Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
He looked out into the night, knowing there would come a time soon when Poppy was going to know the truth.
At the sound of her moving, he turned his head just before she came into view.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hi.” He didn’t move from his spot near the window, giving her space. He sensed her nerves.
“You’re still awake.”
He didn’t say anything, just looked at how beautiful she was.
The fawn looked up at Poppy, but then deemed her not to be a threat and went back to sleep. It wouldn’t be long before he’d be able to release her back out into the wild. He’d gladly have a whole pet sanctuary for every injured animal he found. But he’d learned long ago the forest was their sanctuary. It was the humans ruining it for them all. He tried to keep the forest safe. However, some humans were relentless.
She gave him a gentle smile and stepped closer. “I miss you.”
“Poppy, you need tonight to clear your head.”
She rushed forward and grabbed his hands. “I don’t need tonight. I don’t ... I was foolish to think the worst of you, but please don’t ... sleep out here alone. I can’t stand it.”
He looked down at her hands. So small compared to his own. She was human and vulnerable and she didn’t know the truth.
“I had no right to be angry,” he said.
“Yes, you had every right. I was foolish and you didn’t give me permission to go looking in that room, and for that, I am sorry.” She sighed. “I shouldn’t have gone into that room, and I shouldn’t have ran off, and that is my fault. That is not your fault.”
Wilder hated this, because he could use this to his advantage. Use her guilt to make her forget all about it and just live with what he said. But it wasn’t right. She deserved to know the truth. Poppy was his mate. She wasn’t just some random human.
He reached out and tilted her head back so he could look into her eyes. She’d noticed that his eyes were the same as his bear’s. His bear’s temper was the same as his. There were a lot of things he and his bear shared.
It was how he was able to control himself for so long.
“Poppy, there’s something I need to tell you...” He stopped because he never thought for a million years that this was how he would tell his mate he was a bear. He never thought he would be this nervous.
And then he heard it—the unmistakable sound of twigs snapping way too close to his home.
Chapter Thirteen
“Someone’s here,” he said.
Poppy didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary.
“How do you know?”
He was already ushering her down the hall, his sense of urgency palpable.
“Wilder. What’s happening?”
They stopped in front of the forbidden room. He held both her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “I don’t have time now. I need you to stay in the room. It’s the safest place in the house, completely reinforced.”
“In there?”
“Please, Poppy. Just trust me on this.”
She wasn’t going to argue with him, even though the thought of hanging out in that nightmare room was the last thing she wanted to do. He opened the door and rushed her inside before sealing the heavy door shut. She didn’t even have time to kiss him or say goodbye. By the time she turned, the door was closed and he was gone. At least there were lights because the windows were boarded up with metal. She wrinkled her nose at the smell.
Had the poachers crossed onto his property? Was it the bear? She was desperate to know what was going on out there. She chose the cleanest spot on the floor without blood or fur and sat down, hugging her knees.
It was hard to hear anything from inside the reinforced room. Not even muffled sounds.
Poppy wasn’t sure how much time passed, but she guessed about an hour had gone by when she stood up to stretch her legs. How long was she expected to wait? What if Wilder needed her help? What if something happened to him? Her imagination was on overdrive again.
She began to pace, looking around at things she hadn’t noticed last time. There were marks along the doorframe, like those used to measure a child’s height each year. She wondered what they were. Near the door, there was an antique timer of some sort with a red push button. She’d never seen anything like it, and she imagined Wilder built it from old parts like he did with a lot of things around the house.
The red button was a temptation. She ran her fingertips over the top of it, trying to figure out what it could be for. The room was old, so it probably didn’t do anything. And she was bored. And curious by nature. Poppy figured what’s the worst that could happen and pushed the button.