8. Opal
Chapter eight
Opal
A whole night goes by since Reed locked me away down in the basement, and to say my wrist is cramping like a bitch would be a serious understatement.
I slept rough all night with my arm propped up on the bedrail above me. But it hurt nowhere as much as knowing that somewhere in the house, Zayden sleeps without me.
Reed forbade any of them from seeing me, and he really is laying down the law.
This is him making up for lost time. No one listened to him the first time I got here, so he is going out of his way to ensure I suffer.
We can expect Mr. Mean, Grumpy Alpha from now on.
Not that he was a saint before.
It’s early morning. Or maybe it’s still yesterday, who knows—it’s hard to tell down in the dark, windowless basement.
Soon, Reed will arrive to give me breakfast. Not that I barely touched the last food tray that was brought down for me.
It still lies on the bed, untouched and uneaten.
What can I say? I had no appetite.
Floorboards creak up above, and it looks like one of them has risen. When the basement door squeaks open at the top of the stairs, I turn my head, facing the wall beside me.
I know his footsteps by now. Those slow, deliberate booted feet make their way down the stairs to me now as he hovers in my peripheral vision.
My eyes shut. I’m tired, drained.
No, exhausted .
I have no more energy or life in me anymore.
Being locked away has given me a lot to think about. Such as who I am now.
Who is Opal now that her Alpha cut her strings?
No one.
That's who Opal is.
I truly am a hollow girl.
I hope Reed makes this visit quick. I just want to be alone.
Not even Zayden could help me now. Still, his shining hazelnut eyes fill my mind every second of the day.
He's better off without me.
Gryphon and Oliver should have just killed me.
“I know you’re awake."
His low, baritone growl fills the basement and my soul, awakening something deep inside me. But I squeeze my eyes shut, turning my face away further.
The plaster on the wall is my new friend. At least it doesn’t talk back.
“Trouble.”
Oh, there he goes with all that trouble business again.
Another growl sounds in the basement, and then he’s looming above me, brushing a cool breeze my way.
Why can’t he just let me die quietly?
Reed’s anger radiates from his body in waves as he inhales through that acute nose, sniffing me out.
He grimaces.
Well, excuse me... I haven’t had a chance to bathe in days.And going to the toilet is out of the question.
I have become the master of 'holding it in'.
“You stink.”
Now that gets my attention, and I finally turn my head away from the wall and glare at him. He shows me his fangs, but I’m sure his eyes taper with what… warmth?
“What do you want?” I ask.
He places a new tray down beside me, and ooh, toast.
Buttered toast…
How did he know?
“Eat.”
I will when you eat my ass.
That’s what I want to say, but I find that I like having my head attached to my shoulders. So, I refrain.
I hold up my chin. “No.”
Reed’s white eye glows, and how does he do that? His nostrils flare, and what now?
Just go away…
I point at the tray of uneaten food with my foot. “And take the other tray on your way out.”
His growl next rattles me to my core, vibrating through the springs of the bed below me, and damn, he's freaking close.
And hot.
His gunsmoke scent really is sharp.
“No. You will eat. And I will watch.”
Watch?
He moves away from the bed and grabs a stool, and the poor, wooden thing looks ready to crumble beneath his weight as he crosses his arms, staring at me with a challenge in his eye.
We just stare at each other.
When his good eyebrow shoots up, I roll my eyes, grabbing a juicy apple off my tray. Now, I make a point of eating the forbidden fruit pointedly as I never take my gaze from his.
Another low growl sounds from his chest, and I’m not surprised when his cock hardens next.
So, I eat and eat some more.
He said he wanted to watch.
Satisfied with my compliance to eat at last, Reed rises from the tiny stool, then stomps towards the stairs.
“Ass,” I mutter when I think he is out of earshot.
Of course he was not.
The Alpha is above me in seconds, and I meet those sharp canines again. They almost look as sharp as they would on a wolf.
Reed is an animal.
An animal I want to fuck.
“I heard that, Trouble.”
“Good. You were supposed to.”
He snarls again, and this is getting tiresome. Kill me, fuck me, just be quick about it.
His nostrils flare as he gets another sniff of me. “You will bathe.”
Finally, he unfastens my handcuffs and drags me to the fancy “en suite” at the other end of the serial killer-esque basement.
I just hope he doesn’t expect to watch me in the bath, too.
Creep.
Reed shoves me inside the bathroom and locks the door from outside, and my eyes land on the toilet with its black, cold seat.
No porcelain then.
Still, beggars can’t be choosers, and I pull down my panties, sighing as I relieve myself.
Damn. I really was holding it in.
I move to the tub, trying to work out the dial as I turn on the faucet.
Ice-cold water rains down on me, yet I don’t even yelp. I just remain under the shower fully clothed until it grows hot.
There’s soap in here, and I grab it quickly, hoping it has no pubic hairs from Reed's last victim as I run it up and down my body.
Soon, I’m squeaky clean, but my clothes are soaking wet.
I never saw any reason to remove them.
Reed knocks on the door. “Trouble.”
That name is getting old.
I switch off the shower and step toward the door, dripping water all over the cracked tiles as I meet him on the other side.
His eyes widen when he sees the state I'm in, and he growls for the umpteenth time and hauls me out.
“Nothing but trouble.”
Now he has to get me some new clothes.
“Clothes off. Now."
Oh, things are getting heated.
I meet his eyes. “What?”
He points at my drenched attire. “You will get sick in those. Take them off. Now.”
My eyebrow shoots up. “And you care because?”
Reed leans down, getting in my face. “You take off your clothes.”
Well, if he insists.
Now I peel off my wet shirt, and he turns around to give me some privacy. Once I’m undressed, I stand there in the cold, ignoring the goosebumps on my skin as I shiver.
I really didn’t think this through.
“Return to the bed and eat.”
He keeps his eyes covered, pointing at the bed.
With a sigh, I step toward the bed and gather up the scratchy blankets, covering myself up.
Once he’s certain I'm thoroughly covered, he returns to my side, handcuffing me back to the bedrail. Then he points at the tray of food.
“Eat.”
He gives me his back, picking up my wet clothes off the floor as he vanishes upstairs, and I guess that's the end of his visit.
Good riddance.
His gunsmoke scent lingers, and I ignore the ache in my chest as I just want him back.
Is this how it is going to be? Reed giving me one-word demands while I slowly slip away into madness?
How far can I push him? How far can he push me?
Who knows.
But I’m looking forward to finding out.
Oh, I will give him trouble indeed.
I kick my blankets off the bed.
Oops.
Now I'm buck naked, but I can't exactly bend over the bed to reach my blankets, can I? He handcuffed me.
Oh, well.
Reed will be in for a real surprise when he returns.