Chapter 20 #2
The way my body betrays me, like it recognizes him, even when my mind screams to run.
“I thought it was just because you’re a strong alpha…” The words tremble out of me, half whisper, half accusation.
He gives a cocky smile. “You think I’m a strong alpha?”
I actually bare my teeth at him, like I want to bite him. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
I can’t have him as my scent match! I genuinely thought he didn’t mean that when he insinuated it before.
He only smiles at my displays of aggression. “Come with me, little omega. We have a lot to discuss. Selene will be let go.”
“You took her to manipulate me.”
He shrugs. “Was a waste of a good persuasion to just let her go.”
I point at him. “See! You admit to it!”
“Would you rather I lie?”
“If I’m… you know… that—then that’s a shitty way to treat me!” I say, clutching at anything to show him how fucked up he is.
“This is a shitty method of meeting, but it had to be done carefully. There are eyes on you, and I don’t want them on you. Which is why we’re leaving to have a proper discussion.”
“If Selene doesn’t go, I’ll bite your balls off.”
He laughs again, which stutters like he’s trying to be serious.
“I’d greatly prefer you didn’t do that.” He sighs, as if it helps him refocus, placing his hands on his hips in a pose that only accentuates his body.
“We have no desire to feed an extra mouth when we’re already rationing to prepare for the cold.
Trust me, I want her out of here just as fucking quick as you. ”
Is he serious? Is he really going to free her if I go with him? Is he really my scent match? Does he even have her? “You have this one chance to make me believe you. And, like you intended, I’m only doing this for Selene.”
He slowly holds that fucking hand back out, like he knows this time I’ll take it. “Then come with me.”
“I don’t want to take your hand.”
He smiles and holds it to the side. “Then you walk ahead of me. Right through those trees.” He nods in a direction. I don’t move. “There’s hot chocolate where you’re going, if it helps.”
I perk up, and am pissed I did. “You’re using hot chocolate to manipulate me?”
“You said a lot of things in your heat, and you definitely care about hot chocolate.”
What do I even say to that? My body tells me to move, because logic promises that this will not go how I want it to go. How could it? I’m in his land.
Walking forward also feels like a betrayal I can’t seem to commit to. When a small gust of wind tugs at the blanket, and Judge hardly seems phased, it’s a reminder that he’s not like a normal man.
This is not going to end well for me.
For Selene.
Even if Judge doesn’t have her, or if he does and she’s here, he knows about her. Which means I need to know what he knows. It’s for her that I walk forward, feeling so weird and used that he knows things about me.
I avoid going near the alpha as I focus on the trees, walking a little faster than intended in case there’s a chance for bolting—there’s a gate with two lock pads on it.
I stop a few feet before it, and Judge continues past me to unlock them.
They open with a creak, and he steps through.
I do so because running back won’t help, despite how much my mind and body beg for it.
Any hope for escape is squelched when Judge places a firm hand at the nape of my neck. “You run out there, and you’ll freeze.”
I don’t say anything as he guides me forward, walking me through to a door that looks like a side entrance, and at some point, I realize it’s just the two of us. It’s a long walk through the darkened space, passing by windows that let in the bright moonlight.
When it’s been at least a few minutes of walking in pure silence and not a single person has been spotted, it’s clear that this entire situation was planned.
Which means he was pretty damn confident he was going to win here.
We finally seem to reach our destination when we near a padded door in a wide hallway, and Judge unlocks it, opening it and motioning me forward.
I peek inside; it’s a set of old, wooden stairs, and they’re dark as hell. “Where are we going?”
“Somewhere private.”
I stare into his echo eyes, hoping for a trace of mercy that isn’t there. There’s something more humiliating about going willingly to my own ruin. And yet, I think of Selene. Alphas love feeling like they’re in control. Making him force me might remove any possible negotiation for her safety…
“You’re bound to me, Diana,” Judge says, almost like he’s actually trying to soothe me. “You have nothing to fear when I’m with you.”
What a load of shit. “That’s a dark set of stairs,” I quietly say.
“Do you want me to carry you?”
When I take too long to respond, he reaches out, and I reluctantly take a step forward.
I keep climbing, my stomach a complete mess, until it’s clear that at the top of the steps, it’s a massive attic space.
Well, less of an attic that I’m used to, and more like the roof pitch is just insanely tall ,and the space is like a bonus room.
At the end of the room, the ceiling and walls are made of glass, as if someone may have once used this space for its natural light.
Well, glass is good. Glass is breakable. Escapable.
For a few seconds, I pause to stare at the stars that are so gorgeous above us. They were partially hidden behind branches in the courtyard.
I whip my head back around to keep taking in the space that’s lit up with plugged-in lamps.
There’s a floor bed with many different blankets and pillows.
With no real flow, there’s also a couch, a dresser, and a bookcase filled with books.
There are corners and doors, like this place is larger than it seems.
“What is this?” I ask, my voice so loud in this utter silence.
“Where we will spend time.”
Oh my god.
Is this… is this a nest? No, that’s supposed to be a sacred space.
Sure, the other one was just as bad, but I was in full-blown heat and didn’t care about anything other than a rutting cock.
But now? With full mental clarity? Nests are supposed to be shared by mates.
I near the glass wall, like seeing the expanse beyond it will help me breathe.
It looks out into what seems like another courtyard of sorts with a large fire in the center, and lots of cars and oil drums with fires in them.
There are people moving about, all dressed in something warm.
“That’s the gathering grounds, below you. They can’t see you. The windows have a privacy film on the other side.”
“I don’t want this,” I state.
“We need to get to know each other. This allows it.”
I turn around. “Why can’t I be with the scraps?”
“Ravina showed she can’t be trusted. So now you’re here.
” He examines the space. “It won’t be forever.
There are books.” He looks around a dark corner, something I already plan to explore if given the chance.
“You can try to escape, if you want.” He points up to a corner with a small black thing with three red, glowing dots.
“There are cameras all over. So I’ll know right away. ”
My lips curl upward. “You’re going to watch me the entire time?”
“I’m going to ensure you are where you’re supposed to be,” he corrects.
A huff escapes me, which rolls into an incredulous laugh as I toss the blanket off my shoulders. “I’m supposed to be home! I’m supposed to be free!”
“You can be free in here with my scent,” he replies, as if I didn’t just say that. “Again, it’s temporary.”
Oh, I could grip his ego and strangle it. “This is a load of shit. I need a social life, you know.”
“You will get plenty from me. Again, your mate.”
I glare at him, my lips parted like he can’t be serious. “No, not mates! Based on the secrecy of this, and the fact that you haven’t bitten my neck, it makes me think you can’t. So not my mate. I still don’t even believe you about the scent match!”
His eyes rage, and I can tell I hit a nerve. I try not to panic, because that’s good information for me. He then growls, and my body shivers with pleasure. “You really have to stop doing that,” I say through a whine.
What the hell was that?
“It works because I am your mate, whether there’s a bite or not,” he spits. He growls again, and I back away, remembering how he felt on my body.
I go quiet and slide against the wall, my shoulders rising and falling dramatically. Is he right? Can he command my body like that because we’re… because Judge is my scent match?
“I’m below you, just so you know. I’m never far,” he says.
“I’ll leave you here.” He nears me, and I refuse to let my head face his direction.
He squats down, gripping my chin to force me to look up at him.
“These are not ideal circumstances, but I will not risk your life or health. Do you understand? I will go to great lengths to protect that. You’ll believe me in time. ”
I refuse to answer or look at him, and Judge eventually stands. He drops a note into my lap. “This is from Selene, and is proof that she’s here. Whenever she has made it to where she’s going, she will write another letter to you.”
The door creaks as he turns to leave, that broad silhouette framed by the darkness of the stairwell he’s about to descend. “Get some sleep,” he says over his shoulder. “You’ll need it. Food will be brought shortly.”
The door shuts, and I hear the sound of many locks clicking into place as my heart thuds so hard I’m almost worried it will explode.
For a long moment, I just sit there—breathing in the scent he’s left behind as I stare at the sealed letter in my lap. The letter smells like him. I press my palms over my nose and mouth, desperate to breathe around it, not through it.
I’ve decided I’m currently rejecting his claim about scent matches. I refuse it. So far, fate has proven to be one of the coldest bitches I’ve ever met.
My hands shake as I go to open the letter. I don’t even know what I’m necessarily afraid of, but it terrifies me all the same. My breathing hitches when it looks like Selene’s handwriting.
Hey, girlie.
Well, this fucking sucks. I’m sorry this happened. I should have paid better attention to Mistress Evans. I don’t want to say much here, other than to let you know I’m alive. And I’m thinking about you all the time. We’ll survive this, you hear?
He wants me to add something that proves it’s me. The first thing that came to mind is I know how you really can’t make chocolate chip cookies. Every time you do it, they always puff up like little muffins. But you make killer peanut butter cookies.
Do what you need, you hear? So far, they could have treated me a lot worse.
Love you,
Selene
I clasp my hand over my mouth, tears streaming down my face.
How could Judge possibly know about how I’m terrible at making chocolate chip cookies without Selene telling him that?
No matter what, this proves he came across her at some point.
Which means having her here, in Dominion, is absolutely a possibility.
“Oh, Selene…”
What am I going to do now?