Chapter Twenty-Three
Then
It’s been twenty-two months since I met Elsa that night in the club and my world—and asshole—was expanded.
Am I in love with her?
Absolutely.
I don’t lie, either. When she asks if I love her, I tell her.
So does Eddie.
We’re called over one Friday evening and she has a surprise for us.
“Beta, guess what? You get to play with others now. The colonel has decided to play only with Alpha.”
It is always “play” or “playmates.” The colonel is never mentioned by name. We areneverallowed to use his name with her. Her rule.
In fact, she doesn’t useournames unless we’re somewhere it’d be noticed, like that day at the doctor’s office. Even then she uses fake names for us.
Otherwise, we are always Alpha and beta.
Except for the past several months, she has Eddie refer to me as “sir.”
I have to check myself one day at chow when I almost call Eddie beta in front of Kenney and Gohber.
It’s weird living this dual life. Literally, we have two extremes. We have the Army and life on base, and we have Elsa.
Except the colonel straddles those lines.
“Why, Mistress?” Eddie asks, and I feel sorry for him. I know from talking to him that he doesn’t have family. That’s why he enlisted—he’d grown up in foster care. Rejection is something he’s painfully all too familiar with. Elsa and I are really the only relationships he’s ever had.
I sadly realize that, despite the circumstances, being rejected by the colonel is still another form of rejection he takes personally.
“Well, he hasn’t played with you in a couple of months. I told him if he’s not going to play with the pet, he needs to share.” She rubs his head. “Don’t worry. I’ve lined up other playmates for you, my sweet beta.” She flashes him that smile we’d do nearly anything for.
He smiles back, but something tightens in my stomach. I don’t like the feel of this, or the reptilian gleam in her eyes.
Then she turns to me. “You, however, are busy tomorrow.” She hands me a hotel room key card and a sticky note with the name of a local hotel, its address, and a room number. “Be there at eight in the morning.” She pats my cheek. “You don’t need to take anything with you.”
Fear congeals in my gut, and for the first time, I consider saying no.
Maybe it’s my hesitation, but she cocks her head at me. “Is there a problem, Alpha? May I remind you this is a veryspecialsituation. That man controls your future. You and betaboth.”
Her gaze challenges me. She’s hit my other hidden weak spot that I didn’t even realize had developed. I don’t want to disappoint my family, that’s a given. But I’m also feeling protective. And, somewhere along the line, I’ve come to think of Eddie asmine. I have his six, he has mine.
I don’t want to be the cause of the colonel coming down on Eddie.
I want to protect him.
“No problem, Mistress,” I quietly say. I can’t meet Eddie’s gaze.
Eddie, however, is to report to Elsa’s tomorrow. She doesn’t detail their “plans” but I suspect if the colonel doesn’t want Eddie anymore, she’s going to put him back in circulation with her other “friends.”
* * * *
The colonel definitely has a sadistic streak in him I hadn’t experienced much of before. Not like he can spank me in his office. I’m tied up, beaten, used as much as he can get it up—which, I believe is due in no small part to the colonel’s little helper blue pills—and then left there with orders to stay in the room for an hour before I leave to return to base.
