In the Middle of a Storm

Scott ran out of the house while taking off his clothes, and as soon as his feet touched the front yard, he had shifted. His four wolf legs now stepped on the wet ground, and he dashed through the pouring rain that accompanied him toward the cabin at the border.

His mind was blank during the journey. He just kept running and running, his human side obediently giving in to the dominance of his wolf side. The wolf had now taken over his entire being, leading him to the girl, like his life was depending on her existence.

Upon reaching the cabin, Scott stopped and returned to his human form. He stood in front of the stairs that led to the front door. His eyes stared blankly at the closed door.

What was he really doing here?

Raindrops drenched his body, hanging on the edges of his eyelashes. Scott roughly wiped his face before ascending the stairs and forcefully swinging the door open.

The first thing he noticed was that the roof wasn’t leaking. However, the air inside was indeed freezing. Scott looked for the light switch and turned it on. Bright orange light illuminated the room, and then his eyes shifted toward the staircase on his left. He could see a faint glow coming from down there, but there was nothing else.

Scott took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Then he walked towards the closet, opened it, grabbed a pair of clothes, and putting them on. He gathered a stack of blankets and carried them down to the basement.

While the cold air on the ground floor was already biting his skin, down here he shivered. The rain had made the already damp basement walls even wetter, and there were some areas where water was seeping in. The hanging lamp in front of the cell swayed gently due to the wind coming through the cracks in the wall.

Scott’s gaze finally fell on his captive. The captive who had driven him to run here in the rain like a madman. Ciara was fast asleep. The blanket that Scott had given her was now piled around her petite waist.

Seeing her almost naked caused a reaction in his body. He clenched his jaw, trying to control his primal side, and then walked into the cell.

Ciara looked up when she heard the squeak of the iron door that Scott opened, then with her raspy voice, she said, “Nova...”

The more time passed, the more Scott grew to despise that name.

“I’m not Nova,” he retorted. He dropped the blankets he had brought near her feet. “Put these on if you don’t want to freeze to death.”

Her face was obscured by her now tangled hair. Even though Scott couldn’t clearly see her expression, he could still feel her sharp gaze on him.

“Nova, why are you keeping me locked up?”

“Stop calling me Nova!” Scott snapped. “I’m not him, dammit!”

Ciara flinched and widened her eyes. Scott thought she would snap back at him, but she didn’t. Instead, she started crying. Her cries were loud and heart-wrenching, and in that instant, Scott felt a pang of regret in his heart.

“Why did you set me free if you only made me end up in a worse place?!!” Ciara yelled amidst her tears. “You should just kill me!”

Scott seethed upon hearing those words. He strode towards her and tilted her chin so that they locked eyes.

“I do want to kill you,” he growled. “But I won’t let you die that easily.”

She returned his gaze with dagger stare, but a hint of vulnerability lingered there, causing the wolf within Scott to whimper.

Scott gripped Ciara’s thigh, preventing her from moving and trapping him once again. And as it always did, making contact with her ignited something within him, and his wolf began to stir.

It urged Scott not just to touch her, but to savor her body.

Scott shivered, feeling the uncontrollable surge of his wolf’s desire. Or was it his own desire?

He quickly pulled away before his wolf took over and did something he despised to her.

Thunder roared several times, and it seemed the rain outside had turned into a storm. The damp prison walls became wetter, and water seeped through the wall behind her.

Ciara scooted back, but the water kept flowing, soaking her body. Scott watched as her petite frame trembled, her teeth chattering.

Scott wasn’t sure this prison would be safe to stay in under these conditions. He had to move her from here, whether he liked it or not, or he would face a bigger problem.

He stood still, observing her, and pondered how to get her out of the prison.

Finally, he decided to remove the embedded chain and wrap it around her body. Afterward, he wrapped her in a blanket. Ciara struggled and tried to attack him, but the chain binding her weakened her strength. Moreover, their body size difference was considerable, so Scott had no trouble wrapping the chain and covering her body.

Once done, Scott hoisted Ciara onto his shoulders.

“Put me down!” she slammed her head against his back, but he didn’t falter. He spun around, and she swung too hard, her head hitting the wall. She groaned in pain, and Scott frowned.

“Sorry,” he said. His voice was so soft that Ciara couldn’t hear it. “If you don’t want to get hurt again, stay silent and obey me.”

“I swear, if I’m free, I will—”

Ciara’s remaining words drowned in the booming thunder. It seemed lightning struck a tree near the cabin. Right after the lightning struck, the lights in the cabin went out. They were in complete darkness.

“Shit,” Scott cursed. Ciara fell silent.

Great. Not only trapped in a cabin in the middle of the woods during a storm, but now they also had to grapple with darkness.

Scott let out a long sigh. He would go up first, taking Ciara to the room and tying her up there.

He climbed the stairs with Ciara on his shoulder. The girl kept struggling, but Scott ignored it. Upon reaching the room, he threw her onto the bed. She rolled over, trying to throw herself off the bed, but Scott catch her.

He caught her and laid her in the middle of the bed, then pressing his body down on hers, pinning her down. He placed both hands beside her head, holding her long hair beneath his palms.

“Can’t you stay calm for a moment?” he nagged. And before Ciara could respond, Scott quickly added, “And stop calling me Nova. My name is Scott, not Nova or whoever you’re thinking of.”

Her plump lips quivered, whether from cold or fear. Although she looked small and shrunken under the layered blanket that Scott wrapped around her body, her bright blue eyes radiated astonishing bravery.

For a moment, Scott sank and lost himself in those eyes.

Ciara moved again, snapping Scott out of it.

Scott blinked, surprised that his vigilance had waned for a moment. He released himself from Ciara and immediately proceeded with his plan.

Due to the heavy storm, he decided to stay in the cabin. After making sure Ciara couldn’t escape, Scott dragged a chair from the main room to near the bed in the bedroom, then sat down there.

“Go to sleep,” he commanded, which Ciara responded to with a sharp gaze.

“I hate you,” she muttered. After that, she turned her face away.

Somehow, her recent behavior almost made him smile. He restrained himself, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes. “Yeah. I hate you, too.”