A Solstice Surprise

Chapter Seventeen

It had been another week. Elain still hadn’t regained vision from her left eye, and had kept that bit of information to herself. But it had been a week. She had been slightly confused, given that Luciens brother, Titus he had called him, hadn’t done anything to them. But Lucien was starting to act weird.

She wasn’t sure why. His brother would bring food twice a day, insisting how he didn’t know how to make anything, and letting Elain make herself some food. She knew Lucien was hungry, but Titus never brought Lucien anything, save for a small glass of dirty water. She had tried each time to offer half of what she had made with the few ingredients Titus had brought, seeing how hungry he was, as he could barely contain his hunger from his face, as the food was delivered each day.

Elain would offer some of the food, trying to get Lucien to eat, so he wouldn’t starve, only for Lucien to appear to fight against something, and refuse. He would would then move to the opposite end of their small shared cell.

Elain would notice that Lucien would seem to then lose himself somewhere in his mind. Not within memories of this place, she could tell that now. It rather looked as though he were fighting with a part of himself, and as the days went on, she could see he was fighting harder each time, as though he were slowly losing the battle with whatever it was he was fighting.

It wasn’t until another two days had past, and Titus had upped Elains meals to three meals, plus two snacks, where something had changed. It seemed as though Lucien had lost against whatever it was he had been fighting against.

It happened when Elain had managed to get the food into Luciens hand, and his face had snapped up to look directly at her, before looking at the small sandwich, it looked like, with the small piece of food, actually sitting in his hand, he might actually consider eating it.

“Please Lucien. Please, eat.” Elain said, practically begging him to eat, tears filling her eyes, causing Lucien to look back up at her, with wide eyes, before looking at the food in his hands, as if it were the most precious thing he had ever held.

To Elains relief, she saw as Lucien slowly started lifting his hands, as though he would finally, finally eat, only for him to stop, and shake his head at the last possible moment.

“No, no I cant. I won’t. Get this sandwich out of my hands, please take it away.” Lucien said, closing his eyes, continuously shaking his head.

“Why won’t you eat?” Elain asked, her voice louder than she intended it to be, as tears started to slowly roll down her cheeks.

“Because I won’t have you hate me for forcing you into unknowingly accepting a mating bond you don’t want!” Lucien shouted back to her. She could hear anger, but she assumed it was anger from being hungry, and angry from fighting against something within himself for so long. She also saw that as soon as he had finished shouting, he had cringed back, as if he hadn’t meant to shout, hadn’t wanted to shout. “Please just, get this food out of my hands. Please, please, please, please.”

Heartbroken, Elain reached out, and trying not to touch him, she grabbed the sandwich, and went to take it from his hands. She hadn’t expected him to close his fists around it, as if he would not let it go, but she assumed it wasn’t his conscious mind doing it, as he was still silently begging her to take the food out of his hands.

Slowly, Elain pried Luciens hands open, silently crying as she did so, before grabbing the squished sandwich, and then tossing it out the bars of their cell. But before Lucien could push himself away, as he normally did after rejecting any food, Elain took hold of his head, and pulled it down onto her lap. She may not be completely comfortable with the idea of the mating bond, may never have been. But the male sitting here was suffering. She was the only one who could offer any kind of comfort, so she would comfort him in whatever way she could.

**

The two sat there, Lucien fighting with his very soul, and Elain, holding Luciens head on her lap, gently rubbing her fingers through his hair, trying to smooth him, comfort him, the best way she knew how.

Neither one noticed Titus standing there, a smirk on his face, before walking away, and speaking to the decapitated head of his father. “We just need her to accept their bond. Then, as his mind frame has changed from insanity over an untouched mating bond, to the need of his mate, that is when I will be able to get my information. Your lessons to us will not be wasted. Be thankful he’s too far gone to madness from his stupid bitch of a mate going years of not acknowledging him, he isn’t remembering your lessons father.”