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I sulked in the bath for a long time, well past the time the water cooled, in an effort to keep the desire in my traitorous body at bay. Eventually, I couldn’t stand the chill any longer, and I climbed out. Still shivering, I wrapped myself in the fluffy white towel and picked up the comb that was waiting beside it. I sat down on the edge of the tub and tamed my thick, tangled mane as best as I could, wanting to delay my exit as much as possible. He’d left the door open, and when I finally summoned the nerve to enter the main room again, he wasn’t there. I didn’t know whether I felt relieved or sad that he was gone, but I tried not to give it too much thought.
I chewed the inside of my cheek, uncertain of what to do. After a few moments, I decided finding clothes that would fit me was of utmost importance. The cabin wasn’t especially large, so it wouldn’t take that long to search out.
I started in the most obvious places, like the armoire and the handmade dresser. It was mostly full of men’s clothing that were all far too big for me. I even searched the kitchen cabinets, but by the time my search ended, I’d turned up emptyhanded.
Out of desperation, I pulled one of his cotton shirts over my head, but it was so big it hung off my shoulders and went down to my knees. Relieved to be covered at least, I ventured towards the front door. I listened closely for signs of his presence, but I didn’t hear anything, so I decided to open it. I stepped out onto a front porch.
I had suspected that we might be in a house up in the trees, but actually seeing it right in front of my eyes was something else entirely.
We were way up in the treetops, maybe three stories high by Earth standards. The ground looked ridiculously far down below, and I hesitantly pressed my fingertips against the railing. It was a heady sensation to look at the ground, and I stepped away, choosing instead to look out all around me at the wildlife in the treetops instead.
There weren’t just colorful birds, squirrels, and vibrantly scarlet monkeys, but there was a whole village strung up here. Rope bridges connected several different cabins. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to approach one of them, but I was too uneasy about the height to take a step onto it.
I would leave that exploration for another day.
Maybe when I did, I would find the way out. At first glance, I didn’t see any ladders down, so I guessed that maybe there was a spiraling staircase down inside one of the massive tree trunks. I couldn’t be certain, though. Roken could have a ladder and have hidden it from me so that I couldn’t escape.
I looked up into the sky, trying to guess what time it was. The sun looked like it was on its downward trek, and my stomach growled, reminding me that I’d only eaten a late breakfast. Venturing back inside, I sampled much of the various dried fruits and meats until I had eaten my fill.
Roken didn’t return that night.
I waited up for him for a long while until my eyes were too heavy to keep open and my yawns hurt my jaw. I climbed back under the furs and curled up underneath them with his scent all around me.
* * *
I woke the next morning to see that Roken had come back sometime during the night. I smiled in his direction, but he didn’t return the gesture. He looked away, like he was avoiding eye contact with me, and I licked my lips, feeling a bit deflated. I searched his face, trying to read his expression for any clue regarding what he might be thinking, but he gave me nothing. Instead, he just gestured towards the table, where there was a steaming plate of food and a large box beside it.
“Your clothing was damaged during the fight, so I went searching for something for you to wear,” he said, his tone emotionless.
The blanket slipped off my shoulder as I shifted in the bed, revealing what I assumed was his shirt on my body. His gaze ventured across my bare legs like I was a decadent dessert for the briefest of seconds, but then he turned away as soon as a flash of heat flitted across his face.
“It is my duty to protect you. I will take residence in the cabin next door. If you need anything, you can simply cross the rope bridge to get to me,” he explained, keeping his response taciturn and just as icy as before.
What had happened? Was it something I said?
“Why not stay here with me?” I pressed, furrowing my brow in confusion. I didn’t understand his sudden coldness, but his expression remained rigid, like he had decided something and he was going to stick by it. What was he thinking? Why the sudden change?
“It is not safe for you if I remain close to you,” he replied curtly.
Annoyance surged through me, and I tried to swallow it back. Why keep me here if he was going to be like this? This man had taken my virginity, and now he was treating me like nothing more than a possession, or even a burden.
“Then let me go,” I demanded. I didn’t need him to look after me if he didn’t want to be around me.
“No. You will remain here with me.”
“Why?”
“It is dangerous for you to wander these forests. There are worse things than werewolves hunting out in the dark. I forbid it. You will remain here in Vedanta with me where I can protect you,” he explained.
I scowled, annoyed both by his coldness and his iron will.
“I will not trap you in this cabin. You are free to wander the village.”
“Does anyone else live here?” I asked, sulking.
“No. It was abandoned a long time ago,” he answered sadly.
“Because of the dangers in the forest?”
