Page 15 of Saving Meri

"I never said you were." He pushed off the wall, his presence a solid force of dominance and unshakable certainty. "Come sit."

Meri’s jaw clenched. "I’m not some prisoner you can order around."

"Not a prisoner," he agreed. "But you are under my care, and that means you follow my rules."

She took a step back, her body instinctively coiling at the word. Rules. Rules had governed her life for too long; others dictated her actions, specifying what was permissible and forbidden. She wouldn’t go back to that.

Bear seemed to read her thoughts, his expression steady, unreadable. "I’m not them, Meri. This isn’t about control for control’s sake. It’s about keeping you from running yourself into the ground because you don’t know how to stop fighting."

She hated how much his words landed, how much they went straight to the heart of what she wasn’t ready to admit. "I’m fine," she said.

Bear’s eyes flickered with something dangerous. "You’re not fine. You haven’t eaten enough. You haven’t slept. Your body is still running on adrenaline and trauma, and I will not stand here and let you self-destruct just because you think it proves something."

Meri’s nails bit into her palms. "I don’t need…"

"A babysitter. I know," Bear agreed, stepping forward until the air between them crackled. "But you need structure. Youneed stability. You need to stop pretending you don’t crave control just as much as you hate it."

Her pulse spiked, her body betraying her with the sharp awareness of him standing too close.

She wasn’t stupid. She had spent enough time in this world to know exactly the kind of man Bear was. The kind who commanded without shouting, who dominated without taking. The kind who wouldn’t let her crumble—not because he wanted to save her, but to give her time to save herself.

That scared her more than anything.

She lifted her chin, defiant even as her body trembled with exhaustion. "And what if I refuse?"

Bear’s eyes darkened, his jaw tightening slightly before his voice dropped into something that sent a dangerous shiver through her. "Then I’ll decide for you."

She expected anger. Expected fear. Expected herself to lash out, to fight, to push him away. Instead, something in her went quiet. Bear held her gaze, watching, waiting, letting her fight through the instinct to run.

Then he turned toward the small table in the room's corner, where a plate of food sat untouched. "You’re going to eat."

Meri’s stomach twisted. "I’m not hungry."

"You’re still going to eat," Bear said.

She glared at him. "You can’t force me."

Bear didn’t respond right away. Instead, he pulled out the chair and sat down, watching her with the same steady patience that had already started to unnerve her. "You’re wrong. I can, but I won’t force feed you. But I can make sure you don’t leave this room until you’ve finished at least half of what’s on this plate."

Meri’s pulse kicked against her ribs. "You’re a jerk."

Bear raised an eyebrow. "No. I’m in charge."

She bristled, the words chipping away at something fragile inside her. She wanted to fight him. She wanted to throw the plate against the wall and scream at him to stop treating her like some broken thing in need of fixing, but she was so damn tired.

She had spent months resisting, months clawing for survival, months fighting just to prove she was still alive. Bear wasn’t demanding she surrender. He was demanding she accept that she no longer needed to fight… that she was safe.

Meri dropped her gaze to the food, her stomach rebelling against the idea of putting anything in it. She could already feel the nausea rising, already hear the echo of cruel voices in the back of her mind, but Bear was still watching, still waiting, still expecting her to choose for herself.

Wasn’t that what she had wanted all along? With a sharp breath, she grabbed the fork and stabbed at the food, shoving a bite into her mouth before she could think too hard about it.

Bear didn’t praise her. Didn’t react. Just waited. She forced herself to swallow, then took another bite. Then another.

Bear nodded once. "Good girl."

Meri’s stomach clenched, heat curling through her like a live wire, the two words slicing through layers of exhaustion, anger, and something else… She forced herself to keep eating, even as her chest tightened, even as her body screamed against the simple act of accepting care.

Because, deep down, she knew Bear was right. She couldn’t do this alone, and for the first time since she’d been taken, she wasn’t sure she had to.

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