Ravenwood

ANNELISE POV

I took a deep breath as I rested my back on the tricycle seat, I was going back to the mansion alone, Cassius had cut my little moment of relief short because of a pack emergency that needed him.

My emotions were all over the place, I didn’t understand what I felt anymore.

I shouldn’t like him, I shouldn’t care about him or have any sort of soft spot for him, but yet I felt empty when he left.

My little moment with him at the vineyard showed me a different side of him, a vulnerable side of him.

His parents abandoning him at such a young age must have broken him. I could hear the hesitation in his voice when I asked him about them, the hate lacing out his tone as he told me the little I needed to know.

I suddenly wasn’t scared of him anymore, I was worried about him. How much feelings he must have been concealing all these years.

“Ma’am… Ma’am…” The driver called, snapping his fingers at me and bringing me back to earth. “Sorry for interrupting your thoughts, we have arrived your destination.” He uttered politely as I nodded with a shy smile and came down from the tricycle.

As I walked through the majestic entrance of the mansion, the eyes fixated on me and the whispers from every corner made me anxious, I have never needed Cassius more. As much as he was my captor, I knew that I’m better off around him than these predatory eyes on me.

I started walking faster until I got into the escalator.

I took a deep breath and pressed the button that indicated the last floor as the escalator started moving.

I hissed and folded my arms against my chest.

What does he actually want from me? He hadn’t made it clear to me. What do I possibly have to offer a man as wealthy and powerful as him?

The escalator landed at the last floor, as the door slid open, the first person I saw standing by my door was one of the ladies that came to my room earlier.

“Oh, here you are ma’am. I have been waiting for you for over 30 minutes.” She said politely with a slight bow.

“What’s wrong?” I questioned as I opened the door and ushered her in.

“The interior designers are here to start their job, I just needed a ‘go ahead’ order from you, because they will be invading your space for half the day.” She said as I nodded.

“Well, go ahead…” I shrugged, almost adding ‘Make my little cage pretty’

“I can show you to the roof top, you will love the view.” She offered as I shook my head.

“Don’t worry about me, I will…” The sound of the escalator caught my attention as I turned to see Cassius walking out of it.

His face emotionless, I didn’t know the mood he was in as this was his usual facial expression. He came back from the meeting fast so I wasn’t sure if it went well or not.

“The interior designers are here?” He asked the young lady as she bowed in response.

“Come with me, Sweetness.” He uttered, offering his hand to me as I quickly held it.

“Where are we going? You came back so quickly from your pack meeting, how did it go?” I asked as he pulled me into a room.

His room…

“Don’t involve yourself with werewolf business, Sweetness.” He simply said and shut his door.

I quietly looked around his room, his room decor was the same as the rest of the mansion, Modern vintage but a darker theme.

The woodsy smell of the room filled my nose, that was exactly how he smelled, and I’m starting to think it’s his natural scent.

I took a seat on his dark little couch, my eyes still observing the interior of his room.

The paintings on his wall was strange, I love sketching and I paint sometimes too, but these paintings seemed to have a meaning only him knew of.

They looked pretty and expensive, but weird and I knew not to ask him about them because he obviously would shut me out.

“You have a grandfather clock.” I said, my eyes fixated on the huge clock with arms and legs.

“Yes, sweetness. Every room in this mansion has one except yours.”

“Why do you have a grandfather clock though? That’s so ancient.” I said as he let out a small laugh.

“This mansion is ancient, the clock’s were bought by my late father so I keep them around to remember him.” He explained as I nodded slowly.

The room went silent for an awkward amount of time, Cassius was busy shuffling through a large book while I just sat mutely thinking of how to present my question to him without getting him angry.

“Why are you keeping me here with you?” I finally asked after much hesitation, he paused for a second as if processing my question.

“Because you are mine, Annelise.” He uttered and continued shuffling through the book.

“What do you mean by that? You don’t even know me enough to claim me.”

“I know you like I know my name, Sweetness. You are my mate, you belong to me.” He uttered and shut the book.

My heart stopped for a moment as my brain tried processing what he had just said.

I knew what he meant by mate, a mate is more like a wife, a soul mate.

“I can’t be your mate, I’m human. You can’t lock me up forever.” I muttered as my voice started jittering, tears clouding my eyes.

“Why are you crying, Sweetness?” He asked as he walked over to me, pulling me up from the couch. “Have I ever given you a reason to doubt your safety?” He asked as I slowly shook my head.

“No…” I sniffled as tears rolled down my cheeks, he quickly helped me wipe them off. “I have a lot of things to achieve, I need to go to school, I need to…”

“And you will do it all, Anne. I would never stop you from doing all of that. All we have to do is go to another country where you would be safe and free to move around until I’m ready to officially introduce you to Ravenwood pack.” He said softly, this is the calmest he has ever been since I came here.

“I will do anything at all to keep you safe, you are my first priority now.” He assured and pulled me to his chest in a hug.

I leaned into the hug as tears rolled down my chest, I felt a strange comfort in his arms, an unwanted sensation. I shouldn’t be this comfortable with him, yet I felt safe in his presence. 

His masculinity, his scent, his presence felt like a safe shield and I hated it.

“But I don’t love you enough to be with you forever, I don’t even know you.” I said in a teary tone and pulled away from him.

“This is your reality now, Sweetness. You do not have a choice.” He said point blankly as he picked a stick of cigarette from the center table, placed it in between his lips, lit it with a lion head lighter and walked to the balcony.