The Hunted { old version }

Clearing the Air

The room was dark but my eyes could make out the fact that it was clearly some sort of study. Mikhail hit the light switch illuminating the room in light. I looked around the room having been expecting it to be full of all sorts of things but in truth it was a simple office looking room. The only thing in the room the seemed to stand out was the picture hanging on the wall of a man that looked to be a mirror image of Mikhail, the only difference being the eyes. 

“I had been expecting more…” I say moving in towards the center of the room, “When I was told not to come in here for any reason, I thought it was where you kept all your secrets or it was an execution room…” I look over my shoulder to Mikhail with a tiny smile. He nodded his head and made his way towards me, “What an imagination you have—“ He says coldly, “I’m sorry to have disappointed you…” I know he’s mocking me but I let it slide because I’m just happy it isn’t an execution room. 

“Why did you bring me in here?” I ask wanting to get right to the point. His steely blue eyes look over me from head to toe and then he moves away from me toward the side of the room covered with books, “I thought this is was the best way for us to sort our—differences”  He says in a causal manner as if he didn’t care much about it. I watch him as he pick one of the dusty books from the shelf and opens it, “Do you think that I am treating you unfairly Elena?” His question throws me off and I stand then a little lost. He looks up from the book to me clearly waiting for my response. 

“I—uh, I’m not really sure how to answer that question.” I stumble over my words. He tilts his head to the side a bit, examining me some more before looking back down at the book in his hand. “Let me ask that question in another way, do you think I should let you go?” Was he really asking me if I wanted to be set free? Duh! Yes I would love to not be held prisoner by a man hell bent on killing me. 

“Are you saying to I want to be set free? Because if so then yes, of course I do. Who wouldn’t want that?” I ask him. He smirks and closes the book in his hand, “I didn’t ask if you wanted to be set free. I asked did you think that I should set you free?” He looks to me and in that moment while he looks young his eyes are looking at me like he has centuries of knowledge. I look away from him furrowing my brow, “I don’t really see the difference—“ 

“Of course you don’t.” He says and I look back to him feeling like he’s trying to insult me by calling me stupid or something. He put the book back on the shelf, “Let me try a simpler question for you.” I frown at him as he looks to me, “Do you think people are safe around you?” I don’t know how to answer that question because it isn’t very simple for me to say yes or no but I want to believe for the most part they are. 

“Yes…” I say but still unsure. He must have sensed my uncertainty, “Really? Then if that is so why were you concerned for your friend earlier? Why did you push her away from you if you were trying to protect her from me?” 

My frown deepens, “It’s just that—“ He doesn’t let me finish, “It’s just that you were afraid you would hurt her?” I stare at him unblinking and I can feel the calmness I had entered the room with is dissipating, “What’s the point of this? Are you just trying to make me angry?” I question in frustration. He shakes his head at me, “No, not at all. I’m only trying to sort out our differences by trying to clear up the misunderstanding that’s laying between us.” 

“And what misunderstanding is that? The fact that you think I’m a monster when I’m not?” I throw out at him. He doesn’t seem phased at all by my anger and that surprises me because only a few minutes ago he had wanted to rip my head off. He walks back towards me, “And you’re saying that you don’t think I’m a monster? I know what the other wolves think about us enforcers, we’re merely rogues with collars on.” 

His statement surprises me and I don’t know how to respond. I only stand and watch as he comes close enough for me to touch him, “Now, do you think it’s safe for people to be around you?” He asks again, “Honestly—“ 

I stare up into his eyes and I feel their pull on my soul, they make me feel like there is nothing I can hide from him even if I tried. He already knows my answer to his question but I reply anyway, “No—“ It feel like it’s the first time I ever admitted out loud what I thought. His eyes seem to soften as he looks down at me, “Do you think I should set you free Elena?” Now I understand what he was doing. He was trying to make me see that by keeping me prisoner he believe he was doing the right thing for me and for everyone else. I guess if I think about it now, it’s not like I wasn’t holding myself prisoner in my own life before him. Sasha had been right that night about the fact that I never did anything, never had fun, never really lived. 

I look away from him and lower my head, “No—“ It was better for the world if I was locked up and kept in a cage. I felt a warm hand on gently rub the top of my head, “I don’t want to cause you pain Elena. You’re my mate and even though I may not be happy about it—I don’t want you to suffer.” His hand falls away from me and I look up at him my eyes wide at his admission. He gave me a sad smile before he turned his back to me, “But my duty demands that I follow the laws of our society regardless. So now do you understand why I must keep you here?” 

“Because it’s not safe for me to be with others and because it’s your job as an enforcer to protect others from people like me…” I say in a quiet voice, “So now what? Do you keep me here forever? Or should you just kill me now and get it all over with?”  

He turns around quickly looking a little shocked, “I could never kill you Elena—“ 

“But you want too, right?” I ask him. His brow furrows, “I—Well, I—“ He tries to find the words but before he can say whatever it is he’s trying so hard to say there is a loud knock on the door. 

“Mikhail! The Elders called.” Dante’s voice rings out from the other side. Mikhail looks irritated, “What do they want?” 

“There’s been another killing, they want us to respond immediately and contain the situation.” He replies. Mikhail looks like he wants to punch something, so much for that calm demeanor. “Get everyone ready we leave in ten.” He yells back, “Damn it…” He mutters under his breath as he runs his hand through his hair. I sigh, “So I guess that means I’ll be here until you get back at least…” He looks down at me as if he’d forgotten I was there for a moment. 

“I don’t trust you enough to leave you here alone, especially with that other woman…” I know he’s referring to Sasha, “You’ll probably both escape and then I’ll have an even bigger mess to deal with. No, you will be coming with us.” He says simply. 

“You’re kidding right?” I can’t even fathom his thinking. He looks down at me with a straight face, “Did I sound like I was kidding?” 

“No way! There is no way I am going anywhere else with you and especially not where people are getting killed.” I turn away from him and make my way towards the exit, “You must be crazy, thinking that I’ll—“ I don’t get to finish my words as the room begin to fade and my legs grow weak. I feel the pressure of fingers against the soft spot of my neck, “You—I’m going to kill you when I wake up—“ I say as my vision completely fades into to darkness. I hear a faint chuckle, “I’d like to see you try…” Then I’m gone,  a drift in a sea of black.