Beneath the Watching

10. Mabel

10

MABEL

As the men talked, I walked back to the sofa to sit down and listen. I was hungry, thirsty, tired, and confused. Somehow, I’d gotten myself mixed up in a situation beyond my comprehension and I knew Madison and Al must be freaked out. She now had two friends that’d completely disappeared. Between that, my concern over how I’d get home, and Stefan’s obvious internal battle over some type of feelings he held for me, my thoughts were a mess.

A million questions ran through my mind, including why my kidnapper said one thing and did another while his eyes held me as a lover’s would.

Right now, my main curiosity was Lucian, who’d made himself at home in Stefan’s living room or apartment—or whatever this was. He’d said we were in a castle, and I only had hazy memories of his men bringing me in that night they’d rescued me. I didn’t know where to go or what to do.

Plus, Stefan had said I was in danger.

He was a deeply suspicious man, and I could only guess why he held such an inherent distrust. I found myself not wanting to add to his turmoil and waited until Lucian took his exit. When the door shut behind him, Stefan sat down in a recliner near the end of the sofa, rubbing his temples. After he appeared to have collected himself, I asked, “Can you tell me what’s happening?”

He stared at me, a mix of emotions crossing his face. There was an obvious conflict in his mind as he pressed his fingers to his chin, eyes carefully appraising me. A flicker of frustration curled his lip before he spoke.

“I’ve never done this before,” he said, finally.

I waited but he didn’t continue. “Done what?” I encouraged after several seconds.

His eyes shuttered as he took a deep breath. “Taken a woman for myself like this. Taken anyone. I didn’t intend for this to happen, I didn’t want it to happen, but here we are.”

“Why not send me back, then?” I picked up the magazine I’d been reading earlier and began flicking through the pages. “And didn’t you offer me food? I’m sorry but I am hungry.”

Stefan sighed. “My apologies. There will be plenty of food at the event tonight. I think you’ll very much enjoy it.”

He was avoiding answering me. “Stefan, I need you to stop playing games with me, please. Your little manipulations and word games may work great for you with others but they’re useless with me.”

His eyes widened slightly, and he had the courtesy to look apologetic for about a quarter of a second. He glanced down at his lap before raising his gaze and chuckling lightly. Then, he stood up and crossed the floor, coming to a stop in front of me and tapped my legs open with his calf.

“It's a habit, a useful one. But I will try.” He squatted in front of me, placing his hands on my knees so he was near eye level with me.

My heart thumped in my chest. The draw I felt toward him was both unwarranted and ill-timed, due to the circumstances, but it was there. “I can hear your heart beating for me,” he said reverently.

When I remembered to breathe, I replied, “I’m scared.”

“That’s a natural reaction when one encounters a predator.”

I giggled and he tilted his head. “Only you would laugh.”

“You’re not that scary.”

He smirked. “I’ll try harder, next time.”

Returning his smile, I said, “Please answer my question.”

Stefan stood, adjusting the waistband of his slacks. “As I told you, tonight you’ll remain silent and by my side. I need you to comply with any request I make of you.” He raised his head, capturing my gaze. “No, you will not be returning home. I have reason to believe Julian will make a play for you.”

Well, that took care of Al and Madison’s thing , whatever was going on between the two of them. They were now free to be together.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be in your way,” I said softly. While I’d released my friends’ burden, I’d managed to cause another.

“I want you here.” Stefan stated.

How many times did he say he didn’t? “That’s not what you said before. I don’t want to be a problem or get in the way of your lifestyle or whatever you have going on here. Just send me back, I can take care of myself.”

“I know I said that before. It was a lie. I want you and I will take care of you. You’re not going back, you can’t. I do remember you said you have no idea how you get here, and I have precautions to prevent your exit should you accidently try to leave.”

Dropping the magazine onto the table, I glanced up. “How’s that?”

His eyes followed the glossy book. “Spell work. It works like a net; you won’t get through.”

Briefly, I imagined myself caught in a tangle of yarn like a fish. I shook the image away. “Are you a witch? What is this place? I thought vampires were movie characters.” Earlier, he’d said the blood thirsty creatures would be at the gathering we were going to. Visions of shrouded skeletal figures filled my mind.

“Not a witch, a god. Demon god, to be precise. You’re in the Fourth Realm. Several people your friend James and his cronies are involved with frequent this world. I don’t have the time or the inclination to explain it all to you right now, but I will in time.”

My mouth was parched. “Can I have some water?” Did James and Al know about this place? My blood ran cold. What, exactly, were they all involved in? Subconsciously, I shook my head. They couldn’t know—Madison would’ve told me during one of her monologues.

Stefan stood up and crossed the room, pausing before a door. “Come. You need to get familiar with your home. After tonight, I have to briefly leave you with Benjamin and Jack to take care of some business.”

That would explain the glowing eyes, I realized. For some reason, probably pop culture, I would’ve expected demons to be less appealing. “You’re pretty hot for a demon,” I offered as I got up and went over to him.

“I just told you I’m a demon who trapped you in a strange land and you’re worried about my appearance?” He opened the door and motioned for me to walk through.

We entered a large kitchen, and I noted a hallway and several doors. A large window framed the wall across from us, offering a wide view of a valley with a backdrop of immensely tall mountains. We were deep inside a forest. “I’m not worried. I guess I should be?”

Anxiety over my situation escaped me but anger had begun simmering below the surface. As far as I could tell, Stefan and his buddies had been staking out me and my friends for a while. I still couldn’t identify the exact moment things had begun to change, but it was becoming increasingly obvious something big was under way and I was way behind on the details.

I grabbed Stefan’s wrist, halting his progression toward the refrigerator. “You’re not telling me everything,” I accused him.

He didn’t pull away. “I may have.”

“What would Julian do to me? What does he want with me?” I’d heard Ilya say I could be a substitute for Kiara, whatever that meant, before he’d dismissed the idea. Julian remained a mystery.

“You have magic in you. The music and voice you heard? You have clairaudient magic. You should know this.” He twisted his arm away from me and opened the door, grabbing a bottle of water and handing it to me.

“That never happened until I came here. It's this place doing it to me; that never happened at home,” I retorted.

Stefan closed the door. “I just told you I’m a demon and that you’re in danger, and you’re acting like I told you I made you a sandwich.”

Twisting the cap off the water, I said, “There’s not much I can do about any of that. I’m not sure how to react.” I paused. “A sandwich sounds good.”

“You’re not nearly as quiet here,” he said, ignoring my ill-timed comment.

The cold water felt great on my parched throat as I chugged the contents of the bottle down. “Getting kidnapped will do that.”

He took the empty bottle from me. “You can’t kidnap the willing.”

“I don’t want to be a bother, and I don’t understand why you took me. I know you're attracted to me, and you’ve said some nice things to me, but I’m nobody.” Shame filled my chest, and I glanced down at the floor. I hated putting myself out there like this, giving people things they could use against me or that would come back to bite me.

Every time I’d ever made myself vulnerable, shared how I really felt, it’d been used against me. I’d been mocked, reminded of my place, and expected to shut up. I had always been the unwanted.

Except for Stefan, I argued internally with myself. Sure, he’d played games with me, but he seemed to place value on my words to some degree. He paid attention when I spoke. He looked me in the eye, and he listened.

“You’re not a bother. Do you think I’d go to all this trouble if I didn’t care for you or value you? I’m a busy man but I make time for you, and I will do my best to protect you.”

“But why?”

He stood quietly, a small frown marring his features and I glanced away. He didn’t have an answer for why he cared, just as I didn’t have an answer for why nobody else did, either. I never knew what I did to garner such a reaction from those around me, those who would take on the role of my safekeeping. I’d always done my best to be as cooperative and easy as possible. I’d smile at the right times, use impeccable manners, clean up after myself, only speak when spoken to but for all that effort, it’d never been enough.

The answer was, I was inherently flawed. I’d been born like this. Where some people entered the world and were immediately adored, I was chosen for instant scorn. It was just the luck of the draw, and I couldn’t change what I’d been born into.

A door at the end of the hall banged open and Jack’s heavy footsteps clomped against the hard wood flooring, dress bag draped over his arms. He came to a stop right before us. “Ma’am,” he said with a slight nod.

I glanced at Stefan. “This is your dress,” he said, lifting the package from his friend’s arms. “Follow me.”

We walked further into his living space, and he led us to a set of double doors after narrating the other rooms as we passed them.

There was a library, a study, an entertainment room, another living room, a sunroom, a guest room, storage, and Jack’s and Benjamin’s quarters. He indicated that I had free rein of all the spaces other than his mens’ with the stipulation that I was not to leave the apartment.

Stefan pushed the doors open and we entered his bedroom. “Wait,” I protested. “Where’s my room? I’m staying in the guest room, right?”

“Of course not.” He continued across the floor, opening a door in the far corner. “En suite,” he stated, showing me around.

I watched as he laid the bag over the comforter on the bed and then I crossed the room to pick up the dress.

The blanket was less a fluffy bed covering and more of a swath of thick, deep black velvet. The walls were layered with textured muted gold paper and a bank of windows to the right of the bed were framed with curtains matching the bed set. The view outside was majestic, providing the perfect view of the scarily tall peaks in the distance. Frozen in place, I remained staring until he gently lifted the package from my arms.