It was offered—quietly, gently, without demand
“You may go to bed, Charles. Or you can keep me company while I look over emails.” Work would never take a break, and after today, looking at emails may be the one thing to tire me out enough to sleep.
His eyes bounced between mine, looking for something he wouldn’t find.
“If…it’s okay. I’d like to go to bed.”
“That’s perfectly fine, sweetheart. If I need anything, I’ll find you.”
Chapter 15
Charlie
The book lay open in my lap, but the words refused to land. My eyes moved across the page, skimming sentences I couldn’t hold onto.
Nothing stuck.
My mind wouldn’t settle, not with the phone call echoing in the back of it. I tried not to think about it. Tried to stay in the quiet, in the warmth of the room, in the safety Alpha Harris offered without asking anything in return.
But Lockswell House had a way of reaching into places I thought I’d escaped.
I never expected them to check in. And definitely not Alpha Merrick Vale himself. I couldn’t even remember meeting him. His name sounded familiar, though.
It wasn’t unusual for the handlers at Lockswell House to know where we went. They were required to, probably under the guise of safety. But safety had never felt like the point.
The bracelet still clung to my wrist—thin, discreet, but unmistakable. I was certain it tracked me. Kept tabs in ways I wasn’t meant to understand.
The fact that Alpha Merrick Vale had called. That didn’t feel like a check-in. It felt like a warning. And I had no idea which client had asked for me.
There weren’t many and I never knew their names. They never offered. They didn’t need to. They used my body the way they saw fit—like I was a service, not a person. And now one of them wanted me again. Wanted me enough to make a call.
I didn’t know if Alpha Harris could stop it. Or if anyone ever really could.
The bracelet on my wrist felt heavier than usual. Not physically. But in a way like it knew I was thinking about it.
I turned my arm over, fingers tracing the smooth band. It wasn’t locked with a clasp. It was sealed. Fused. Designed to stay on until someone with clearance decided otherwise.
Still, I tried. I dug my fingernail beneath the edge, searching for a seam. There wasn’t one. I twisted it, pulled, pressed against the underside. Nothing. It didn’t budge. Didn’t even shift. Like it was part of me now.
I exhaled, slow and quiet, and let my hand fall back into my lap.
The bracelet gleamed faintly in the low light as a reminder of where I came from. Of who had access to me.
Alpha Harris said I was safe. But this thing on my wrist said otherwise. And I didn’t know which one to believe.
I knew I’d have to go back to Lockswell. It was where my entire life was, and would be. But Alpha Vincent Harris was showing me a kind of life I was starting to crave. A life filled with easy days and companionship that I hadn’t known existed.
I shook those thoughts out of my mind. They didn’t get to creep in. Having such things wasn’t in the cards for me.
Alph Harris wouldn’t want to keep me. He was nice, as he said he was, but if Alpha Vale offered enough money, I wouldn’t be here for more than another day or two.
Money always talked louder than words.
I set the book on the nightstand, switched off the light, and turned onto my side, facing the door out of habit. I’d spent so many nights lying in bed, thinking, surviving, waiting for morning. It had become second nature. Even here.
This was only my second night in this house, and the silence still felt strange. No distant screams. No muffled cries rising from the basement. No Betas pacing the halls, checking doors to make sure we stayed put. No Omegas returning from the service rooms, eyes vacant, steps slow.
Just quiet.
