I couldn’t move, couldn’t decide whether to drop to my knees and beg for forgiveness for whatever I’d done, or crawl back onto the bed and pretend I wasn’t worth noticing.
Either way, I braced for impact. Because that’s what came next.
Always.
Then the figure stepped forward. Slow. Careful.
Not threatening.
Adrian.
I recognized him in the way he moved, soft, deliberate, like he knew how easily I could break.
He didn’t speak right away. Just knelt down, hands visible, posture low. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said gently. “You’re safe.”
I didn’t believe him. But I didn’t run either.
“You can finish getting on the bed, Charlie. It’s okay.”
Slowly, my body unfroze and I finished getting on the bed. I sat, back facing the headboard, and the blanket lumped up in my lap, hiding part of my nakedness from view. It gave me a barrier, even though it was the smallest form of one.
Adrian slowly stood, not daring to make any sudden movements. He gave me a tight smile, one that spoke more than words ever could.
He understood.
“I’m glad to see you up and moving on your own.” Adrian settled on the edge of the bed. Close enough that I could reach out if I wanted to. Far enough that I didn’t have to. “Moore’s got soup for you. Chicken noodle. It’s literally the only thing he knows how to make. I still don’t understand how he survived without me all those years.”
I dipped my head, not sure how to respond. I wasn’t hungry. Not even close. But the threat of a feeding tube still hung in the air, unspoken, but real.
Just the thought of it made my stomach twist.
And yet, compared to everything else I’d endured, a tube down my throat didn’t even rank on it. It wouldn’t be the worst. Not by a long shot.
“Why….” I coated my lips, eyes bouncing around the room before landing on my lap. “Why am I here?” Here, in a place I didn’t belong? Here, in a bed that wasn’t mine? Here. Alive?
“Vincent wants you here,” Adrian answered if it made perfect sense. “Where else would you be if not here?”
“Dead?” I preferred that, because I couldn’t trust the Alpha that now had control over everything about me.
“Charlie?” Adrian scooted closer, placing his hand on the bed right beside where my knee was, but didn’t touch. “Vincent wants you. Not to make you serve him, but because he cares about you. He’s been beside himself the last couple of days, seeing you so…so broken.”
I caught the huff of disdain before it passed my lips.
Who cared if I was broken? I was created that way. Created to be beaten and bruised. Created to be a robot, to serve an Alpha.
And it’d stay that way till I died.
“Vincent is kind, Charlie. He’s kind and caring and if you let him, he’ll cherish you like you always should have been.” His voice was soothing, not an ounce of malice there. Just plain and simple, like he knew in time I’d see it his way.
“He’s right,” Alpha Harris spoke, entering the room. I started, jerking back and hitting my back against the headboard. I hissed as the pain spiked anew. “I will cherish you, if you let me do so.”
Sure, if he said so, I thought, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. Then, I instantly remembered my place, dropping my eyes to the bed, waiting for orders.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alpha Harris place a white and blue bowl on the nightstand.
“Give us a moment, Adrian. Please.”
No!I wanted to shout. Maybe if he stayed, whatever this Alpha wanted wouldn’t be so bad.
