I Was Becoming Delusional

Brynlee’s POV

It’s strange how everything changed within a few minutes. My mother and sister were far from me for good, and I was walking with a stunning stranger! Funny right? I just don’t feel frightened.

I felt warm as he patiently answered my questions while trying to move according to my pace. We were still discussing him when I asked where he lived.

“Forest?”

It came as a shock, and then I was swarmed with confusion. Wasn’t he too handsome and wealthy to live in the forest? Then the only plausible explanation in my head popped out.

“Are you a fugitive?” I asked, looking at him pitifully.

Instead of answering my question immediately as he usually does, he tried to suppress his hidden laughter. Was I wrong? Or maybe his house was located inside the forest? Silly me!

“You are not silly. Don’t worry, we are going to my home,” he said, answering my thought.

That’s weird. I didn’t say it out loud, or did I?

As we ventured further into the forest, I began to feel tired and curious about why he desired me to be his slave.

“Excuse me, mister. You… you bought me from my family, right? Why… why did you buy me? Are you going to beat me up and make me do hard labor? Is that why you…” I asked, my voice a little shaky.

“I will never hurt you, remember? You are not my slave. I bought you because that’s… that’s the way of humans,” he said, cutting me off.

I frowned at his words. What did he mean by that? I really don’t understand this man and his strange logic. First, he told me he lived in the forest and was now referring to something human and their ways. Wasn’t he also human?

“You bought me because that’s the way of humans? Humans buy slaves and…”

“You are not my slave; I bought you as my bride. I bought you for a price, so you are mine! You are my chosen bride,” he said, stopping to face me.

“B-r-i-d-e” I stuttered. Is he saying I am now his wife, and he just married me with the whooping sum of one million dollars? Who fucking does that?

“Yes. You are my bride,” he replied.

“Mister, are you sure you are okay? Are you…” I wanted to ask if he was under any meds, but I swallowed my words. It wouldn’t be good to piss my savior off. What if he changes his mind and takes me back to my family? That’s a no! I would rather live with him in the forest than return to that hellhole.

“Am I what?” He asked, looking at me with a faint smile. For once in my life, my heart skipped five beats at once!

Damn! This man was dangerously handsome. He strides with a confident gait, his chiseled jawline catching the light cut from the trees. His piercing blue eyes seem to see right through you like sapphires set in stone.

His refined masculinity is accentuated by the soft waves of deep chestnut brown hair that frame his high cheekbones. His broad shoulders taper down to a narrow waist, a perfect V-shape that draws your eyes toward him.

He’s tall, towering over most people I have seen, and he moves with the perfect grace that suits his size. His voice is deep and smooth like velvet, sending shivers down one’s spine when he speaks. He epitomizes rugged handsomeness, a man you cannot help but admire.

And this handsome face of the Greek gods just got married to me! Are you kidding me?

“Are you joking? You can’t tell me you just paid money to marry me. I… I am just…” I said, trying to find the right words to describe my pitiful existence.

“I am not joking, and you are my bride,” he spelled out again, bringing me out of my disbelief.

“Do you know me?” I asked, frowning again. This was too good to be true.

“Yes, from a long time ago,” he replied, with his gaze still fixed on mine. How was that possible? How could he have known me for a long time when I had never seen his face?

“When? Do you know my name?” I asked again.

“He chuckled and said, ‘Brynlee, right?’ It was odd to hear him call my name, or perhaps he was inquiring about me from someone else?”

“How did you know my name?”

“You will know very soon,” he answered, still smiling.

I tapped my cheek several times to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. Everything was happening so fast that it was almost as if the world tipped over on its axis and dumped me into an alternate reality.

One moment I was in my poor room, beaten by my mom or rather stepmom, and the next, I was being bought by a stranger. It still doesn’t add up, especially when that stranger just paid a million dollars for me!

“Why did you buy me from my family?” I asked again. I don’t want to sound annoying, but this whole thing was freaking annoying!

“Because I am your soon-to-be husband.”

Not again! Not that word again! As I was about to reply to him, the clouds erupted into a loud cheer, and the trees began to sway to the forced rhythm of the sky. With another resounding clap of thunder, the rain began to pour down.

Subconsciously, I held him tightly, afraid of the anger of the cloud. At the same time, I felt cold too, because it was too windy and freezing.

I was about to look for shelter in this vast forest when the man took off his jacket and put it on me. I felt warm and less scared. I looked at him; he wore a sleeveless shirt that the little raindrops had soaked.

“Aren’t you cold? Do you need us to share?” I asked, feeling pity for him.

“I am not cold and don’t need us to share; It’s yours. You are shivering,” he told me.

“You will get sick. Let’s go somewhere we can be warm,” I said, touching his cheek.

“To get warm, you say? I would have loved it, but are you sure? Although I don’t mind getting laid in the open, I don’t want your first time to be… insignificant,” he said, grinning.

I was confused by his words at first, but then his words dawned on me. Even if I was a virgin, I know what it means to get laid.

“Gosh! You are such a pervert! Who said anything about getting laid?” I rolled my eyes at him.

“You said a place to get warm,” he said, unperturbed.

“So cheesy!” I said, shaking my head.

After a while, he turned around with his back facing me as he squatted a little. I must admit, this man has the broadest chest I have ever come across… I mean back.

“Hop on. We will get home faster. It’s getting late already,” he said.

Oh! Does he want to carry me on his back? I grinned before jumping on him. Damn! He was as sturdy as the back of a horse!

The man ran wildly in one direction with me on his back without breaking a sweat. He was also too fast for a human, and I became more curious.

“You can ask me anything. You don’t have to be afraid of me,” he said, his voice as clear as water. And surprisingly, the ride wasn’t bumpy at all.

“Does that mean others fear him? What was his real identity?” I thought in my mind.

“Ask me, in your mind,” He stated again. This time I was perplexed at how he always gets the question in my head.

“What is your name?” I asked, still in my mind.

“Maverick,” he voiced out.

“Do you have a family or live alone?”

“My family lives with me. I also have servants. Lots of them, so you don’t have to worry about being a slave,” he answered.

“When did you meet me?”

“Long time ago,” he simply said. “Why are those words being repeated? How was that even possible?”

He had stopped running at the time, and we had reached our destination. It’s a dark place full of trees, shadows, and small running animals.

“We arrived, my bride.”

I felt a tingle as he called me his bride, and I blushed. My mind was racing, trying to filter and comprehend everything. It was more difficult because the man was holding my hand.

The moment he stared at me, it was like an inferno when our eyes met. Warmth radiated between our hands, racing up to my arm and spilling through my chest. He drew me towards himself, and my face hit his muscular chest. He wrapped those hands around my body, and I felt him inhaling me.

It has been years since someone hugged me.

“You are so beautiful Inside and out,” he whispered.

I tried to control my emotions so I could think more clearly. My life just changed in an instant, and I needed to know what was going to happen.

“Um…how old are you?” I continued to ask; this time, I spoke out.

“26.”

He was eight years older than me, but he looked younger. Despite his imposing physique, he still had a youthful appearance.

At the time, I noticed one of his hands became paws with sharp nails. Like that of a wolf? I don’t know, but that was damn scary. Although I was taken aback, my heart refused to believe that he would cause me harm.

He opened the door with his paw and let me come in. After I entered the door, I realized it was not nighttime inside! It was daytime which was unbelievable.

“Welcome to my world, my bride,” Maverick said. At this point, I was becoming curious but not frightened, at least not to the extent of thinking that he might harm me.

“What are you?”

“I am the Lycan king.”

What? That’s impossible! There was no way in this world that I was going to believe there was a world of supernatural beings! The tales of lycans and werewolves were merely fictitious stories intended to frighten people from going out at night.

I refuse to believe there was a werewolf or lycan in this world.

“Yes, there is,” Maverick said, spinning my world around.

Great! Now I was becoming delusional!