Chapter 13 #4
Stifled by his sharp command, she stared at him in shock. He cared about her, but would never put her before his brothers.
“I’m such an idiot,” she whispered, pushing herself off the floor.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you.” She tugged on her sweater. “Do me a favor, next time you want to fuck me, just do it. Leave out all the emotional bullshit, because it’s giving me a migraine.”
“I’ve been nothing but upfront with you, Zayka.”
“And stop calling me that. I’m not a little fucking bunny or whatever the hell that means.”
“Rabbit.”
“Whatever.” She snatched the ribbon that had fallen out of her hair and tied back her curls. “I’m not some skittish little animal who runs and hides and I’m not some helpless princess waiting to be rescued.”
“I never said you were.”
“Yes, you did.” She crossed the library and yanked open the door.
“Do you always get hysterical after sex?” he yelled.
“Go to hell.” She stepped into the hall and let the door slam, but when she abruptly turned, she crashed head-on into Stone’s granite chest.
“Well, well, well.” He steadied her. “Where are you running off to?” Bending closer, he stiffened her neck. “Smelling like sex.”
She swatted him away. “Get away from me.”
“Doesn’t work that way.” He crowded her towards the wall. “Ash has been hogging you.”
Her pulse leapt when he tugged playfully at a long curl.
“Cracked you open like an egg,” he continued, his gaze tracing attentively down to the toe of her suede boot. “He’s good like that. Knows how to get the difficult ones to open up.”
Ones? “He’s not as smooth as he thinks.”
Stone laughed and glanced back at the library door. “Lover’s quarrel?”
“Something like that.”
He moved closer, barely touching her but caging her in with his body all the same. “Part of you is enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Lying little thief. I think—”
“Stone.” Marigold’s spine stiffened at the unexpected lash of Hunter’s voice.
Stone scowled back at his intrusive brother, who appeared at the end of the hall, but quickly returned his focus to her. “I’m busy.”
Hunter didn’t seem to care. “Meet me in the berloga. Bring Ash.” He walked away, and Stone sighed.
“We’ll finish this later.”
Once again, she questioned if Hunter was some sort of alpha or leader to them. Why did he have such command over them?
Stone backed away and thumped his fist on the library door twice. “Hunter wants us in the berloga.”
Ash opened the door, appearing surprised to find her standing there with Stone. He met her stare but said nothing as he exited the library and moved in the direction Hunter headed. Stone followed. Once again, abandoning her and leaving her utterly alone.
This time, she planned to make good use of their absence and use her unchaperoned time wisely. She rushed into the library, searching the shelves until she found the book she spotted earlier.
It was a small, cloth-bound English/Russian dictionary, worn from use but stiff from sitting. The spine creaked as she forced it open to the B’s. Turning the thin pages quickly, she searched down the double columns with her finger for the word berloga.
“Berloga, berloga—Ah.” She frowned as she read the definition. “Bear den.” She glanced back to the door and frowned. “Bear den?”
Since they had already convicted her of being a thief, she decided to borrow the book a little longer.
Exiting the library, she quietly headed in the same direction the men had gone.
Her boots clicked on every tile, and the high ceilings had the acoustics of an amphitheater announcing her every step.
She paused in the open foyer and stared at the front door. She could leave. Now would be the time, while they were off in their little bear club doing God knows what. She took a cautious step toward the door and hesitated.
For once, it wasn’t snowing and the sun was shining over a flawless bed of white, the distant trees encased in ice. Time froze. She’d have several hours of daylight to figure out somewhere else to hide.
Would they chase her? Catch her? Punish her?
Of course they would.
She’d given them everything they needed to go after Jordan. The next step would be to force him out of hiding, which might lead him here, back to them, back to her. If Jordan discovered where she was, he’d send her back to Whitmore—or worse.
She backed away from the door. The truth was, Jordan scared her more than three terrifying men. She was at their mercy, but also—she admitted—under their protection. And that awareness made her alliance clear. She was no longer on the Calder side. She was now working with them.
The realization stunned her. Was she actually choosing this? Choosing to stay here with them?
She glanced down at the book in her hand. Why would she care to learn Russian if she didn’t intend to survive this place? On some subconscious level, her mind was already made up. She wasn’t going back, and if this was her chance to run, there was a reason she wasn’t taking it.
Consciousness of her choice caused a subtle shift inside of her.
She’d been playing this game all wrong. Used to living in survival mode, ricocheting off every command like prey driven by hunters.
No matter which way she turned, another predator awaited.
They liked the hunt, but she was tired of living on the run.
Her fear gave them power over her. The more she cowered and let them intimidate her, the more they would take control of her life. And she didn’t escape one prison to enter another.
Marigold straightened her shoulders. She needed to start paying better attention, being more aware. She was a part of this, whether she liked it or not. And she would not allow her life to turn into one long line of consequences.
Like black ice underfoot, every step she’d made toward stability had sent her sliding toward the subsequent collision. But she was learning. Her awareness was sharper. She might not have total autonomy here, but she wasn’t powerless.
In that moment of stark realization, she decided to reclaim some of the power she had lost. This might be their territory, but she was the catalyst. They needed her as much as she needed their protection.
Marigold pressed her palm against the cold window, watching her breath fog the glass. What if, instead of fleeing back to whatever banal life awaited her beyond the frozen forest, she’d claimed her place at their table?
She wouldn’t just hide here. She’d choose here. A home.
No, not a home. A fortress. A berloga of her own, where three apex predators stood between her and anyone who’d dare hunt her. If they trusted her, Jordan could send a hundred men and they’d never get past the front door.
Here, wrapped in fur and stone and masculine possession, she was untouchable. Not because she was weak, but because she was theirs.
The world beyond these walls wanted to silence her, cage her, break her.
But inside this frozen sanctuary, she could be both precious and powerful.
Protected and desired. They’d kill for any woman they believed was theirs.
Fiercely protective, she saw how deep their loyalty went for their siblings.
It went beyond any loyalty her own brother ever showed for her.
That was how family should behave. Family protected all members, not just the precious male heirs. The second they turned on her, abandoned her to that horrible facility, they ceased being her family. And now, she needed to claim a new one.
Why would anyone hold onto a false sense of loyalty for a family that wanted to destroy them?
These men offered protection, and they would honor their word.
She’d seen the conviction in Ash’s eyes, felt it in Stone’s calculating gaze, tasted the resolute promise in the fear provoked by Hunter’s barely contained rage.
Three guardians who’d tear the world apart before letting anyone touch what they claimed.
The Russian textbook weighed heavily in her hands. Not a burden, but a key. She didn’t have to be their captive. She could become their treasure.
She stared out the window, letting her warm breath fog over the frost locked outside.
Not restrained, but protected. They were her shield.
Like the ice-wrapped birches bending beneath their crystalline armor, frozen in a shell of glass, she was safe here, protected from the brutal wind and those who aimed to harm her.
This place, this unpredictable, harsh place, hid moments of hope. Preserved. Waiting beneath the surface for the right moment to bloom.
It was the first time in months that she gave herself permission to exhale. She didn’t have to figure out the next ten moves until she was ready. They offered her sanctuary, a place where she could heal. This was her moment to decide exactly who she wanted to be.
Not a thief. Not a liar. And not a skittish little rabbit. She was Marigold Calder. Her status might have fallen from that of an heiress to a woman on the run, but she made it far enough that she could stop fleeing and start strategizing.
She delivered the book to the room she’d last slept in, claiming the space as her own. Apparently, she wasn’t alone.
When she entered, the bed was made and there were more fresh flowers in a vase on the nightstand. Where did they find flowers in a blizzard?
That wasn’t all that changed. The drawers were now filled with clothes. Sweaters, jeans, and even silk lingerie.
She lifted a lace garter belt and laughed to herself. “Aren’t they presumptuous?”
The question was, which one did this? Was it a group effort or the doing of one brother? Her money was on Ash. It was time to get some answers.
She paused at the door, only to backtrack to the closet. Flicking on the interior light, she gasped. Rows and rows of designer shoes, all in her size.
There were definitely perks to living with three bearish men. They might act like possessive wild animals, but this was a sign they could be tamed.
Encouraged by their show of acceptance and gesture of good will, she grinned. She’d learn their language, their rules, their games. They wanted to possess her? Fine. But possession ran both ways.
Three dangerous men who thought they’d caught themselves a frightened little rabbit. They had no idea how far she’d go to get the life she deserved. She was done running. Done being prey.
She would mark them as surely as they planned to mark her. Stone with his icy control, Ash with his deceptive gentleness, and even Hunter, with his brutal need, she’d figure them out in time. Solve them like a riddle, until they were as dependent on her as they expected her to be on them.
As she walked down the hall, her mind went to Hunter. He was going to be her biggest challenge. He was too rough. Stone was too cold. And Ash wanted to be just right, but he could be just as aggressive and possessive as the rest of them.
Regardless, they were all hers.
No more cowering. She wasn’t going to wait for them to decide her next move. She was going right into the den.