I was lying in bed, curled up in a ball when Kai entered the room. My eyes flicked up to him when he came over to me. His bed was pretty high, but even crouching, he was taller.
"Let's go for a walk." He motioned with his head. "You never got a tour. It'll be good for you." I sighed and pulled the blanket off before sitting up. He moved to grab my shoes.
"I'm sorry." I nearly whispered.
"For what?" He pushed a shoe onto my foot.
"Always being in bed."
"You don't need to apologize for that. You're sad right now, but it'll get better." He tied my shoe and did the same with the other. "And I'll be here every step of the way to help." He took my hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Thank you." I replied quietly.
"You never have to thank me, Ren." He kissed the top of my head and led me out of the room by the hand. We went around the grand house, looking at the paintings on the walls between the many doors, large living and dining rooms, Kai's study, and stopping off in the large, magnificent kitchen.
"I'll show you the library and garden next, but I want you to meet a few people first." Kai informed me. Other than servants, others lived in the ginormous house where we said our brief hellos. The first thing that I saw was the crystal chandelier. Chandeliers are common here. The dining room also had one over the long table. This one didn't have lights. The next I saw were four people. Two men and two women. Two of them were Janele and Alex. The other two were older. They looked at us with smiles on their faces like they were just talking about something amusing.
"Ren, you remember Janele and Alex." Kai said. Alex, his near twin, and Janele with blonde hair and golden eyes. I nodded. "These are my parents." The woman had auburn hair and caramel eyes. She was also rather slim and fit. The man was broad, but nowhere near Alex and Kai, Kai being the biggest. His silver eyes looked full of wisdom, matching some of the facial wrinkles that made him look serious. He had laugh lines that threw me through a loop. The woman gasped, coming around the large, black marble island counter with open arms. Kai released my hand just as she wrapped her arms around me like a grandmother seeing her grandkids for the first time in months. My body went rigid, not prepared for this experience.
"We've waited so long to meet you!" She pulled away but kept her hands on my arms. She smelled like fruit. "How are you? I heard you're having a rough time. I'm so sorry. How can I help? Would you like some food? You're awfully skinny."
"Mom." Kai spoke before she could say something else. She looked from him and back to me.
"Goodness me! I'm sorry. I get so excited." She released me. "My name is Amy and this is my husband, Sterling. Welcome to the family!" She was very excitable and it was almost intimidating. Sterling had walked over while Amy was hugging me, his face now serious as he examined me. I wanted to shrink away from his gaze, but I stayed still as he came even closer. Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"Stop it, Ster! You're scaring the poor girl!" Amy hit Sterling with her hand playfully. Sterling immediately smiled, flinching from another raised hand. She hadn't been wrong, though. My heartbeat nearly skyrocketed when he looked at me with judging eyes.
"Apologies." Sterling chuckled, offering me a hand. Hesitantly, I took it. I saw where Kai got his deep voice and proper way of talking. "I thought it would be funny if I pretended to be big and scary."
"Dad, she's with Kai and he is big and scary. Why would you scare her?" Alex rolled his eyes.
"Look, I may not be as big as the two of you, but I can still be scary." Sterling looked at his youngest son. They began arguing and Janele and Amy shook their heads. A phone rang next to me.
"Mom, Janele, will you show Ren the garden?" Kai asked, pulling his phone out. "I'll be right back." They nodded and Kai walked away, talking on his phone.
"Come on." Amy smiled. I followed them to the garden. It was large and full of colorful flowers. There were butterflies everywhere and birds were singing. We lived surrounded by woods so I expected there to be a fair bit of wildlife that came through here. A large part of the garden was also fruits and vegetables. For some reason, it made me happy to see this place flourishing. When we left the garden, we came to a pool. I stared at the water, remembering the wedding night.
"So… Ren…. We would like to know…." Amy said behind me. I turned away from the pool. "Why did you run?" I paused. I knew that, eventually, someone would ask the question.
"For that, I'd have to tell you my past. What happened to me." I replied. They looked at each other and then to me.
"You don't have to tell us everything if you don't want to." Janele stated. I studied their eyes for a long moment.
"I was abused. My body was covered in bruises at the wedding, but I covered myself with makeup." I started. "I ran away because I was afraid that Kai would be like the people who hurt me." They both looked surprised and like they pitied me. I didn't want their pity, though. I was free of that abuse. I fought to make a life for myself.
"I understand." Amy finally said.
"You could've given him a chance." Janele seemed unhappy with my answer. "You would've seen that he is a good guy."
"I didn't want to take the risk." I replied. "Running away was the best thing I could've done. It allowed me time to start healing without being in a relationship."
"It wasn't the best thing. Kai was in so much pain. He howled nearly every night for a year." Janele crossed her arms. Why? Why was he in so much pain when we barely shared a bond? "From what I understand, you don't take a wolf bond seriously."
"Janele." Amy touched her daughter's arm.
"No. You seem nice and all, but I don't want you hurting my brother again because you don't take things seriously." She pointed a finger at me. I could see the anger building in her face.
"I do take it seriously." I told her calmly. "But I never got the chance to learn how special the bond is. I felt it that night. A pull. Like we were both magnets. It wasn't strong, but I felt it." I shifted, slightly uncomfortable.
"It never went away and when I saw him again…. I still question why I even left. The pull was so strong that it hurt." They both watched me. "I may not act like a normal wolf, but I am learning and I do love Kai. More than even I understand."
"Okay…." Janele seemed to relax. "I apologize. I can be… protective." Janele and Amy's eyes flicked behind me. When I turned to look, I saw Kai approaching us and rolling his sleeves up. I do love him. Did he know that? He has done so much for me already and I never really thanked him.
"I'm back. Did you enjoy the garden?" He looked from Amy to Janele to me. "Am I interrupting something?" There was a moment of silence.
"We'll talk to you both later." Amy smiled, walking away with Janele.
"What were you talking about?" Kai smirked slightly. I studied his face, my eyes glossing over his features. A feeling swelled in my chest.
"I love you." I said. I stared up at him, feeling the sincerity. He paused, seeming to not know what to do.
"Why are you telling me now?"
"Because… I realize that I've never said it. You've done so much for me and I just… wanted to tell you." I shrugged slightly. He watched me with his eyes of night and day. Awkwardness began to seep into me, heat entering my face. "H-how about we go do something?" I rubbed the back of my neck, looking away.