Bound Book 2

Chapter 49 - Crazy Love

Skylar

"Don't cry," Gael says, throwing the stick he picked up to the side as he quickly approaches me. I make the mistake of flinching back as he reaches out to touch me. Anger flashes across his features before he turns around, pacing back with his head down, his hand aggressively tugging at his brown hair in frustration.

"I've done everything for you. Been there for you longer than that bastard has!" he shouts, causing me to jump as his voice echoes in this place without walls.

"After everything, you should be thanking me, loving me..." he says, turning around to level me with a glare.

"I told the baker about your products. I made your business a success. Me, not that dog. I kept you out of the clutches of the High Council after your stint in Spain. If it wasn't for me you would be finished!" He is pacing, his black cloak flaring out behind him while he shouts words at me that leave me feeling anything but grateful.

"I've even had to watch while he took your virginity...," he grinds out, his voice low and dangerous.

"But I got the upper hand. Everything you remember locked in here." His hand grasps the pendant around his neck, the grip on it so tight his knuckles are white.

He was angry and I was sure that wouldn't serve me well at this point.

"Thank you," I say, the words dripping off my tongue like tar.

This halts his pacing, his face finally coming up as his eyes meet mine. He is judging my sincerity. I can see the way he takes in every twitch of my features.

"Thank you for looking after me." I force my face to remain passive. Not to reveal the revulsion I feel at this false collection of words.

"Of course Skylar. I love you. You know that?" He asks, his expression softening.

"I do. Now I can see. It was you who was always there. Always looking after me." Call it self-preservation, but whatever it was the words seemed to become easier to speak as I carried on this charade. The look on his face telling me my acting skills were passable.

He smiles broadly, his shoulders straightening out as his confidence visibly boosts. Perhaps if I could persuade him that my feelings were genuine, he would slip up. Make a mistake. Something I could take advantage of.

He pauses for a long time before he approaches me, the smile on his face not wavering from the encouragement elicited from my words moments ago.

I school my expression, and will my body to remain still as he reaches out and takes my hand.

"Come. Let me show you our home." He gently takes my hand, his big one wrapping around mine. While I had touched his hand before during training, with all I knew now, the feeling now just makes my skin crawl. My mind goes to a place where I wonder if he will try and take advantage of me, that thought too difficult to contemplate as I shove it aside.

I fall in step next to him as he leads me away from the cliff edge, towards the right, and through an almost overgrown path. He moves branches out of my way so that I can pass comfortably. Such chivalry from a monster.

Abruptly, we exit into a clearing, a small log cabin in the center. I halt in my steps. His hand tugs on mine, pulling me forward.

"Come see. I made it just for you." His excitement eclipses the absolute shock I feel.

This cabin is an exact replica of my house in Willow Falls. My eyes drift over to the small wooden structure that housed my jeep. The same place Dmitri and I had made love in during my heat.

As we approach the house, the porch light goes on, just like I remember it doing all those times I arrived home.

Gael pushes the unlocked door open, his eagerness propelling us forward.

"So, what do you think? I recreated it from memory alone. All those nights before Dmitri came onto the scene when I used to watch you. From afar and sometimes from very close, while you slept. I remembered everything."

My jaw is hanging open as I take in every piece of furniture, every curtain, every tile. An exact replica of my old place. It's so disturbing that it makes me even more scared. He leads me down the passage towards my bedroom, my favorite duvet cover on the bed. A multicolored floral design that I always thought reminded me of a field of wildflowers. I peek into the bathroom, noticing that the shower is stocked with my favorite shampoo, conditioner, and face wash.

My breathing is becoming erratic. The more I see the more I am aware of how fucked I am. Gael was truly crazy. And about me no less. There was no way I was getting out of this without a fight. It would be me or me dead. That seemed like the options.

Gael seems oblivious to the terror this obsessiveness is creating within me, that crazy smile still plastered on his face as his gaze flits to mine, probably looking for approval.

We walk back down the passage, through the lounge and into the sunroom, with fairy lights and plants exactly where they should be.

I walk around touching some of the leaves of the plants, their realness grounding me.

"So what is the plan here? What happens to me?" I ask him, my back still to him so that he cannot see my expression.

"Well. You don't need all that power. I will look after you. We can rule the world. All supernaturals will bow at our feet. Even the humans that keep us as their dirty little secret in the dark will finally find their place beneath us, under our light." His face takes on a look of longing and satisfaction, this thought no doubt part of his evil mantra. Though nowhere would I ever equate anything with Gael to be light.

"You killed Chris, taking his power..." I say, the words quiet towards the end.

"Because I wanted to Skylar. With you, it's different. And when I also take your memories of that monster Dmitri away, it will be like heaven. Just you and me. I can forgive you for what you did." His eyes flick down to my groin as if it is a part of me that has been violated. That is filthy.

"It's time. I've waited long enough. My patience has been tested but no more." There is a glint of hardness in his eye as he says the last words.

The whip, which up until now has been nowhere in sight, drops down from the sleeve of his cloak, his right hand grabbing the wooden handle with practiced precision.

"No," I whisper, the words lost as excruciating pain takes over.

"This won't take long," he says, a pained expression on his face as he approaches me. His free hand reaches out, dropping to lie on top of my head.

My eyes squeeze shut as I say a silent prayer to any deity who will listen. I feel a light pulling on my entire body, as I imagine it would feel if you were free-falling after jumping out of a plane. Before that feeling along with Gael's hand, abruptly leave my body.

"It's not working," he says, confusion tinged with anger clear in his tone.

Raina's words from earlier float to the surface. 'The Legend, we have it. The original version. It's not what you think'.

I open my eyes, look up at him, and then throw up, all over his black cloak.  

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