Chapter 17
Charlie
The warmth of the blanket pressed against my skin. But it wasn’t the blanket that pulled me under. It was the silence. And silence had never been safe.
The memory came uninvited. It was sharp, sudden, whole.
A dim hallway with the scent of bleach and something artificial.
A handler’s voice, clipped and bored: “Room four. He’s ready.”
I was sixteen. Or maybe seventeen. Old enough to know what was expected. Young enough to still hope someone might stop it.
I remembered the way the door clicked shut behind me. The way the handler didn’t speak. Just gestured. Like I was furniture. Like I was a service.
I remembered the cold floor beneath my knees. The way I stared at the baseboard, counting the chips in the paint to stay grounded.
One. Two. Three.
I remembered the rule: don’t speak unless asked.
Don’t look unless told.
Don’t feel.
Especially that.
The memory didn’t last long. Just enough to leave a mark. Just enough to remind me why silence still made my chest tighten.
I shifted slightly in the bed, the present tugging me back.
The Alpha hadn’t moved. He was still there, breathing steadily beside me.
I let out a slow breath. Not to forget, but to remind myself that this wasn’t then. And I wasn’t alone. At least, not for the long dark hours of this one single night.
I wasn’t even sure what drew me to the Alpha’s room exactly. Maybe it was the dark. Maybe it was the fear of the unknown. Or maybe it was the loneliness.
All of that wasn’t unfamiliar. They were, after all, my best friends. But something about it all was at the surface, trying to weigh me down.
Even as Alpha Harris slept beside me, my mind still couldn’t rest. I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that when the sun came up, it’d only be a matter of time before Alpha Vale would summon me back to his property, as though I was nothing more but an art piece.
Whatever client wanted me, would get me. I wouldn’t get a say in it, just like I was taught to expect. Life was a great teacher, even though I hated it.
I hated knowing what waited for me. The inevitability of being pulled back into a life where my choices didn’t belong to me. Where every decision was made for someone else’s comfort.
Not mine.
I wanted to hate the Alpha beside me. Wanted to resent him for the kindness he offered so freely—kindness I hadn’t earned, didn’t know how to accept.
I wanted to hate him for giving me something soft. Something I could learn to enjoy, if I let myself. And I hated him most for letting me see an old friend.
I wiped the last tears from my eyes, slow and deliberate. They wouldn’t fall again. Not here. Not in front of him.
No one got to see the sadness. No one got to read me the way Alpha Harris did. And that terrified me. Because I wasn’t supposed to be readable.
I was supposed to be a body. A shell. A service.
And somewhere along the way, the soul inside had stopped answering to its name.
***
When I finally pulled myself from bed, Alpha Harris’s spot was cold. I was unsure if that was good or bad, but with my luck and life, probably bad.
Nothing ever went the way I wanted it to. There were always downfalls at every turn. I no longer held hope for anything better than what I got.
After taking a quick shower and dressing with items that were from Adrian. The small reminder that friends weren’t possible in or out of Lockswells’ was there at the front of my mind. It wouldn’t matter if I saw the other Omega ever again, or saw him in a matter of minutes.
Friends were forbidden. A lesson I apparently had to learn more than once.
I took one last long breath, schooled my features and cleared my thoughts, I slowly headed down the staircase. Each step was quiet, not a sound or shuffle. I didn’t even dare to breathe loudly.
Blending in was best. Pretending I didn’t exist was the only way to get through life.
“….Advise you to let Lockswell House have him back, Vincent. You have three more days with the Omega, and truthfully, it’s not worth the fight.”
I paused at the end of the stairs. Hidden behind a partial wall, I could hear what was going on in the living room. Whoever Alpha Harris was talking to, it already didn’t sound like it’d turn out to be in my favor.
“What if I want to fight it?” That was Alpha Harris. He didn’t seem upset, but that didn’t mean a whole lot to me. Alphas were great at hiding their true feelings.
I shouldn’t have been there, pressed against the wall just outside the room, breath shallow, ears straining. But I couldn’t walk away. Not when I knew they were talking about me.
The Alpha’s voice was calm, but the other man—his lawyer, I guessed—was sharper.
“I mean, we can,” the lawyer said. “But your time limit will be up by then. Alpha Vale won’t let you keep the Omega for extra days. He’s not the kind of man to forget a request,” the lawyer continued. “Even on good faith. I’ve gone up against him before, Vincent.”
There was a pause. I imagined the man shifting in his seat, maybe leaning forward, maybe checking his watch like I was just another deadline.
“If you want to pursue keeping the Omega as your own,” he said, “then I can work with that. And you’d win.”
My stomach twisted.
“Alpha Vale is only after money,” the lawyer added. “And I’d be happy to work on your behalf if that’s the way you want to go.”
I pressed my fingers tighter against the wall, heart pounding.
Owned.
Kept.
Won.
They were talking about me like I was a transaction.
But Alpha Harris hadn’t interrupted. Hadn’t corrected him. And I didn’t know if that meant he agreed, or if he was just waiting for the right moment to say no.
“I’m not in the market to keep an Omega full time,” Alpha Harris said, muffled as though he ran a hand over his mouth as he spoke. “My friend set this up.”
“But you aren’t willing to return the Omega to the House, as it was requested, early.”
I could only assume Alpha Harris shook his head or gave the lawyer a look that spoke more than words could.
“Then return the boy when they come to collect. After that, I can come up with a game plan depending on what direction you’d like to go. Or take up Alpha Vales offer for a different Omega.”
I didn’t wait to hear the Alpha’s response. I couldn’t. The words already echoed too loudly in my head.
Keep the Omega as your own.
You’d win.
He’s only after money.
I stepped back from the wall, careful not to let my heel scuff the floor. The hallway felt colder now. Longer. Like the house had stretched itself around me, reminding me I didn’t belong.
I moved quietly, retracing my steps toward the guest room.
Not running.
Not panicked.
Just… gone.
I shut the door behind me without a sound, then leaned against it, heart pounding.
Alpha Harris hadn’t said yes. But he hadn’t said no either. And that space in between where I was wanted but not chosen, defended but not claimed was the most dangerous place of all.
I crawled back into bed, curling tight beneath the blanket. Not for warmth. For containment. Because if I let myself unravel now, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to put the pieces back together again.
And that space in between—where I was wanted but not chosen, defended but not claimed—was the most dangerous place of all.
It shouldn’t hurt so deep, but it did. It was crushing my soul even more than ever.
Alpha Harris really wasn’t any different than any other Alpha I’d met. He wanted my mind as much as my body, yet he didn’t truly want me that way, either.
I was an unwanted gift, and he played his part as much as I had to play mine.
Was the last three days all a lie? Was it just to play with my heart? A new way to break me?
If so, I was already broken. There was nothing left to me but my servitude. And even then, I saw no point in doing it any longer.
I wasn’t sure any amount of punishment, of retrainment, would change my lookout on my miserable life.
Born as an Omega, I’d die as one. Loveless, alone, and miserable.
Just as the Lockswell House wanted.
I don’t know how long I lay in bed, wallowing in my own thoughts and destiny. It couldn’t have been too long, since Alpha Harris didn’t come search for me . He didn’t come check on me.
He just let me be, and that was worse. Knowing he truly didn’t see me as anything but a thing in his house that he had to care for for a short amount of time.
The sun didn’t change in the way it came through the window, shining brightly along the floor.
I jerked, bolting upright, as a ring sounded through the house. My heart sunk to my chest, knowing exactly who it was.
The brief thought of running, of hiding, was there. But where would I go? I’d be tracked, and there was no one to help me. I wouldn’t survive on my own.
Instead, I moved to sit at the edge of the bed, head bowed, and waited.
It only took minutes. Not nearly enough time to gather my thoughts, let alone silence them.
Then came the knock—soft, deliberate.
I didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just stayed where I was. The door open. Still, I didn’t shift.
“Charles?” His voice was gentle, but the name felt sharp. Who else would he expect to find here?
“Sir.” My voice came out flat. Hollow. Like it belonged to someone else.
“It’s time to go.”
I stood. Head down. Hands folded neatly in front of me, like I’d been trained to do.
I wanted to cry. Wanted to scream. Wanted to ask him not to make me leave. But I didn’t. Because wanting had never changed anything. And I already knew how this story ended.
“I’m truly sorry, Charles. My hands are tied.”
Lies. He didn’t want to try.
I ducked my head before going around the Alpha. He was simply a client. One that meant nothing. One that just put another notch into my holed up heart.
I blinked hard, forcing the tears back. Tears were no longer allowed to fall; no longer to be seen.
Alpha Harris followed behind, speaking quiet words that he meant for me to hear. But he was no longer my client. He had no say in what was to happen next, and my time with him was at an end.
I knew I wouldn’t stay that long, but the fear of returning was too strong, causing my knees to wobble as I descended the steps.
Without having to look, I felt eyes on me. Eyes that made my skin crawl.
I swallowed, coming to a stop a little ways in front of the door. I stayed quiet, as I had been trained.
“Thank you, Vincent Harris, for your cooperation. This made the transaction smoother. Your refund will be processed within an hour to the bank you paid through. Please use our services again, and Alpha Vale will personally see you to find you a new match for any given amount of time that our contracts covers.”
Alpha Harris hummed, not agreeing to anything. As two men came up on either side me, my body stiffened. Both Betas held my upper arms, giving no leeway of me escaping if I tried to do so.
“Let me help him get his shoes on. I doubt Alpha Vale would be pleased for the Omega to be injured while leaving my care.”
“Fine.” A sharp response, but at least it got the two handlers to let go of my arms.
I stayed still as Alpha Harris bent down, slipping one shoe on, then the next. I kept my eyes down, but away from him.
I didn’t want to see the man’s eyes or expressions.
“You are a wonderful Omega,” he whispered, standing to his full height. “Please, forgive me.”
“Yes, Sir. Whatever you wish of me, Sir.”
A small, barely there, brush of Alpha Harris’s lips pressed against my forehead before they were gone.
He stepped back, opened the door, and then off to the side.
I didn’t need to be led. I didn’t want anyone touching me, either.
So, with my head held forward, I walked lightly on my heavy feet towards the white van that sat in the driveway.