They stayed together in the room in silence. Logan had occupied the bed and Aella couldn't possibly join him there, so she resorted to sitting on the small chair by the window or pacing the room restlessly. At intervals, she went to the bathroom to wash the tension off her face, but it did little to ease her frayed nerves. Sitting in a room in silence for so many hours was slowly getting to her. She was a wild wolf, for crying out loud. She needed rich soil under her feet and the lush breeze in her hair. She needed nature around her. She needed to be free.

Soon the sun set behind the curtained window of the room and the horn sounded for dinner time. Logan stood up and went to the door, opening it just an inch to whisper to the guards outside. Aella would have grabbed that opportunity to make another run for it but she was too tired from the pacing and the tension. She sat in silence as Logan looked back and asked her what she would like to have for dinner. 

When she didn't answer him, the alpha closed the door and came closer to her, crouching so that he could look into her eyes.

"I want you to know that I have to do this, Aella." He said, reaching out to caress her face but she turned away in silence "I cannot just let you roam free. It is for your safety and the safety of my pack."

"I need a bath, Logan." She said, ignoring his words "Can you excuse me, please?"

"I'm sorry if my outburst the other time affected you in any way. Please forgive me." He continued.

"Logan," Aella repeated, closing her eyes. "I need a bath. Please leave the room for me."

Logan laughed "You're joking, right?"

She opened her eyes and glared at him "No I'm not. I've been wearing this dress for almost a day now. I need a bath and a change of clothes."

Logan's laughter turned into something more serious "It is my room, Aella. You cannot possibly expect me to leave it for you. And what if you escape again? Jump through the windows or something?"

"Well, would you rather I undress in front of you?" She asked eyebrows raised mockingly.

Aella saw how her words had affected the alpha. He blushed a riotous red and frowned at her.

"No, that's not what I meant." He said "I'm not going anywhere though. There's nothing you can say."

"Fine!" Aella rolled her eyes and stood up from the chair. "I'll undress in the bathroom. I need a change of clothes though."

Logan stood up too "I'll fetch you something from my closet." He said and walked into his closet, coming out a few minutes later with a black long-sleeved dress shirt and handing it to her.

"Seriously, are dress shirts all the clothes you own?" She muttered under her breath and Logan smiled at her words. She walked into the bathroom and quickly pulled off her white slip of a dress. It was stained with sweat and dirt marks from her fight with Logan on the mountain. She put it in the laundry basket and walked under the shower, letting the water wash over her body.

The thought of Logan shirtless came into her mind unbidden and she almost groaned with frustration. The image was as vivid as it was sensual and her wolf jumped in excitement at the thought. She could feel her core grow warm as she thought about it and for a moment, she regretted not kissing him at that moment when he had stood so close to her.

She quickly ran from the shower when she was done as though running away from her sexual thoughts and picked up one of his towels. She was accosted by his cedarwood smell as she rubbed her face with the towel and she threw it down angrily, sighing and leaning her head on the cool tiled bathroom wall. This man would drive her crazy soon.

She picked up his black shirt and put it on, grateful that it smelled only of detergent and nothing like him. It was big at the arms and torso, reaching down to her thighs. She rolled up her sleeves and walked out of the bathroom, cursing her small frame.

Logan looked up as she came out and started to say something, then stopped at the sight of her. His eyes immediately roamed over her pale face framed by dark curly hair to her body, which was covered only by his shirt. The sight of her putting on his clothes turned him on and he itched to tear it from her body and take her naked in his arms. Oh, how he itched!

Her hair was wet and dripping, and water was dripping from her bare legs too. It looked like she hadn't dried her body before wearing the shirt as the shirt was slowly soaking with water. The sleeves of the shirt had been rolled up but it was starting to come loose. She looked absolutely beautiful and sexy as hell.

Logan stood up involuntarily and walked towards her as he almost couldn't control his desires anymore. She blinked in surprise and took a step backward as he walked to her

"Um," she murmured, "I think your shirt is a tad too big for me."

"No, it's perfect." He said and immediately groaned inwardly. He sounded so cheesy and stupid, like a horny high school boy. He needed to take control. He was an alpha, for fuck's sake!

He turned abruptly from her and walked back to the coffee table beside the chair, where food had been laid for two people. "You didn't say what you wanted for dinner so I asked them to bring this." He said and opened the plate.

The smell of quinoa and meat loaf wafted to Aella's nose and she sniffed appreciatively. She walked towards the coffee table and looked into the dish, noting how her stomach growled at the sight of food. She hadn't eaten anything in almost twelve hours.

The alpha served a generous heap of food for both of them and she sat on the chair to eat, while the alpha sat on the bed. Throughout their dinner, they kept stealing glances at each other. The both of them could guess at the contents of the other's mind but neither was ready to make the first move.

After their dinner they stood by the bed, not sure what to do. In his rush to keep her imprisoned in his room, Logan hadn't considered the fact that they might be forced to share the same bed.

"Mm, I could sleep on the floor." Aella offered.

"No." Logan refused. "You'll catch a cold. We'll both share the bed."

"Well, that's all on you, alpha. I'm a rough sleeper." She said and proceeded to demarcate the bed space with a couple of pillows. Logan moved to the left side while Aella took the right.

"Goodnight." Logan said to her before switching off the bedside lamp and plunging the room into darkness.

They lay side by side in the gloom of the room, listening to each other's breaths. Sleep was the last thing on their minds as they were so preoccupied by each other. Their bond had never been as strong as it was now. They wanted to lie there forever, watch the other fall asleep under their stare, and they laid that way till they fell asleep together, two mates whose hearts now beat as one.