“No, you’re not. A fucking dog listens better than you. But thanks for the idea.”
“What?” My brow rises in confusion.
“Come on, I don’t like my food cold,” he orders as he starts moving again, giving my chains a harsh tug, causing me to have to take a step to catch my balance.
I have to take two steps to match every one of his as he rushes down the stairs. I don’t see or hear anyone else until we hit the landing.
Miles and Elliott’s voices, loud and commanding, drift out to me. It’s not just their voices, but their scents. I feel like I’m suffocating. The closer we get to our destination, the more I’m overpowered by the aroma of rotten eggs, burnt rubber and sulfur. It’s bad enough they’re forcing me to wear their clothing.
“Can I just go back to my room?” I ask him, but he doesn’t even humor me with a response. Not even a look in my direction.
“Ahh, here they are. Now we can eat. I want my guinea pig to sit beside me.” Elliott’s deep baritone voice announces as I step around Ray, catching my first glimpse of the other two men.
Miles sits at the head of the table, while Ray is seated in the chair to his left. Beside him is an empty chair with a plate on the table.
“No. Since tonight is my night with her, I have other plans. Her obedience is lacking. And as I found out not even ten minutes ago, a dog is better trained than her. She’ll eat her food from the floor.”
My eyes jump to his then back to Miles, pleading with words that I can’t even form. He has to see how insane it is.
“Fine, but she can eat at my feet.” Elliott announces boldly before placing a helping of roast, potatoes and beans on a plate. Once he’s happy with the amount, he sets it on the floor.
“Seriously.” I groan. “You can’t expect me to eat sitting on the floor. How am I expected to eat with no silverware?"
“Sit,” Miles' alpha bark snaps, and I quiver under the pressure. “As for utensils, your fingers will work just fine.”
Ray tugs me over to him, handing off the chains to Elliott before moving around the table and taking a seat.
“Sit,” Miles orders and I slowly lower down, wincing from the pressure on my very sore ass. I can see Elliott smiling widely at my pain. Fucking asshole.
“Very good. Let’s eat. Our omega has a lot of training that needs to be done before we can fuck her. If what the doctor told me today is accurate, the more we force our scents on her, the better chance we have at sending her into heat early.”
What appetite I had is now gone. There’s no way I can eat a bite without puking.
Chapter 10
River
Idon’t touch the food.
I’m starving, but I can’t eat the way they want me to. The little bit of strength I had earlier seems to have left me. Instead I sit on the floor, my legs pulled tightly to my chest, my arms wrapped around my legs as I rest my head on my knees. They talk, and I try my hardest to tune it out. But I still hear pieces of their conversation. They make no secret of how they plan to break me. Their plans to flood me with their scents, forcing my heat to come sooner. When Miles mentions a shot, my ears perk up. My pulse quickens and I can feel my heart beating against my ribs.
If they force my heat, will I be able to fight back? Would I be able to stop them from bonding with me? They don’t care that we’re not a scent match or that I don’t even want to bond with them. My breath hitches, and I wish I had a razor to give me something else to feel other than what I am right now. To give me just a small bit of control. It’s why I started cutting in the first place. It was a way to handle what was happening at home with my dad.
“Sweetmeat, you’re turning me on with the way you're scenting the room.” Ray inhales deeply, letting out a low, deep groan.
“Aww, she didn’t know we could force her heat. You’d be surprised what we can do,” Elliot says giddily, as if he were a child who just learned a secret or got a new present.
“Cut it out,” Miles barks from his throne at the head of the table. “And you need to eat.” I can feel the alpha force in his words bearing down on me to comply. My body tenses, doing everything it can not to comply.
But I fail.
I reach toward the plate, fingers trembling, as I bite down on the inside of my lip. My hand lingers over the plate, and I can feel Miles' anger rising.
“Eat.” His voice rises, and I can’t fight back the urge to obey. I pick up a piece of carrot and lift it to my mouth, taking a small bite off of it. It’s been cooked so it's more mushy than crunchy, but my stomach welcomes the sustenance.
I pull a piece of meat from the roast, and slowly chew it, my mind hyperfixated on the shot they spoke about. Their conversation has moved from me to how my training will commence. They’re expecting me to break. I can’t though. I need to fight them. No way in hell are they giving me an Arcane bond.
I can feel the sweat beading on my forehead just before a bead slides down my face and lands on my hand. My eyes lock on it. It’s a lot of water for sweat, then another bead hits in the same spot.
