His green eyes regard me solemnly from his bed. I can’t decipher his expression at all.
“Shall I leave the light on?” I ask.
Leaving him alone in the dark feels abhorrent, which is ridiculous. Shifters aren’t scared of the dark, we can see just fine in it.
Fitz gives me a tiny, tentative nod as if he doesn’t believe I will do it and I’m just taunting him. I swallow tightly and run away yet again.
Chapter nine
AsIstepintothe basement the next day, the delicious scent of cookies hits my nose. My gaze quickly scans the room but finds no trace of them. Fitz is sitting in his blanket bed and everything else is in place. But his dirty clothes are gone.
“Has Sarah been down here?” I ask.
Fitz stares at me with wide eyes. “No,” he says softly, with his face carefully blank.
He is a terrible liar. The worst I have ever seen, and that knowledge twists my guts. It confirms that everything he has told me or hinted at, has been true. It also gives him an endearing sense of innocence that I’m not sure suits him at all. Or maybe I just don’t like it because it makes me feel as guilty as hell.
“She won’t be in trouble for it,” I clarify.
Well, maybe a little. She should bring someone down here with her. He attacked her once and I’m not convinced he won’t do it again if he thinks it would enable him to escape. He is terrified of us, and terror feeds into desperation and desperate men will do anything. Especially if they believe their life depends on it.
Though right now he is staring at me anxiously, trying to pretend Sarah wasn’t here so she doesn’t get punished. Who knew cookies could buy so much loyalty? But, thinking about just how very good Sarah’s freshly baked cookies are, Fitz’s reaction seems entirely reasonable. I’d probably be just the same.
Maybe I should try my hand at baking and win him over too? My wolf laps up the idea of providing for him, and it takes all my willpower not to bound into the woods this very instant and bring him back a rabbit or two. I’m being ridiculous, I don’t want to court the omega, I just want him not to be terrified of me.
“No one has been down here,” he insists and I can tell he is desperate to drop my gaze but he knows it will make him look guilty.
I sigh and decide to let it lie. I will just have a word with Sarah later and make sure she knows not to put herself in danger.
I pull the pack of cards out of my pocket, “Wanna play?”
His eyes grow huge and he stares at me as if I have suddenly grown two heads. It’s a familiar expression on him and I don’t like it one bit. It says far too much about his expectations of people, when ordinary, normal words and actions freak him out.
“Don’t want you to go stir crazy all alone down here with nothing to do,” I explain. “Sure way to go feral.”
His expression doesn’t change. I haven’t managed to reassure him at all.
“Do you know how to play?” I ask, thinking to start at the beginning.
He shakes his head, and I have no idea why that makes me feel so sad. Never having played cards before is hardly the world’s greatest tragedy, but right now it feels like it is.
Using my best acting skills to appear all nonchalant I drop to the floor in front of him to sit crossed legged.
“Okay, I’ll teach you how to play poker.”
He seems very intelligent. I’m sure he will pick it up in no time. But I should probably start with the basics. With that in mind, I lay out a selection of cards onto the floor between us.
His gaze flicks between them and me warily but he looks interested. It’s a good start. The whole point is not to bore the poor boy to death. As well as to spend some time with him and somehow convince him I’m not a monster. It’s probably a stupid idea. It’s not as if his opinion of me matters one bit. I have no reason to care what a hunter thinks of me.
“There are spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds,” I say. “Each has numbers two to ten, a queen, king and jack. Then there are the ace cards.”
His emerald eyes regard the cards thoughtfully. He is paying close attention to what I am saying. My inner wolf is wagging its tail in glee, pleased that the omega is noticing me. It just sees a cute omega and wants him to like me. My wolf side is so stupid sometimes.
Carefully I go through the aims and the rules of poker. He nods as I talk and does seem to be taking it in. He is as quick as I expected. The knowledge makes my wolf even more besotted with him. Great, that’s the last thing I need.
I pick up the cards and shuffle them in some fancy methods I have picked up over the years. Fitz’s eyes widen.
“Can you teach me that instead?” he asks.
