Bound to my Awakening

The Golden Gate

The heavy doors of the private lift slid open, exposing a sprawling penthouse floor lined with floor-to-ceiling glass and black marble. Two guards in dark uniforms stood at attention, while three women in matching grey attire stepped forward.

"Take her," Draven commanded, releasing my elbow.

"Clean the forest dirt off her, tend to the scrapes on her legs, and dress her in something suitable for the upper levels. She stays in the inner quarters."

"Yes, my lord," the head servant murmured.

"I don't need your servants," I said, backing toward the lift. "And I don't need a bath."

Draven didn't turn around as he walked toward the double oak doors at the end of the corridor. "You smell horrible, Kaela. Take the bath."

Before I could move, the three women surrounded me.

"This way, Miss," the head servant said, guiding me down a side hallway into a steam-filled washroom.

They worked in silence, stripping away the torn nightclothes from the Croft farm and guiding me into a stone basin filled with warm water.

Warm oil stung the raw cuts on my legs, but when I reached for the counter to steady myself, my fingers came up empty.

"Where is my hair pin?" I asked, looking at the lead servant as she wrapped a towel around my shoulders.

"The silver one I had in my pocket."

"Nothing sharp is permitted, Miss," she replied, smoothing down the front of a heavy slate-gray silk gown.

"It’s a hair pin," I said, pulling back.

"It isn't a weapon."

"No clasps, no pins, no metal," the woman repeated, her tone entirely neutral.

"Sir's orders. Please step this way."

They escorted me to the end of the hall and pushed me into a large, dimly lit room. The heavy door clicked shut behind me, followed by the metallic thud of a deadbolt.

I rattled the brass handle twice before giving up. Turning around, I noticed a second set of tall doors on the interior wall. I turned the latch, and the door swung open without a sound, exposing an adjoining master bedchamber lined with obsidian furniture and dark leather.

"Looking for a way out already?"

I turned toward the center of the room. Draven stood by a mahogany desk, pouring amber liquid into a crystal glass. He had stripped off his suit jacket, rolling his dark sleeves up to his elbows.

"You built a palace just to hide your prisoners?" I asked, keeping the open doorway behind me.

"I built an empire," Draven said, taking a drink. "This room is simply where I keep things that are too dangerous to leave roaming the streets."

"I am not a thing," I said, clenching my fists.

"Your energy signature says otherwise," he replied, setting the glass down.

He took three steps forward. The moment he closed the distance, the air in the room grew heavy. A sudden, suffocating wave of heat hit my chest, making my breath catch.

I took a step back, but he kept moving until he was standing right in front of me.

"Stop moving toward me," I choked out. "Stay back."

"Why?" Draven asked, his voice low.

"Your heart rate doubled the second I walked into your space. You can fight me with your words, Kaela, but your pulse is already answering mine."

"It's a biological fluke," I spat, driving my heels into the floor as my skin prickled.

"You're trapped in this just as much as I am, tyrant. Don't pretend you enjoy it."

Draven tilted his head, his eyes tracking my face.

"You think I want this? You think my board of directors will celebrate me bringing an unranked runaway into the Citadel?"

"Then let me go!" I gestured toward the hall. "If I'm such a threat to your corporate precious alliance, throw me out! Let me take my chances in the woods!"

"And let Lyssandra's enforcers put a bullet through your spine?" Draven let out a dry laugh.

"Or worse, let the Crown's trackers sense that magic in your veins?"

"What trackers?" I asked, my throat tightening. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't even know what you are," Draven said, watching me closely. "That power you threw off back at the farm wasn't standard pack magic. It was ancient. If I turn you loose, you won't last twenty-four hours."

"I'd rather take my chances with the hunters than spend another minute locked in this room with you, sir," I said coldly.

"Is that so?" Draven asked softly.

He turned his back on me, walking back toward his desk to reach for his glass.

My eyes snapped past him to the main entrance of his master chamber. The heavy double doors stood slightly open, exposing a sliver of the bright, open outer hallway through the c***k.

He hadn't locked his main door.

I didn't pause to think. I sprinted straight for the gap, throwing my weight forward to shove the double doors wide open.

BOOM.

A bright wall of blue energy flared across the doorframe the second my hands touched the threshold.

I hit the floor hard, sliding across the polished wood before coming to a stop near his desk, gasping for air as my hands stung with static heat.

Draven didn't rush over. He picked up his glass, took a slow swallow, and walked over to stand right beside where I lay on the floor.

"Did you really think I left the main exit unlocked by mistake?" Draven asked, looking down at me with a slow, amused smirk.

"You're a sadistic bastard," I wheezed, pushing myself up onto my elbows and glaring up at him.

Draven crouched down, resting one forearm on his knee so his face was just inches from mine.

"Perhaps," he murmured, his thumb reaching out to lightly trace the side of my jaw before I yanked my head away. "But you're still in my room, aren't you, my love?”