Strange Love 40 In A New Ligh

A bright, golden light flickered against Sh.e.l.ly's closed eyes. Before her eyes or brain had a chance to adjust to her surroundings, panic had already begun to seize her chest. Her breathing came in sharp rapid pants. She struggled up onto all fours and quickly scooted across the bed and into the padded headboard of the king-sized mattress. Just as her eyes began to adjust a dark shadow came rushing forward, blocking out the golden rays. Sh.e.l.ly tried to escape the shadow as hands shot out toward her. She cried out and fought against the strong hands that now clung tightly to her upper arms.

"Sh.e.l.ly! Sh.e.l.ly! Stop! Open your eyes, look at me!" Rin yelled, worry heavy in his voice as he struggled against the wild, frightened woman in his bed. "Sh.e.l.ly, please it's me... It's Rin!" Rin let out a heavy sigh as Sh.e.l.ly's body finally began to relax.

Sh.e.l.ly pressed her hands against the chest in front of her running her hands over his chest to verify it was not the same one that had woke her up with torture for the past several weeks. She allowed her eyes to focus on the face of the shadowed figure before her. "Rin?" Her memories of the day before came flooding back as tears started to pour down her cheeks. "Rin!" she cried out as she flung herself against him. She buried her face into his bare chest breathing in heavily. "It wasn't a dream; you really did save me!" her voice came out m.u.f.fled as she pushed harder into him.

He could feel the wetness of her tears trickle from her cheeks onto his chest. He gently pushed her away from him and held her at arm's length before he replied. "Sh.e.l.l, I didn't save you. You saved yourself, you got free on your own. You are the bravest, most capable girl I know." He released his grip from one of her arms and wiped away the trail of tears with the free hand. "Never forget that."

Sh.e.l.ly's eyes filled with fresh tears of joy as she gazed up into his caring, tender eyes. She caught him off guard and off balance as she launched herself at him once again.

He landed hard against the mattress with her tiny arms still wrapped tightly around him. He arched his back to take the pressure off them. "Um... Sh.e.l.l?... I... Um, your arms aren't...um hurt... are they?" He glanced out over his chest but could only see the top of her head as she pressed into his body tightly. Her tiny head popped up at his question, but she didn't untangle her arms from around him. She simply shook her head 'no' in confusion. "Oh... Um... Ok then..." Rin replied he nervously patted her back as she settled back against him.

Sh.e.l.ly's m.u.f.fled words still held a fearful edge. "Oh Rin, I was so afraid when I woke up this morning that it was all a dream and I would find myself in that horrible cage again..." Her words broke and she began to sob into his chest.

He glanced down at her trembling body on top of his, {Jeez, a cage?! What in the world has this poor girl been through in the last few weeks?!} As his mind processed all that he had seen and heard from her since he met her on the beach last night, his hands that had been nervously patting her back began to slide back and forth in long comforting strokes as she continued to cry. When she seemed to lose steam, he held her tight and carefully sat them both up. He held her tight and placed a light kiss to the top of her head. "shuuu... It's ok... It's over now." He cooed against her hair. He loosened his grip, "Come on how about I go run you some water and after you get cleaned up, we'll go grab some breakfast and I'll give you a tour of the palace... What do you say?" Timid eyes met his, as she pushed herself away from his chest and gazed up at him.

Sh.e.l.ly smiled sweetly up at him, "Thank you, that would be great."

He pushed her back and began to stand, "Alright then, give me just a second." He walked through some curtains and soon she could hear water begin to run. He poked his head out from the curtains and called to her, "Okay Sh.e.l.l, it's ready, come on." He watched as she carefully made her way off the bed and toward him. {No doubt her body must hurt from all the cuts and bruises.} Once she was in the room with him, he began walking around the room telling her where things were as he went. "And here is a towel and robe you can use. I'll go see if mom has anything you can borrow to wear for now."

His words were lost to her as she took in the splendors that were this bathroom. Her eyes automatically moved from the golden flakes of the polished marble floors to the exquisite crystal chandeliers littering the ceilings. Intricately chiseled columns surrounded the base of a raised platform in the center of the room. There was a huge tub dead center the platform, large enough to comfortably set six people. The tub was being filled from a waterfall like spout from the ceiling, cascading down into thick fragrant bubbles. One word caught her attention however, Sh.e.l.ly turned shocked eyes toward him. "Your... Your mom?"

Rin ran his hand through his hair nervously, "Yes, my mom... I'm sure she's around the palace somewhere. You can meet her as soon as you're ready to leave these rooms." Rin leaned against the column, robe in hand and held her gaze for a minute. He watched as different emotions fought for prevalence across her beautiful, bruised, and dirty face. He rested his head against the cool stone of the column and sighed, "Sh.e.l.l, don't worry, you're safe here. I promise..." He stepped out from behind the column and walked over toward her. Once he was in front of her he carefully raised the robe and placed it around her shoulders. He tugged the edges he was still holding and pulled her against him. He wrapped his arms around her trembling body and held tightly. "You are safe now, I'll protect you..." He whispered against her hair.

Sh.e.l.ly sniffled, overtaken by the emotions his words invoked, "Rin..." She said his name with more joy and happiness than she had felt in an incredibly long time.

"I know... I know..." He placed another light kiss on top her head then released the robe. "Now go get yourself cleaned up. I'll be back in a little while with you some clothes." He smiled down at her sad face before turning away and walking out of the room without looking back. He moved quickly through the main bedroom and out into the front corridors.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding as he let his body crash against the wall. {Never in a million years would I have ever imagined seeing one of the strongest, most carefree people I know in such a state.} Rin let out a long sigh. {I don't know which is more frightening... the thought of what sent her running or what it will mean to have her by my side... If she knew a fraction of the things that were going through my mind last night... and earlier...} Rin let out an aggravated huff. {She would hate me... What a shame too, I've hidden my feelings so well up until now...} Rin let out an irritated huff as he pushed himself up from the wall.

"Rin? Oh dear, I thought I sensed you come in last night and with a young lady also?!" His mother walked quickly down the corridor to catch up to where he stood. "Oh son, it is so great to see you. It has been so long!" She cupped his cheek as she gazed up at her beloved son.

Rin sent her a bittersweet smile before turning out of her reach. "Yes well... I didn't come here to visit." He turned worried eyes toward the closed large door of the bedroom. "The girl with me... She's in some kind of trouble. I think it involves one of the DeMarco brothers."

His mother squished her brows together, "What do you mean?"

Rin sighed before looking back at his mother, "She needs something to wear, I'll explain what I know on our way to the laundry." He began walking down the corridor without checking to see if his mother was following. When he was far enough away from the room that he was sure Sh.e.l.ly would not be able to hear what he had to say he began his explanation. "So, she wasn't too pleased to find out her brother, my friend Russell, began having a... relationship... with one of their guardians, Jos..."

"Oh my! Russell Boosilis?" His mother interrupted. Her excitement built as she put the rest of the pieces together. She was nearly jumping up and down with joy as she guessed. "He has mated with Joslyn?! How amazing!!! They will make a very powerful couple indeed!"

Rin let out an irritated sigh, his mother loved gossip. "Yes mother, anyways as I was saying, she was aggravated and ended up staying with Dante DeMarco. Russ..."

"OH NO! Not Dante!" His mother covered her mouth in shock.

Rin rolled his eyes, "Yes mother, now please let me finish." He cleared his throat. "Russ, Jos, and Raven were under the impression she was just p.i.s.sed off and acting out and part of that was moving in with her 'new boyfriend', but when several weeks pa.s.sed without any of them actually seeing or talking to her Russ asked if I would try getting in contact with her."

"But why you?" His mom asked, her shock replaced by eager curiosity. When Rin shot her an irritated glance she quickly apologized, "Sorry, keep going, son."

Rin's gaze switched from irritation to a distracted aw. "Russ asked me because I've known them since I first moved to the United States... And he knows I... care... for her..." His cheeks took on a slight pink tent as he struggled to oversimplify his feeling for the young werewolf.

Rin's mother clamped down on his arm, pulling him to a complete stop. "Oh, Rin! You care for the girl?! How great!" She pulled him into a tight hug and squeezed tightly.

Rin began coughing as he pushed against his mom's grip, "Mom stop! Let go!" His face flamed with embarra.s.sment. {Yep, I will definitely die of embarra.s.sment before the day is over!} "Of course I care for her, she's my best friends sister after all... They were the first friends I made when I moved to the U.S." He let out an impatient huff, "Now would you like to hear the rest of what's going on or not?"

"Oh yes, sorry... It's just been so long since I've seen you and now all the excitement... I bet she's a beauty!" Rin's mom was nearly clapping with joy.

Rin's blush deepened, "Yes, she is very… pretty..." He shook his head, trying to dislodge the images of Sh.e.l.ly. "Anyways... Russ thought she was with a 'boyfriend' and asked me to contact her, a few hours after I texted her, she called me in a panic asking if I would meet her. When I showed up, she was dirty, covered in cuts and bruises and dried blood... You could tell she had been abused." He let out a long sigh. "I don't believe he was her boyfriend in any sense of the word. I believe she was more of a prisoner and his meals..." Rin ran his hands through his hair as he continued walking through the corridors.

His mom sent him a questioning glance as she tried her best to keep pace with him, "What makes you say that?"

Rin squeezed the back of his neck as he looked away from her. He could feel a headache slowly coming on and this next statement was not going to improve the situation. "...Because she's still a virgin..."

His mother's eyes lit up with this information. "Surely not!" She began to actually clap. "This is wonderful!" She grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to a stop, "Are you going to form a contract with her?"

Rin frowned, "I'm not sure she would want that kind of relationship with me... I'm not sure if she wants any kind of relationship with me, to be honest... She's probably already promised to some well-bred werewolf on her island." Rin sighed as his straightened his slumped shoulders, "Right now all that is important is to help her feel safe and get back to as normal as possible after such a traumatic experience."

His mom furrowed her brows, "But Rin, you don't understand how rare it is to find an adult that's virtuous. The former master was raised to be so, not even their later generations could withstand celibacy."

Rin looked down into his mother's bright, hopeful eyes, "Mom, you have to promise me, you will not say anything to her about the genies contract or any of that stuff okay?" He took her hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze. "I like her, okay... I know the powers that come with signing a contract... but for her, I would gladly give up all the powers in the world... I just... I want it to be her choice..." He looked away embarra.s.sed of his own confession. "I want to be the one to explain it all to her... when the time is right."

His mother pulled her small hand lose from his grip and gently caressed his cheek. "I understand fully, son. Don't worry your secrets are safe with me..." Her smile brightened, "Now let's go dress this beauty!" With that his mother took off down the corridors ahead of him, a new determination powering each tiny stride.