Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,23

one too many last night. So, he’d paid her a visit. Something clenched in my chest. But the human wasn’t crying, and she seemed to be fine. There were a few bruises on her arms and legs, and probably on her ribs and back, too. I swallowed hard and told myself I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t think about it at all. I walked to her and placed the plate and bottle of water next to her on the mattress.

“Eat.”

“Thank you.”

She grabbed the plate and dug in, eating with her hands. I’d intentionally omitted to bring a spoon or a fork, thinking it was better to not give her ideas that she might succeed in hurting me with them. I wasn’t in the mood for a fight that she couldn’t win and would only end up in my giving her more bruises. She gobbled everything down as fast as she could, as if she were afraid that I might take the plate from her at any minute. At the end, she licked her fingers, and I couldn’t help but smile. In fact, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The way the tip of her tongue peeked from between her lips when she licked them, the way her eyes watched me curiously… She was studying me, I figured. She was trying to determine if I was still mad at her. Well, I was. But I’d had a good couple of hours of sleep, and rest had helped clear my head.

“Good?”

“Mhm.” She set the empty plate aside and drank half of the water. “Best I’ve had in ages.”

I cleared my throat. “I’m glad to hear. It took me about half an hour to put it together. No big deal.”

“You cooked for me?”

I furrowed my brows. Shit. I shouldn’t have told her that. Choosing to ignore her, I took the plate, stood up, and made to leave. She could keep the bottle since it was plastic, but no way in hell was I going to leave porcelain into her cell. I hadn’t discussed this with Jax and Reid, but we had to make sure she wouldn’t do anything to harm herself. The situation she was in was… dire, to say the least. She seemed strong despite her diminutive physique, but one could never know. People had taken their own lives for less.

“Wait! Please, wait!”

“What?” I turned on my heels just as I was about to leave the cell.

“Stay with me for a while. I’m… lonely.”

I froze. Was she being honest? Was she truly lonely, or was this a game I didn’t understand yet? I hesitated for a minute, then thought… what the hell? It wasn’t like I was in a hurry. It wasn’t like anything exciting was waiting for me outside these caves. The pack needed time and space to get over Chase’s death, and Jax and Reid were nowhere around today. My guess was that they couldn’t stand the grief and pressure of the pack looking up to them, and they’d both shifted and gone for a run in the woods. So, I placed the plate outside the cell, locked the door, and went to sit opposite Isabel.

“I didn’t think you’d want my company,” I murmured. What was I doing? Looking for her approval? This was insane. Maybe I should’ve gone for a run, too.

“You seem nice,” she said. “I mean, all things considered…”

And there it was. In only a few, simple words, she gave me her approval, and my heart started beating faster. “Knock it off, moron. She’s your prisoner, and she’s probably trying to seduce you.” But she looked so sad and innocent… Did I actually think she had the strength to pull something off? To pretend that she liked me? No. She hated my guts. If I’d kept the plate with us, she would’ve probably reached for it, smashed it against the wall, and tried to stab me in the jugular.

“I’m not nice,” I growled. “It’s almost insulting that you think that. Do you want to insult me, Isabel?”

Her eyes widened. “No. It’s just… you’re the only one who doesn’t call me ‘slut’ or ‘bitch’. You call me by my name, and that means a lot to me.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I thought of all the ways I could discourage her, but they all sounded like things Jax or Reid would do or say. The only way out of this incredibly uncomfortable situation was to stand up and leave. I was debating doing just that