A MAZE OF GREED

Ruth's happiness was only short-lived as when she opened her eyes with a wide smile, she froze in her spot. The man who had very wicked ways of getting on her nerves stared back at her with an expressionless face.

When did he come there?

Ruth opened her mouth to say something, then closed it and repeated the action two more times. She had not expected Edwin there at that late hour in the night.

"What are you doing here?"

She was taken aback by the anger in his voice. Something about him at that moment scared her.

"I... I was just taking a walk..." She cringed at how bad her voice sounded- underconfident and timid.

"At this time?" The force of anger in his voice rosed.

Ruth struggled to find appropriate words so that she would not upset the blue-eyed monster anymore.

"I... I am s-sorry?!" She did not understand why her mind came up with that reply. Why did it bother her if he was upset or not?

Edwin did not say anything. He just stared at her that made Ruth cower under his gaze, but he was trying to calm down.

He was in the old building discussing Barret Addington's missing news with Lester and Rees. None of the probabilities of the situation eased him, and hence he was in a very bad mood.

On his way back to his chamber, he saw someone walking around in the dark. It took him no more than a second to know who was that person.

Edwin's anger rosed. He was trying everything in his power to not let Ruth come to anyone's attention. However, she had beaten him in his attempt and had already attracted Theodora's eyes. Harold Davies was another story that he did not want to even think about.

And as if she was not satisfied by fighting with Eloise and the controversy with Fannie, his little mate was roaming defencelessly at the odd hour of the night alone.

"You should not roam like this at this time." He finally said.

He saw her disagreeing with him. Well, when she had ever agreed with him?!

"But this is inside 'the great manor' and the guards are here to protect me if something happens. Besides what could go wrong here?" Ruth challenged.

Edwin pursed his lips in a thin line. He did not like how naive she was acting. Taking a long step towards her, he stopped at less than a hand's distance from her. Ruth thought about taking a step back, but that would have looked like she was afraid of him.

Maybe she indeed was, but she would never show that to him. She stood her ground confidently.

Staring deep in her hazel eyes, Edwin said in a low yet warning voice.

"Miss Moore, these mighty walls of 'the great manor' are not only for the protection of the people inside, but they also guard the secrets, mysteries, plans, intentions- mostly bad- and the people who live behind the mask of smiling faces."

Ruth held her breath, hearing his chilling words. Taking another small step towards her, Edwin continued, "no one is safe here, Miss Moore. You, me, we all are target of someone. They are watching you every moment, waiting for a right opportunity in the dark."

His words rose goosebumps on her skin. She did not know what to say as her brain tried comprehending the depth and authenticity of his words.

"But... but this is your home." She whispered desperately.

Something swirled behind his cerulean blue orbs. Ruth tried reading that hungrily, but before she could, he had again pulled the curtain to hide it.

Their eyes were locked on each other. Only their different paces of breathing proved that they were two different people as their hearts also beat on the same rhythm.

The breeze that flew past them moved a tendril of her brown locks on her face. Edwin could hear how fast her heart was beating.

He slowly shook his head. His hand reached to touch her soft locks. Surprisingly she did not mind him touching it. She was more eager to listen to him than stop him.

Tucking the brown lock behind her ear, Edwin softly said, "My home is somewhere else. It is right in front of me, yet its doors are closed for me."

Ruth's breath hitched hearing that. What did he mean by that? Was he... was he perhaps speaking of her? But why and how?

"Then maybe you should try knocking on the door." A peculiar power forced those words out of her mouth as she had lost control over her brain the moment he touched her hair.

"I want to Miss Moore. Trust me, I really want to. But..." He was losing himself in those enchanting eyes of this nymph. It was a different feeling that he had never experienced before.

He had shared such moments with her before but never felt the energy that bloomed in his chest.

"But?" She prompted.

"But... but I do not know if that home will ever accept me forever."

He had not pulled his hand away yet. It lingered near her hair.

"I do not want to ruin my home too." He whispered earnestly.

Something stirred deep inside Ruth's chest. It was painful. Maybe it was his pain that she felt.

"A home is a place which protects us from the world. Where you can be you, and no one would question you. It is a safe place where you can be happy or sad, cry or laugh. And it will not throw you out no matter what." Her voice came raspy and thick with emotions.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Will I ever get my home, Miss Moore? Will I ever be able to live in it peacefully?"

Those questions were not only for her but also for him. He still doubted the plans of their fates. Not because he did not trust her but because he did not trust himself. He did not know if in the end, it would be worth it or not.

They both did not realise when his hand moved ahead to the side of her face. The warmth of his palm penetrated through every layer of her skin.

Their eyes tried communicating with each other in a secret language that only they understood. His were asking if she was ready to see the unfold layers of him, and hers were saying that she did not know if she was ready yet.

"Yes. You will only if you try a little harder."

It was an invitation that he could not turn down. The spark that ignited between them gleamed brightly. The tingles on Ruth's skin ran recklessly all over it.

She was there in his reach. And she was all his. Edwin's wolf stirred inside him, but this time, he failed to gain control. It was his human that wanted to enjoy his mate's presence, her touch, her flowery scent, her rapid breaths.

"You should not say the things that sound too good to be true."

"And you should not be a pessimist and start believing in good. Because that is what always remains in the end."

Every word that came from her mouth was like a pot of honey pouring in his ears. His mind rolled and relished its sweetness.

Edwin's other hand moved at the back of her head, and in that shock, she instinctively placed her palm on his chest right above his beating heart. She was taken aback by how fast it was beating, only to realise hers was also doing the same.

Leaving her eyes, Edwin's eyes moved down to her pink lips. All the blood in his body rushed southwards as sinful thoughts of her lips in his mouth crossed his mind.

He felt her breath hitch again. Did she know what was going in his head?

A sweet nectary scent hit his nostrils. He wondered what it was, but before it could distract him, he realised what it was.

It was his mate!

She was aroused!

To hide the change in his eye colour, he ducked down his face in her hair. Ruth shivered in his hands. The shock of the ongoing events was too much that she questioned its reality.

"You smell so good!"

His voice vibrated through her thin skin. The movements of his lips were torture that she endured with all her might.

She felt him sniffing at the side of her neck. She had seen Rees doing that before and found it weird, but with this blue-eyed monster, it felt so... good!

Ruth felt his nose rubbing her skin as he moved his head upwards. She clenched her hands in fists and pressed her legs tightly together as her stomach did the summersaults in her belly.

"I like this!"

He whispered again, taking her breath away. She was melting under his touch, but a bolt of lightning passed through her body and mind when she felt something soft on her cheek- his lips.

They rested on her cheek for a second or two, but the burning sensation they left behind was there to remain for eternity.

Before recovering from the initial shock, she found him moving down towards her lips. She embraced herself for whatever he wanted to offer her. It was futile to stop or interrupt him.

An undiscovered part of her wanted to see how far he would go. His lips lingered only a hair's breadth away. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting to feel the same softness on her lips.

But a coughing sound followed by a teasing voice made her jump away from him as if she got electrocuted.

"I hope I am not interrupting anything important here!"

Unlike Ruth, who looked like a deer caught in the headlight, Edwin stilled.. His whole body was as tight as a stretched rubber, ready to break. He slowly turned his head to meet the mischievous olive green eyes- Lester!