Chapter 29
Kasey
I decided that whatever cream Evander used had to be some kind of magic. My back felt better than it had in days. I didn’t know what to do with that kind of relief.
No one had ever treated me like that before. Not with care. Not with patience.
So even hours later, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. I waited for Evander to tell me what the attention had cost, what he expected in return. Surely an Alpha didn’t give that much without wanting something back.
Surely, he’d ask for…something. Anything. That was how it always worked.
And yet, he hadn’t. Not once.
Which somehow made the waiting even harder.
It didn’t help that Evander left the house with camera gear, leaving me all alone with…well anything I could possibly choose to do. Freedom felt too big, too sharp around the edges.
If I’d been brave, or stupid, I could’ve walked out the front door wearing one of the new pairs of shoes, a bag full of clothes slung over my shoulder. Nothing stopped me. No locks, no orders.
But bravery wasn’t something I had in me. Not the kind that lets you run. I wasn’t even bold enough to put a foot over the threshold.
So instead, I’d finished washing and drying all the clothes, making sure they were folded carefully, sorted by color, fabric and by purpose. I took my time with it, letting the routine settle my nerves. Letting the order give me something to hold onto.
It was safer to stay busy. Safer to stay inside. Safer to stay where he left me.
I was in the middle of making Evander’s bed, smoothing out every wrinkle and tucking in each corner just so, when the back door clicked open.
I froze.
It wasn’t loud, just the soft thump of the kitchen door swinging inward, but it hit me like a shock. My heart jumped into my throat. I hadn’t heard a car. I hadn’t heard footsteps. I didn’t expect anyone to come.
“Evander?” a woman’s voice called, warm and familiar in a way that made my stomach swoop. “I brough that casserole you like. Thought I’d drop it off while it was still warm.”
Evander’s mother.
I knew that voice. The kindness that was so much like her son’s.
I scrambled to my feet too fast, nearly stubbing my toe in my haste. My pulse hammered in my ears. I didn’t know where to stand, what to do, what I was allowed to do. The Alpha hadn’t gone over any rules before he left, other than to eat and drink if I needed to.
She stepped into Evander’s room, right there on the edge, before I could decide what to do, where I belonged.
“Oh!” She gasped, stopping short when she saw me. “I-goodness. I didn’t realize anyone was home.”
I ducked my head immediately, and my hands clapped tightly in front of me. “S-sorry.” I whispered, even though I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for. Existing, probably.
She blinked at me, surprised, softening into something gentle, just like how her son sometimes looked at me. Like I could break. “You must be…well, I don’t know who you are.”
She tilted her head, giving me a small, welcoming smile.
“I’m…I’m just…” the words tangled in my throat. I didn’t know what Evander wanted me to say.
Her eyes flickered to the bed, to me, around the room as she took it all in. “Are you a friend of Evander’s?”
Friend. The word didn’t fit me. Not even close.
I swallowed hard, trying to breathe through the panic rising in my chest. “He…he knows I’m here.” I managed, voice barely above a whisper.
She took a small step forward; and her hands raised slightly like she didn’t want to spook me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
All I could do was stand there, frozen, waiting for Evander to walk through the door and explain everything. Waiting for her to ask the question, I didn’t know how to answer.
Waiting for something, anything, to tell me what I was supposed to do.
None of my training had ever covered how to talk to someone outside of an Alpha. No one had taught me the protocol for this instant.
She didn’t move any closer. “Oh, sweetie, I really didn’t mean to startle you. My son hasn’t ever had a…someone over before.”
I shook my head; my eyes fixed on the floor. “I-I’m fine.”
She hesitated, then offered a small, reassuring smile. “I’m Maren. Evander’s mom.”
All I could manage was a shift in my feet.
“And you are?”
The question wasn’t demanding. Just curious. But it still made my pulse spike.
“K-Kasey.” I wasn’t sure if she caught it, but there was no way I was going to repeat it. I looked up at her a bit more, seeing light brown eyes looking back at me.
Her brows lifted slightly, but not in a bad way. More like she was filing the name away, trying to place it. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kasey.”
“You too, Ma’am.” I did have manners if I didn’t know what else to do.
“Oh, none of that,” she said with a gentle laugh. “Just Maren is fine.”
I didn’t know how to respond to that. She must’ve sensed the panic creeping up my spine, because she softened her voice even more. “I promise, I’m not here to bother you. I just came to drop something off for my son.”
She glanced towards the kitchen, then back at me. “Is he around?”
“He-he left.” I forced the words out. “Said he had work.”
Maren nodded slowly. “That’s new. He never works the day after…well today’s a special type of day and usually he’s taking a personal day.”
I had nothing to say, because I didn’t know Evander well enough yet to explain his time away, or his actions.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” she began, her voice still soft. “Are you from around here?”
I shook my head slowly. Yes, but not.
Would Evander be ashamed of his family to know he bought me from Lockswell? Would they tell him that I wasn’t worth his time, demanding that he get rid of me?
“I know you aren’t just passing through. Omegas don’t…well they don’t tend to let a strange Alpha help them if that’s the case. Even if my son has a big heart.”
Questions like that always felt like traps. Well, not a question but a statement that was meant for me to correct. It was easier to not answer, to let her assume whatever she wanted.
Maren hummed softly. “Do you have family around here?”
“No, Ma’am.”
Her expression softened even further, sympathy taking hold. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
I didn’t know what to do with that either.
She glanced at the bed, then came back to me. “You’re tidy. Evander never makes his bed.”
A tiny, startled sound escaped me, something almost like a laugh but too nervous to be one. She smiled at the reaction, like she’d been hoping to coax it out.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your work. I just wanted to say hello. And make sure you weren’t a burglar who does laundry before stealing the silverware.”
My eyes widened, and she laughed softly, shaking her head. “I’m teasing, sweetheart. You look about as dangerous as a wet kitten.”
Heat crept up my neck. I didn’t know if that was a compliment or not, but her tone was warm enough that it didn’t sting.
Still, the questions hung between us, unspoken but present.
Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is my son letting you stay here?
She didn’t ask them outright. She was too kind to do that. But I could feel her curiosity gently and patiently, waiting for whatever pieces I was willing to give.
And I didn’t have many.
Maren shifted her weight, studying me with that soft, motherly concern that somehow made everything worse. She wasn’t suspicious, just trying to understand, but even that was enough to make my pulse skitter.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Kasey…I’m not trying to pry. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Are you…in any type of trouble?”
The question hit me like a cold wind. My fingers curled into the hem of the shirt, one of Evander’s since they were bigger and didn’t pull on the scabs so much. Or that was the excuse I was using.
“I – no.” I said too fast, too sharp. “I’m not…I’m fine.”
Her brows pulled together, not convicted but not pushing either. “You just seem…shaken. Like you’ve been through something.”
That was an understatement.
She looked around the room again, a bit closer than I would have liked. Did she see something I had missed? Was there a streak from where I cleaned the window?
“No family nearby, and you aren’t in trouble…” she trailed off. I could feel her gaze linger on me as I shifted where I stood. “Did you come from…Lockswell?”
The name hit me like a punch to the ribs.
My breath stuttered; vision tunneled for a second. I forced myself not to flinch, to react. But I knew something must’ve shown on my face because she stepped forward before backing up again.
“Oh, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to upset you. People talk, and I know some Omegas have had a hard time coming out of that place. It’s okay if you did.”
I nodded once, blinking back tears. It wasn’t like it was a secret, but for some reason, I felt like bawling my eyes out.
Maybe it was because she reminded me of a mother I didn’t have anymore. Maybe it was the way today already twisted itself into something I hadn’t expected. Or maybe it was something else entirely. Something I didn’t have a name for.
Whatever it was, the words started spilling out before I could stop them.
“H-he…I’m here because Evander said I should be,” I stammered, hands twisting together. “He brought me here after he saw me there, and now…now I’m here and he thinks I’m someone I’m not. But that – that’s not the point.”
My breath hitched but the words kept coming, messy and tangled.
“I’m here to serve him however he wants.
I don’t know why he’s not here right now or what his days look like.
And you seem very nice, Ma’am, you do but…
but I’m not him I’m not the boy he thinks I am.
And I’m lost. And I’m confused. And I don’t really know what I’m trying to say so I’ll just… . I’ll just stop now.”
I snapped my mouth shut so fast, my teeth clicked, and my heart got lodged somewhere in my throat. None of them made sense. Not to her. Not even for me.
What was Evander doing to me?