Chapter 12

I couldn’t speak. I didn’t have a response. And he didn’t wait for one. His gaze suddenly snapped towards the distance behind me.

He tensed.

“Move closer to the wall, now.” He suddenly screamed. I didn’t understand but just as I did as I was told, great wind pressure suddenly washed through the mountain. I screamed, the pressure lifting me off the solid ground before I could blink. Kane grabbed my hand, pulling me back down, then he pressed his body against me.

The wind picked up, more powerful, more ferocious than before.

It hurt.

I was going to die.

The wall behind me suddenly moved and I fell backward. And he, on top of me. The wind was still strong, pulling me. He pushed himself up swiftly and pulled me further into what I presumed was a cave and disappeared. Then it turned silent.

I opened my eyes to find the cave was closed again. And blue crystal light filled the space, illuminating the cave.

“That was close.” He sighed, breathing heavily.

“Come on.” He helped me up.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded. Not quite sure what alright meant when I would have flown to my death just seconds ago. He ran his eyes over me, checking for himself. Then turned towards a path.

“Let’s go.” He pulled me along. I looked around. It was eerily quiet. Except for the sound we made, multiplied by ten.

“Watch your head.”

“Where is this?”

“My cave.” He simply answered as we walked down a narrow path. Nothing was going to surprise me anymore.

“Don’t you have a house?” The blue crystals lit our path as we walked.

“This is for when I want to get away.” We broke through the narrow path. And my heart caught in my throat.

We came out of a large space with high cave walls. Blue and pink glowing roses surrounded the corners of the cave, filling the place with a candace that was magical and otherworldly. At the highest corner of the cave, there were cracks, that allowed streaks of sunlight in. While a large stream of water settled in the middle of the cave. Clean and bright, ever flowing from some crack somewhere, and following out into another.  

The space was divine, cold and smelled of mostly moss, wet rock and plants.

“Wow.”

“Beautiful, right?” Kane wrapped his arms around me from behind. He was warm, inviting. I wanted to melt into him and never leave.

I jumped at the thought and pulled away just as quickly. He grinned.

“Umm, thank you.”

“For saving me back there.”

“You know, hundreds of women wanted to be the claimed of the heir of the bear clan.”

“And you begged to be saved like it was a life of hell.”

“Because it is.” I snapped, then recalled the world I was in. I was the abnormal one here.

“A life of luxury and adoration from your pairs…” he started towards me.

“Abundance of sex and a man as handsome and as powerful as Knox.” He stopped in front of me.

“Honor and protection. Tell me, how is that hell?” He tilted my chin with his finger, forcing me to look at him. The fact that we were alone, in a cave kept ringing in my head. A reminder of how helpless and vulnerable I was. When I didn’t speak immediately, he tilted my chin further.

I glared at him.

He grinned like he was waiting for me to do just that.

“You are going to be so much fun.”

I pulled away, giving us space.

“Why did you come back?”

“You wanted my help.” He didn’t let up. He was in front of me again, this time, taking my hair in his hand.

“But you stormed off the other night.”

“I thought you were…”

“Angry?” He completed, twirling the hair around his finger. I gave up on giving him space, at least he wasn’t touching me.

“I was confused, perplexed and I needed information.”

My brows raised.

“Information?”

“Tell me why you wanted to be saved so badly.” He changed the subject.

“I don’t want to be a decorated baby making machine.” He stilled. Gaped at me for a moment, then busted out laughing.

My face heated up. He stopped, stared at me, then laughed again. So much so, it got on my nerves. When he finally stopped, he wiped tears from the corners of his eyes and turned back to me.

“A decorated baby machine, that was clever.” He laughed again. I glared at him.

“However,” he sat down on the grassy ground, his elbow resting on one knee.

“It isn’t as condescending as you make it seem.”

“Oh?” I joined him on the floor. It was hard being dignified with the kind of dress I was wearing but I made it work.

“It’s the women’s duty to reproduce. It’s an honor to be chosen by a shifter.”

“Humans want to be chosen by shifters.”

“You get the wealth, title, power and praise of being picked and in turn, we get pure bloodline.”

“It’s more like a transaction but at the end, everyone is happy.”

“You make it sound like it’s all sunshine and roses. And a happily ever after at the end of being dignified baby bearers.” When I knew from the Marquis and Mary that it wasn’t.

“If it’s that honorable, why don’t you choose your own women?”

He frowned and turned to me. No playfulness, no amusement. His eyes were as cold as steel. But unlike the marquis, he didn’t simply look at me with unfeeling eyes. It was more calculating, as sharp as a dagger that was pressing against my throat. My heart skipped and cold ran down my spine. Something telling me I have done something terribly wrong.

“Our women can’t procreate.”

“You should know that, Inara.”

Shit

I fucked up.

“Oh.”

“This is common knowledge, miss Bloomwood.”

He has never used my last name.

“That’s why the human women are so important.”

“I knew that.” I lied.

“It just skipped my mind.”

His frown deepened. Those green eyes, turning icy cold now.

“That lie wouldn’t fool anyone.”

I said nothing.

“Do you want to tell what is happening?” He turned away.

“There is nothing. I just forgot about that tiny detail.”

Silence.

It was thick and heavy, choking me. He clearly didn’t believe me.

Suddenly, he pushed me, pinning my back to the ground and straddled me.

Panic gripped me.