The Alpha and The Vigilante novel Chapter 25

"I've wanted to take you here since I met you. You'll like it so much more once you hear the history behind it." I looked at him in question, his face beaming in pride of his land. "I'll tell you after we eat. You haven't eaten all day, and you're still much too thin." I rolled my eyes. He would not be successful in trying to fatten me up, try as he might.

He laid me on the ground, still wrapped up in the fur. He then unwrapped me, spreading the pelt completely out. I was shocked by how large it was, the bear he killed for it must have been huge. I sat up, still on the fur, and watched Alpha Cain as he took off the backpack and began unpacking the items from it. He pulled out a few apples, bags of meat, a roll of crackers, and an assortment of blocks of cheese. Finally, he pulled out a knife.

I tried to make it seem like I wasn't overly concerned with the knife, even though I know my heart quickened in excitement over the weapon. I could use that to escape. I couldn't summon weapons due to the current state of my hands, and it was beginning to get annoying. I didn't rewrap them this morning after my shower, seeing as how it didn't seem to be helping the healing process. They didn't sting as bad as they did initially, but they were still red and severely blistered. Each time I tried to summon a weapon, I failed, and the blisters burned. I wondered how long it would take to heal, but I couldn't think of a way to bring it up naturally and ask without making Alpha Cain suspicious.

I reached for an apple, and Alpha Cain gently grabbed my wrist and shook his head. My confusion heightened when I saw him reach for the knife, and in a fleeting thought, I wondered if he would kill me. However, he just grabbed the knife, and cut out a slice of the apple. He offered the slice of apple to me, and when I reached for it, I was shocked when he yanked it away, out of my reach. I pouted, and he chuckled. In one quick movement, he pulled me on to his lap. I didn't protest so he would let his guard down.

He then put the slice of apple near my mouth, and I opened and took a bite of it. He plopped the rest of the slice in his mouth and we both chewed on the fruit while looking out at the lake. He repeated the process of slicing a piece out of the apple, feeding me one half, and then taking the rest for himself, until the apple was gone.

He didn't talk, for which I was grateful. I much preferred him being silent. He then reached for the bag that had lunch meat in it, and held it up in question. I smiled and nodded. He set the knife down next to him. It was so close.

I lift the knife up, and for a minute, time seems to stand still. The tension between us was tangible. It had been building because he hadn't spoken to me in awhile, fed me, and now the person who had attempted to stab him and otherwise maim him was holding an extremely sharp object.

His eyes widened as I lifted the knife up to my face, and opened my mouth. I licked the side of the knife blade slowly with my lip, careful to not nick it by accident. When I was finished cleaning the apple's juices off of the first side, I flipped it and slowly licked the other side from hilt to tip, not breaking eye contact with the Alpha.

Immediately, his eyes turned pitch black as he looked down at me, just as I hoped they would. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest when he unexpectedly growled loudly. He threw me off of his lap and on my back, still on top of the furry pelt, and I dropped the knife next to me. He snarled, struggling to regain control of his wolf. For once, I wanted his wolf to win.