"I am happy that you just eat," he said.
"Doesn't sound healthy," I said.
That just made him laugh, and the sound made my stomach clench. I had never before heard anything so good as his laugh.
"Sure, you don't just have trouble with food?"
He nodded.
"Or ... is it not food that you ... crave?" I asked.
"What do you have in mind?" he asked, leaning a little forward and his eyes turned heated.
"I mean, you are a hybrid so ... won't you need ... blood?"
Why was that so hard to ask? Did I fear the whole blood thing was a sensitive subject? I wasn't really sure. I was half-wolf, not half-vampire. I had never even had a real conversation with a vampire. I knew really nothing about them.
"I do," he said.
"But not now?"
"Not now."
Maybe he had already drunk from someone before sitting here? And why did that thought slightly annoy me? I had to shake that feeling off me, I told myself. I couldn't be annoyed by something like that. Besides, why would I be? I wasn't a vampire. I was part wolf, part human, and neither drank from the other sex to stay alive.
We were rather quiet after the little conversation though, but it wasn't long after, I finally felt full. Maybe a little too full. I had eaten quite fast, only taking breaks to drink a little water, but never slowed down, so my stomach felt quite filled, and I had barely even gotten through half of what was on the table. Yet as promised, he then started to eat, and this time it was me who just sat there quietly and watched. I pulled my legs up close and held a warm coffee mug in my hands, as we sat there. It was not an uncomfortable silence we were sitting in, but a calm one. It had been a long time since I had shared a meal with anyone, and such a nice one too.
You would think someone as scary as the king, wouldn't be able to make you feel calm, but that was what I felt, yet the feeling in itself was a bit unsettling. I knew it was because I wasn't used to it and told myself just to enjoy it for now. I had no idea when I would have another one.
I mean what plans did the king have for me, once we were on the other side of the water? How would I escape him? I had to reveal a little of my cards in order to hopefully make him trust me later on, but how long would I have to wait? How much would I have to sacrifice of myself before I was finally free?
"Come," he suddenly said bringing me out of my thoughts.
He was already standing, and I looked up at him confused.
"You wanted your things, right?" he asked.
I nodded.
"Then let us go."
"Now?!"
"Now."
I put the half-empty mug down and quickly stood, before finding the shoes I had worn when I was serving at the party. Other than that, I only had the shirt, and it looked a bit funny, but no one even dared to look at me, since I was walking beside the king.
It felt ... powerful.
Was that what it was like being his queen?
Chapter 16
-Dominic-
Lara was mostly quiet, except for giving me directions to her house. Her leg though was going up and down, up and down, and picked up the pace the closer we got to her house. It was enough to tell me that she didn't really want to go home, which led me to believe the one she was running from was someone she was living with, or at least knew where she lived. Could it be her parents? Or one of them? Was it another family member? Or a friend? I knew I would find my answers once we got there, but the scent of her fear had me on edge. As her mate, it was my job to protect her, and her fear triggered my instincts. It made it hard for me to even speak since I felt so fired up, almost like I was going to fight someone.
"Right here," she said, as we pulled up to a house in the middle of nowhere and it looked like it was going to collapse any day now.