Familiar Ties

Chapter 2-1

CHAPTER 2

Jesse awoke in the embrace of pain to an unfamiliar sight. Her gaze desperately sought Levi, a small sigh escaping through her parched lips as he raised his head from beside her. She placed her hand to his fur, seeking comfort in a softness only she could feel as she examined her surroundings. The canopy of the wooden four-poster bed was draped with heavy, embroidered curtains. Pulled closed, they obscured her view of anything beyond, dulling the light and making it impossible to discern if it was night or day.

As she pushed herself up, the soft caress of silk against her legs caused an indignant heat to warm her cheeks. Someone had stripped her to the slinky, full-slip petticoat her father’s maid had forced her into at his bequest.

It was no secret she was opposed to this marriage, but her father wanted to ensure she looked the part and that the groom received what he had paid for.

At any other time, she might have relished such a fine garment and the feel of the silk as it brushed against her skin. The way the hidden support lifted her breasts would have made it appear more like a summer dress if not for the delicate lace workings and the way it hugged her figure

Wincing, she slid herself across the enormous bed towards the drawn drapes. The way Levi lowered his head back to the mattress suggested they were alone. His black ears twitched just a moment before he rolled over, brushing his head against her arm the way he did whenever she was upset. Raising a hand to her cheek, she realised it was damp and cursed. Tears helped no one, they only brought more pain. She choked back a tiny sob. For just a brief moment, she had truly believed it was over, that she would escape.

As she slid her legs around her, she saw the white bandages binding her feet. The enchantments upon them normally brought a numbness to the pain, but all she could feel was fire. Levi nudged her again, his black ears twitching in a way that warned her time was running out. He looked up to her, his brown eyes filled with concern.

‘I’m okay,’ she assured him. It was true, she had suffered far worse than this, as the scarring on her arms, back, and legs would attribute. This pain was nothing, she reminded herself, parting the curtain to look through.

Her pulse quickened at the sight of b****y dressings and the tattered remains of her dress that lay discarded upon the polished wooden floor of what had to be the master bedroom. A room she had every intention of escaping.

A man’s top hat and tails lay neatly folded on the ottoman beneath the large window. Her gaze lingered on it for a moment, watching how the light streamed through as if creating a beacon for her escape. Biting her lower lip, she drew in a long, steady breath through her nose.

She needed to move quietly, slowly, or risk alerting her newest captors. Giving into her fear, her panic, would only benefit them. Sliding her legs through the curtain, she hissed as fresh burning agony assailed her feet. Whatever poultice they had applied before the bandages squished between her toes as she gingerly applied more weight to her feet, using the large bed frame to guide her towards the wall.

The wooden wall panels had a rustic feel, their large overshadowing presence serving only to add further grandeur to the impressively sized room. It was far better in every way than her small prison with its bricked-up window, a place that had been barely large enough for her worn single bed. She limped feebly towards the glass panes, peering outside.

It was almost nightfall, and the sky had taken on that wondrous blue shade only visible as light faded to embrace the night. She looked up towards the clear sky, a fresh tear escaping her lashes.

‘You never came. I begged you so many times and you never came.’ She thought back to all the letters she had written to him after he left, how her maid would conceal them within the folds of her apron, and how each reply had caused her heart to quicken, until anticipation became disappointment and rejection.

She had hidden his replies within the small vent in the room that had become her prison. His scent had long faded, but she still remembered him. Even though he had stopped writing and moved on with his life, she never had.

Perhaps he had grown bored with her pleas, or just found himself something better. They had loved one another, but they had only been children.

She wiped her tears away. She had been a fool to think he would come. He had broken every promise he had ever made. Now was not the time to lose herself in wistful longings of what could have been.

She had written him one last letter, a final plea. If he had ever cared, she had implored him to find a way to stop the wedding. He hadn’t come. She was alone. It was up to her now. She should have known better after ten years of silence. He had moved on, forgotten her. Today had cemented that in her mind once and for all. She had never meant as much to him as he had to her.

Pulling her gaze away from the sky, she searched for a means of escape. The property must have had a wraparound porch, sheltered from the elements if the small flat roof below was anything to go by. It wasn’t too far a drop and, even without the roof, she would have jumped anyway. She had nothing left to lose. She fumbled with the window. Locked. Of course it was. She saw Levi tense, his hackles rising. She knew who was coming even before she heard his voice.

“I will be taking my daughter home now, Micah,” barked her father from somewhere outside the large double doors. A cold sweat prickled her skin. She didn't know which was worse, being sold to a complete stranger or returning home with her father.

She glanced around, her gaze falling to the antique vanity table captured in the fading light from the window. It was bare, holding nothing she could use as a weapon. Hobbling over, she began to open drawer after drawer in silent desperation, wilfully silencing the whisper of the heavy wood sliding on the runners. Everything about this room sung of quality, but it was devoid of any personal touches, or anything she could use to defend herself.

“I think you’ll find the contract you signed transferred possession of her to this clan. The moment you accepted payment this morning, she became mine to use as I see fit. With or without nuptials, she belongs to me.” A deep voice rumbled. She struggled to swallow, her search becoming more desperate. She flung a nightgown over her shoulder to join the other discarded clothes in a pile on the floor. Another drawer now empty and another pit of despair grew in her turning stomach.

‘Please, give me something, a letter opener, a pencil, something, anything,’ she implored silently, tossing aside the soft clothes from the next drawer until it too lay empty, and the patterned drawer lining seemed to mock her efforts with its bright and cheery colours. She grasped it in her hand, screwing it into a ball before hurling it across the room with all her might.

“Preposterous. Our deal is void. I failed to disclose her madness. I would be doing both of us a service to return her home.” She glanced towards the door, her brow furrowed in confusion. Why would her father even care what became of her? Her trembling hands opened another drawer, smaller, empty.

Time was running out. She needed something now. Whatever the result of this argument, neither man had anything good planned for her. She would not subject herself to that life again. Not now, not when she could see freedom beckoning as the small twinkling of stars urged her on.

“Sanity has little to do with the plans I have for her. She doesn’t need to be of sound mind to open her legs, and she is every inch the beauty you promised. I see no reason to renege. Even in light of this development I remain content with my purchase, as I am sure the rest of the men will agree.” Tears prickled her eyes and her breath quickened. So that was it. He had sold her as a w***e, again. She had to do something. This was her last chance. The moment that door opened, it was over. She started as she heard the handle rattle. Another drawer empty.

“Unacceptable—” The sound of a slight scuffle masked the sound of the next small drawer pulling free from its runners by her frustrated hand. She felt its weight. If this was all she had to work with, she would use it. Her breath quickened, her chest burning with fear as she hobbled towards the window.

“Lord Kyron, surely you do not intend to bring shame to our newly forged allegiance. I will interpret this outburst as a father mourning the loss of his only daughter. See the good lord out, my patience extends only so far.”

She had reached the window by the time she heard the telltale click of the lock being released on the door. Raising the drawer above her head, she brought it down on the pane, time and time again, strike after ricocheting strike, her chest heaving. Levi warned of the figure’s entrance just seconds before the thick doors slammed closed and the key rattled within the lock. She heard Levi’s growling and hissing and could imagine him helplessly attempting to stall his advance. To anyone else he was just a spirit, unable to create an impact on the world of flesh no matter how hard he tried, and he always tried.

Firm hands seized her wrist, knocking the small wooden drawer from her grasp as she was forced to turn to face her new owner. Micah was a large man with dark hair and angry green eyes.

She screamed, pulling away, thrusting her weight to one side and the other, aware of the deafening cries of hysteria leaving her lips, aware of the pain in her ears from his own elevated voice as his gaze looked down upon her in fury. She knew how this would end; she had experienced it before. His vice-like grasp secured her wrists, dragging her towards the bed.

He was as strong as he was broad. The pain of her feet was all but forgotten as they scraped and kicked across the floor, trying to gain purchase until she felt herself flung on the mattress. At least it didn’t screech, a part of her mind acknowledged. His lips were moving, but his words never reached her.

She didn’t need to know what he was going to do to her. Nothing he said would be new. She had endured it all. Her arms lashed out, connecting weak strikes as panic rose within her. He was enormous, stronger in every way, but that didn’t mean she was going to make this easy. She never did. He pressed his hand against her lips, muffling the sound of her screaming protests.

His weight straddled her as he pinned her on the bed. She bit and clawed as tears of fear betrayed her weakness. He towered over her like a bear, his oppressive form unresponsive to her struggles. She blinked, her heart pounding in her ears. It was then she saw it, the actual bear beside him.

Like Levi, its form was transparent, unseen by normal eyes. Without thinking, she grasped for it mentally, pulling it within herself, directing it back towards its owner. She heard Micah howl as she forced him into a partial shift before calling on his bear’s strength.

She kicked out, this time throwing him off balance before following through with a powerful blow to his temple, sending him tumbling backwards into the vanity table. Despite its sturdy frame, it collapsed under his hulking form. There was no time for her to question how she had done that, how she had overpowered a man easily twice her size and strength. She needed to get away before he rose.

Levi moved to stand beside her as she gasped breathlessly, tense, waiting to see if he would rise. When he didn’t stir, and his form remained in partial shift, she advanced. Her trembling hands checked his pockets. A wallet. Good. She would need money. She continued to pat him down, fearful that any moment his shifted claws would s***h out to detain her once more. What she really needed was—Levi trilled, his form reaching up the door towards the keys, still hanging from the inside of the lock from when he must have sealed them in.

The metal ring jingled in her grasp as she tried each tiny key in the window until finally one slid in place. She could hear him stirring behind her. It was now or never. Pushing open the sash window, she swung her legs outside, twisting on to her stomach as she lowered herself down.

Her gaze fixed before her on the forest. She would make it this time. She would find somewhere to hide, to rest, until she knew what to do. It would be dark soon, finding her would surely be impossible.