A Wolf's Oath (20 page)

She looked at him for a moment trying to gauge the
appropriate response. “Yes.” She smiled, reaching over to embrace
him.

Another lie,
Sebastian sighed, easily
returning her embrace.

We have to do what’s best for her,
his wolf counselled.
If that means
lying to her then so be it.

I know that, but it doesn’t make it any more pleasurable to
do.
“I should get back to unpacking.” He
grinned, releasing his grip on her.

“
Is there anything more I can do?”

“
No, just stay there and relax,” he said, walking away from her
and moving into one of the bedrooms.

What the hell is wrong with you!
A
strange voice shouted within her mind startling Erica and causing
her to jump off the sofa in shock. Her eyes immediately began
scanning the room trying to find where the voice was coming from
but she was alone.
I asked you a question,
answer me,
the voice repeated.

You’re hearing things.
Erica laughed
trying to shrug off the strange voice. Moving in to the kitchen she
began to inspect the cupboards and fridge to see what they
contained, they were all empty, not surprising seeing as they had
just moved in.

The voice spoke again demanding that she acknowledge its
presence and Erica stumbled backwards, landing hard against the
stove, she bit her lip to prevent a loud gasp escaping her lips,
which would undoubtedly bring Sebastian running to her. He acted as
though a small bruise was the end of the world and though she found
his concern endearing she didn’t want him to learn of this new
problem.
Amnesia is one thing but insanity
is something I definitely don’t want him finding out about. That
might push even him away.

Erica,
the voice growled,
why are you ignoring me? You know I don’t like
it.

I’m hearing things.

Yes, you’re hearing me and I want you to listen.

I’m crazy aren’t I?

Though the question wasn’t addressed to the wolf, it chose to
answer.
You aren’t crazy. What the hell is
the matter?

I don’t want to hear you. Please go away.

I can’t do that Erica. I’m part of you, there is no me
without you and vice versa.

Listen whoever you are; I’m now going to ignore you. Do you
hear me? I’m going to pretend you don’t exist. I’ve got too much to
worry about without adding possible insanity into the
picture.
Returning to her seat on the sofa,
Erica closed her eyes and began making a hard effort to ignore the
voice within her mind. The voice faded the further away from
consciousness Erica drifted. The trip had been a long one and
emotional though she couldn’t understand why. She couldn’t remember
the people or the home she was leaving behind and she had Sebastian
to help her. Despite these facts she drifted further and further
away glad that the voice had finally quieted before she fell
asleep.

She was jolted awake when she realised that her body was
moving. It took her mind a moment to comprehend that she was being
carried and as she inhaled deeply, Sebastian's calming scent
enveloped her.

“
Sebastian?”

“
You know if you were really that tired, you could have said
something,” he laughed amused. She had made a rather cute picture
when he had found her. Her face had been peaceful and unworried as
she slept, though the position in which she had fallen asleep
didn’t look comfortable so he had decided to move her.

Remembering the reason she had fallen asleep she chose not to
respond to his comment praying that she wouldn’t hear the voice
that heralded her insanity again.

“
It isn’t as though I would have kept you out of the
bedrooms.”

“
Is that where you’re taking me?”

“
Yes, you obviously need to sleep.”

“
But there’s no food in the house, we should go and get
some.”

“
I doubt the store is open now sweetheart, it is a small town
after all, but we can go tomorrow.” He nudged open a bedroom door
with his foot, walking in and laying her down on the bed.
“Goodnight Erica.” He pressed a light kiss against her lips before
turning to leave. He needed to get away from her quickly, even the
fleeting meeting of their lips was stirring desires in him that he
shouldn’t even be considering because of their circumstances. His
wolf wasn’t helping matters, demanding that he return to her and
kiss her in a way that would satisfy both of them before
progressing onto more intense, pleasurable activities.

“
Aren’t you going to sleep Sebastian?”

“
Of course I am.”

“
Then where are you going?” she pressed confused by his
actions.

Yes, where exactly are you going?
The
wolf asked confused by Sebastian's willingness to walk away from
his mate.

Be quiet,
he snapped in response.
“Erica, you can’t remember anything, which means you don’t remember
me. At the moment I’m almost a stranger to you. I couldn’t ask you
to just let me sleep in here with you.”

“
But we’re engaged aren’t we?”

“
Yes, and at the moment you only know that because someone else
told you. I want you to be comfortable around me before we share a
bed. I’m just trying to do what’s best for you.”

“
And what if I said I was comfortable around you.”

Which you are.
The mysterious voice
returned and Erica froze, her mind reeling.

I asked you to leave me alone.

But how can I when that delicious Sebastian is so intent on
leaving. Persuade him to come back.
Persuade him to come back and then touch him, tease him until
he does what’s only natural. Come one Erica, you know you want
to.

Unaware of Erica's inner turmoil, Sebastian continued,
smiling widely at the idea that she was comfortable in his
presence. “Well if you really are comfortable around me then I’d
say that my bedroom is just across the hall and you’re welcome to
join me. The door will always be open for you
sweetheart.”

I can’t now,
Erica groaned
disheartened.
I don’t know what the hell
this voice is or what it wants from Sebastian.
If I really am crazy I don’t need to bring Sebastian into
this, I might try to hurt him.
“You’re
right,” she sighed. “It’s probably better that we don’t spend the
night together just yet. Thank you for being so considerate of me
Sebastian.”

“
How could I do anything different?”

“
I think you might be right though. I should probably sleep by
myself for tonight.”
Or until the voice of
madness leaves me alone.

Which will be never. It’s not as though we can separate
Erica. I’ll be with you forever.

I told you that I’m ignoring you,
she
repeated trying to smile so that Sebastian wouldn’t become aware of
what was going on in her mind.

“
Goodnight sweetheart, I’ll see you in the morning and remember
what I said, my bedroom door is always open for you.”
She looks so beautiful when she’s
confused.
He groaned in dismay because he
knew that realisation would be followed by an action he would
probably regret later. He crossed the small distance that separated
them and bent to press a brief but searing kiss on her lips. His
blood heated spontaneously, quickly pooling between his legs. When
his wolf began to growl in contentment he pulled away, stepping
back and hoping to regain his composure. If possible, she looked
even more kissable now. He groaned but refused to allow his mind to
wander down that path of thought, nothing good would come of
it.

“
Night Sebastian,” she called, as he left the room, closing the
door slightly behind himself.

Please just leave me alone,
she
whispered the voice in her mind, fervently hoping that it wouldn’t
respond.

As was becoming the norm in this newly discovered strange
relationship, the voice answered.
I’ll let
you sleep Erica, but don’t think that this is the end of this
discussion. You and I are going to have a serious talk
soon.

Chapter
Twenty-One

Her body felt as though it were floating, drifting aimlessly
through space. The sensation was odd but not unpleasant and so she
all allowed herself to continue her journey, unsure of the
destination but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She couldn’t
shake the feeling that should she open her eyes something bad would
happen and so she kept them firmly sealed. Temptation however, soon
got the better of her and she cracked open an eyelid. The decision
to do so wasn’t a wise one.

The languid floating that had carried Erica along the unknown
space stopped abruptly and she found herself being dropped
carelessly to what she presumed was the ground. The urge to scream
was strong but the sound refused to leave her lips, she closed her
eyes waiting for the inevitable crash. Her painful collision with
the ground never came; instead she found her body being positioned
into what she presumed was a chair. Her arms, legs and neck were
bound, strapped down to prevent her from freeing herself. She
instinctively began to struggle against the restraints but her
efforts were only rewarded with pain as the flesh on her wrists and
ankles began to burn. Now that her eyes were open she found that
she could see no better than when they had been firmly closed,
surrounded as she was by an impenetrable darkness. Though she
strained to see what was around her, turning her head despite the
burning that it caused, she could see nothing.

“
Are you ready to talk?” A deep voice floated to her ears from
somewhere within the darkness, the sound of the man’s voice made
her body tremble with fear though she couldn’t remember why she
should be so afraid. The voice itself wasn’t particularly
threatening, though the harsh tone in which he had asked the
question had her on edge.

I have no idea what he’s talking about?
she thought, unwilling to answer his question.

Her thoughts were apparently not private in this place as the
man continued speaking as if she had voiced her concerns aloud.
“We’ve been at this for days now, you know what I want. Just give
it to me, otherwise things won’t go well for you.”

“
I honestly have no idea what you’re going on about. If you
just let me out of this thing them maybe we can talk reasonably and
try to come to an understanding.”

“
There can be no understanding between us, I would have thought
that even you would have been able to grasp that. Are you sure that
you’re still not willing to cooperate?”

The man’s voice was now deceptively calm and Erica began to
sweat with fear in response. She couldn’t understand why his gently
delivered question was more frightening to her that his harsh
demand that she give him what he wanted, but it was. Her entire
body began to shake, nervous anticipation thrumming through her
though she was sure that she didn’t want to know what her body was
awaiting. “I’ve told you,” she wheezed, panic constricting her
vocal cords, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, maybe if you
were just a little bit more specific in what you wanted then I
could help you. But I really have no idea what you’re talking
about.”

“
Still unwilling to talk?” the voice mused. “I guess I haven’t
broken you enough then. Don’t worry, I’ll fix that soon
enough.”

Her body began to lean backward into the chair, trying to
escape whatever awaited her. The constraints that prevented her
from simply fleeing meant that she couldn’t escape the faceless
voice. A sharp pain flooded her shoulder, spreading quickly
throughout her body and she screamed in agony. Her ability to do so
having apparently returned, she screamed long and loud.

The sound of her screams penetrated the fog of sleep and
Erica jolted awake, her body covered in a light film of sweat and
her heart pounding wildly within her chest. Her breathing was
erratic as she sought to calm herself. Relishing the simple ability
to move her arms, she cautiously raised a hand to her shoulder,
finding that the light touch didn’t cause any pain.

Just a dream,
she wheezed, trying to
relax.

Though she was now aware that the voice and its cruel actions
were just a figment of her imagination, her body couldn’t seem to
understand this as it trembled wildly despite the fact that she was
safe and protected. The door was ajar and from her position on the
bed, she could see a light shining from the room across the hall.
Throwing the duvet aside, she slipped from the bed and padded
across the corridor into what she presumed was Sebastian's bedroom.
Her guess proved to be correct, now that she was in the room, she
could see Sebastian sprawled across his bed. The duvet lay in a
crumpled heap towards the bottom of the bed, covering his legs,
having apparently been discarded while he slept. His chest was
wonderfully bare and though she could see the well-defined bones of
his hips, it was immediately apparent that he was wearing trousers
of some sort.