Chapter 12: Feeling Him~

The Lycan Enforcer ~

ANNABETH’S POV

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of feelings for me. It felt like I couldn't breathe or think properly whenever he was around me.

Last night when he left the room, my legs gave out. I slid down the wall with my hands shaking. My heart was beating so loud I was sure the guards outside could also hear it.

I woke this morning and I could smell his cologne all over the room. The scent was still strong.

Kael.

He’d been here. In this room. This morning.

I staggered up from the bed, observing the room quietly, I took a deep breath of His scent, it smelled so good and made my skin tingle. I slightly touched my neck where he’d leaned in so close I thought he’d kiss me again. Or bite me.

Then I remembered his words. “You should be afraid.”

I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers into my neck, trying to feel more of him.

I realized I wasn’t scared of him anymore.

But.. I still hated him.

That was the lie I told myself.

The truth? I was terrified of how much I wasn’t scared. Of how my body goes warm when he got close. Of how part of me wanted him to close that last inch between us.

Stupid. So stupid.

He was the Enforcer. A beast. A hundred-year-old lycan who could snap me in half if he didn't think I was something special.

I heard a soft knock on the door, “Child? May I come in?”

I quickly lay back down, pretending I was still in bed, yanking the silk drapes over my body and held it tighter around me. “Yes.”

Mrs Halloway entered with a food tray. Soup, bread, fruits, water, Meat. Real food. I gulped involuntarily. Her eyes looked kind but accessing. Missing nothing from my reactions.

“You didn’t eat much at dinner last night,” she said, setting the tray on the desk. “Lord Kael will have my head if you waste away due to lack of proper feeding.”

Lord Kael. Even his name made my stomach flip.

“I’m not hungry,” I lied.

She hummed. Didn’t believe me. “Well, still. You must Eat. If you don't... I'll get in trouble.”

She pushed the tray closer to me. The meat smelled better than anything I’d had in weeks. Months. Years even. So much better than what they had in Red Moon Pack.

My stomach betrayed me with a loud growl.

Mrs. Halloway’s lips twitched. “See? Your body knows better than you.”

Heat crawled up my neck. “I said I’m not...”

“You’ll eat,” she said, not unkindly. “Or I’ll tell him you refused. And trust me, child, you don’t want him storming in here thinking you’re starving yourself.”

The image of Kael kicking the door down because I skipped breakfast flashed in my mind. It looked terrifying.

I sat up slowly, keeping the sheet around me. “Fine.”

She smiled, satisfied, and poured water into a glass. “Good girl.”

I reached for the bread first. It was warm. Soft. I took a bite and nearly moaned. When was the last time I’d had fresh bread? I couldn't remember.

“How long has it been?” Mrs. Halloway asked quietly, watching me.

I froze, mid chew, staring blankly at her. “How long has what been?”

“Since someone took care of you.”

My throat closed. I looked down at the tray. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I can take care of myself.”

“No you don't,” she agreed. “But you deserve to be taken care of anyway.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I didn't know why her words suddenly brought back the faint memories I still had of my parents.

Instead, I ate quietly. Soup, then fruit, then a piece of the meat. Every bite made me feel more human. Less like the scared thing he’d dragged out of her home.

Mrs. Halloway busied herself, opening the curtains. Sunlight poured inside the room.

“Kael. He must really have a huge liking towards you,” she said casually.

My head snapped up. “He calls me a pet. I rather he doesn't have any sort of likeness for me.”

She glanced at me, something knowing in her eyes. “He wouldn't go through all this length for just a Pet girl. I believe, he fancies you, which is why he's being protective.”

I scoffed at her words, "I thought he was an emotionless Enforcer incapable of feeling?"

“He might be an Enforcer, but he is still a male.”

A Male.

The thought of what we did yesterday flashed in my mind. How I felt his manly hunger for me, how for the first time, I felt the touch of a Man. How I wanted him to do more.

I gasped and dropped my spoon with a clatter.

“Child? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I said quickly. Too quickly. “I’m just… full and.. a little tired.”

Mrs. Halloway didn’t push. She just nodded toward the bathroom. “You should have a Bathe first then Rest. I'll be back to check up on you.”

She left, closing the door softly behind her.

I sat there for a second, listening to the silence. Then I got up, letting the sheet drop.

I went to the bathroom, looking at the big tub, A tub deep enough to drown in. Maybe I could go quicker this way, if I just slipped while in it. It would be an accident.

I shuddered at the thought of being found naked and dead.

I turned the water on and watched steam fill the air.

I stepped in, sinking down until the water covered my shoulders.

it was hot. It stung but also felt good.

I scrubbed at my skin, at my hair, trying to wash away the last two days. The fear. The confusion. The way my body still remembered his hands.

When I got out, there were clothes laid across the bench for me. I hadn’t heard Mrs Halloway come in.

A dress. Simple. Soft. The color of cream. And underwear that actually fit.

I dressed slowly, my fingers shaking slightly from the cold.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

I didn’t recognize the girl staring back. Clean. Fed. Hair falling in damp waves. The shadows under my eyes were still there, but softer.

I looked… cared for.

The thought made my chest ache. I didn't want to feel comfortable in my captive state.

I walked back to the bed and curled up, pulling Kael's cardigan around me again. It was warm and still smelled like him.

I must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I knew, the room was darker. It was Evening now.

I blinked a few times, trying to get the sleep off my eyes and that's when I heard the door opening.

I sat up in anticipation. Waiting to see who would come through the door.

~