“I will get you whatever you want, anything, everything,” he promised, tucking his thumbs into the pockets of his pants. “This job does have some perks, we, uh, have plenty of resources.”
I looked around the room. It had one wall of stone, and the rest were a smooth, chestnut color wood. The far wall, just like the bedroom, was made of windows, and thick grey curtains draped the sides.
“I want this to be your home too,” he said softly, shrugging his shoulders, hands still tucked in his pockets, eyes following me as I trailed along the spacious room.
“Okay,” I agreed half-heartedly.
His smile grew, and he nodded his head, trying to contain his excitement. He slowly walked out of the room, muttering a soft, “yes,” under his breath as he walked down the echoing hallway.
Lineage
In the evening, Theo put an old movie on the television and sat on his couch, eating a hearty meal of braised beef and sliced potatoes. He ate his quickly; his plate was empty within minutes. I was used to eating lighter foods, fruits, and vegetables since the meat and large things were reserved for the wolves. The food Theo gave me was filling, and I struggled to finish even half.
“Do you not like it?” he asked when he noticed I hadn’t eaten much.
“It’s not that, it’s good, I’m just not used to eating so much meat,” I tried to keep my voice soft. I realized when people raised their voices, Theo raised his, and I didn’t want to anger him.
He got up from his seat and went to the kitchen, banging around in his fridge and cupboards until I called out, “This is fine! I’m sorry.”
“How do I not have any fruits or vegetables in this house,” he said dumbfounded. “I’m sorry, Margo, we can go into town tomorrow, and we can get things you like as well.”
“We can go into town?” I asked, hopefully.
“Of course.” His eyebrows tugged together. “You aren’t a prisoner here. I hope you know that.” I looked down, shamefully, and he sighed loudly. “Margo, I’m not going to lock you inside all day. We can go out; I don’t want you to think of this as your cage or your cell.”
I continued eating, watching the black and white film on his television. Outside, it grew dark, and the trees began to look like people. I had never liked the dark; something about it made me weary. Wolves could see in the dark, unlike me, and it scared me that I had even more of a disadvantage.
I looked over at Theo, who was staring outside as well, looking farther in the distance. He stiffened, sat up straighter, and then relaxed in his seat again. I looked at him in confusion.
“Deer,” he stated, picking up the remote to turn the volume up. We sat there for most of the night, not saying anything to each other, and somewhere around eleven o’clock, I found myself dozing off on the plush couch.
I was almost asleep when Theo shifted his weight on the couch, and I jolted awake. He apologetically grinned as I sat up and stretched.
“Do you want to go to bed?” he asked. I nodded, standing, and following him upstairs. He gave me another change of clothes to sleep in and waited for me to change in the bathroom. The covers were pulled back when I came back, and he was taking a pillow from his side of the bed and throwing it on the ground next to the bed.
I crawled into my side of the bed, and he pulled the covers up around my chin, tucked me in, adjusted my pillows, and then sat on the edge of the bed. He brushed my hair back, like he always seemed to, and touched my forehead with his thumb. He looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t. Instead, he took a blanket from the edge of the bed and slid down to the floor, curling under the blanket and resting his head on the pillow.
I perked my head up and looked around, peeking over the side of the bed, still hidden by the covers. Theo laid on the ground, looking positively uncomfortable as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
“I can feel you looking at me, little one,” he said smiling, eyes still shut. I shot back to my position and closed my eyes.
✽✽✽
In the morning, I woke before Theo and crept quietly to the bathroom, where I washed my face and used the toilet. When I flushed, I heard Theo groan outside.
He sat up on his elbows when I opened the bathroom door, stretching and groaning loudly before he stood up and trudged over to the closet. As he walked, he looked at me, sizing me up. I waited in the doorway to the closet as he rifled through some pants, finding a pair of athletic, black sweatpants, and a worn, blue, crewneck sweatshirt with a town name on it.
“These are the smallest things I’ve got,” he said regretfully, holding them out for me. I nodded and took them, changed in the bathroom, and came out to the side of the bed to roll the pants and arms of the clothes up so they didn’t trip me. “I thought we could go into town for some breakfast, and then we could go shopping,” he offered. I nodded, okay, and he smiled, grabbing a pair of socks and slippers. “We can buy you more things while we’re out. I’m sure you don’t want to wear my clothes forever.”
I nodded again, sliding the slippers on my feet; they slipped off my heels as I walked, and I almost tripped over my foot. Theo put a steadying hand on my shoulders, leading me downstairs, where he grabbed two coats, a scarf, and a pair of gloves.
“It’s a lot colder here,”
