Cage

With a piece of wood, I’ve managed to skewer the bunny I found and clean its insides. I stripped off the fur and laid the meat out on a stone in the sun. After a few hours, it’s tough and dry enough to eat, and I rip through it with my teeth, chewing on the salty meat. It’s not the best food there is, but it’s something.

I stare up at the scorching sun as I eat and fill my stomach, wondering how much time has passed since I escaped the compound. I’ve traveled so far up north that I don’t even know where I am, but I’m not going out there to ask either.

I tried asking—again and again—but the people in this world are not what I thought they would be. They’re angry and constantly wary as if they don’t trust anyone who approaches them. And then there’s me—a dirty, unkempt brute who marches into their space. They can’t help but feel threatened by my appearance.

One or two words usually have them trembling even if I only ask for something. I’m not trying to scare them away. I’m not trying to be full of rage. But I can’t help their response to seeing me either.

Whenever I ask for food, they turn the other way or tell me off. Other times when I asked for a bed, I’ve been met with a closed door. After trying too many times, I just gave up.

I just can’t seem to do it. Not without Ella here to help me.

Walking and living in the wild is my normal now. I’m on my own now, and that’s fine, because I still manage to survive. I know how to catch an animal, and I know how to find herbs and berries. Sometimes I resort to stealing—although that’s only when I’m really, really hungry. I don’t want to make people more upset, but I can’t continue with a hungry stomach either, and sometimes there’s no other way.

I don’t have money. I don’t have a house. I have nothing. So I live off nature instead.

However, the more time I spend out here in the wild, the less I feel like I could ever go back.

Like I could ever fit into the society beyond the forests, beyond the mountains.

The cities and their people are just so different … so different from me and what I’m used to.

I don’t think I can ever adjust.

I prefer the outdoors—the smell of the grass and trees, the damp morning air, and the restless animals of the woods. Humans … they make me anxious, especially their technology. I guess I’m more in tune with nature than I thought.

Besides, I’m still trying to find Ella, and I won’t give up the search. Ever. I promised her that she’d be mine, and I’m sticking to my word.

However, the moment I swallow the last bit of meat, I hear a familiar voice calling out my name.

“Cage!”

It’s loud and clear.

Like the song of a bird, so beautiful.

It’s mine.

My Ella.

* * *

Ella

When I enter the forest, I can see Bo’s not far behind me, just a few blocks, but I can’t wait for him. I need to get to Cage before he runs off again. There’s no time to waste, none. Who knows where he could be. I could miss him again, and I don’t want that to happen.

My legs tremble, but I keep running, refusing to give up.

I run as fast as I can, past thick trees with branches scratching my skin. I ignore the pain as I tread through the thick forest, barely able to see a thing. Wet, fallen leaves and soil stick to my shoes and pants, but I don’t care. The ground below me is wobbly and overgrown, rocks and dead trees everywhere, but even that won’t stop me from running.

I know what the doctors said. I know I need to take it slow for the baby; I know I need to be careful.

But I can’t stop myself. I can’t stop wanting to find him …

I need to find him.

He’s here; I know it.

He’s so close; I can almost taste it.

So I scream.

For the first time in ages, I scream out his name again.

“Cage!”

The wind carries the sound of my voice, and it echoes against the trees like a gong. I look around. Birds fly up high, probably frightened from my voice. Then a twig snaps.

I spin on my heels and run in the direction of the sound.

“Ella?”

The moment I hear his voice, I stop.

My feet feel nailed to the ground as my own name resonates in my ears over and over again.

Tears well up in my eyes.

Cage.

He’s really here.

He’s right there.

Just beyond that ledge.

As if the wind itself is carrying me, I sprint toward the ledge, stopping right in front of it.

There, in the distance, a man stands between the bushes. His hair and beard wild and bristly. Clothes completely soaked, body covered in blood. Eyes boring into mine.

That one look is all it takes …

It’s him.

It’s really him.

He’s here; he’s really here. In the flesh. Alive and well.

Tears stream down my face as I tentatively walk past the trees, closer to him, around the ledge. He doesn’t take his eyes off me, not for a single second as I approach him.

The only thing that separates us is a few thick trees and a curtain of rain clashing down on the earth.

My heart’s almost beating out of my chest; that’s how excited I am.

I don’t even know what to do with myself the moment I see him.

The closer I get to touching him, the more afraid my body becomes.

Afraid of the consequences.

Because once I do, there’s no going back.

I am his, and he is mine.

But the closer I get to him, the more I realize … I already crossed that line long ago.

* * *

He’s completely frozen in place as I stand across from him, mere feet away. I’m shocked at the state he’s in, but all that fades compared to the relief I feel inside my heart.

Finally, I found him, after all this time.

I don’t stop walking.

My feet carry me toward him, unrelenting, unable to stop running.

Running into his arms.

Against his chest.

Inside his warm embrace.

His arms wrap around my wet body, and I clench mine around him, feeling his body for the first time in too long.

I cry, but they’re tears of joy as I hug him tight, praying I’m not dreaming. In my mind, I thank God for staying with me, for granting my wish, and for giving me the best gift in the world.

I feel so much; I can barely handle the emotions curdling inside me, bursting out into tears and smiles.

I bury my face inside his dirty, wet shirt and take in a long breath, smelling his scent. Taking in all that is him and more. I’m not alone as I hear him sniffing close to my neck.

Feeling his skin against mine is not enough. I want him; I want him so close to me that I can’t breathe. I want him to take it all and then some.

As the tears subside, I gaze up into his eyes and look at the bloodied face of the warrior who saved me.

Behind me, I hear Bo’s voice, calling my name over and over again. It stops abruptly after I hear a few crackling noises behind me, and I know then that he’s seen us—seen me—completely soaked in the middle of the forest, in the arms of the man who took my body and soul and chained it to his heart.

But I don’t care about any of that. I don’t care that Bo’s watching, or that there might be reporters on the way, or that I’m completely soaked and dirty.

All I care about is him.

Cage.

My man.

With two hands, he cups my face and smashes his lips onto mine. It’s a kiss I’ve been dreaming of for ages, and it finally happens. It’s the best feeling in the world.

I don’t care about the metallic taste of blood, or the dirt on his face, or the rain pouring down from the skies above. His lips are on mine, his tongue twisting around mine, claiming my mouth. Owning it.

Because I am his.

Completely and utterly his.

I always was.

From the very beginning, I never stood a chance.

In him, I found the man I needed to become whole again. In that cell, I lost a part of me but gained so much more in return.

Cage …

I didn’t fulfill my promise to him, but I didn’t have to.

He saved himself.

And now he’s finally found me too.