Moon Bound

Jealousy

A week crawled by in our new routine. Seven days and seven nights- every single one was quiet and lonely.

Killian did manage to drop in a few times. He stayed long enough to annoy me, getting a growl or two out of me before fleeing the room with a mischievous grin.

I didn't have it in me to do more than that. The darkness that had been lingering in a small corner inside of me had dissipated. At least when Killian came in the room I was able to get some sort of human interaction.

Aiden still hadn’t spoken to me, he barely even looked at me. And it made me feel… sad. And needy.

When Killian saw that I was dying of boredom he snuck in a few books for me. Nothing about magic. I doubt I would have been able to understand it without his help if he had.

These books were on different countries, types of butterflies, a self help book, and even a romance novel.

I didn't care what they were about. I read them hungrily, I was so desperate for something to do.

Aiden didn’t lash out about the books. He didn't say one word about them. He simply looked at the stack on the nightstand, set down the food tray, and left.

During the times I wasn't reading I was pacing the hardwood floor counting the knotted grains in each polished board. I counted the lights on the chandelier until they made my vision blurry, tears stinging the corners of my eyes from going without blinking for too long. I took long hot baths and scrubbed at my skin as if that would get rid of the frustration and restlessness.

I had been kidnapped and I was bored.

It was ridiculous to feel that way. Everything about this past week had been topsy turvy, leaving me dizzy and turned around about my feelings.

Perhaps I should have been more motivated to sneak out again. But the nagging voice in the back of my mind warned me against it. I didn't want to make Aiden mad again.

I was actually starting to care about how he interacted with me. I was missing his smile. I was sick of the silence.

While counting the knobs on the furniture in the room for the upteenth time I froze.

Was he punishing me?

Was he trying to condition me? Show me how my lack of reception to the bond felt to him?

If he was, it was working.

My stomach knotted uneasily at that. It didn't make me very comfortable that he was trying to trick me into feeling something.

But he wasn't really doing anything wrong. He was angry and hurt and pouting. The guilt was starting to gnaw away at me.

The door creaked open and I turned to see Aiden stepping in with the tray in hand. I marched up to him and yanked it away, finally getting a reaction out of him.

His eyes widened and he grappled with the tray, trying to make sure I didn't send it flying.

"I know what you're doing."

He took the tray back and set it on top of one of the dressers, "Excuse me?"

I wanted to cry at hearing his beautiful, deep voice again.

It was wrong on so many levels that I wanted attention from the man that was holding me hostage, but I couldn't help it.

He was magnetic and glowy and it was hard not being drawn to him when we were so close. Him ignoring me just made me want his attention even more.

Oh. My. God.

He was definitely trying to teach me a lesson. He wanted me to feel even the slightest of pulls so he could rub it in my face that I was experiencing the bond.

It almost made me angry. But seeing him leaning against the dresser with his thick arms crossed over his firm chest made all rational thought jump overboard.

He was going to drown me in need. I needed him to speak to me. I needed him to look at me. As much as it killed me to accept it, I needed him to touch me.

I still hadn’t taken care of my problem. And raking my eyes over his large body and his sharp features only made it worse.

"You're trying to drive me crazy."

"No, I'm giving you exactly what you want."

"Excuse me?" This time it was my turn to say it.

His mouth hardened into a straight line and I saw his eyes go dark before he twisted away from me. "This is what you wanted."

The muscles of Aiden's broad shoulders tensed under his gray t-shirt. He reached out to grip the ledge of the dresser, his back staying turned to me.

I didn't say anything, hoping he would elaborate.

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about," his voice was rough and low, "You've been insisting I'm not your mate. You snuck out of your room to go to Killian instead of me. You keep thinking about him."

And you.

I didn't voice my thoughts. He probably already knew what I had been thinking about. Since he could read my mind and all.

"You sound jealous."

He knocked the dresser to the floor like it weighed nothing. I jumped back at the outburst. His back heaved with hard breaths, the tension in his shoulders making them ripple.

I wasn't sure what I was going to do if he shifted right here, right now. I wouldn't be able to get out of the room fast enough. He would be able to skin me alive.

"Damn right I'm jealous! It's killing me that you won't accept the bond. My mate doesn't want me. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

He spoke around growls and snapping teeth. His large frame was trembling. Guilt punched me in the gut.

Maybe he couldn’t always read my mind. If he had he would have known that me not wanting him couldn’t be further from the truth.

I felt bad that I hadn't just put him out of his misery. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to accept the bond. Which meant I needed to reject him so he could start healing.

But there was a greed within me that didn't want to do that. I wanted to know more about this wild man that saved my life and then stole me away and turned it upside down.

And I couldn't leave without finding a solution to the ward. I wasn't too keen on spontaneous death.

"Aiden," I whispered and stepped forward with my arm outstretched. He roared and slammed his fist into the dresser, causing the wood to break with a sharp crunch.

I touched his back gently and felt him relax under my hand. I waited for his breathing to even out before speaking.

"I don't want to be in this room anymore."

I should have apologized. I should have comforted him. But all I could think about was getting out of this bedroom before something ugly happened.

He stood silently for a few minutes. When he nodded I felt like I could breathe again. We needed to leave this room before he snapped and killed me.

"I'll let you know when lunch is ready downstairs. I'll clean that up later." He pointed at the dresser and fled from the room.

I stared at the broken wood and shuddered. A few minutes longer and that could have been my body.

I didn't know what to expect from Aiden next. But at least he was finally talking to me again.

Maybe I shouldn't consider my kidnapper talking to me a win.

I kicked a few pieces of chipped wood out of the way. The food from the tray had spread out across the floor. I knelt down to clean it up.

A sane person wouldn't consider their kidnapper talking to them a win. But this past week had been weird. My decision making skills were subpar at best right now. My hormones were calling all the shots. And I just didn't have it in me to fight it at the moment.

I sighed as I rolled an orange out from under the bed. I placed the tray on the bed and looked at the beautiful dresser that was now in pieces.

Things would be a hell of a lot easier if my kidnapper wasn't an attractive Alpha.