Word Count: 1637

~Luella

Thought and I now sit together on a couch, facing each other.

My anxiety has lessened, although I'm still wary. I've accepted to some degree that I'm trapped here until Thought relents, and by the sound of what he has been describing to me for the past half hour, I'm not jumping to leave yet. In fact, leaving this dream-state seems terrifying. As alluring as all Thought's power may outwardly seem, I know that I would never be able to handle it.

"I know how miserable my powers make me," Thought tells me, gazing absently off at the window behind me. There's nothing beyond that window but a swirling cloud of darkness. It's a harsh reminder that beyond this pleasant room full to the brim with books, nothing exists. "I would never want to inflict that on you."

"So how long are we staying here?" I say, loosening a deep breath. The haze of the dream has seemed to lift, as my consciousness adjusts to the state around me.

Please don't say forever. Not again.

"Until you trust me. Until I find out how to protect you," he offers. An unswallowable lump in my throat forms, making my mouth dry. Trusting him, seems like the biggest issue right now. Do I trust him? No, of course I don't. Not after everything he's kept from me all these years, that he never should have been involved in. And with Della too...

But thinking I can avoid him is like avoiding fate. And not the immortal. I'm stuck here, so I might as well make the best of it and hope we can find a way to rid of this curse, or at least avoid it. I just can't let myself get close to him, or let this mate bond grow any more than it already is beginning to.

"How do we entertain ourselves here?" I ask him. If we are stuck in this small, although cosy room, then it's going to be near impossible to avoid him.

"I can bring you anything you like here. Any room, environment or even family member," he offers. He's hinting at Della, no doubt, but I'm not having that. Not after the way he manipulated her to get close to me. I make a mental reminder to ask him if they ever did anything together...I know she said they didn't, but that could just be him hiding his tracks.

No, me assuming these things will not help my case.

I shift uncomfortably on the couch, the arm chair jabbing into my back. I would rather that pain than to move forward and be any closer to him. Already, from here, I can feel the buzz between us and the scent he emits consistently. "Is it really that easy for you?"

"The conscious mind is very impressionable," he replies. I hate when he reminds me of how easy it would be for him to manipulate me to do as he pleases.

"So, you can make me do bad things to..." I echo my thoughts, drawing off before I blush. I feel terrible having these thoughts about him, when he has done nothing to suggest he would ever put me through that. "You know what I mean?"

His eyes flash. "Bad things to me?"

"I want a cabin, at the top of a really high mountain in the snow," I say suddenly. Changing the subject might not be the best way to avoid the conversation entirely, but it's the best way for me to pretend like it never happened. Standing up, I face away from him, hoping he doesn't catch a sight of the blush on my cheeks.

I can hear Thought stand from behind me. "Close your eyes."

Obliging him, I wait until I hear his confirmation to open them again. No difference seems to occur around me, at least in terms of atmosphere. That is, until warmth hits my bare skin and the sound of a fire crackling behind me has my eyes fluttering open immediately. I'm stunned, as everything around me has completely changed, as if I've been transported elsewhere, even if this is just a simulation.

"Wow. You sure I can't have your powers?" I comment, as I look around at the complete change in situation. He's listened to my request, and taken me to a quaint cabin, even with a fireplace which blazes so realistically I can feel the heat.

"It's not as amazing as it seems. Scares a lot of people off," Thought admits.

"I'm not scared. I could stay here forever," I admit, wandering around the main area, looking out the window at the view. He really convinced me with this one. The snow packed around tall pine trees shadowing the slope which the cabin leans near are all realistic enough to have me wanting to go outside in the snow in nothing more than this shirt. "I mean, who would want to leave this fire, these blankets and that view outside. Until you realise that none of it actually exists."

"Well it's as good as real," Thought tells me. I'm not about to question him. "I can manipulate your mind to do whatever I please, and you wouldn't know the difference. You would still consider that real, right?"

"I get it, you're powerful," I say over my shoulder, my face practically pressed against the window. "So, you're not disappointed you're mated to someone as average as me?"

Thought frowns. "First of all, you're the most extraordinary person I've ever met."

"You don't have to lie on behalf of my feelings."

"I'm not. You're special to me. Always have been," he tells me. The way his tone mellows has me realising this is no longer a joke. "I'm blessed to have a mate. A lot of immortals don't get that honour."

"Not going to lie, I was kind of expecting an average man with an average lifestyle, where we would inevitably die together and that would be that," I say motioning around me. "not this."

Thought tilts his head. "What's 'this', exactly?"

Looking around me, I try make sense of what he has created. It's beautiful here, in this cabin alone. He's created a snowy wonderland and a cabin for us to reside in. It's all dressed up like a typical winters cabin, from the rugs on the floor and the blankets on the sofa. I can only dream about what the bedrooms are like, if they even exist right now.

"You. Powerful, way more attractive to me, light years older," I mutter, wondering if I can open this window and collect a falling snowflake. I've never actually seen the snow like this before. "And not to mention all the curse stuff."

"I'll ignore the whole light years comment," Thought says, taking a few cautious steps toward me, as if he is apprehensive about being close me. I'm glad he is. It means I don't have to pretend that his proximity is making me feel some kind of way. "And the curse...well, the Moon must hate me because he gave me that curse and no one else. Not Time, not Death..."

"I'm basically doomed to live this curse then?"

"Unfortunately. We just can't have anyone finding out about it," he murmurs.

So that's it, I suppose. A secret him and will share forever, most likely even stronger than our bond. That is, until I realise, as I stare at those concerned silver eyes and solemn expression, that someone has already taken interest in me that can't be without reason.

"I think someone may already have..." I say uneasily. Thought's dark eyebrows raise in surprise. "Fate. I got into a car accident and he brought me back to his home and healed me. Then he told me that you and I should really kick it up a notch and be together."

Thought looks as though he is going to reach for me. "Did he threaten you?"

"He implied it," I comment, remembering his words. He has a way of making you feel comfortable while simultaneously threatening you entirely family and everyone you have ever cared about. "I don't know how he knows, but I figure it has something to do with the fact that he is Fate."

Thought settles back onto the sofa. I wonder for a fleeting moment whether I should join him or not. "Fate won't hurt you, but he will terrorise you to know end. He's never been too well versed in the killing side of his work. More like the manipulation."

"I don't know which sounds worse."

"I'll keep you safe. Once you're in my estate, no one should be able to touch you," he tells me assuredly. "I have magic that will ensure no one who I don't want to enter will be able to."

"I don't know how I feel about that," I admit. Do I really want to be locked up in Thought's estate? Who knows what would happen...surely, we would get closer as mates, which no doubt is exactly what he wants. But do I really have any other choice? Risk actually having feelings for him, or keep myself safe?

Thought looks at me, his eyes burning into my soul. "You can trust me. No one else is going to keep you safe like I can."

I loosen a breath, whirling around. "I'm sick of the snow. What about a walk in the park?"

"Anything for you," I hear him breathe, before I close my eyes.

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