“I think I need some company.”
I never meant the uttered words to be followed through. Sure, I was lonely, but that was normal for anyone of my age who wasn’t mated. But, I did have friends. Pushy friends, but friends all the same.
I wanted to blame them for my being here, now. They set this up. They were the ones to find the perfect boy for me to meet and take home for a few days totest the waters.
I detested that saying, but it was true.
How could I possibly know if I wanted an Omega in my home if I didn’t at least do a test run?
“What shall I do with you?” I asked the question, knowing there’d be no verbal answer. But physically, I watched as the boy’s breath hitched in his chest and his eyes widened just slightly.
I already knew the answer. The deal was sealed. The payment has been made.
I’d take him. Because now, he was mine for the next five days.
I put space between us, just a few inches, by stepping backward. I shoved my hands into my front pockets, tempted more and more by each minute to reach out and touch him.
“My needs are simple,” I explained, voice low, steady. “And you’ll meet them. When I ask.” I let thesilence breathe between us. “I’m gentle,” I added, almost like a promise. “Unless you choose not to be.”
He didn’t flinch. But something in me knew he wouldn’t test that boundary.
“I don’t ask twice,” I went on, voice barely above a whisper. “You’ll meet my needs the moment they surface. I’m patient,” I added, almost tender. “Until you make me prove otherwise.”
He glanced up to meet my gaze. It was less than a flicker, but there as quick as a passing fly. In that look, there was understanding and a quiet decision not to test me. But also, haunted brown eyes that didn’t trust a single soul he’d met.
“While you are in my care, boy,” the word tasted sour on my tongue, “I won’t go easy on disobedience.”
He nodded once. Hard and to the point.
“Good. Now,” I stepped sideways towards the door, pressing the button to call the front desk. Why they didn’t already have him prepared to go would be something I’d bring up later. If the people who ran this place wanted everyone to play by their rules, then they needed to follow them themselves. “Let’s get you ready to go home.”
Chapter 3
Charlie
My head spun as I kneeled on the carpeted floor.
It’d been so long since I was requested to leave this place. The first and only time was but a blurry memory, one I didn’t ever want to remember for the rest of my life.
My heart thumped against my rib cage like a hummingbird's wings.
The one look I had of the Alpha would forever be burned in my brain. Brown eyes that seemed tired, and a straight nose.
He was nothing like the others. Alpha Harris didn’t have a belly or smelly breath. He didn’t hold himself like I was a speck on his shoes, or that he was better than I was.
A ten-minute meeting shouldn’t have felt like a lifetime, nor should it feel like it was merely seconds.
I already knew that whatever would come next wouldn’t end well for me, though. No matter how he may speak words or how gentle he was in a simple touch, I wouldn’t come back in the same manner I’d leave. Not just this room, but this place.
I was already broken, inside and out. There was nothing left to me, except for the breath that filled my lungs.
Why did he want me? There were others here that would be a ten times better fit for his needs. I wasn’t anything special.
A part of me wanted out of this place, a deep part that craved to see the world. But I knew that with the chance of leaving, there was a higher chance that I wouldn’t come back. It was more likely that I’d die in the hands of this man, even if he was merely renting me out for a few days.
I saw how others returned. Some came back with more bruises than anything else. Some didn’t talk or eat for days afterward. One or two came back, only to disappear days later.
Would I be one of those who got lost, too? Would I be one of those Omegas that could come back in pieces, only to end up ten feet under the ground?
