Awaken the Luna

Chapter 8: First Supper

Cal motioned for me to sit and pushed my chair in for me as I did. He walked over to a small bar area in on the other side of the table. He began to pour himself a whiskey and dropped in a few ice cubes before he came back to sit next to me at the head of the table. "So Wren how are you feeling after your accident? How are you recovering?" I could feel his gaze burning into me watching my face to see a hint of how I was truly feeling.

“I am feeling much better, I just can’t wait to go home and be with my family I’m sure they are worried about me.” I looked up into his eyes to challenge his reaction to my comment.

“Well I can assure you that they know you are healthy and enjoying your trip.” His eyes turned to a dark blue like the deepest ocean losing the bright color from before.

I broke my stare and look at my wine glass grabbing it and taking a big gulp. Very unlady like if I was back home in the south I would of been given a quick witted remark about it.

He chuckled lightly and took a sip of his drink. “Where is home for you?”

I let out a long breath I had been holding in. “Texas, East Texas to be specific.”

“Texas? Hmmm. That’s... interesting.” He started to chuckle again and the light blue in his eyes returned.

“Why is that interesting?”

“You don’t seem like a cowgirl.” His face was playful, he was joking with me.

I was sipping my wine and spit it out into my glass and let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t say every Texan is a cowgirl. We don’t wear boots and Spurs or ride horses everywhere we go. I am from a pretty small town in the country but that doesn’t make someone a cowboy. That is a very stereotypical thing to say.” I couldn’t help my smile and it seemed like he couldn’t either.

“Well you are far from home, what brought you up north?”

Before I could answer Alexis walked through the doorway with plates of food. It looked amazing and smelled even better. My stomach rumbled from hunger and I realized I hadn’t eaten since the morning. The entree consisted of a small filet minion, scalloped potatoes, and a fresh green salad. “Thank you Lex you can go now I think I’ve got it from here.” His voice was different with her, a more assertive tone.

She gave us both a smile and left towards the front of the house the way we had come in. I had been so wrapped up in meeting this stranger I forgot about the door and running. Something felt different, I felt calmed by him being in the room. Even though I was still uncertain and keeping myself alert my hands had stopped trembling and sweating.

We began eating in silence, taking turns looking over at each other trying to read faces of one another. I took a last bite of my meal, I sat down my utensils and straightened my posture. I looked Cal in the eye, his expression was tense not knowing what I was going to do or say. “When can I leave Cal? I can’t stay here and I am a free citizen I have done nothing wrong and this isn’t jail or a hospital. I don’t understand what I’m doing here. I am grateful for being taken care of after my accident but I need to be going now.” I scooted my chair back and stood. Cal quickly stood as well watching me intently on my next movements.

“Wren I will explain everything to you in time but you can’t leave.” His face and voice were stern. I backed up slowly walking toward the front of the house the way Lex brought me earlier.

“Cal, please I thank you very much for everything but I am not a prisoner, I have a life, family, friends, plans.” My voice cracked with my eyes stinging signaling tears were coming soon.

“This can be easy or it can be hard but either way you are not allowed to leave. Come I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” He held his hand out for me to take. I glanced at it and then over my shoulder. My breathing got deeper as I tried to gauge the distance. I counted earlier about 30 steps but with long strides while running I could make it in about 15.

“Wren.” His voice was loud and hard making me tremble. I flashed back towards him and once again his blue eyes were deep blue and his muscles were tense. He knew what I was thinking and he was ready to run after me. Cal was an athletically built man, he was strong and probably much faster than me. “Wren, I will catch you if you run and this dinner will have all been for nothing. Come with me now.”

I don’t know what to do I’m frozen in place still my eyes flashed from him, to the floor then back over my shoulder. Deep breath Wren...okay. I stepped toward him slowly and extended my hand to his. I braced myself for the unknown, he could beat me or kill me. I don’t think he would of had me receive medical care if he wanted to kill me but I’ve seen lifetime and listen to crime podcasts, I know how quickly things can turn.

Something about him made me trust him though, it made me not want to run. His hand wrapped around mine gently and his eyes slowly returned to their light shade of blue. “Your contacts in this lighting are really bugging me out. I’m pretty sure your eyes have changed color twice now.”

Cal threw back his head and let out a genuine laugh. “Looks like I’m not going to get much by you. Come let’s go.” He started to lead me out of the dining room and into a huge living room area.

The room was huge, the ceiling was stretched all the way to the roof where you could see the peak from the inside, an antler chandelier hung down giving the room a warm glow. The ceiling was lined with cedar posts held with metal brackets. The walls were the same light grey from the hall and there were windows surrounding both sides of the room. On the far side was a stone fire place that stretched up the entire wall. The fire was popping and made the room smell like the camping grounds I went to as a kid. The couch was an enormous sectional, Cal lead me to the side closest to the fire. We sat down next to one another. Cal immediately made himself comfortable lounging back against the pillows. I kept my posture sitting on the edge of the sofa making space between the two of us.

“Okay, I’m here listening to whatever story you think you can tell me to justify keeping me here.” I made my voice sound bitter.

Cal took a deep breath and sat up from his lounging position. “ In my ... culture, we believe in something called mates, kind of like a human may refer to their soulmate. It’s more than just being in a relationship with that person. You and your mate become one, you are each one another’s other half, you are better together, stronger together. Without your mate you could go insane or die in some cases.” He stopped to look at me trying to read my face.

“We can go years without finding our mate but when we do find them we discover who we will be with for the rest of our lives. And you, Wren are my mate. You are mine.”