“You’ll have to ask him,” I say dismissively. “Where is he anyway? I would’ve thought he’d be the one punishing me today.”
Kole feeds me another spoonful that somehow tastes worse than the first.
“He has Alpha business to attend to.” A wicked grin spreads across his pale face. “So looks like you’re stuck with me today.”
“Lucky me,” I reply with mock enthusiasm.
I’m sure whatever Thane has planned for me today will be easier to take on if I at least have something in my stomach, so I finish forcing down the tuna, reminding myself to be thankful it’s not dog food this time.
“Alright,” Kole says, standing up from the bed. “Let’s get you out of these shackles.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t have just done that ten minutes ago?”
He shrugs, pulling a key out of his pocket. “I wanted to feed you.”
I blow out a breath of irritation, eyeing him with a deadly glare. “What? Is that like some weird vampire fixation since you only drink blood?”
He laughs, unlocking the shackle from my left ankle. “No, Grey. It’s not some weird vampire fixation. I just like tormenting you.”
“Yeah, you and everyone else around here,” I retort, holding out my wrist for him to unlock. Kole frees me from the last shackle and pulls me up from the bed by both of my wrists. My pulse skips when he leans in, brushing his lips against my ear.
“If you would just behave it would be a lot less fun for everyone.” His voice is rough, and when he pulls his head back, his icy blonde hair catches in mine. He pauses, releasing one of my wrists to push my hair behind my ear. The gesture of it is so foreign to me that I don’t even move when he does it. I just stand there, staring back at those white irises.
“Behaving has never really been my thing,” I finally manage, pulling my other wrist from his grip.
He takes a step back, turning for the door. “We’ll see how long that lasts now.”
We stop by my room so that I can change and brush my teeth before heading out to the garden, where a gust of wind chills my bones. I look up to see dark clouds passing overhead, signaling a storm is coming. Given the fact that I woke up in chains, I’d say that’s pretty fitting.
I continue to follow Kole over to the pens, which are now empty, though I doubt they’ll be that way for long.
“Really? He’s putting me back in the pen?”
“Not today,” he answers simply.
“Then what are we doing here?”
A mischievous look flashes across his face before he takes off in a blur. Within a matter of seconds, he reappears holding a shovel and a bucket.
“Get to scooping,” he says, handing me the two.
I look to the pens and realization quickly sinks in. “This is my punishment? Scooping wolf shit?”
“This isoneof your punishments,” he clarifies, stretching his arms out a little further.
I roll my eyes and take them, knowing it’s pointless to put up a fight. Kole will only enjoy it more if I resist, so I’m not going to give him the satisfaction. Instead, I toss him a feigned smile and step into the first pen. The stench isn’t too strong, which I’m thankful for because the last thing I need is to throw up again. Still, I opt to breathe out of my mouth as I begin shoveling the massive piles of shit. Once the bucket is completely full, Kole sends me to the edge of the woods to dig a hole to bury it in.
“You’re pretty good at this,” Kole quips, watching me with amusement.
“Good at what? Scooping shit or burying shit?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “Labor. I thought you would’ve given up by now.”
“Didn’t realize giving up was an option.” I start to put down the shovel, but he shoots over to me, wrapping his hand around mine so that I can’t let go of it.
“It’s not.” He looks down at me with a challenge, but he’s not going to get one from me. I’m just going to suck it up and get this over with.
I jerk the shovel away and begin scooping again. “I’m not someone who gives up easily. If I were, I’d be dead like the rest of the humans.”
