Apprehended: Thirty
Okay, I'm realllllllly sorry about the mix-up in the previous chapter. That was my mistake. I was editing the document and forgot to remove that last bit that I didn't want. I didn't like where the chapter was originally headed, and I honestly didn't even realize that I accidentally left that last paragraph. My apologies. Let's just pretend that it doesn't exist, yes? And once again, thank you for your patience. I know that the time in-between chapters are long, but I'm trying. I'm not giving up on Annie and Ethan yet! Thank you for sticking with me. I appreciate you.
Annie.
Was there any place on the planet that monsters didn't exist? Was every dark crevice secretly concealing a dark, unknown entity? Had the bounds of nature and logical reasoning vanished?
It seemed like it did.
Like life had altered course, obscuring the lines of verity and transforming the certainty of science into something untouchable and impenetrable. Something layered under so much illusion, one would be portrayed as delusional or deranged to even consider the complexities of my life as definitive and concrete.
My world was different, no longer harboring the simplicities of common human worries. Everyday mundane tasks no longer held the same meaning. Going out for a cup of coffee now housed the dangers of the unfamiliar. Supermarket runs were brimming with the possibilities of the macabre, the ghoulish and the lurid. No shadow was risked. No empty space rendered arcane without thorough inspection.
I felt like a caged bird, attended and well groomed, but trapped, nonetheless.
I had time. Too much time: time to think, time to fabricate, time to dream, time to question, time to read and write. Time to watch every movie in that goddamned movie theater three times over.
And I was losing my mind. I'd had enough.
I had every intention of going out. Come hell or high fucking water, I was going to get out of the blasted mansion. I was going to demand it from Ethan, no matter what excuses he offered against it. I was desperate at this point. Though I wasn't a prisoner, I felt like one.
That
was unacceptable. I was
not
a caged bird. I was
not
an object to be housed as a shiny, expensive glass admiration, only to be viewed and cleaned.
I had my rights.
That's exactly the thought that drove me to Ethan's study, which was filled with clan members, speaking about God only knew what. Probably the rogue coven. Again, I was desperate. What was the point of cleaving to yet another issue that didn't concern me? Ethan was on it. As usual. My word-though it meant at least
something
- was
not
law. Only the Alpha's word was law. So, technically, my available insight could be overlooked.
For just this once, I didn't want to be bothered by the problems of the clan. I wanted a regular, normal, boring day outside. I wanted to aimlessly window shop. I wanted to randomly gasp and point at something insanely expensive, secretly wishing it were mine even though Ethan was rich to buy me whatever my heart desired. I wanted lunch, ordering from a menu and waiting on a waiter who gave Ethan a flirtatious stare, and glared at me because they were jealous that he was mine. I didn't give a shit that I knew he was way out of my league. I just wanted normal...well...partially normal. A new form of normal, no matter how fucked up it truly was.
My secret confession poured out of my mouth like a shout and my voice reverberated along the high walls of his study, effectively silencing the clan during what seemed like a very important meeting.
"I want to go out!"
All eyes of every shape and odd color fell upon me, reminding me that my deranged explosion was received by everyone including the intended person-Ethan. It made me momentarily falter and stumble a bit as the clan parted and made way for me to pass. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, but I swallowed my shame and rolled with it, too fed up with imprisonment to let a few wandering eyes stop me.
"Will you excuse us?" Ethan told the clan, his eyes focused only on me.
I stopped a foot away from his massive desk and folded my arms across my chest, waiting until the doors closed and we were blessedly alone.
"Hello to you too, my love," he said, his golden eyes gleaming with a hint of suppressed mirth.
There was nothing funny about this. "I want to go out," I repeated. It was less of a shout...more of a reasonable statement.
He grinned fully, leaning back casually in his large, looming chair. "Is that so?"
I wanted to roll my eyes. My outburst was obviously amusing to him. It was irritating. "Yeah. That's so," I replied dryly.
Either he ignored my sarcasm, or he didn't hear it laced in my reply. He continued smiling as if we were talking about the fucking weather and pointed a long finger behind his head. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"
I glanced outside, catching sight of the moon just beyond the heavy drapes of the floor to ceiling windows. I didn't realize that it was nighttime. I was too keyed up, itching for the outside to be bothered by something as useless as time when I had so much of it at my disposal. "And?"
His grin faded and he pegged me with a glare. "I don't need to remind you of what comes out at night, Luna. You're not that naïve."
I nearly screamed. Another excuse. Another reason not to leave. I wasn't allowing it. "You'd be with me."
"That doesn't change the fact that-"
"I'm not staying in this house another fucking night, Ethan!" I interjected. So much for losing my hysteria. I sounded frantic. Oh, well. It was too late to hide the need. I already exposed the desperation I had.
He sighed warily. "Annie...I'll take you out in the morning."
"No," I said, stomping my foot on the plush rug. "You're always tired in the morning because you're awake all night."
"My nights are filled with patrol. You know that."
"And mine are caged," I shot back.
"Caged? What the hell? You're not my prisoner, sweetheart. You never were."
"Then take me out. You're off rotation tonight. You're free."
He shook his head slowly, his hair-which was much longer-fell across his face and obscured his eye in soft, thickness. For one brief second, I thought about running my fingers through it. It was absolutely beautiful. He was letting it grow out. Apparently, he enjoyed that I adored it, and let it grow for me. But now was certainly
not
the time to be distracted by his magnificence. Not when I wanted to leave so badly.
"I'm still on call for those who are," he said, sucking me out of my reverie. "You know that too." He ran a hand through his hair to push it away from his face. "With the rogue coven, we've been on high alert. I can't just-"
"Gavin is here," I interrupted again. "He'll cover it while you're gone."
"That's a risk I'm not willing-"
"He's Beta," I reminded him.
He glowered. "Stop interrupting me, Luna." He waited a beat, ensuring that I was quiet before he continued. "As I was saying, that's a risk I'm not willing to take. Not when things are this dicey."
