He set her plate aside and just watched her. She was gorgeous, with a wreath of red waves that fell over her shoulders and down her back. Her face was pale, probably far paler than normal due to the blood loss and her clear fear. And then he inhaled again, taking her scent into his lungs, smelling her innocence, the fact she was so close to being fertile. The primal beast inside of him rose up and took note that this was his female, and he’d have her eventually. Styx might have taken his wife here without her consent, but he wouldn’t force himself on her. He wouldn’t rape her. That, Styx would never do to a female.
The silence stretched on for some time, and Styx stoked the fire. The nights in the forest created a chill in the air that seeped into his bones. He wanted, needed this female to stay warm so she could heal. The herbs he’d given her would speed up her healing process and should have the pain diminished to almost nonexistent. She’d need to drink several more mugs before he felt confident enough that the toxins were completely flushed from her system, but he didn’t plan on letting her leave anyway.
“Why am I here?”
He looked over his shoulder at her and saw she had the blankets pulled up to her chest. He didn’t answer right away, just threw another log onto the fire, watching the flames lick at it.
“You’re here because you were dying.” He looked over at her again. “I couldn’t allow that to happen.” He turned and faced her fully. “Bringing you back to my home was the only way to ensure you survived.” She didn’t speak, but he noticed the way her pulse beat at the base of her neck rapidly. He could smell her confusion and the slight scent of fear. The latter was this sharp aroma that had this tingling setting root in the back of his throat.
They didn’t speak for several more moments, but Styx was used to the silence, welcomed it even.
“Will you let me leave when I’m fully healed?”
Styx didn’t need to think about her question, because he’d known the answer to that the moment he saw her in the forest. Styx grabbed the pot that up over the fire, heating water. He poured two mugs with the scalding liquid, grabbed herbs, and let them steep in the water for long moments.
“Will you let me go?” she asked again, her voice softer this time.
Styx handed her one of the mugs, looking right in her eyes. “No.”
She reached out for the mug, her eyes wide as she stared at him. “Why? What do you want with me?”
Styx sat down, facing her, and drank from the mug. The herbs made a tea that had calming effects. He drank it every evening before he went to bed. It also helped rejuvenate the body from the inside out.
“Because.” He could have elaborated, could have told her exactly why she wasn’t going to leave, but she was already upset. Telling her anything right now would make it worse. But clearly her anger rose inside of her like an angry beast. She clenched her jaw, and anticipating what she was going to do, Styx leaned to the side just as she threw the mug at him. Droplets of the hot liquid splashed on his bare arm, but there was no pain. The mug clanked against the cavern wall before falling to the ground and rolling back toward him.
He didn’t speak, wasn’t upset either. She was afraid, angry, and lashing out was her way of getting her fear out. But what Styx did do was stand, walk over to her, and stop when he was a foot from where she sat. He was a feared creature, had been in his tribe, but also in the outside world. He liked it that way. It gave him strength, let others know he was a predator. But he didn’t want his mate to be afraid. And she was his mate, his wife, and would be the mother of his babies.
“Tell me, you asshole.” She was on the verge of tears now, the scent of a cool breeze after it rained filling his head. “You might have saved my life, but keeping me here is wrong.”
Maybe it was, but Styx was a bastard in all ways, and he wanted this female with a ferocity that rivaled even the most deadly of beasts in this part of the world.
“You want to know why I won’t let you leave?” She didn’t answer, but he didn’t expect her to. Styx took another step toward her and crouched on his haunches, so they were face-to-face. He lowered his gaze to her lips and watched as she licked them. “I won’t let you leave because I plan on making you my mate, on having you as my wife.” Her eyes widened even further, and although she was shocked, the scent lingering in the air was like sweet, dried fruit. It was that flash of curiosity that was the strongest. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, her skin warm, soft. She couldn’t move away, not with her back to the wall. “And here,” he lowered his hand down her neck, between her breasts, and placed his open palm right over her belly. “Here is where my babies will grow.”