Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Chapter 21

Kas's POV

When I woke up from my nap, I felt much better. I could hear maintenance staff still out in the apartment, speaking in hushed whispers. Bronx asked me to stay in the bedroom until they were finished, so I pulled out my laptop to see what was going on in the world. I have basically been missing for a week. It doesn't matter who you are; the world turns with or without you.

A red scrolling bar at the top of the home screen has Bronx's name on it. Huh?

I click on it and get directed to a news page. There is a video of Bronx sitting in front of a blue background. The headline just reads 'Rare Statement From MasonCo CEO'. I put on my headphones, lean back against the pillow, and click the play button.

I'm mortified for the next three minutes. My face flushes red, first out of embarrassment that he would tell the world I was missing and almost drowned, then from anger at the thinly veiled threats he made to whoever took me, and back to embarrassment when I hear him say he is offering reward money for information that leads to the arrest of the kidnappers. I open more windows. Every site I go to has the same video with various articles about it.

"Bronx, get your butt in this bedroom right now,"I snarl through a mind link.

"Is everything okay, Baby? I'm still out here with maintenance. They will be finished in ten minutes."

"Oh yeah, everything is just dandy, considering you announced I was missing and almost drowned and then threatened my kidnappers over the internet."

"Oh. You saw that?"

"Yeah. I saw that. How could I not? It is on literally every website in existence!"

I hear him sigh, "Let Maintenance finish and I'll be there as soon as I show them out."

I cut off the mind link and search other sites. People are losing their minds trying to hypothesize over what could have happened to me. There are some seriously crazy theories. There are even sites betting on whether Bronx will get charged with murder when the kidnappers are caught. I seriously want to melt into the sheets and disappear again. How am I going to go to work with all this attention? My bakery is in the human town. It's on one of the main streets downtown, so the regular number of paparazzi hanging around outside who want my picture is bad enough. Now?! Ugh. I don't even want to think about it. I need to warn Delilah, if she will even talk to me.

"I think it's sweet," Lex purrs, "Our mate cares about

us."

"You're not helping, Lex."

"What? What woman wouldn't want a man to scour the earth to find the people who hurt her?" she

Swoons.

"You're like a lovesick puppy. What gives? Where is the feisty warrior child of the Moon Goddess who constantly wants revenge? I could really use that wolf right now."

"He loves us, Kas, and he was worried. He still is. Can't you feel it? This his way of showing it. It's romantic if you think about it."

I roll my eyes at Lex. Clearly she is not on my side for this one.

Now, don't get me wrong. Over the past year and a half, I have become accustomed to being referred to as 'Bronx Mason's wife'. I get it. He is a big deal. Since the day we got married, I knew I might be a target for attacks. I think it just comes with the territory when you are married to a multi-billionaire. When we first met, I knew he was well off, but I did not know how much money he was actually worth. Honestly, I never wanted his money. I have always wanted to earn my keep. To have money of my own, not be a leach or a drain on anyone.

It may sound weird, but being spoiled by Bronx is still uncomfortable for me. I was a slave growing up. I had nothing. My bedroom was in a dungeon where no one could hear the Alpha whipping me. All my clothes came from a donation pile by the dumpster of my old pack house. I didn't even have an actual bed, my makeshift furniture was all from trash. Going from that to having everything I could imagine and more can be overwhelming. A small part of me feels like I don't deserve it.

I get to a website that theorizes that I'm actually still missing and the video message was a smokescreen. That's enough. This rabbit hole is bottomless. I slam the laptop closed and toss it to the end of the bed before I cross my arms and lean back on the pillows with a huff.

When Bronx finally comes into the room, he sits quietly at the edge of the bed and lets me scold him without interruption, watching me intently as I pace in front of him, venting to him about how angry I am. When I'm finally out of words, I stand in front of him with my hands on my hips, waiting for an answer. He doesn't say anything. He just takes one of my hands and pulls me toward him a little, so I am standing between his knees.

His crisp apple green eye bores into my soul before he speaks. His gruff voice is calm and sincere, "Kas, I'm not sorry. If I had to do it again, I would send the same message into the world. I meant every word and I won't apologize. Will things be awkward for a while? Yes. Am I sending you to the bakery with extra security for the foreseeable future? Abso-fuckinglutly, yes. Will this all blow over, eventually? Yes. In the meantime, I need you to trust me to do this my way. Please. Let me be the overprotective husband and mate who will do anything to keep the love of his life safe." He pulls my hand to the side of his stubbly face and closes his eye, breathing in my scent. His tone changes, becoming softer, "Baby, I thought I would never see you again. Four days of not knowing where you were almost broke me."

And with that, all my anger dissipates. All my willpower dissolves, and I let him pull me onto his lap so he can hold me close and calm himself with my scent. Who am I kidding? I miss his dark chocolate and coffee scent, too. I love when his muscular arms wrap around me. It feels like the safest place in the world.

After a while, my stomach rumbles. I realize I can't remember the last time I had something to eat other when Lex took over and had a craving for rabbit. Sometimes sharing a body with a wolf is more weird than others. I feel a little disappointed when Bronx unwraps his arms, taking away the little cocoon he has me in.

"What do you want to eat? We will stay in the apartment tonight. We still have a ton to talk about," he kisses my forehead and gives me a knowing look.

"Rabbit?" I ask. 2 "Really?" He looks at me, shocked and a little concerned.

"No. I'm messing with you, Bronx," I giggle at his reaction, "How about just some pizza? I could go for a banana too."

"Okay, pizza and a banana. Anything else?" He smiles now that he knows my mood has improved.

"I want to make cookies. The fall menu at the bakery needs a couple more items. Can you ask Mrs. Miller to send up some ingredients? I will write them down for

you."

"Alright. Cookies. You're gonna turn me into a fat old wolf, you know that, right?" he muses with a grin while he stands me up from his lap. Referring to the fact that he is seven years older than me, "Why don't you put on some comfy clothes? I'm going to let Tyree know someone will be up from the kitchen. He's probably hungry, too. I will see what I can do about getting him a break." 1

"That's my evil plan, Bronx. If you're fat, you won't be able to move fast. Then I can finally beat you in a sparring match," I smirk as he walks out of the bedroom. 1 "Hilarious, smart aleck," he calls back as he heads out the door to talk to Tyree.