Max looked up from the game he was playing and remarked, "You're in a mood."
Max often hung around in Cayden's office to play games on his PS4.
Cayden gave him an angry look. "I'm not in the mood for anything."
"You're fighting with yourself. Because I've known you for a long time, I can tell when you're struggling with your emotions."
He wanted to slap his friend, but the bastard was right.
"It doesn't matter."
Max refocused his attention on his game and said, "It's that chick again. I can detect traces of her on you."
"Have you never picked up the scent of a woman on me before?" Cayden inquired, snorting.
Max remarked, "You appear to be acting irrationally once more."
"You're not even looking at me. You spend far too much time engaged in playing games."
"And you're too busy fucking that woman to care about our plan." Max took a deep inhale. "We still need to plan our next attack."
Cayden growled. "I am aware of my duties."
"Would you like me to organise the next raid?"
Cayden had a long and deeply ingrained history of mistrusting other people. Many years ago, everything began when he was taken prisoner during a war and subjected to horrific treatment. He had learned that power and money talked, and as a result, he worked very hard to both build up his pack and increase his riches. He found amusement in his fortune. His pack was the richest and lent money to several other packs. Therefore, they kept mum when Cayden plundered the Hot Springs pack and killed Gerald. So many packs struggled through life in the quaint little villages, claiming to be strong. They were all liars.
"Let me get some coffee. Would you like some?" Max asked.
"Why the fuck are you hanging around here?" Cayden helped himself to a glass of scotch from the bar's selection. It wasn't as if he required the caffeine to stay awake. He didn't sleep properly or very often at all. He was woken by nightmares.
"I am playing my game." Max grinned.
"What's the point of keeping you around?" Cayden asked.
"I entertain you. And I talk sense. I believe it to explain all honesty."
Cayden was drawn to Selena that he hadn't been drawn to any other woman. He was perplexed why. When he first laid eyes on her, he was drawn in by the fragrance that she exuded. She smelt like lilac, but it wasn't something out of the ordinary, because she wasn't the first lady to excite him. And obviously, arousal played a significant role in it, but interest was also a factor. It was her that piqued his interest. However, she was the enemy.
Max cast a quick peek in Cayden's direction and saw the man standing perfectly still.
"Don't give it any more thought."
He stowed the game controller in its storage compartment and approached Cayden.
Cayden trembled in response to his touch. "They…"
"Don't think about it. Keep in mind that you're still alive."
They had been through this ordeal together several times. The hurt that Cayden felt from his history was simply too powerful for him to overcome. He had let it get the better of him, and when that happened, he had no choice but to go for a run or figure out some other way to walk it off to feel better.
"Will you be okay?" Max asked.
Cayden was desperate for some time to himself. " Yeah, I am fine. I am going for a run."
"I am not in love with her, if that's what you mean. She is nothing more than a trophy to show my power. A trophy slut would humiliate her father."
A knock on the door broke their conversation. It was his guard, Greg.
"Alpha. We have found the other girl. She was trying to leave the country with her mate."
Cayden raised an eyebrow. "You mean Nancy?"
"Yes, what do we do?"
Cayden sipped his drink and looked thoughtful.
"Let them go," He commanded.
Greg looked taken aback, but he dared not question his alpha.
Max smiled as Greg left.
"How altruistic," He laughed.
"That girl is not useful to us. Hence, I let her go. Heck, I wouldn't have stopped her had she come to me and requested to be with her mate. She is an omega who was bought by Gerald." Cayden said.
"But Selena doesn't need to know that." Cayden gave a sly smile.
*************************
When Selena woke up, the light was streaming through the window above Selena's jail bars, so she must have dozed off. She had strangely slept soundly while cocooned in the fur blanket despite being caged inside a monster's bedroom. She slept with adequate padding from the blanket and didn't wake up sore or stiff. It was almost as if the complete nightmare hadn't happened, unless she turned her head and saw Cayden sleeping soundly in his bed. The discomfort from the spankings from yesterday had also subsided. He slept soundly, without snoring. He didn't appear evil or depraved. Observing his arm that protruded from the blanket and draped over the side of the bed, covered in tattoos, and his face that was happily resting against his pillow. Her ideal man would look like this. But he wasn't her ideal man.
She stroked her hair with her fingers. It didn't matter how she looked just now, but it gave her something to do. Especially considering that she was bundled up in a cage like a scared animal. Cayden likely noticed her staring.
"Good morning," He stretched out while sitting up and exposing his bare chest.
"Last night, ", he observed, "I found you purring away all wrapped in white fur like a small kitten."
Any notion that the man was attractive was erased, and anger took its place.
She snarled, trying not to imagine herself tearing out his eyeballs like a caged tiger would. "I need to use the bathroom," she said.
With unkempt hair and weary eyes, he got out of bed wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and walked over to the cage. He reached for a set of keys that were nearby, but too far away for her to reach while I was in the cage, and unlocked her cell.
"Come on," he commanded.
On all fours, she escaped the cage. He escorted her to the bathroom after taking her arm.
"If you want to take a shower, there are towels, shampoo, soap, and other items available. Another drawer has extra toothpaste and toothbrushes. There is everything you should require cleaning yourself up. Please let me know if you need anything else." She was taken aback by his generosity when he said.
"Can I get some clothes?" She pushed her luck.
"No. You will remain naked here."
"BUT…."
He interjected, "Go into the restroom."
It was the first time since being abducted that she felt relatively normal when she shut the door. No cage was present. Also lacking was a window through which to flee. There was only one entrance and only one exit.