SWNOVELS Chapter 6
Chapter 6 Blake brought me to his home. At least, I thought it was his home. It was a larger house on the outskirts of the rogue village but the roof was slightly caved in and there was moss and ivy growing all over it. The entire house looked lopsided. I wondered how anyone could live there. “Is this your house?” I asked as he pulled me up the front steps. “Yours too, for now,” he said, his bright eyes narrowing slightly. Something about his “for now” statement rattled around in my head. Was it a threat that meant I wouldn’t be around long? He’d just married me, did he plan to kill me or throw me to the rogues? Maybe he meant we’d be moving soon. I didn’t know what to think at this point. We went inside and I took a quick look around. Most of the furniture was broken in one way or another. Everything had layers of dust and filth on it and I saw some rats in one of the corners. A shiver ran down my spine and I moved closer to blake. “How do you live here?” I whispered. “It might not be what you’re used to, but it is a lot better than being alone in the woods. Besides, a little cleaning and this place will be good as new,” Blake said, casting me a sharp look. “Wait… you want me to c-clean this place up?” I asked, motioning around to the entire house. Being raised by an Alpha and Luna meant that I had people almost always waiting on me. Even in exile, I hadn’t planned on being a submissive maid. Is that the only reason he married me, to have a housekeeper? “For now, I want you to stay here. And when I say ‘here,’ I mean in this house,” Blake said firmly, holding his arms out to the sides. “I’m a prisoner, then?” I tilted my head. He arched an eyebrow and gave me that charming smile, the one that made my stomach flutter. I put my hands over my stomach and looked away. Though we just met, I’d already known what smiling meant to this grumpy moody wolf. “I wouldn’t say that. It isn’t safe out there for you, especially without your wolf. I’ll provide food and protection but I can’t protect you all the time. When I’m gone, you need to stay here, inside,” he insisted, crossing his arms over his broad chest. I hated to admit it but he was right. I was helpless out there without my wolf. I sighed in defeat. “Fine, I’ll stay here. Are you going somewhere?” I asked as he moved to the front door. “Make yourself at home. If you get bored, you could entertain yourself with cleaning,” he said. He winked at me as he walked out the front door. “Wait!” I called after him. He was gone, the door slamming behind him with such force that the whole house trembled. I stood in the entry hall wondering what I was supposed to do with myself. Blake had run off to do who knows what and I was trapped inside his house, alone. A floorboard creaked behind me and I whipped around. I was alone, right? Creak, creak, creak. The sound was followed by shuffling footsteps. Someone appeared at the top of a set of winding stairs. “You’re not Master Blake,” the man said, eyes wide. He was older with graying hair and was dressed in a tattered suit. It had probably been expensive once. Now it was just ragged. “You just missed him. He told me to stay here. I’m Nora,” I said, waving awkwardly. The ser vant looked me over, his eyes lingering on the ring Blake had given me. “Ahh, Master Blake said he’d be bringing home a wife. You must be her,” he said. “Y-yeah, that’s me,” I muttered. It was so weird to think of myself as a wife. I glanced at the ring. It was proof that I’d actually done something entirely crazy. “Well, come with me, we have much to do,” the old, grizzled wolf said. He shuffled down the stairs and motioned for me to follow with a gnarled, lumpy hand. “Who are you?” I asked, following him into a larger room. It was rounded on one side and had big bay windows that let in a lot of natural sunlight. Even though the curtains were tattered and the furniture ratty, I could tell it had once been a nice room. There was a couch, a coffee table, a piano, and a harp. It was some kind of sitting room. Something that would be found in a castle or noble house. “I’m Master Blake’s ser vant. You can call me Charles,” he introduced. “I’m Nora,” I said. He just glanced over his shoulder at me and shrugged, then shuffled over to the harp. “Do you play any music?” he asked, tapping the harp. “Umm… no,” I said. I rocked back on my heels and clasped my hands behind my back. I might have been raised by an Alpha and Luna but they hadn’t provided me with a formal education like Jeremy. “Come, come, sit down. Let me see what you’re made of,” Charles said. He snagged a chair on his foot and pulled it over to the harp. He patted the seat of the chair impatiently. “What is all this for?” I asked. “Master Blake has very specific instructions for you. One of them is to learn the delicacy and refinery of a musical instrument,” Charles explained, motioning to the harp. “But… why?” I asked. “I don’t even know who Blake is or why he is here.” Charles frowned at me and made a mucousy snort sound. He crossed his arm and nodded to the chair. With a sigh, I sat down. The chair wobbled a little. I looked at the harp, wondering what he expected me to do now.
“Master Blake was exiled here after he was cursed,” Charles said. He poked my spine, forcing me to sit up straight. “That’s the posture. Now, scoot to the edge of the chair.” I did as he told me only to avoid getting poked in the spine again. The spot throbbed slightly against my shirt. “Cursed and exiled?” I pressed for more information. Charles lifted my arms at the wrists and started moving and bending them into position. I let him because it seemed the only way to get him to talk to me. “Yes. Cursed by a witch who told him that he had to marry the right woman to remove the curse. Now, he has married you,” Charles went on. “Is… is the curse broken?” I asked as he set my fingers against the harp strings. He bent them and showed me how to pluck them properly. A beautiful, resonating sound vibrated off the strings. Charles smiled and nodded in satisfaction, then stepped away. “He’ll tell you the rest when the time is right,” he told me. “Now, play.” I looked at the harp strings and at my fingers. I’d never needed to learn an instrument before. If I had the choice, I wouldn’t be playing harp! I plucked the string, trying to do it the same way as Charles had. Instead of a beautiful note, it fell flat. Charles’s smile faded. “Oh boy, we’ve got work to do,” he grunted. Surprisingly, Charles wasn’t a difficult teacher. I’d expected him to be sharp and commanding. He was supportive and encouraging instead. I tried to focus on his lessons but my mind kept wandering off. I hadn’t felt or sensed Clara at all since the first time I noticed she was gone. Helen had accused me of stealing her wolf but it was like Clara had been stolen from me. Who would do such a thing? I missed her. I still found myself reaching out to her men tally, even though she couldn’t respond and I couldn’t feel her. It was a habit and I missed her so much. “Focus, please, Lady Nora,” Charles said, tapping the harp. The instrument vibrated against me, pulling me from my thoughts. I reset my fingers and pulled at the strings. Plunk. Plunk. Plunk. Charles frowned and shook his head. “If your mind is wandering then you won’t be able to play accurately.” he warned. “You need to concentrate.” “I can’t seem to,” I said, shaking my head. I pushed the chair back. “Too much has happened in the past couple of days so much has happened and now I’m sitting here like everything in my life is normal, trying to play the harp. I don’t even know what I’m doing.” I stood up and threw my hands up in the air as I started pacing back and forth. I’d been too interested in learning more about Blake to argue against learning to play the harp but now that I was sitting still for the first time in days, my mind was trying to process it all. How could I possibly focus on playing the harp, especially when I didn’t know what it was all for? “That’s enough for today, then,” Charles said with a wavering sigh. He shrugged and stood up, shuffling out of the room. I explored the second floor and found that there were several bedrooms furnished with halfway decent furniture. I picked one out that didn’t look used and claimed it for myself. I liked the pale green of the comforter with the darker green swirls. When the front door opened again, I headed to the top of the stairs. Blake was back and he was whispering with Charles in the entry hall. The moment they stopped talking, Blake’s eyes shot to the top of the stairs, narrowed and sharp. His l*ps thinned to a firm pencil line. I grabbed the banister, my knees trembling slightly as he snarled and began to stomp up the stairs. “While you’re here, as my wife, you need to learn proper etiquette!” Blake growled, each step shaking the staircase and the floor. “Do you honestly expect me to work miracles?” I asked, crossing my arms and standing my ground against his approach. “You dump me here after marrying me on a whim and just expect me to master the harp in one day?” Jesus. And why harp! “I expect you to put in a good effort,” he said. He was on the platform in front of me now, towering over me with his height. “I did!” I snapped, glaring at him. Blake’s nostrils flared and he reached out like he was going to grab me. I stood my ground and he just growled, clenching his fists and throwing them up in the air. “You’re wasting time,” Blake accused, pointing a finger at me. “What time? We’ve had less than a day together and you’re already expecting me to be the perfect wife and perfect… something, I don’t even know what,” I said. I sighed vehemently and turned away from Blake. “Do not turn away from me!” Blake snapped. He grabbed my shoulder and turned me to face him. I glared at him, crossing my arms and jerking away. “Do not touch me!” I spat. I hit his arm away. I saw Blake’s eyes change, getting darker in color, his wolf threatening to reveal itself. I refused to back away and I refused to look away. He needed to know. He might have been my husband but he wasn’t the Alpha I bowed my head to!