The Gift chronicles novel Chapter 1

Book 1 Chapter 15

Abruptly, Alpha Cain stopped walking. I looked away from his chest, and at my surroundings. I gasped, utterly awestruck. Though a thick, lush forest was behind us, ahead of us lay a perfectly green grassed clearing that stopped at a cliff that was overlooking a brilliantly blue lake. Thanks to my werewolf vision, I could see that there were fish in the lake, and even birds were swimming on the surface of the lake, sometimes pecking at the fish in the water. The scene was the epitome of purity and peace. I was expecting us to just plop down randomly on the dirt somewhere in the forest for the picnic, not this.

"Do you like it?" He asked, his voice the only sound that could be heard in the silent clearing besides the water rushing beneath us. I nodded, smiling at him genuinely for the first time since I was kidnapped and taken to his godforsaken pack. I have never really been much of a nature person, but even I could appreciate this scenery.

"I've wanted to take you here since I met you. You'll like it so much more once you hear the history behind it." I looked at him in question, his face beaming in pride of his land. "I'll tell you after we eat. You haven't eaten all day, and you're still much too thin." I rolled my eyes. He would not be successful in trying to fatten me up, try as he might.

He laid me on the ground, still wrapped up in the fur. He then unwrapped me, spreading the pelt completely out. I was shocked by how large it was, the bear he killed for it must have been huge. I sat up, still on the fur, and watched Alpha Cain as he took off the backpack and began unpacking the items from it. He pulled out a few apples, bags of meat, a roll of crackers, and an assortment of blocks of cheese. Finally, he pulled out a knife.

I tried to make it seem like I wasn't overly concerned with the knife, even though I know my heart quickened in excitement over the weapon. I could use that to escape. I couldn't summon weapons due to the current state of my hands, and it was beginning to get annoying. I didn't rewrap them this morning after my shower, seeing as how it didn't seem to be helping the healing process. They didn't sting as bad as they did initially, but they were still red and severely blistered. Each time I tried to summon a weapon, I failed, and the blisters burned. I wondered how long it would take to heal, but I couldn't think of a way to bring it up naturally and ask without making Alpha Cain suspicious.

I reached for an apple, and Alpha Cain gently grabbed my wrist and shook his head. My confusion heightened when I saw him reach for the knife, and in a fleeting thought, I wondered if he would kill me. However, he just grabbed the knife, and cut out a slice of the apple. He offered the slice of apple to me, and when I reached for it, I was shocked when he yanked it away, out of my reach. I pouted, and he chuckled. In one quick movement, he pulled me on to his lap. I didn't protest so he would let his guard down.

He then put the slice of apple near my mouth, and I opened and took a bite of it. He plopped the rest of the slice in his mouth and we both chewed on the fruit while looking out at the lake. He repeated the process of slicing a piece out of the apple, feeding me one half, and then taking the rest for himself, until the apple was gone.

He didn't talk, for which I was grateful. I much preferred him being silent. He then reached for the bag that had lunch meat in it, and held it up in question. I smiled and nodded. He set the knife down next to him. It was so close.

He ripped the slice of meat into a quarter piece, and fed it to me, and then ate the other 3/4ths of the slice. He did that a few more times, then reached for a block of cheese and held it up in question. I nodded, and my heart quickened in excitement when I saw him reach for the knife again. He grabbed a napkin, and was about to wipe off the juice residue from the apple he cut with the napkin when I grabbed his wrist, stopping him. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion due to my action. I held my palm out, and looked at the knife, and then back at him.

He looked at me suspiciously, wondering what tricks I could be up to. Its not like I could just straight up stab him, especially when his guard was up from distrust. I pouted at him, moving my palm closer to the hilt of the blade.

"I already know I'm going to regret this," Alpha Cain grumbled, but begrudgingly obliged my request and placed the hilt of the knife in my palm gently.

I firmly gripped it, ignoring the pain it sent through my hand from my blisters. I innocently looked up at the Blood Alpha, knife in hand. He tensed, waiting for me to stab him. While I appreciate that he anticipates me being violent, its not what I had in mind.