“No.”
“No?” I echoed, but a hand clamping my knee instantly shut me up.
“If that is the case, then I will have to invoke section nine, article three. I don’t mind taking you to court to get what my client wants, and deserves.”
Alpha Vale huffed, not happy one bit about the outcome.
“Fine. Ten percent, you said?”
“Twenty,” Silas responded quickly, not missing a beat.
“Alright. Fine. I guess the Omega has worn out his usefulness to us anyways. He’s a bit…used up.”
I didn’t like the way he spoke those words, and not the glint in his eyes.
Either way, I handed over my credit card, not caring how much Charles was going to cost me.
Alpha Vale only scanned my card after he had signed over the rights to me, ensuring that I couldn’t return the Omega under any circumstances, unless I was to pay a fee in doing so.
Only after everything was signed, the payment processed, and paperwork filed with the state, did Alpha Vale stand and led us back to the reception desk.
Not happily, and almost dejectedly, did he speak. “Beta Jane will lead you to where Omega Charles is at. Remember, his care will now be in your hands.”
Chapter 20
Charlie
My body trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming without pause. Threats, pain, commands—it didn’t matter. Nothing responded. Nothing obeyed.
I knew better than to break. Iknewbetter. But this pain was something else—raw, unfamiliar, relentless. My skull throbbed in sync with the sluggish drag of my pulse. My eyes, swollen shut, reduced the world to flickers of light and shadow. Fire licked across my spine, but it was my shoulder that screamed the loudest.
I didn’t want comfort. I didn’t want to be rescued.
I wanted out.
Why couldn’t they just let me die already?
What made me so important that this Alpha demanded the nurses do whatever they had to keep my heart beating within my chest?
I didn’t understand.
I didn’t understand anything.
I sniffed, trying to get a good breath but my lungs wouldn’t fill. My chest ached, as though there was pressure sitting on top of me, holding me down. Since apparently having my arms and legs tied wasn’t enough.
I couldn’t move. I couldn't think. Couldn’t breathe.
Maybe, if I could just behave, they’d let me rest in peace. Maybe then I could die and never wake up again.
I should be dead.
Whatever the Alpha did to me, whatever pain he caused after I blacked out, had to be enough to put me out of my pathetic misery.
Every breath that passed my throat stung. Every small movement of my chest and lungs ached so deep, it felt like cuts.
Was I bleeding internally? Maybe that’s how I go. Slow and painful, because no one ever cared.
Not about me. Not about my wellbeing and health.
