Ella's P.O.V.
I watched in a cold sweat as Cain and my grandfather held each other's glare.
Using the moment of distraction to my advantage, I whipped around and, in one fluid motion, yanked my arm from my grandfather's grip and swung the other one to slap him across the face.
He stumbled away in shock and I took several steps backwards until I ran into something hard.
I turned around to see Cain wink at me.
"I was wondering how long we were going to have to stand there until you did that," he said sarcastically.
I shook my hand, which was now stinging from the slap.
Two of Dinesh's men each ran up and grabbed my grandfather.
"We can handle this from here," Dinesh said.
He began to thrash around in their arms. As he did so, my grandfather turned his head to look at one of the men.
"Would you unhand me?" he said angrily.
I raised a hand to cover my mouth.
"Cain," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
He leaned in, a look of concern on his face.
"Look at his neck," I said.
Cain turned his attention to my grandfather and saw what I was unable to look away from.
On his neck were two small, circular puncture wounds.
Bite marks.
How had I not seen them earlier?
Cain marched over to my grandfather and grabbed his jaw roughly with one hand, exposing his neck further.
"Where? Who? And how long ago?" he asked him.
"I'm not answering any of your questions," my grandfather said angrily.
Cain let go of his face and let out a breath.
"You will."
- - -
None of us spoke a word the entire ride back to the underground safe house that Dinesh had us staying in.
I rode with Cain, Dinesh, Daniel and Jai. My grandfather was in the second SUV with Dinesh's men.
My head leaned against the window as I looked out into the night and watched it pass by me.
Cain and Dinesh decided that it would be best if we didn't return to the memorial service, which I felt extremely guilty about. The poor Indian Beta's family must have felt incredibly disrespected with their loved one's funeral turning into a manhunt.
I still couldn't understand why my grandfather was there and how he knew I would be also.
Additionally, the sight of those bite marks on his neck made my skin crawl.
The questions Cain has asked him were spinning around in my head.
How long ago had he been bitten? Was it recent? Had he just been bitten or had he been turned as well? Was that why he wasn't dead?
I rubbed my eyes, trying to relieve some of the pressure that was causing a headache.
As we pulled into the alleyway that dropped into the underground parking area, I sat up straight and sighed.
I was ready to be done living in this nightmare, but I was afraid of falling asleep. I was tired, but I couldn't close my eyes without the vision of my grandfather and the questions I had tormenting me.
Cain got out of the car and opened my car door for me.
I gave him a weak smile as I unbuckled and jumped out as well.
A sharp pain shot through my ankle as I landed on the concrete and I immediately let out a yelp in pain and fell to my knees.
Before I could hit the ground, however, Cain had me lifted back into the air with one hand around my torso.
"I'm fine," I assured him, despite the throbbing I felt in my foot.
Cain did nothing but roll his eyes.
"I'm serious," I told him. "I'm sick and tired of being the damsel in distress. Please just let me walk."
Once again, Cain said nothing. But, he lowered my feet down onto the ground cautiously and allowed me to catch my footing before he let go.
I instantly wished he hadn't let go, I began to mourn the loss of his strong arms around me as soon as he did.
Keeping one hand on my back, Cain helped me stagger and limp around the car.
I gritted my teeth, cursing at the pain in my ankle and foot that wouldn't go away.
My ankle better not be broken, I thought.
"What happened?" Daniel asked, eyeing my foot.
"Nothing," I said. "I'm fine."
At this point, both Jai and Dinesh had turned their attention to me as well.
"I can get a doctor here immediately," Dinesh offered.
I couldn't help the pleading look that crossed my face as I turned to Cain.
I couldn't bear the thought of someone else's focus on me that night. I wanted to disappear.
Cain must have seen the desperation in my eyes because he shook his head.
"It's been a long night," he said. "We can get someone here to look at it in the morning."
Dinesh nodded with slight hesitation, still eyeing my limp foot.
With Cain's help, I followed everyone inside as we escorted ourselves to the elevator.
I looked around and couldn't see my grandfather. Then again, I couldn't remember the SUV that he was in ever pulling into the parking garage behind us.
The sharp ding of the elevator startled me out of my thoughts. The doors opened and Cain and I walked out into the hallway towards our shared suite.
I could have cried at the sight of the bed whenever we walked inside the bedroom. But, as much as I wanted to lay down and never get back up, I needed to shower. I felt disgusting.
"I'm going to shower," I said, pulling myself away from Cain.
"Are you-"
"I'll be fine," I said, cutting him off.
He gave me a wary look as he let go of me and watched me hobble towards the bathroom.
Managing to shower while only standing on one foot proved more difficult than I initially thought. I was able to pull it together and get clean, but not without feeling like a half-dead flamingo by the end of it.
It was amazing to be able to wash my hair and body after being in a hospital bed and on a plane for so long. I felt somewhat renewed as I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off.
I wrapped the towel around myself, bracing for the look I knew I would get as soon as I stepped foot outside the bathroom.
In my drowsy, disorientated state, it never occurred to me to grab something to change into before I went into the bathroom to shower.
I opened the bathroom door and took a deep breath before limping slowly into the bedroom towards my suitcase to get pajamas.
Cain was pacing near the back of the room, holding the open file folder that he was reading in his hand.
He looked up at me as I pulled my suitcase up onto the bed, keeping a firm grip on my towel to make sure I didn't flash him.
"Need some help?" He asked, watching me struggle to unzip the suitcase with one hand.
He began to walk over as I shook my head, despite the fact that I was still very much struggling to get the luggage open.
Cain sighed before reaching over me to unzip the suitcase.
"Thank you," I said as he opened it.
He leaned against the bed, crossing his arms as he watched me dig around for something to put on.
I found a pair of underwear and a top and pants to change into. I turned to go back to the bathroom before grimacing at how far it was from the bed.
I didn't think my foot would make it another fifteen steps.
I looked from the bathroom to Cain.
"Turn around," I told him.
He rolled his eyes before doing as he was told.
I dropped the towel before throwing the t-shirt over my head. I then reached for the panties and carefully slid those on.
Finally, I grabbed the pants.
These, however, presented a problem.
With my ankle not being able to support my body weight, I found it difficult to balance on one foot for a short period of time to put on the pants as I had done with the underwear.
Nonetheless, I tried my hardest.
It wasn't until my foot got caught that I found myself being thrown off balance and I landed hard on my butt.
I let out a huff before taking the pants off completely and slinging them from my spot on the floor.
They flew past Cain, who turned around with a raised eyebrow.
"Having a little trouble?" He asked.
"I'm doing just fine," I said sarcastically.
He looked at me sideways, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"Do you need help getting off the floor? Or are you capable of doing that yourself too?" Cain asked.
I sighed before holding out my hands.
He bent down and pulled me up gently.
As soon as I was on my feet, my ankle gave out again and I found myself falling forward into Cain's chest.
He caught me all too willingly, wrapping his arms around my shoulders in what felt more like an intimate embrace than a supporting catch.
"You really should have had someone look at that foot," he said in a low voice.
I sighed.
"I'm sick of being the center of attention," I admitted.
"And you thought that coming out here in a towel and falling all over me was the best way to go unnoticed?" He asked, pushing a piece of hair from my face.
My cheeks began to burn, partly because of the intense look he gave me.
I began to back away, but Cain had other plans.
His arm wrapped around my waist tighter before he pulled me flush against his chest.
"Don't back away from me," he said.
"I was just backing away before you could," I snapped.
If he was hurt by this passive-aggressive dig, he didn't let on.
"I won't," he whispered, "not this time."
He leaned in to kiss me.
I could barely feel it when his lips touched mine. The touch of his lips was light, almost nonexistent. Nonetheless, it sent sparks dancing across my lips.
I couldn't tell if his gentleness was a sign of apprehension or hesitation, so I made no move to kiss him back.
This day had been horrible enough without it ending on a rejection note.
I opened my eyes to look at him as he pulled away.
We exchanged glances only for a moment before he moved one hand to rest at the nape of my neck and pulled me closer to him with the hand that was still pressed against my lower back.
He bent his head back down, this time his lips pressed against mine with such need and passion it made me weak in both legs.
He bent down, placed his hands underneath my thighs and lifted me up.
My fingers in his hair and my heart in my throat, I was completely consumed by the kiss.
He placed me down to sit on the bed and his hands slid up my back, underneath my shirt.
The fire that erupted across the skin that his fingers skimmed over made me gasp. Cain took the opportunity to slip his tongue between my teeth.
My heart was racing at the taste of his kiss.
I found my own hands falling from his head to grip the back of his shirt, giving it a slight tug.
Cain took the hint and pulled away from the kiss to pull the shirt over his head.
At the sight of his bare chest, I almost didn't notice the way his eyes had grown dark. The veins under his eyes were on full display, spreading out like a road map on his skin.
Cain crawled up onto the bed in front of me, his hands coming to rest on the comforter beside my waist.
His lips landed on mine again and my eyes fluttered shut.
The force of the kiss pushed me back on the bed and I found myself under Cain, my legs wrapping themselves around his torso.
One hand was on his tricep and the other was behind his neck as his lips left mine and trailed down, leaving wet kisses along my jawline.
I gasped as his lips made their way down my neck, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.
His hands were pushing their way up my t-shirt when I felt it: a slight prick against my neck.
Realizing what I felt was his elongated fangs against my skin was all it took for my body to instinctually freeze up.
Cain pulled himself away from me quickly when he realized what had happened.
"Fuck."
He backed off of me, holding a hand against his mouth.
I sat up and brushed my hair from my face, watching him turn to face the wall.
"Cain..."
I nearly jumped out of my skin when he punched the wall.
I cringed hearing the sickening sound of a crack. I jumped off the bed, hobbled over to him and grabbed his hand, thinking he had shattered every bone in it.
Cain stretched out his perfectly straight fingers in my hand and I sighed in relief.
Looking up at the wall, I saw the way he had pounded through the drywall and cracked the stone that was behind it.
I gulped, noticing the damage done to the wall didn't match his woundless knuckles.
When I turned to Cain, he refused to look at me.
I watched as he gathered his t-shirt from the floor and began to walk away.
"Where are you going?" I asked, following after him.
"I'm not staying in here," he said sharply.
"You can't just leave me in here by myself," I said.
He turned to me, allowing me to see his protruding fangs and dark, expanded pupils.
"You'd rather stay in here with me than by yourself?" He asked.
His tone of voice suggested that he assumed the answer to his question was obvious.
"Yes," I said with confidence.
I saw the twitch of confusion on his face as the skin between his eyebrows creased.
"I would rather stay in a new, unfamiliar place with the man who has proven he is capable of protecting me than by myself who is an accident-prone klutz whose life is falling apart," I continued.
He gave me a hard look.
"I'm more than capable of protecting you from many things but myself isn't one of them."
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" I asked.
Cain sighed.
"Ella, if I stay in here, something will happen that we will both regret."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Speak for yourself."
Cain said nothing as he turned to leave.
"When was the last time you had sex?" I asked boldly.
He stopped in his tracks hearing this.
When he didn't answer me, I crossed my arms.
"I'm waiting for an answer..."
I saw the muscles in his back tighten as his fist clenched.
A few more moments went by before he spoke.
"Four days before I met you," he said.
"So you have had sex before?" I asked.
Cain turned to look at me.
"Yes, Ella."
"I'm just wondering why on earth you have such a hard time getting to that point with me, despite the fact that you've gotten there with other women," I said, wanting clarification.
I saw a flash of anger in Cain's eyes before he stormed back over to me.
In a move I didn't see coming, he grabbed my hand and placed it over the bulge in his jeans.
With his other hand, he grabbed me by my upper arm and pulled me in close to him.
"The only problem I would have screwing you would be knowing when to stop," he said.
The evidence of his arousal under my left hand proved his words.
"So?" I asked. "Why won't you?"
He hesitated before I saw his face harden.
"Every woman I've had sex with has ended up dead at the end of the ordeal. So if you're okay with the life being drained out of you while I'm inside you, we can make that happen."
I felt my jaw go slack at the idea.
"Go to hell," I said, backing away from him.
Cain let go of me, his hand releasing mine.
"Sweetheart, I'm already there."
- - -