Enthralled and Entangled

Chapter 10

I reflexively covered my neck with my hand. Eddie must be referring to the mark Braydan left on my neck when he bit me and I had no desire to tell him anything about it.

I already deeply regretted the time I deliberately lied to him that I was Braydan’s girlfriend at the bar, especially after knowing the fact that he was actually Braydan’s first cousin.

I did not want to have anything more to do with these two men.

“Eddie, it’s none of your business who I got that mark from,” I replied to him in annoyance, then pulled my hand out of his grasp as hard as I could.

Eddie did not give me any chance to escape from him. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into his arms. “Was it Braydan who did that?”

I quickly denied it. “No!”

“No? You’re seeing someone else?” Eddie obviously did not buy it. He was looking at me differently than usual, almost in a menacing way.

Was he mad?

I could not understand him. He was the one who cheated on me first, so why was he so caring all of a sudden now? Did he think that I was an object that could be discarded and picked up at his will?

Eddie’s untimely possessiveness brought me annoyance.

I pushed him away angrily and shouted, “You’ve no right to butt into my business, Eddie! Let go of me!”

The look in his eyes hardened as he warned me in a frighteningly cold voice, “Riannon, do not get mixed up with Braydan. He’s not who you think he is.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“You two are not the same kind…” Eddie sounded like he wanted to say more but decided against it. He pulled me into an embrace and said, “You’re my destined mate. Ria, marry me. I swear I won’t break your heart like I did last time. I’ll definitely protect you and keep you safe from them.”

Eddie’s words baffled me. What did he mean by destined mate? Who was going to harm me?

How could I, someone who had left my hometown for so many years, possibly have enemies here? I even wondered if Eddie was spouting nonsense because he was actually drunk.

“Eddie, even if I’m not seeing Braydan, I definitely won’t get back with you again. We’re already over four years ago. Please wake up and face the facts. I’m grateful that you took me to the hospital today, but I also hope that this will be the last time we see each other,” I told him earnestly.

Eddie stared at me blankly upon hearing my words. All the affection he had for me vanished in his eyes and was replaced by anger. He suddenly grabbed me hard by the shoulders, then bit me on the neck.

It was a very hard bite, right on the spot where Braydan had bitten me previously. Their teeth marks overlapped and I was in excruciating pain.

Startled by his action, I yelled at him, “Eddie, what are you doing?!”

Eddie ignored my displeasure. His hands clamped my shoulders like steel vices as he continued biting my neck.

The feeling he gave me was entirely different from Braydan. I was thoroughly disgusted by him and even found it nauseating. I lifted my foot and stomped hard on his. His grip on me loosened due to the pain, so I hurriedly pulled away then slapped him hard across the face.

The slap echoed loudly in the ward, and Eddie finally calmed down.

He touched his stinging cheek and looked at me in surprise, before the fierceness of a hunter slowly took over his light gray eyes.

I did not wait for him to recover from the shock. I quickly grabbed my belongings then fled the ward.

The back of my hand was bleeding a little because I had forcibly pulled out the IV drip earlier, but I could not care less about it. I ran all the way toward the hospital’s exit.

As soon as I was out of the hospital, I headed out to the road and saw a black car suddenly pulling over in front of me.

It looked rather familiar and I was suddenly nervous for some reason.

Could it be Braydan’s car?

I wondered if I was constantly in a mental breakdown. Why did I keep relating everything to Braydan?

The crowd on the streets scattered as a row of bodyguards approached the car. One of them respectfully opened the door.

The next thing I saw was Braydan’s long leg coming out of the car. He lifted his blue eyes and looked at me coldly. I could sense danger in the air.

Not only that, but also his anger that was directed at me. It sent a chill down my spine.

Why did Braydan come to the hospital? Did he come all the way here because I missed work this morning?

That idea did not seem plausible. No matter how unreasonable Braydan could be, he was never one to make a big fuss over something so trivial like this.

“Get in.” His low and stern voice suddenly reached my ears.

I immediately snapped out of thoughts and looked at him in surprise. I could not believe that he really came here to find me. I was a little afraid to get into his car, considering what happened the last time I was in there. The memory was still fresh in my mind and it haunted me.

Braydan suddenly came over to me and lifted me up in his arms. “It seems like you prefer to be carried rather than walk by yourself.”

My dizzy head found something to lean on as I fell into his soft embrace, and rested it against his firm chest.

He brought me back into his car and unceremoniously dumped me in the backseat.

I could almost see smoke coming out of Braydan’s ears. I shuddered and curled up in my seat, trying to move further inside.

Before I could even adjust my position, Braydan sat down beside me and closed the car door. “To the office,” he told the driver.

“Yes, Mr. Chairman.” The driver quickly started the car in response, then drove into the traffic.

The tension slowly thickened in the air, until it could be cut with a knife.

I gripped the door handle nervously as I waited for Braydan to break the uncomfortable silence.

It did not take long for him to ask with a dark expression on his face, “Who were you with?”

His question took me by surprise. How did he know I was with someone else in the hospital?

“Mr. Braydan, I’m running a fever today and fainted on the road. Someone took me to the hospital,” I quickly explained.

“So, he was the one who answered your call?” Braydan turned his head and looked at me, like he was interrogating me.

“Call?” I was confused and quickly took out my phone to check the call log.

Braydan had indeed called me on the phone.

I guessed that Eddie must have answered his call when I was unconscious, and Braydan did not know who he was.

After thinking about it for a moment, I decided not to get Eddie involved in this so I lied to Braydan, “Yes, it was a kind passerby. He took me to the hospital then left me there.”

Braydan looked at me suspiciously, but his gaze had softened a lot. “Really?”

I nodded but quickly regretted it. I was still running a fever so the motion made me really dizzy. My body lurch forward against my will.

Braydan put his arm around my shoulders, then pulled me over and made me lean in his arms.

“What are you doing, Mr. Braydan?” I tried to pull away from him in terror.

He tightened his hold on my shoulder, then cupped my face with his other hand. “If you’re not feeling well then close your eyes and sleep,” he said in his deep and comforting voice.

Was he worried about me? I was not sure. His sudden change of behavior had me at a loss for words. I did not dare to think about anything except for staying still.

My cheek was pressed against his stomach and I could feel his hard abs through his clothes. His manly, musky scent surrounded me. This was the first time I could smell it this clearly.

It was the scent of a savage and powerful man. I could feel his body heat too, it was burning the uneasiness away from my heart.

I was not sure if it was the fever or the sense of security being in his arms, but I felt very relaxed and gradually grew drowsy.

I fell asleep and had a dream.

I saw my late mother and my father whom I had not seen for many years. They were both formally dressed and waiting for me among the white roses.

How I had longed to see their loving smiles and gentle faces. I had missed them very badly.

I took off my heels, lifted the hem of my long dress and ran as fast as I could toward them.

As I ran, I felt the wind blowing my skirt. I was in a white wedding dress.

It was only then I realized that I was at a wedding. My wedding.

Guests started showing up in the rose garden. They smiled at me. I was not sure if they were giving me their blessings or just impressed by the lavish wedding.

Among the crowd, I spotted Darianna. She yelled at me, seemingly panicked.

I could not hear what she was saying. I slowed down and looked in her direction. “What was that?” I asked her loudly.

Darianna looked even more panicked. The expression on her face started contorting as she clutched her chest and tried her best to shout at the top of her lungs.

I still could not hear a thing.

“Ria, come here,” my mother called out to me in front of the crowd.

I looked away from Darianna and continued running toward her.

When I reached her, the groom was waiting for me.

He was a tall man who was wearing a black tuxedo. From his figure alone I could tell that he was a handsome young man.

I slowed down, then put my heels on again before approaching him from behind.

My mother came over to my side. She took my hand, and pointed to the groom. “Ria, this is your future husband. He’ll love you forever in my place.”

I stared at the back of my husband, patiently waiting for him to turn his head around.

A cold wind blew, sending white colored rose petals up in the air. The groom slowly turned around.

Those deep blue eyes, that sharp nose, and those lips that had kissed me before.

It was Braydan!

I was shell-shocked. How could I be marrying him?! Impossible! This must be a mistake!

“N-No way.” I looked at him in disbelief, holding the hem of my skirt as I slowly backed away.

Braydan looked at me condescendingly and held his hand out toward me. “Riannon, my Luna… Come here,” he said in a seductive voice.

I stared at his outstretched hand intently and continued backing away. “N-No! I refuse!” I shouted.

Braydan’s face immediately darkened when he heard my refusal. He narrowed his eyes in anger, looking like he was going to pounce on me and tear me apart.

I continued backing away in fear, then begged my parents for help. “Dad, Mom…!”

To my dismay, they just smiled at me and said, “Go now, Ria. Go to your husband.”

“N-NO!” I shouted at them loudly. I jerked my head up and looked at Braydan. “He’s not my husband!”

Braydan’s face suddenly became even more bizarre.

Grayish white fur gradually grew on his fair cheeks. His face contorted as a long muzzle extended out in front of him. More fur grew on his face until it turned into a wolf’s face.

“AHHHH!” I screamed loudly in fright, then turned around and ran away in fear.

It was at this moment, I could finally hear what Darianna was shouting at me.

“RUN, RIA, RUN!”

“RUN!”

“GET OUT OF HERE!"