Ensnared

Chapter Seventeen

She had been confined to the sterile room for well over a week, and the same four walls were slowly beginning to drive her mad.

The only form of companionship she had were the daily visits from her sister; whom of which Riona had immediately gone into 'protective big sister' mode after their tearful reunion, and interrogated Coraline for as many details as possible to how she had been treated in her time away.

For the most part, her responses had eased the elder Devlin sister's worst fears.

Coraline recounted to her that she had been fed three meals a day, had access to hot water, and had even made a few new friends while at the boarding school.

"Don't worry, Rio. It really isn't as bad as it seems." Corrie had given her a lopsided grin as she spoke those words the day she woke up in the hospital.

Silently, Riona mulled over the lack of events from her time within the hospital while she waited for her nightly dinner to be delivered.

When she would wake up, a light breakfast would be brought to her, followed by wound care and a dose of antibiotics and painkillers to fight off any infection and to keep her comfortable. Then Corrie would arrive in the afternoons.. then she would be left alone for the night once she had dinner.

It wasn't a terrible routine.. but something felt.. off about it.

The uneasy feeling sat nestled within the pit of her gut, and she had a hunch that it had to do with the fact that the Monster had not made an appearance.

Not once.

And that unsettled her more than she cared to admit.

Had the mutt finally taken the hint?

She found herself narrowing her eyes at the wall, glaring holes through the plaster.

The fact that he had made himself scarce should have pleased her and eased the tension from her bones.

But no.

Tense.

Uneasy.

Angry.

Hurt.

That last one had her furrowing her brows in confusion as she tried to sort through the various emotions that silently clawed at her from the inside.

The same emotions that she had been evaluating for the past few days during her solitude.

He had broken through the wall into her life, uprooted her from her home, forced his mark, and put her in the hospital, not once.. but twice.

He had put her through her own personal hell, but yet.. where was he now to take responsibility for his actions?

Where were his consequences?

The more she thought, the more her anger flared with an undertow of hurt.

Her eyes began to grow moist as her throat constricted, the prominent scar on her collar bone heating uncomfortably under her stress.

Where was he?

Why wasn't he here?

Why..

Why...

Why...?!

She could hardly breathe, her chest rose and fell in quick succession in an attempt to suck air into her burning lungs.

Vaguely, her mind whispered for her to slow her breathing.

In through the nose.. out through the mouth.. but her body would not obey.

The heart monitor she was hooked up to began to mimic her increased and sporadic heart rate as she tried in vain to calm herself.

She was an emotional wreck, and it was all his fault.

That fucking mongrel had done this to her!

Fat, ugly tears joined the party as she sat there panting, her hands fisted in the blanket.

The door to her room slammed open, she vaguely assumed it was the medical staff arriving to medicate her to a calmer state like they had been doing each evening when she was alone and had the time to get herself worked up.

However, as soon as the assumption filtered across her mind she would be proven wrong.

Blurry eyes took in the Monster as he barged in, dropping the bouquet of wildflowers to the floor in his rush to get to her.

It took but a moment for the beastly man to gather her sobbing frame into his arms, one hand firmly placed against her lower back with the other gently stroking her hair.

"Shh.. shh.." the Beta murmured against the side of her head as he gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

He said nothing more, other than cooing with gentle sounds in an attempt to calm her.

The mark she bore began to cool at his close proximity, the whirlwind of chaotic feelings melting from her battered body as she instinctively buried her face into the crook of his neck, accepting the comfort he offered.

She was tired, she was exhausted.

For now, his act of soothing her would be accepted.. she would start the good fight once again the moment she had her strength.

He would never have it easy when it came to her.

She would make sure of it.

-----------------------------------------

Greetings,

No, I have not given up on this story. Things in life happen, bad.. ugly things. I will spare the details on what has transpired these past couple of years, but I am still around.. and I will continue to work on Ensnared, regardless of how long it takes me to get out chapters.

For those of you who still follow me and this story, I thank you. It means a lot to me to have so many people enjoy my writing, and I do apologize for it taking so long to update.

As for those that took it upon themselves to send me ugly messages because I have not updated.. You are more than welcome to leave. Things happen, that's life.

Thank you,

Lottie B.