The sounds of the hidden door opening forces me to stop what I am doing and I wait to see what Alpha Viren wants. To my surprise a blond she-wolf wearing a black collar walks in with a tray of food. Judging by her small frame I would put her as an Omega but it is not the fact she is in the room that surprises me, more the fact that she has bruises on her that indicates she has been used for sex recently.
“Hello.” I greet her, keeping my tone neutral in case Alpha Viren sent her to spy on me. I can tell she is terrified of me as she places a tray of food beside me on the bed before tidying the room. Looking down at the tray, I find a bowl of soup and some bread waiting for me to eat. Lifting the bowl, I sniff the contents trying to find any trace of wolfsbane and let out a sigh of relief. It seems Alpha Viren kept his word of not tampering with my food. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try anything else.
The Omega watches me curiously as I silently eat my meal by drinking straight from the bowl. I have no strength to even try to use a spoon and I think she understands that. After the soup is done, I set the bowl down before taking the bread and sniffing it. Once I am sure it hasn’t been tampered with, I start eating the bread while trying to decide if I can continue to burn the wolfsbane in my system with the Omega here.
She is still watching me, both with curiosity and fear. I can tell she wants to talk to me but holds herself back. After seeing the bruise son her skin, I have a feeling why Alpha Viren had her looking after me.
“Ask it.” I state, watching the hesitation and fear as she flinches from my small command.
“You… are you really going to Mate with the Alpha?” She asks, both hope and worry in her gaze. I hesitate to answer, watching the girl for a moment before deciding I can be honest.
“I am not sure yet.” I shrug, taking a bite of the nearly finished bread.
“I asked for a week to get to know Viren more and decide then. Can’t build a relationship on distrust and lies.” I continue, addressing Alpha Viren informally to keep up my charade, before popping the last of the bread into my mouth.
“E- even if he has been with other she-wolves.” It’s a statement, not a question, and once again I take my time to answer. I know most wolves decide not to wait for their mate and that is fine. Heck, even I knew Rune had slept with others before me. I was fine with that when he took my virginity thinking we would have marked each other.
“Everyone has a past, even me.” Shrugging, I carefully stretch my sore body before looking at the she-wolf before me.
“So if he slept with others before, that’s fine.” I state, looking into the Omega’s eyes. There is a dull sheen to them and I have a feeling that he is relaying this information to Alpha Viren.
“But if he is sleeping with someone else now that I asked for seven days to get to know him, then he isn’t worthy of being with me.” Seeing a look of relief and gratitude pass through this Omega makes me believe she was kept around as a bed warmer for Alpha Viren. If she is relaying information to her Alpha, then hopefully this will help end the abuse she is going through.
With our conversation ended, the Omega tells me I can shower and helps me out of my room. As I suspected, the hidden entrance is in a closet and judging by the scent, this closet belongs to Alpha Viren. She leads me past the clothes to another door that leads to Alpha Viren’s actual room before nudging me to the only other open door.
I spot the bathroom through it and thank her before I slowly waddle towards the door, my body protesting each step. She tells me there are clean clothes and towels and that if I try to leave this room, the guards will stop me. I wave in acknowledgement before shutting the door, enjoying the small privacy the bathroom brings.
Feeling a slight disgust from Alpha Virun assaulting me and the hour I spent burning the wolfsbane from my blood, I make my way to the shower and quickly undress. The warm water is a welcome to my sore body and I stand for a moment under the spray. After some time passes, I find a set of new shampoo, conditioner and bodywash that I immediately sniff, searching for any other drugs before scrubbing myself clean. It seems that Alpha Viren really is keeping to his end of the deal. That means that eventually I will need to be intimate with the man.
Shaking these thoughts from my mind, I use this brief moment of privacy to continue burning the drugs from my blood. The process is long and slow and the pain makes me grit my teeth. I remind myself that I need to be able to contact Asteria and Gale by tomorrow if we are to form my escape plan and that without them, I am a sitting duck fit for the slaughter.
“Are you in there Miss Brynlee!?” A knock on the door followed by Alpha Viren’s voice causes me to jump and I stop what I am doing. Turning off the shower, I step into the now humid bathroom and wrap a towel around me.
“Just getting dressed.” I call out, glad I locked the door when I entered the room.
“You don’t have too.” Alpha Viren replies, a flirtatious tone to his words. I roll my eyes and move fast, quickly dressing in a t-shirt, shorts and a matching undergarment set. Deciding not to ponder how they got my size, I throw the wet towel into the hamper and after pausing, throw my clothes in there as well. I have a feeling the Omega I met earlier will make sure they are returned to me after the help I gave earlier and decide to focus on entertaining Alpha Viren once again.
Taking a deep breath, I move towards the door and put on a pitiful act before opening the small barrier keeping the insane man away from me. He is waiting patiently, his eyes taking in my body from head to toe and I smile weakly at him. I can tell he is buying my act as he offers me his arm and I take it, pretending to weakly cling to him.
“Sorry about the wolfsbane Brynlee. I didn’t realize you would be so amicable.” He apologizes with guilt in his eyes.
“I understand. It’s hard finding a loyal Mate these days.” I shrug my shoulder, trying to play it off as no big deal.
“Do you have enough strength to play a few rounds of chess?” Alpha Viren asks, changing the subject. I nod, allowing him to lead me to the other side of the room where I spy a chess board waiting to be played.
Two chairs sit on opposite sides and I voluntarily take the black pieces as I sit on the chair, feigning that its not a problem for me to play using this side while pretending to be out of breath. Before I went to the bathroom, I took a quick glance around the room to find anything useful and this table was not here before I went for my shower. He must have set it up while waiting for me.
I wait for him to play the first move, nearly scoffing when he moves his pawn from in front of his queen. I place my move next waiting to see what Alpha Viren wants.
“I see you met Kiara.” He states nonchalantly. Taking a guess that Kiara is the blond Omega, I move my rook and watch as he takes one of my pawns. I smirk, taking the chance to capture his knight.
“I did. She seems like a lovely girl.” I reply with a smile, eyes moving between the game and his face. I can tell his jaw is clenched and inwardly scoff.
“She tells me you that you would not consider being with me if I am currently sleeping with another she-wolf.” He retorts. I can see the questioning gaze he sends me as he forces out these words and I nod, watching as he makes a mistake and I take his queen with my bishop.
“That’s true. If you truly want me, you will give up all others.” I make a move, watching the play come together before looking up and staring into Alpha Viren’s eyes.
“I have already had a Mate choose someone else over me once, I wont allow it again.” I watch the surprise and slight anger radiate off of him from my challenging him. He pauses before he moves his next piece, clearly understanding he is loosing the game.
“And if I don’t stop, will you refuse me?” A challenge for a challenge. Leaning back in my chair, I continue to stare into his eyes before I move my final piece.
“Yes. I would refuse you if you continue to sleep with others.” He bristles at my words, no longer focusing on the game and I smile. I have him in the palm of my hands right now.
“Why be a Luna when I get no respect from my so called partner.” I call out, watching as he looks down at the game in surprise and comes to realize I have won this match and our debate.
“Check Mate.” With that, I stand and slowly walk back into the closet and to the hidden room. I can feel his eyes on me, feel the desire and rage at my ploy. He knows I am a challenge, knows that I am willing to fight if he goes against the deal. Lets just hope he doesn’t know I plan to escape.