Moana
I woke up after a night of dreamless sleep to the sound of someone rushing around the room. When I cracked open my eyes, I saw Edrick pacing back and forth. He had a pile of shirts in his hand, and I watched in a state of shock as he walked over to a suitcase and quickly shoved the shirts inside.
"What are you doing?" I asked, sitting up.
Edrick didn't even look up at me. "We have to go," was all he said.
My eyes widened. "Go where?"
"We're going back to the mountain estate for real this time."
As Edrick spoke, I felt my heart sink. My limbs still felt too heavy from the sleeping meds to move quickly, and as I threw the covers off and swung my limp legs over the edge of the bed, it felt as though I was moving through a thick mud.
"Why?" I asked. "You didn't mention that we would be leaving before. Was it because of last night?"
Edrick didn't answer. I watched with wide eyes as he stuffed more clothes into his suitcase. "Come help me zip this up?" he asked. I nodded slowly and walked over, then pushed down onto the top of the suitcase so he could zip it up.
"Edrick," I continued, "please tell me what's going on. Is it because of last night? I'll be okay, I promise. We don't need to leave—"
The Alpha billionaire just shook his head and scurried over to the bathroom, where he began tossing toiletries into a bag. "It's not that," he said. "It's for your own safety. And that's all I'm going to say. Go get dressed; we'll get breakfast on the road."
I felt my heart sink even further. "But, Edrick—"
Suddenly, Edrick spun around and glared intensely at me.
His gaze wasn't mean, but it was stern and his eyes were still glowing silver, as though he was on edge.
"Just do it, Moana," he demanded. "Selina already packed your bags. Just get dressed so we can leave. Please."
The desperation in Edrick's voice unsettled me. I felt as though I wasn't even allowed to argue with him, and it was unfair. But even if I told him how unfair I found it to be, it didn't seem to matter anyway. Edrick clearly had made up his mind, and there was no way to get around it this time; whatever went through his head last night after I went to sleep seemed to solidify something. Or maybe something else happened... I couldn't be sure.
"He's not angry with you," my wolf said as I painfully made my way to my bedroom. "He's just worried."
"I know. It still hurts."
I opened my bedroom door and, just as Edrick said, Selina had already packed my things. Only a single outfit was left out for me on the bed, and a few toiletries so I could get ready for the day. Other than that, my other necessities were all packed up. Everything except my valuables and sentimental items were packed away, like Selina was rushing to get just what I needed into my bags. In Ella's room next door, I could hear the sound of Ella whining while Selina responded in hushed tones.
"But why?" Ella cried. I walked over to see her tugging on Selina's skirt with tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't wanna leave! I wanna go to school!"
"I know," Selina replied, sounding quite defeated herself. "But we have to. It won't be forever."
Ella pouted. Selina yanked her skirt away so she could continue to pack Ella's bags and Ella, in a childish fit, plopped down on the ground and wailed loudly. Sighing, I rushed into the room and past the exhausted-looking Selina and crouched down to Ella's level.
"They're making me leave!" Ella wailed, sobbing loudly. "I don't wanna leave!"
As I looked at Ella, I felt my heart break just a little bit more; especially because I knew that this was my fault. "Here, love," I said. I grabbed her stuffed duck off of the dresser and put it in her hands, and that seemed to calm her down a bit. "We'll be together, okay?"
Ella nodded tearfully. I held back my own tears as I wiped hers away, and then led her to my room with me and let her sit on my bed while I got dressed, so that Selina could pack up her things in peace.
Clearly, Ella and I were both in the same boat of being forced to leave with no say in the matter. But I, unlike Ella, had a pretty good reason why. It certainly had something to do with my dream and my sleepwalking episode from the night before, but I knew that I wouldn't get any specifics out of Edrick.
And for that, I was a bit bitter toward him.
The drive to the mountain estate was spent mostly in silence, with only Ella speaking up on occasion to whine about how she wanted to go home or how she needed to go potty. Edrick just drove with his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, and I could only clench my jaw and stare out the window.
The last time we went to the mountain estate, it was for a lovely vacation. That time, the mountain air felt fresh, the view was beautiful, and the trees calmed me. However, this time it just felt like we were ascending into a prison made of stone.
When we arrived, Ella sprinted inside with one of the maids on her heels to keep an eye on her. Edrick immediately started unpacking the car, and I circled around to the trunk to help him.
"Go inside," he demanded.
I was taken aback. "Why?" I asked. "We're here now, away from the rest of the world. Why imprison me inside, too?"
Edrick didn't answer. I grimaced and reached for a bag, but he pushed my hand away and shot me a stern glare.
"Moana... Just... Go inside."
I felt my eyes widen. I opened my mouth to protest, but no words would come out beneath the weight of his glare. With a hmph, I spun on my heel and stormed off.
If Edrick wanted me to stay inside when we were already separated from the rest of society, and he still wouldn't tell me why exactly all of this was happening, then he would get his wish. Only now, I wouldn't just stay inside; I would stay in my room, imprisoning myself even further.
Even Kat couldn't keep up with me. I ran inside and bolted up the stairs, taking two at a time as I ignored her calls in the background for me to slow down.
When I arrived at my room from the last time that we were here, I stepped inside and slammed the door behind me before I locked it.
I plopped myself down into the chair by my window, and shut out the rest of the noise in the house as I let my own anger take over.
Maybe Edrick just saw me as a danger to myself and to our baby after my sleepwalking episode.
And if that was the case, and if he would refuse to just talk to me about it and at least keep me in the loop, then I couldn't possibly be a danger to anyone if I was just locked in my room like a prisoner.