Word Count: 1803

~Hunter

The air is cold around me as I stalk as quickly toward the edge of the forest as fast I can.

My legs and back collectively protest with each step, but I fight on. This is the first time I've left the manor since I got here a few weeks ago, and it feels great.

Even if each step makes me feel like I'm about to collapse.

Once I make it to the perimeter wall, I scale along it to find a side gate that staff use. Tay mentioned in passing that the lock is rusty and no one has bothered to replace it.

I knock it loose and pass through with little issue.

I pick my way carefully through the forest, trying to focus with the low lighting. The nearest village isn't too far from here, apparently, and I want to find out where Kaan is going, and what he's doing in the middle of the night.

"Following me?"

I nearly scream, whirling around. Kaan emerges from behind a tree, smirking knowingly at me.

Letting out a deep breath, I try calm my thundering heart. When did he figure out I was following him? I thought there was a decent gap between us.

"How did you know?" I ask, my breathing harsh.

He folds his arms, shrugging. "Got the feeling."

He's obviously planning on seeing someone. His dark clothing nearly has him melting into the shadows, although his deep green eyes glow brightly.

"I needed to get out," I tell him. At least I'm not lying. I just don't want to add 'so when I saw you I used it as an excuse to leave and tried to follow you.'

His stare devours me. "I'm surprised you could even walk."

"It wasn't hard," I lie.

I can feel pain whispering to me. It's begging for attention, but I refuse to grant it. If I do, I'll sit down on the forest floor and I won't get back up again.

"Hurry up then." He starts walking away, not giving me another look.

I could either turn around now, except my failure and crawl back into bed. Or I could go with Kaan and see what he gets up to when he leaves the house.

"Where are we going?" I ask, limping slightly as I try to keep up with his long strides.

"Shh."

I roll my eyes. I can't stand this man. I'm glad he isn't my Alpha.

We walk silently for a while, making our way along a well-worn path that I'm assuming was caused by Kaan. I stare at his strong back, and those arms I wish weren't covered by a jacket.

I hope he's not taking me to seduce women. That's the last thing I want to see.

By the time we make it to village I'm hobbling, pain lancing up and down my back. Everything aches and I'm desperately needing to sit down, so when an old bar comes into view, and Kaan leads me toward it, I don't complain.

He holds the door open for me. "Come inside. Don't talk to anyone."

I wasn't planning on it. I don't need anyone recognising me and filling Kaan in on my secret.

The smell of alcohol hits me first, and then the sound of uncomfortably sultry music. The exterior of the bar suggests this is some filthy place where people get wildly drunk and pass out on tables. Surprisingly, the place is decently populated, clean and relatively modern looking.

Many gazes shift to us as we walk in, and then move away again.

Kaan must come here often. He's the Alpha, and I can see the flicker of recognition in everyone's eyes, but they move on like it is nothing.

No wonder he likes it here so much.

Kaan is right behind me as we pass around the bar. His proximity sends chills over my skin, and he isn't backing off.

A man suddenly slides off his stool, cutting us off.

"Kaan, good to see you," he greets, smirking up at him. I try to shuffle away uncomfortably, but Kaan rests a hand on my shoulder, gripping it tightly.

"You too, James."

James's cold, dark eyes shift over me. "And you brought a friend?"

"You don't need to know her name," Kaan says before I can even open my mouth.

"And why not?" James smirk doesn't slip. His curiosity has officially been peaked, but I don't want to hang around and have him dig into who I am.

Kaan presses on my back, forcing me forward, ignoring his friend.

James steps in front of me, sweeping a hand through his slightly greasy hair. That look on his face makes my stomach churn uneasily.

"Why are you such a well-kept secret?" He murmurs.

With his hand wrapped around my arm, Kaan keeps me moving past James. He gestures to the end of the bar, which is mercifully vacant.

As I slide into my seat, I look back at Kaan, only to see him standing over a cowering James.

"Don't speak to her," he warns darkly.

"My bad," James concedes.

I smother a smile, smoothing my hands over the polished bar. Kaan is only telling to him to stay away because he doesn't want anyone digging into what happened to me, but it feels nice to be stuck up for.

And the less I speak in a place like this, the better.

"Let's get you a drink." Kaan slides into the seat next to me, nodding at the bartender.

Moments later there's a awfully large glass of something amber coloured in front of me.

"You don't need to defend me," I mumble.

"I don't think you would stand much of a chance against anyone in here, considering your state," he notes, nodding down to my legs as he drains half of his glass in one drink.

I stare down at my legs, which pulse with pain. Maybe I should drink the liquid. Mother forbade me from even looking at alcohol, and it was never in our house, which meant I never had a chance to taste it.

No, I don't need to get drunk in front of Kaan. I'll say something I can't take back.

"Why do you come here? This place is terrible." I've changed my mind. This place isn't nice. It's filled with freaks like James who want to know too much about people they don't know.

"Anywhere my family is not is a good place to be," he says over the rim of his glass.

I look behind him, noting two girls in the corner of the room. They giggle between themselves, pointing at Kaan.

I sigh. Please don't tell me they are going to come over.

I wouldn't blame them. Kaan still looks handsome, even in his tortured, haunted state. His dark hair hangs down over his forehead, brushing against his lashes as he stares into his drink.

There's a lot going on in his head. If I liked him, even a little bit, I might ask him to divulge his secrets.

"Your sister said something funny to me today," I muse.

He frowns, as if his sister is incapable of saying anything interesting. "Really? What?"

"She's trying to get me to sleep with you." I laugh under my breath. What a ridiculous notion.

Kaan's eyes flare with surprise. "Seriously?"

"I can't tell whether she thinks I need to loosen up a bit, or whether she is worried you'll get caught sneaking women to your room," I mutter, shaking my head.

I can feel the weight of his gaze on my skin. "I haven't done that in a long time, Hunter."

"It's nothing to do with me," I remind him.

He can fuck whoever he wants. I'm only going to be here for another week or so, and once I'm gone, anything to do with Kaan and his messed up family has nothing to do with me.

"Apparently it is, since you and I should sleep together." There's a dark humour in his voice. He's enjoying this.

He's not attracted to me. Why would he be? He's only ever seen me stuck in bed or a suffering, exhausted mess during training.

"It's your meddling sister, not mine," I note, sliding my glass to him.

He drains mine too, as if each swallow is ridding him of all his burdens.

"I've never known her to care for such things. I didn't even know she knew what sex was. Point being, I am going to have to talk to her about this," he says, shaking his head in disbelief.

I raise my brows. I didn't know Kaan was such a protective older brother.

"No, don't. She wants her and I to be friends, I shouldn't ruin that."

He frowns. "You're leaving soon."

"I know..." You tell Tay that.

It dawns on me as the night draws on that this is the most civil conversation we have ever had. I by no means like him, at all, but for a while we just sit while he drinks, talking about his duties as Alpha.

Never once does he ask me about my past. He knows I wouldn't tell him.

As exhaustion pulls at me, Kaan turns his attention to me again.

"So if we are going to sleep together, we should probably get to it," he mentions.

I glare at him. He's definitely had too much alcohol. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes are dark and he hasn't taken his eyes off me once. And now, he's flirting with me.

"Oh please, I just said Tay mentioned it, not that it is ever going to happen," I remind him darkly. As if I'm crawling into his bed, as attractive as he is. I have other goals.

He gives me a slow, lazy smile. "Look, I would be happy to oblige you."

"Please don't. I can't stand you," I remind him. The pain in my back is a constant reminder of why I hate him.

"Hate sex is fun, I think."

I roll my eyes. "You're disgusting, truly."

"I think I've drunk too much," he mutters, pushing his glass away from him.

I nod, pressing my legs together. We aren't going to sleep together, but the insinuation has caused a deep heat to settle in the pit of my stomach.

"Come on, let's go," I breathe, standing again. I need to concentrate on something else.

Kaan nods, rubbing his face. When he stands, he stumbles a little. Oh yeah, he's drunk.

And now I'm going to have to get him home.

❤️••❤️

If you want to support my writing, you can always read 10 chapters ahead on Radish or GoodNovel (:

My latest novel, the Cold Prince, is out now on Wattpad! I hope you'll check it out (:

~Midika 💜🐼