, those damn butterflies...

"I think your time in Wolf Jail has made you lose your sense of danger..." He says against my ear, his lips pressing against my temple from behind. "You shouldn't talk to your Alpha like that."

A shiver runs up my spine, and I shudder, even though I hate myself for it. I bite my lip, annoyed, upset that my body reacts in such a way, heating up and pulsing and craving the man I should hate with all my heart.

But when his fingers dig into my arms, and he presses me against his body, my lower back meeting his hips, my foolish heart beats in my throat.

"You know that, don't you?" One of his hands moves slowly up my arm, reaching my shoulder. "You belong to me..." He whispers against the scar that's been on the back of my neck for the last three years... The mark Derek left on me. It’s the proof that I've been taken — but not for the commonly used reason; this is a mark of anger, of resentment... An eternal condemnation for me, worse than all the years I spent in prison.

I open my lips to answer him, but there's no strength in me. Fortunately, it's not necessary because he releases me, takes a few steps back, and says, "Go on, you must be missing a bathtub since there’s no such a thing in Wolf Jail.”

I sigh deeply and don't dare look back; I just take the opportunity to lock myself in the bathroom, even though that fogged glass door shows my silhouette between the steam from the hot water that’s beginning to fill the room.

I take off my clothes, all too aware that Derek can see my movements; I look over my shoulder and notice that he's standing there, not moving a muscle. But as the clothes fall to the floor, I feel his pheromone grow stronger, wetting the middle of my legs.

But as my body sinks into the tub, my muscles immediately relax, as do the damn butterflies that finally leave me alone.

[...]

When I got out of the bath, Derek was no longer there. So I decided to walking through the streets with the moon over my head. My mind is wandering, as are my feet now, exploring as much as they can.

Only one day has passed since I got back my freedom, though temporarily, as there’s a risk of returning if I cause trouble.

But I won’t go back there... not before I keep my promise to Alice...

Suddenly, my new phone starts ringing. I’m immediately startled, freezing at the same moment because, goddess, how is this possible? I’ve just got this number…. how could anyone have it?

Of course, there’s nothing but UNKNOW and a hidden number. The whole thing is suspicious, to say the least, and I can’t move a muscle before it finally stops…

I breathe a sigh of relief, staring at the screen, a photo with Alice that I managed to recover. Seeing her bright smile brings tears to my eyes. I miss her so damn much. I really wish to have her with me.

But then UNKNOW calls me again, sending a shiver down my spine.

I muster up all the courage in me and finally pick up the phone, holding it to my ear... “Hello?”

“If you want to find out what happened three years ago...” A deep, unfamiliar male voice says, making my heart skip a beat. “Then come and find me.”

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