Chapter 5 I’ll be waiting

Pain.

So much pain. 

Every inch of my body ached. I felt like someone pressed a branding iron on my skin and left me to deal with the aftermath. 

My muscles felt bruised, my head was pounding, even breathing was herculean task.

I tried to slowly move my fingers only to be welcomed with more pain. My eyes slowly fluttered open and the room began to spin violently.

I instinctively squeezed them shut for a few more moments before I attempted to try again.

As my vision steadied and I my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, I began to recognize where I was.

At first I was convinced it was a dream, but the pain felt too real to be imagined so I knew that this must be really happening.

I slowly took in the sights around me. The curtains, the carved wooden dresser the fireplace, the familiar and comforting cedar scent.

This was my room.

I was no longer in captivity. I was in Dark Water Pack.

But… how?

The last thing I remembered was… Aldrich.. the fight… passing out from so much pain.

And the stranger.

The tall, mysterious stranger…. then darkness.

My head began racing with so many questions.

How long have I been unconscious? Who brought me home? And most importantly, who was that stranger?

As much as I needed answers to my questions, my next instinct was to locate my family and make sure they were okay. My father was dead, mother had collapsed and Masha was all alone. 

I needed to see for myself that no other tragedy occurred in my absence.

So I gathered what little strength I had and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. The room immediately tilted and everything began to spin.

I grabbed the bedpost to steady myself and stood up. I refused to let myself fall so forced myself upright.

“You should take it easy,” a voice said behind me and I jumped so hard that I nearly fall again. My instincts immediately kicked in and I spin towards the voice to see someone sitting on a chair near the window.

I must have been so out of it not to notice that someone had been sitting in my room for so long.

He didn’t make any other sound but his gaze never strayed from mine.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my room?” I asked.

He didn’t respond. Instead he stood up and slowly advanced towards me only to stop when he was a few feet away.

It was a respectable distance and I could tell that he was giving me space to leave if I wanted.

“My name is Olen,” he said.

With his face now in full view, the memories of him began rushing to me. He was the mysterious stranger.

“I thought I heard people addressing you as Lord Olen,” I responded.

“To you, I’m just Olen,” he replied.

His simplicity caught me off guard and I must admit that I didn't know what to do with just Olen.

Something felt wrong… or right.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but being in his presence caused a shift in a side of me that I’ve tried so hard to mask my entire life.

My vampire side.

I felt restless, curious, and almost… charged and that terrified me.

I had spent years trying to conceal a side of me that now seemed to be roaring to the surface.

I instinctively stepped backwards and almost bumped into my bedpost. 

He noticed my movement and I saw the moment he moved to help but thought better of it and let me be.

“How do you feel now?” he asked.

“Umm… I’m fine. Thank you for asking,” I replied awkwardly.

To cover the awkwardness, I tried to greet him formally by lowering my head, but the look on his face told me that he didn’t really like that.

So I tried something else. “Thank you for bringing me back home.”

“You have nothing to thank me for, beloved.”

That word. Beloved.

He called me that before and I still didn’t understand why he would give me a nickname.

“My name is, Adrelle, not beloved,” I told him.

“I know what your name is, beloved.”

The way he said that word made me want to run into his arms and hide at the same time.

But I knew I needed to end this conversation. Now.

He took a step towards me and I took a step back.

“Why are you pretending?” he asked quietly.

I blinked, confused by his question. “I don’t understand.”

“You do,” he continued, “You can feel it.”

I genuinely didn’t know what he meant or maybe I refused to acknowledge what he was saying.

To prove his point, he moved closer to me, this time I don’t recoil but the instant he got close though, I jerked backwards.

My breathing became uneven, not because I was scared of him, no, far from that. Because being near him made these strange feelings stronger.

I could feel my vampire side practically drooling and my wolf was surprisingly calm.

Nothing about this feeling made sense. Why do they both…  want him near?

What was wrong with me?

Then thoughts of my family filled my head and I pushed my feelings to the side.

“I need to find my sister,” I told him.

Olen didn’t say anything so I continued.

“My father is gone, my mother collapsed, my sister is alone, and I have no idea how long I was unconscious.”

“I have to see her,” my voice cracked on the last word.

I couldn’t believe I was being this vulnerable with a stranger but he had already seen me at my worst.

He kept on staring at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher. After a long silence, he stepped aside, giving me a clear path to the door and said, “You should go find your sister.”

I nodded in response and moved to get out but not before he said, “I’ll be waiting.”

Those three words affected me deeply, still I left without looking back.