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The knock comes again. Louder this time.

“Y-yes?” My voice is dry and raw. I don’t mean to sound so tired, but I am. Gods, I am so, so tired.

The huge oak door creaks open on rusty hinges, and I sit up on my makeshift pallet.

When he sees me, the tentative smile drops off his beautiful face, and shame unfurls through my limbs.

“Hey,” Vae’s voice is cheerful, but forced. Like he, too, is pretending like his entire life isn’t burning.

”I, uhhh…” he hesitates, gaze bouncing around the attic room and landing on my sleeping pallet. It moves to the small stack of clothes folded neatly in the corner, then settles on the water bottles he left that I’ve refilled and set next to the wall.

You have nothing to be ashamed of. That wild flame inside of me snarls. They did this, not you.

That part of me is correct, but that doesn’t mean much when I’m hungry, tired, cold, and still healing from a wound serious enough to have me coughing up blood less than a day ago.

“How fast do you heal?” I ask, the question slipping out before I can stop it.

A genuine smile curves Vae’s lips. That’s obviously all the invitation he needs because he steps inside. He shuts the door behind him and leans against it, crossing his arms over his muscular chest.

“Why? Thinking about trying to off one of us?” He teases. “I’d really suggest Dax, if you are. He’s been way meaner than me. Plus,” he adds with a devil’s smile, “I’m prettier. That’s just simple math, really.”

Despite my confusion over his appearance and wariness of him in general, I find myself biting my lip to keep a laugh from slipping out.

It’s not fair that he’s so charming on top of being so beautiful.

It’s disappointing that his cruelty overshadows his charm and beauty.

I clear my throat. “Uhm, no. That wasn’t… I was just wondering, as a vampire, how much faster you heal than a human.”

Vae shrugs. “Depends on the last time we fed. If it were recent, I could heal from a stab wound in an hour. If not, maybe a day or so. Why?”

It’s my turn to shrug. “Just… thinking.”

There’s no way I can tell him the truth. No way to explain that I’m suddenly healing as fast as a vampire when I’m obviously human. They already don’t trust me. Telling him would be suicide.

“Yeah?” He narrows his eyes, like he can tell I’m keeping something back.

I decide a subject change is in order before he starts pressing, and I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. The moment the words are out of my mouth, I want to snatch them from the air and shove them back down my throat.

“How soon do you think that Cae⁠—”

Perfect, Idril. Great subject change. This is much safer.

I cut myself off, well aware of the fact that no one wants to give me any updates. But that hasn’t stopped me from begging everyone I can—staff included. It’s all I think about. All I pray for.

I just want to know how he is.

I thought asking a member of their staff would be safe. I was wrong. It only took two hours for the Alphas to find out, and the next thing I knew, I was hauled in front of their entire daytime staff, being forced to apologize.

Not for asking a question. Not for breaking a rule. For “trying to manipulate the staff.”

It was humiliating, standing in front of a dozen people who all looked at me like I was the scum of the earth. Who had been fed lies that painted me as some kind of femme fatale Omega who’d lured a male they respected and cared for to his death.

All those years I spent imprisoned in my father’s house, and I’ve never felt more alone than I did in that room full of Alphas and Betas, Staff and Warriors.

Surrounded by people, but knowing there was no help coming. There was no one that cared for me. No one to stick up for me.

No one to turn to.