I frowned, stepping a little closer. He didn’t retreat, but he didn’t lean in either. He just…froze. Like he was waiting for orders.
“Hey,” I tried again. “You’re safe here.”
The tiniest of all headshakes caused a stray piece of hair to fall into his eyes. In the next moment, he fell to his knees, his entire body shaking like he had been electrocuted.
“Look at me, sweetheart.” I kept my voice calm and low, taking another small step towards him.
Slowly, he dragged his eyes up to meet mine. His green eyes were wide in terror.
“Oh, honey.” I knelt in front of him, wanting to reach out towards him yet afraid it’d only make it worse. “I’m not going to hurt you. I promise. No pain ever in this house.”
His trembling didn’t stop. If anything, it got worse as his eyes slid away from me.
“Well, like I said in the car, you’ll have your own room. You can set it up however you want. Want to go see it?”
I stood and offered him my hand. It took a moment, but eventually his fingers curled around mine, light and hesitant.
I gave him a small, tight smile, hoping it came across as reassuring, then guided him down the hallway.
The house wasn’t huge, but it was more than enough for one person. And now, hopefully, enough for the two to live comfortably.
The house itself contained three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a decent kitchen and living room, with all of the warm tones.
I stopped outside the last door on the right and pushed it open, stepping aside.
“This is yours,” I said quietly.
Kasey hoovered in the doorway, not crossing the threshold. His eyes flicked over the room like he was trying to memorize every detail before deciding whether or not he was allowed to enter. The space wasn’t anything extravagant. Just a clean bed, a dresser, a window that let in soft afternoon light. But the way he stared at it made it look like I’d show him something dangerous.
He was still shaking, so I kept my voice low. “You can arrange it however you want. Move things around. Add whatever makes you comfortable.”
Nothing. Not even a nod.
He stood there like he was waiting for instructions I hadn’t given. Or the consequences I hadn’t delivered.
I took a slow breath, grounding myself before I tried again. “You don’t have to ask permission to go inside. It’s your room; your space. I willneverenter it without your consent first.”
His fingers twitched at his sides, like he wasn’t sure what to do with them. Then, he stepped in, one careful foot, then the other, moving like the floor might give out beneath him.
He didn’t touch anything. Didn’t sit. Didn’t explore. He just stood in the middle of the room, small and silent, eyes drifting around like he was searching for the catch.
I leaned against the doorframe, remembering the eight-year-old boy Kasey had once been. How he’d have explored every inch of this room, even if it wasn’t his own.
Would this Kasey before me ever be that same boy? Or was he lost forever?
“If there’s anything you want changed, just tell me.”
Another tiny flinch, like the idea of asking for something was foreign.
He finally looked at me, and it hit me harder than I expected. Kasey wasn’t here with me mentally. He was just as he’d been when I entered the room, seeing him kneeling.
“Some pills for a few days,” Alpha Lockswell pushed an orange bottle across the desk. “Fun little things to use with our Omegas for the first few times with clients. Makes them…. pliable. And they last for hours. One tiny pill keeps this one going for a good ten hours, if not longer.”
I had those pills, since they werea giftwith some of the Omegas. Something new, Alpha Lockswell said, that they were using to see new results.
“Kasey,” I called, trying to pull him out of his mind, but wasn’t sure it’d be possible.
The Omega’s eyes glistened with glaze as he glanced at me, wide and scared, before he knelt once again as though he’d done it a million times before.
