William was still in the bed when I opened my eyes. I was pressed against his chest now and that stupid necklace was nearly touching me. Using my shirt sleeve, I pushed it away. Not wanting to move away from William or the heat from him. His skin sizzling coin shaped pendant. That could go. I wasn’t a fan. The blood bond was far stronger now than it had been before I fed on him the second time. When the need to feed came around, the only thing I kept thinking about was how much his blood called for me and how much I desperately wanted to taste him again.
William’s spicy scent was unique, and I liked it more than I cared to admit. His heartbeat was fluttering, and I looked up at him, his eyes slowly opening. He released me, stretching out and groaning. I slipped away from him, putting some space between us. I needed to put this space between us so that I didn’t crawl back into his arms and his warmth.
“The bond has grown tenfold. I didn’t expect this for the second time you fed from me.” William said, getting out of the bed. He was right, though. This level of bond was jarring. It came out of nowhere and was hard to get used to. I felt many ways about it. Overwhelmed was just one feeling that I was experiencing to an extreme.
“Come along. We are going to get food. I’m starving. You must be too, given the last time you fed from me. You ate more than I’ve seen you eat since you’ve been here.”
Sighing, I removed myself from the warmth of the bed and stood up. Stretching before following behind him to the main area. He stopped, and I smashed into his back, wrapping my arms around him to keep from falling.
“Ugh. Why’d you stop?”
“I thought—Nah, nevermind, it was nothing.” William said.
He pulled clean clothing down from around the fire and tossed some things at me. I recognized them as my clothing from home. I didn’t bother to even question it. I just put them on. He pulled out leather boots, handing them to me, and they were mine too.
“Did you raid my closet? When did they get here?”
“A few days ago, They brought a chest of your things. It looked dusty, so I’ve had a few others wash it for me. They put it all in an unused larger hall building like the dining hall.”
“I see. I appreciate it.”
“They brought a coat, too. I sent them to look for winter wear in particular. You didn’t have a lot of it, though. You will need a better coat than the one you have.”
“Keeping me around then? Or just preparing me next time before you throw me into the snow.”
“Hardly, That won’t happen again. You have my word.” William said, his emotions spiking and coming through.
“William, I meant that as a joke. I hope you know that.”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
“I’m sorry, that was in poor taste.” I muttered, pulling my boots on after changing into the other clothing and adjusting it on my body. Turning to look at William after I finished, he was pulling a fresh shirt on, and I got to see his back muscles flex and move. His spicy scent invading my nose again. I turned back to the door and spoke. Pretty confident that he was going to be annoyed with my question.
“After you completely dismantle my kingdom, what do you intend to do with all the stones? Are you going to use them for better housing or buildings?”
“Henry and I had this discussion while you were in the bedroom. He also thinks it’s wise to use them for buildings, and I happen to agree. He thinks one enormous building, much like your kingdom, is the best use for it. Keep the smaller ones for those who want their own space and a larger building for those who want to be there.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to this. I was shocked he was telling me about something like this, considering he saw me as a war prize. As he said multiple times. Thinking about my people, I needed to find out what he planned to do with them.
“My people, will they be welcome to live and stay here then too? I need to know what you’re planning on doing with them.”
“I’ll figure out those details shortly.”
“Alright.”
My worry here was that he wouldn’t tell me anything and my people, much like I was last night, would be out on their asses. They also had nowhere to go, thanks to William and his pack of wolves.
“Come, I’m starving.” William complained before pulling me with him out the door into the cold.
We jogged to the dining hall, and the smell of food was delightful. My stomach rumbled, and I wanted whatever it was in the largest amount possible. William sat down first, and I looked over at my people before sitting down. They all looked good and healthy still. James and Henry were already here, sitting and eating.
“We wondered when you would grace us with your presence again, William.” James said, glancing at me before a soft smile lingered on his lips.
“It was a good nap. It’s rare I get a deep nap like that.” He said, taking a sip of the drink that was brought to the table for him, along with a large plate of food. He lightly touched the wolf’s arm, whispering to her, and she nodded before heading off. Henry clearly heard what he had asked for and chuckled.
“This will not go over well.” He chuckled, looking at James before looking back at William.
“Your wound, it healed?” I asked, not sure if my blood would heal the wound another wolf had inflicted on him.
“Yes, your blood healed that as well.”
“How are you supposed to learn your lesson now?” Henry joked.
“He healed the wound, not my ego. Don’t worry.” William grumbled.
The woman came back and gave something to William. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was watching my aunt speaking to a member of William’s pack. William called my name, and I spoke, turning to look at him. Catching sight of exactly what he had her bring.
“Yes—Christ!”
Two large dead rabbits were on the tabletop and they were in different colours. And he looked at me, almost pleased with the action.
“What colour do you like, for a winter coat, a better one?” William said.
“Either, just take them elsewhere.” At the sight, I said, my stomach was rolling. I could handle blood and dead people, but dead animals made my stomach turn in every single way. I had no clue why either. It was probably due to the fact that I hadn’t been accustomed to killing or seeing many dead animals.
“Pick one, Elias. It is your coat to wear. Surely you have a preference.” William said, looking at Henry before looking back at me.
“I don’t care, just please remove it from my sight.” I begged him.
“Are you squeamish about dead animals, perhaps?” William said, looking at me, curiosity coming through the blood bond.
“I am not used to the sight of dead animals and they do make me ill.” I muttered.
William chose the black rabbit fur for my coat and had the women come and pick them up again. She lifted them over my head as she passed and the large black one fell right into my lap, a yelp coming out of me, as I jumped to stand up only to fall down again quickly.
William stood up and picked up the dead rabbit, giving back to the women before helping me back up.
“Are you alright?”
“I will never be alright after that.” I hissed.
William brushed me off before he pulled me back to the table. The smirk on his face told me he was trying not to howl in laughter at me. Which I understood, to him that was funny. To me, it was horrifying.
He placed a plate in front of me and meat on the plate.
“You expect me to eat after that?” I groaned.
“Yes, you will get used to seeing dead animals here.” William said.
“It will become normal. In a few months, you will never remember being grossed out by dead animals.” James said confidently.
“I sure hope so. If William intends to keep showing me dead animals.”
“We have plenty of dead animals I can show you, if you want to get over that faster.” William said, all too happily.
“No thank you, I’ll pass.”
“Now, now, you need to eat. Even if it’s just a little last time you fed, you were ravenous. You must be hungry.”
“Last time, a woman didn’t drop a dead animal in my lap.” I groaned.
“You will live, yes it was unpleasant, but not deadly.” James said, sipping from his glass before resting it back on the table.
Looking at William, I finally agreed to a small bit of food, and while he started preparing it, I watched him intently. The bond was deeper than before, and no doubt would betray my feelings of curiosity towards him.
If it did, he didn’t comment on it, at least not at this very minute. James met eyes with me when I glanced his way, and the knowing smile was both pleasant and unsettling. I wanted to know all I could about this bond. After all, my mother had a bond with a wolf too once.
Perhaps I wasn’t that different from her.
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