For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would’ve been like if things had stayed that simple. If sweetness hadn’t been something rare enough to forget. If comfort hadn’t become something I had to earn.
I wondered if my parents hadn’t passed away, how life would be for me. Would I have grown up loved? Would I have had any siblings? Would I have a safe and happy life?
I remember feeling loved by a lot of people, maybe family members. I remembered Mama and her hugs, even though they feel so far away now.
Once the water cooled, too cool for what the Alpha would’ve allowed, even if it still felt fine to me, I finally reached for the drain. The swirl of water pulled away from my skin, leaving a trail of warmth behind as I stood. Droplets slid down my body in thin, quiet paths, gathering at my feet while the last of the bathwater disappeared.
Evander had left a towel within easy reach, placed exactly where I’d need at the moment I stepped out. It was oversized and impossibly soft, swallowing me up as I wrapped it around myself. I lifted one corner to my face without thinking, breathing in the faint, clean scent clinging to the fabric.
It smelled warm. Safe. Almost likehome.
I stood there for a moment, wrapped up and dripping onto the mat, letting the warmth and comfort soak into me. Letting myself breathe.
Evander had thought of everything. Every detail. Every small comfort I wouldn’t have dared to ask for.
I wasn’t used to being cared for without an angle. Without a lesson attached. Without a price.
A pile of folded clothes sat on the countertop, right beside a hairbrush, lotion and some other items that I would never know what to do with.
Hearing the doorbell ring through the house, I glanced at the door before making my way to the sink.
The clothes were similar to what I’d been wearing so far. Simple shorts this time that fell past my knees and an oversizedshirt. The shorts I had to tie with a string, and still they were likely to fall off my hips if I wasn’t careful.
By the time I left the bathroom, the towel hanging on the rack and not a sign of me having a bath, Evander stood against the door jam, waiting.
“Have a good bath?” He pushed off the wall, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweats.
I nodded once; afraid my voice would fail on me.
“I have some things for you in the living room. Things youneed, so I don’t want to hear anything about what I got you.”
“Y-yes, Sir.”
With my heart in my throat, I followed a few steps behind.
I nearly tripped over my own feet as I stopped short at the edge of the living room. It took a second, maybe longer, to understand what I was looking at.
Boxes and bags were scattered across the couch, dropped there in a hurry. Not messy, just…rushed. Evander had barely taken the time to set them down before coming to check on me.
Evander stepped out of the hallway just as I was taking in the mess. His eyes flickered to me, then back to the pile.
“You needed clothes and shoes.” He spoke the words like it was an everyday thing to order me more items than I could ever remember before. “They are all yours. No one else can take them away. Not for punishment, either. Clothes are a necessity.”
The words hit harder than they should have. All of it. Clothes. Things I hadn’t asked for. Things I didn’t think I was supposed to have.
At Lockswell, Omegas were only given three sets of outfits. And if they got ruined in any way, we would be punished. And punishment looked different every time, for every in fracture that one did.
Evander walked past me, brushing a hand along the back of the couch as he gestured to the pile.
“It’ll be your chore to wash everything and put it all away. I’m assuming you know how to work a washer and dryer?”
Of course I do,I thought, holding back an eye roll. Instead, I nodded once; my eyes still glued to the pile.
My heart stuttered at the wordchore. Not from fear but from a strange relief to having something I knew how to do right.
“Excellent. Tags are still on everything. If there’s something you wouldn’t enjoy wearing, then put it aside and I’ll return it to the store. Iwantyou to enjoy the items I buy for you. So, if you don’t like something, that won’t hurt my feelings at all. Your comfort comes above anything else.” He glanced at me, expression open and soft.
I nodded, hoping it looked like acceptance of both the chore and order to only keep what I’d wear. The problem was, I had no idea what Iwouldwear. I’d never been the one to choose.
