The Witch's Mates

Chapter Seven

I am awakened by someone gently shaking my uninjured shoulder. It takes me a few moments to wake up fully, but when I open my eyes, I see Everett standing next to the bed.

"I brought you some food." Everett gestures to the nightstand where a tray of food is resting.

I sit up and rearrange my pillows into a more comfortable position. I look over to the couch and see Keaton standing from his seat.

"Everett, are you able to stay with her? I have some work to attend to." Keaton asks, not even sparing me a glance.

So, he is still angry with me it seems.

I briefly wonder what work he needs to do. Does he have a job? Do they all have jobs? I guess that would make sense, how else are they going to occupy their time?

"Yeah, of course," Everett replies as he sets the tray of food across my lap on the bed.

Keaton glances at me, but I can't read his expression. He gives me a slight nod and then exits the room. I let out a sigh of frustration and turn to Everett.

"Are you angry with me as well?"

Everett glances at the closed door and then sits down on the edge of the bed, next to me.

"Willow, we're not angry at you. We're just upset by the situation. We're your mates, we want to keep you close, protect you, and eventually be with you. So, the fact that you ran away, even after we told you how dangerous it was..." Everett pauses and shakes his head.

"And then you almost died."

I look down at my lap, at the untouched food on my tray, feeling a mix of emotions. I feel like a shitty person for leaving now. But I had to try, right? I mean I just met these guys and they pretty much kidnapped me, why wouldn't I try to escape?

But they are claiming to be my mates, claiming that they will never hurt me and that all they want is to protect me. And they haven't tried to kill me yet.

I don't know, it's all so confusing. My mind is a jumbled mess and I don't understand anything that I am feeling anymore.

Maybe I should actually talk to them and try to explain my side of things. I have never been very good at talking about my feelings and thoughts though. I didn't have much reason to at the Base.

"Look, Everett. You have to understand my side of this. I have been in danger my entire life, constantly afraid that any day could be my last. And that's because if I run into another supernatural and they find out what I am, then they will kill me. So, trusting four supernaturals that I just met is just stupid. Plus, you guys kidnapped me. Of course, I was going to try to get away."

I look up at him after saying all of this, to see that he is already looking at me. Everett reaches out and takes my hand. His skin is cold, like all vampires, but I don't find it unpleasant or repulsive like I used to.

"Willow, we weren't trying to kidnap you and I am really sorry for how that went down. It just seemed like you didn't have anywhere to go. You were out in the open, unprotected. And then there were vampires headed our way. We just wanted to get you somewhere safe so that we could talk."

Everett's explanation does make sense, but I think that they should have known how bad it would look from my side. I don't know if they thought that I would just fall into their arms but that seems ridiculous to me.

"Okay, well what now?" I ask him.

"We want you to stay here so that we can get to know you, and you can get to know us. I know this may be hard for you to believe, but we all care about you so much already. And we just want you to give us a chance."