10. Opal
Chapter ten
Opal
R eed comes down the stairs, and when his eyes fall on me, a low growl sounds in his chest. "Nothing but trouble…"
I smirk, posing across the bed stark-naked as I balance my chin in one hand, letting him get his fill of my body.
The blankets still lay crumpled on the floor, and I'm not sorry.
Even though I shivered throughout the night, it was still worth every second.
Reed stomps down the stairs and grabs the blankets, throwing them at my face, and so much for romance.
But I saw his dick through his pants. He can't fool me…
He was hard.
His nostrils flare next as he sniffs in the direction of the stairs. “We have visitors, by the way."
My head lifts at that. Visitors?
The blind Alpha looks at me, his good eye fixed solely on my face. “Seems your fellow Rogues have come to pay you a visit, Trouble.”
Fellow Rogues?
My face blanches.
Belle and Ella…
They have come to see me? Why? They should hate me. Belle especially.
Gryphon is pretty much her big brother.
Before my eyes betray me, I look away so the cruel Alpha can’t see my tears.
They have come to see me, and I don’t deserve them one bit. I lied to them from the start. Made them think that I was someone else.
It's too much.
“Of course. Not that I would allow them down here. You are still too dangerous, Opal. Still unpredictable.”
I wipe away an errant tear. “Oh. So it's Opal now. That’s nice.”
Reed grumbles, and his nostrils flare as he sniffs me again. “I’m still trying to figure you out. Are you friend or foe?”
A dry laugh escapes me. “I’m whatever you want me to be, Alpha. ”
He did not like that response one bit, and now he looms over the bed, swallowing me up with his menacing shadow. “Watch your tone. I have been lenient thus far. Don’t push it, trouble.”
“So we’re back to trouble. Good to know. Had me worried for a moment. Thought you had gone soft for me.”
Reed snarls, getting close to my face like he always does. I would find it threatening, but he smells so amazing that I can’t help but enjoy the brief proximity.
“Never. I will never grow soft for you, Rogue.”
“And now we’re on Rogue . Just pick one name and stick with it before I get whiplash.”
Reed’s eye flashes. Then his arm shoots out, grabbing the back of my neck, and now he shows me his shiny white fangs.
He must sharpen them with a file like I sharpen my claws.
“Watch your mouth.”
“Or what?” I challenge. “You don’t think I have dealt with my share of cruel Alphas? Go ahead. Do your worst, Reed.”
Reed’s eyes lose all focus, and then he becomes the animal I know and love. Sometimes, I can’t tell if he is more man than wolf.
These two sides of his personality are at constant war with each other.
His large, callused fingers remain on the back of my neck, and absentmindedly, his thumb brushes across my nape.
I freeze.
He has found my bite mark. The one that once belonged to the warden.
No longer do I sense him on the other side, and it seems I truly am free of him.
What a cruel irony.
Considering how I am the furthest thing from free right now.
Not while Reed has his sights set on me.
He will ensure that I will never know a day of comfort ever again.
Still, as his thumb traces the indentations left by the teeth of an enemy Alpha, his eyes regain focus, and then they find mine.
His jaw ticks, and I watch him, stunned.
Is that anger I spy?
Anger at me or someone else?
The Alpha trembles as his fingers don’t stop caressing the abandoned bond. There's a distant echo of the warden, and I shudder next when I sense a ghost of that vicious Alpha.
He may be gone, but the warden still haunts me.
Once again, those headlights rush up the highway as I stand like a deer in the headlights, smell the fuel of the car and the wet dirt of the road as the vehicle comes to a stop.
Finally, I lose the battle. A whimper escapes me, and Reed lets go of my neck. Then he stands rigid above me for a few moments, unsure of what to do.
After a while, he gives me back my space and leaves.
Now, I am left bereft and alone once again, and I roll over onto my side as best as I can. I’m still shackled to the bed.
Still a prisoner.
I will never really know a day of freedom.
From one cage to another.