“Good thinking. We don’t know how long you’ll be in there for.”
That just makes my chest clench tighter. Irrational fear slamming into me hard.
I hurry on my way, duck into the rest room and slam into a stall. Hands braced on either side of me, I take deep breaths, trying to get my lungs under control. After a few rounds of boxbreathing and a round of “five things” during which I realize I’m barefoot in a public bathroom—so gross—I feel calmer. Calm enough to realize that I do need to use the restroom, my bladder full after a night of sleep.
I do my business, wash my hands, and splash cool water on my face. Looking myself in the eye in the mirror as I pat the droplets from my skin. “You can handle this. There are going to be thirty other people in that room. They’re not going to just leave you tied up and most importantly… he’s not here. You’re safe.You are safe.”
I repeat it over and over with a firmness I don’t feel. Until I feel strong enough to push away from the mirror and into the hall. I repeat it as I slip back into the room and find only half of the omegas are in their chairs. Repeat it as Marshall curls his hand around my elbow and ushers me into my own cage.
“Put this in your ear,” He holds out a tiny flesh colored ear bud. I’m proud of how my hands don’t shake as I take it from him and do as he said.
“Testing,” Lulu’s voice murmurs in my ear. “Can you hear me?”
I swallow and then nod. “Yes. Why-” I’m not even fully sure what I’m planning on asking, but Lulu cuts me off before I can form a complete question.
“All part of the challenge.”
“Right,” I murmur back as Marshall picks up the rope and the blind fold and looks at me expectantly.
In the cage to my left, Petal is already in her chair, her ankles bound to the legs and a PA is working on binding her wrists to the arms of the chair. She gives me a big encouraging smile and I try to smile back, but I can’t manage it.
“No, Tristan,” someone else calls in a harried tone. “That’s not your-”
“I don’t care. I’m taking it,” he says from the cell on my right. His eyes slide to me as he picks up the items on the seat and then slouches into it. “Tie me up, daddy.”
I snort a laugh and thank god for that, because it cuts through the fear and the tension, and I’m able to actually turn and plop myself into the chair.
Marshall eyes me, like he can sense my unease. But it doesn’t stop him from kneeling and looping the rope around my ankle, wrapping it a few times before tying it into a knot.
“When the challenge starts we’re going to give each omega a math equation,” he tells me as he does his work. “The solution to the equation is the combination to your lock. In order for the alphas to get you out you need to figure out the combination. That’s all you need to do, okay, Ren?”
I give a jerky nod as he moves onto my wrists and my chest tightens painfully. Memories pulling tight across my skin.
You’re okay, Florence. This isn’t the same thing. You’re safe. You’re safe.
Logically I know that, but my body is on high alert, braced for the pain of a hammer to my knee.
I should have sat this one out. It would have counted against me but seeing them strap in Petal was enough for me to know that this was a bad idea. And yet. I still went along with it.
“Too tight?” Marshal asks when I wince. But it's not because of the ropes… I mean it is, but not because it's too tight… it's just everything.
“No,” I whisper. “It’s fine.”
He peers up at me again before nodding. “Production really wants you to sell the omega in distress vibe. I know you’ve been on stage before, so don’t be afraid to dip into those acting chops.”
It's not the same thing, I want to tell him. Dancing a ballet is emotional and is a form of acting, but it's not like what he’s asking. I can’t cry on cue, and I can’t recite lines for shit.
Of course, selling that I’m a terrified omega isn’t going to be a problem for me.
Because it's exactly what I am. So fucking terrified. Distressed.
Marshal finishes with the ropes and pushes to his feet, the blindfold in his hands. He stands there like he’s waiting for something, some kind of acknowledgement, so I give another of those jerky nods. “Okay, I’ll try.”
There will be no trying. It will just happen naturally.
Stop this, some part of me urges.It's too much. Ask him to untie you. Get out of this chair.
But also… I am safe here. My logical mind knows that. Totally safe. Like I told myself before there are thirty other people in this room. I will not be hurt. I will not be left here. I’m not bound to the chair by an alpha command.
