Caeyin balled his hands into fists as the human insisted that she was going to do whatever she pleased with him. Her claim that he was in no position to be making demands of her irked him, not because he thought she was wrong but because he knew deep down that she was right. As much as he loathed to admit it, he was at her mercy because he’d underestimated her. She was the one with a free range of motion and at least one or two weapons that she could use to keep him down if he tried to fight her. He despised feeling trapped, but as long as he remained stuck to the pole she’d chained him to, there was nothing he could do to break free.

However, that didn’t mean he would give up and let her have her way.

“What else could you possibly want to do with me?” he asked dryly. “I’ve already told you that I won’t be compliant.” Despite the situation he’d landed himself in, he wasn’t afraid of her. The worst she could do was inflict physical pain or kill him, and it sounded like she was reluctant to do the latter. He wondered if she was considering keeping him around as some sort of pet. Perhaps she was lonely and wanted company, and since there were no other humans, she had decided that his presence was the next best thing? Or maybe she wanted a breeding partner to save her species from extinction and hoped they would be genetically compatible enough to reproduce. The thought made him wrinkle his nose. No matter what she was planning, he was determined to dig in his heels and fight her tooth and nail until she became too weary of him to continue trying.

When she walked away from him and sat down, he held her gaze obstinately. She had managed to break his mental link once, but if she attempted to go to sleep, he would just do it again. Any chance he had to grapple for power with her wouldn’t be missed. She didn’t seem to be getting ready to go to bed though. As he fixated on her narrowed eyes, he pondered what was going on inside her head as she studied him. Her prolonged staring made him uncomfortable, and he fought the urge to shift his weight.

“I think you’re afraid to kill me,” he challenged her, scratching the itch to break the disconcerting silence. “You don’t have the gall.” He closed his mouth and turned his head slightly, keeping her in his peripheral vision as the uncomfortable feeling persisted inside of him. It wasn’t dissipating, but rather, it seemed to be getting stronger. He blinked as he realized belatedly that the sensation was actually the absence of the fiery emotions that had filled him seconds before. Strangely, his temper had soothed itself, and he could feel his muscles relaxing against his will. It was almost as if he’d lost control over his own body.

Distressed by the forceful calm, he shook his head and flexed his fingers and toes, trying to fight back against whatever was taking over him. For a few minutes, he seemed to gain some ground, but eventually a tide of exhaustion washed over him, and he swayed. “What did you do to me?” he demanded with a slight slur to his voice, certain that the human was the one behind the phenomenon. He turned toward her again, but the drowsiness made his vision go dark, and instead of questioning her, a groan slipped from his lips and he collapsed on his side, unable to stave off the pull of sleep any longer.