This was someone shaped by fear and repetition. Someone who’d learned to disappear inside himself. And every second I spent wiping him clean and made the guilt deeper in my bones.
When I finished, I set the cloth aside and rested a hand lightly on his knees. “Kasey. Look at me.”
It took a long moment, but eventually, his eyes lifted hesitantly.
The emptiness in them nearly broke me. There were so many things I wanted to say. So many words that would likely mean nothing to someone who didn’t remember who I was.
His gaze was unfocused, like he was fighting through layers of fog just to find me. When his eyes finally met mine, even for that brief moment, I felt something crack inside me.
I drew in a breath, forcing myself to stay calm, steady, and something he could anchor to. “You’re alright, sweetheart.”
His breathing hitched, barely noticeable unless you were watching it.
I lifted my hand, brushing my thumb gently along the side of his face. “You don’t have to hold yourself so tightly. You’ll going to be safe now.”
He blinked once, slow and heavy, as if the words were trying to reach him but didn’t quite know where to land.
I learned a little closer, lowering my voice. “Kasey…. I’m taking you home.”
His fingers twitched in his lap, a tiny involuntary movement that told me more than words ever could. He didn’t understand. Or he didn’t believe him.
So, I kept going. “Not go back to the room. Not to another Alpha. Not to anyone else. You’re coming with me. Away from here.”
Another blink. Another small tremor in his hands.
I cupped the back of his neck carefully, grounding him with the warmth of my palm. “You don’t have to do anything,” I whispered. “Just stay with me. I’ll handle the rest.”
His breath shuddered out of him, soft and uneven.
For the first time since I’d walked into the room, he looked like he might actually be present, even if it were merely a moment.
Chapter 8
Kasey
The Alpha’s words echoed in my head long after he said them.
I’m taking you home.
Home. With him. Away from here.
My body stayed perfectly still, exactly the way it was supposed to be.
Outside, I probably looked calm. Composed. Trained.
But inside….
Inside everything scattered in every direction at once, slamming into each other so fast I couldn’t catch a single one. My chest tightened, my pulse thudding too hard, too loud, like it was trying to break free.
He couldn’t mean that. He couldn’t take me.
I didn’t know how to leave. I didn’t know anywhere else buthere. Lockswell was –is– my home.
The idea of me leaving this place alive wasn’t something I had ever considered. Sure, it happened to a few Omegas, but it wasn’t in the cards for me.
I was bored. Nothing special to me.
Broken.
