Silver silently lead us through the large house that reminded me more of a palace from the fairytales my mother had read to me when I was a young girl. We passed several guards that were stationed along the endless hallways but they didn't pay us any attention. I spotted Valerie leaning leisurely against one of the doors looking like she'd rather be anywhere else in the world. When she turns her face in Silvers direction she pushes off the door quickly. Her eyes widen when she spots me trotting alongside him before throwing us a large frown.

"So this is why the house was in an uproar for the past two days?" Valerie sends me a dark look. I let out a low growl before rubbing myself against Silver's leg purposefully to piss her off. Silver's fingers combs over my fur without much thought, "Apparently—" I tilted my head up to find him looking down at me with an unreadable expression, "I imagine the others must be here somewhere as well." He looked back towards Valerie. She let out a heavy sigh before she popped the door open, "I'll go check the dungeons. I'll leave you two lovebirds to do whatever it is you're going to do..."

Silver nodded a thanks before Valerie pushed herself away from us, heading back the direction we had come from. I watched her for a moment before Silver whistled softly to get my attention. I turned my head quickly towards him to find him leaning against the open door, "Well, shall we?" He questioned as he motioned for me to enter with a tilt of his head. I rolled my eyes and moved past him into the room with him following close on my heels.

The door slammed closed and Silver moved past me towards a dresser, "I don't have anything that will fit you but—" He shuffles through some of the drawers before pulling out a large t-shirt and holding it out towards me. I stare at it for a moment before taking it from him in my teeth. His green eyes are fixated on me for a long moment until finally I give a snort and tilt my head to the side. He smirks, "You really want me to turn around? I've already seen you before—I remember quite clearly before I marked you, you were..."

I let out a low growl at the direction of his comment which makes him chuckle, "Fine." He holds up his hands in surrender before he turns his back to me. I shift back into my human form and quickly pull the shirt on over my body, tugging at the hem that only falls mid thigh. I clear my throat, "You can turn around lover boy..." I say in a mocking tone.

He turns to face me, letting his eyes eat up the length of my body in a slow stroll before meeting my gaze head on. I feel like someone has sucked all the air out of the room. Have his eyes always been that green? I shake my head to clear my thoughts as my hands fill with the desire to reach out and touch him but I hold back.

"You look better in my clothes than I imagined you would. Though I've spent more time imagining you out of them." He comments ruefully. I feel my lips twitch in annoyance at his suggestive words even though it sends my pulse racing, "You're a pervert."

He shrugs his shoulders with a pleased smirk on his lips, "So what are you doing here Grace?I didn't think I would see you again after I left you."

I narrow my eyes and cross my arms over my chest, "I don't imagine you did." I reply dryly.

"I would have let you go willingly if it weren't for one simple factor that you and I didn't account for—" I pull at the collar of the shirt cloaking my nakedness, revealing his mark, "Except you claimed me. My wolf wouldn't give me a moment of peace, always whining about 'where was her mate?' she couldn't understand the concept that you didn't want us no matter how many times I told her."

Silver's eyes were fixated on his mark, growing darker by the second. I rolled my eyes and dropped the shirt back into place snapping him out of his trance. His lips were pulled in a straight line, "I didn't leave because I didn't want you. Wanting you has never been the problem Grace..."

I scoff at him, "Oh? Well, then what was the problem? Is it because I'm not a virgin or because I was a 'rogue's whore' as your father put it? Do I disgust you in someway? Is my blood not pure enough for you?" I chest heaves up and down from anger, which is boiling just below the surface. Silver's jaw is clenched together tightly and his eyes are almost black. I give him a moment to say something, anything but he remains silent.

"That's it, isn't it?" I say with a humorless laugh though on the inside I feel like my world is crumbling, "God, you're just like them—It wasn't my choice you know? I didn't ask to be tortured and held in a cage. I wanted to live a happy life with my pack. I wanted to save myself for my mate—" I wipe my hand across my face and realize that I'm crying. Silver's expression softens and he lets out a pained sound before he turns his back to me. He runs his hand over his hair pulling at in desperation, "Fuck!" He swears loudly before he slams his fist into the wall behind his dresser.

I watch him in confusion as he turns back to face me. He opens his mouth and then closes it before squeezing his eyes shut, "Grace—I—" His voice is strained. Silver takes in a deep slow breath waiting a moment before opening his eyes which are lighter then they had been a moment ago, "I don't think there is anything wrong with you baby. I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life. It makes me angry—no, more than angry to know that anyone laid a hand on you. I want to hunt down every single one those mother fuckers and show them a thing or two about torture."

"I already solved that problem. I killed them—" I reply as warmer feeling begins to build in my chest at his words. He snorts at my comment, clearly finding humor in it.

"I forgot you don't need anyone to protect you." He says as he reaches out and grabs a hold of my arm. He pulls me into his arms with a strong tug. I hit his hard body with a sound of surprise, his arms holding onto me tightly, "But even though you say that it doesn't change the fact that I want to protect you Grace." I relax against him, selfishly relishing in the feeling of his hardness against my softness.

"I wanted to protect you from all of this but I guess I should have known better—" His fingers play with the material of the shirt. I burrow my face deeper into his chest, "You're an idiot. If I didn't leave you in the woods when you asked. What made you think I would let you walk away from me without any questions?" I pulled my head back so I could look into his eyes. He stared down at me with a bit of amusement, "Yeah—I'm an idiot but can you blame a guy for trying to be chivalrous and protect his lady? I mean you met my family..."

"I don't give a damn about chivalry if it means you're leaving me behind. From here on out we're a team or we're nothing at all. Got it?" I say in a firm tone and I mean every word. Silver's amusement fades as he leans his head down toward me. I feel my heart beat faster in chest as I become uncertain about what he's doing. He presses his forehead to mine, sending small shockwaves through my body at the skin to skin contact. A small sigh of relief escapes his lips, "I promise I will never leave you behind again Grace—it almost broke me once."

I close my eyes and accept his affection, "Don't think I've completely forgiven you..." I mumble, though in my heart I knew that I had. He chuckled, the sound of it sending more comforting warmth through my veins. I couldn't think of any place else I'd rather be then in Silver's arms. After everything I'd been through and all the darkness, it was like being cloaked in the inviting light of the sun.

"I promise I'll find a way to earn your forgiveness mate, after we get you and the others safely away from father." Silver pulls back. I open my eyes with a frown, "Yeah—he really had it out for me back there. Do you have any idea what he was talking about, you know—in regards to my father?"

Silver gave me a strange look before pulling away from me completely, "I only know what they've told you but I had no idea he was your father until today."

I grimaced, "It's hard for me to believe that my father did any of those things. He was a good man. I feel like if he did do those things then he must have had a good reason..."

"I don't doubt that Grace. He must have been a good man if you turned out the way you have even after everything." His words made my lips turn upward in a gentle smile. He took a step towards me, "I promise that we will figure out truth together but we have to be careful. My father is a dangerous man and I don't think he's going to let you go so simply."

"So what's the plan then?" I question.

He gives me an apologetic look before he moves back towards his dresser, "Once Valerie reports back to me about the condition of the others we can start to think up a plan of escape but until then—" He shuffles around in one of his drawers before finally turning toward me holding a metal looking band. I frowned at the sight of it, "What the hell is that?"

"It's a collar—" He says apologetically.

I feel my body tense, "No! No way!" I growl at him, angry that he would even suggest something like that to me. He holds up his free hand in surrender, "It's the only way you'll be allowed to move around freely. Look I know it's not ideal..."

"Not Ideal?!"

"Shit!" He fumes at himself clearly frustrated, "Grace, please—" He meets my eyes with a pleading expression, "I need to beside me and this is the only way or else we are locked in this room until my father decides to kill us both. It's only for now, not forever. I would never hurt you Grace. This thing is basically a glorified necklace unless you try to shift."

I snatch the metal band from his hand, "You better start thinking up ways to get back in my good graces once we get out of here." I snap the thing around my neck, cringing at the coolness of the metal against my skin, "Make it a long list--"

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Song: Latch--Disclosure Ft. Sam Smith