Chapter 22
Charlie
I was afraid to do more than simply breathe. My head throbbed, but the pain had settled, low and dull at the base of my skull instead of splitting me in half.
The rest of my body ached, too. Not sharp enough to make me vomit from it anymore, but still there.
Persistent.
My shoulder pulsed in rhythm with my heartbeat, a quiet warning not to move. So I didn’t.
I was alive. Unfortunately. And I had no idea where I was.
Sleep hadn’t brought rest—just dreams. Relentless reminders of everything I’d lost, everything I’d endured.
Training.
Correction.
Punishment disguised as discipline.
I remembered the blows when my posture wasn’t perfect. The sting of impact meant to shape me into something obedient.
I remembered trembling, late by seconds, forced to stare at a clock with my eyes taped open.
Time dragging itself across my vision like it was mocking me.
And now, even in stillness, those memories clung to me like bruises beneath the skin.
I was able to open my eyes a little, which was a huge improvement. My vision had been taken from me, and as I wracked my brain on why, nothing came to me.
Through the slit of vision, everything was blurry. I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me, and I didn’t dare move to figure out where I was.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t in the health center, nor my room at Lockswells. Neither place cared about my comfort.
Did that Alpha, the one who demanded my services, take me away?
Most likely, I thought, dread filling me.
If that was the case, then I had to find a way to end this life. I refused to accept my fate of being useful just to cling to life because it was willed by some powerful Alpha.
Sighing, I closed my eyes once again. I didn’t want to see the blurry colors in front of me.
I would like nothing more than to return to the dreams of Alpha Harris. He had been there, holding me and giving me comfort I didn’t deserve. He’d been there, talking away the panic.
But I knew it was all a dream. Simply wishing, because no one had ever shown me such kindness like he had.
There were questions that didn’t need to be thought of, because I knew the answers. I was an Omega. Destined to be used by whatever Alpha in any fashion they wanted.
Just take a look at how pathetic I was. Laying naked on a bed, ready and waiting to be used once again until death could finally claim me.
The lack of pain for the small amount of time wouldn’t last. It wasn’t enough time for me to find my footing, let alone try to get out of the bed. Just the thought tired every muscle.
Before I could talk myself into trying, at least, punishment be damned, there were voices from somewhere. They were low, mumbled.
With every second, the voices grew closer, and I forced my body to stay lax. I willed my mind to go back to the darkness. I willed death to come take me away before the men could reach me.
No such luck on any part of it.
The thin blanket over my legs was pulled back, slow and deliberate. Cold air crept across my skin, sharp enough to raise goosebumps along my thighs and lower back.
I didn’t move. Just lay there, exposed to the chill, waiting for whatever came next.
A set of warm hands grabbed my cheeks. Not roughly, but not entirely gently either. The man was looking for something, or waiting for my response.
Either way, I forced my body to relax, even though I didn’t want to. I wanted to speak; wanted to kick and scream.
A second later, as a finger slid down my crack, my body took over. My knees pulled up, and my end side was pushed up, ready to be of service.
Tears began to leak from my eyes; I wasn’t sure they ever stopped, as something cold and wet was swiped around my anus. It burned for a second, before cooling and leaving me numb.
I shook my head back and forth.
I couldn’t take anything in there. Just the thought of a dick pushing in while every part of my body was in agony made my stomach clench.
“Shh. It’s okay.” With the soft voice, came a caress along my head.
I followed the touch, seeking more of it as it started to back away. Maybe if the good soothing touch stayed, the hurt wouldn’t be so bad.
The touch on my butt only lasted for a second, maybe two, before it disappeared. There were more words, ones I couldn’t comprehend.
I put my legs back down once the touch was gone, the blanket back over me and hiding my scars from the Alpha.
Or maybe, it was a doctor.
Maybe I was in the health center, the section for Omegas who were a little more broken. Because broken Omegas weren’t fit to serve. And if they were too far gone, too broken, they ended up being transferred to a different boarding house.
“Charlie…” The voice came again, soft, but different this time. It carried weight. Like whoever spoke it felt my pain in their own bones.
And without thinking, I reached for it. Not with words. Not with strength. Just instinct.
My body searched for the touch I thought might come with it, something warm, something human.
Something that didn’t hurt.
My body moved before my mind could catch up, searching for the warmth I thought might come with the voice.
Fingers brushed mine. Gentle. Careful. But I flinched anyway.
Not because it was him, but because it was touch. Because my skin didn’t know how to tell the difference yet.
Still, I didn’t pull away.
Adrian didn’t speak again. He just stayed close, hand resting near mine, not forcing contact. Letting me decide. And somehow, that felt safer than anything else.
“You’re safe.” Adrian’s voice didn’t rise in level. He was close enough that his breath hit my face with the spoken words. “You’re safe, Charlie. No one here will hurt you.”
Where was here?
My hand moved just enough to let our fingers touch. I wanted more, but for now, it was enough.
Enough to let me know I wasn’t alone, wherever I was.
Enough to let me know that I was alive, and I could survive for just a little longer.
“…Swelling has gone down. Infection seems to be under control. If he can’t eat, then the feeding tube will need to be put in today.” The words weren’t for me, but certainly about me.
Had the Alpha from Lockswell taken me to his house? That was a likely possibility. For all I knew, Adrian went with his Alpha everywhere.
I could pretend to eat…maybe. The idea of putting food into my stomach was the last thing on earth I wanted to do.
“…remove the IV port when I feel comfortable with his eating habits….. Underweight already as it is…..whatever that Alpha did to him…. likely to scar……”
Peeling my eyes open to slits, the blue object in front of me moved closer. It wasn’t as blurry as before.
“Give me till tomorrow.” The owner of the voice wasn’t thrilled, but the anger wasn’t directed at me.
“You’re pushing it, Vincent.”
My heart, despite everything, picked up speed at that name.
Was it possible? Was it possible I could hope? Hope for true safety here?
“Hi.”
I blinked, trying to get my eyes to work. They wouldn’t stay open, and the little bit of vision I could get through the slits wasn’t much.
It took too much effort to reply, so I simply squeezed the fingers that were wrapped around my own.
I breathed out a breath as a finger ran across my forehead. It was gentle, barely there.
“It’s okay. It’s safe.”
I nodded, just the tiniest of movement. But it was enough for now.
“Do you hurt right now?” Adrian asked next, his voice quiet, like our moment would be ignored by the Alphas in the room. It didn’t feel like they were paying us any attention.
Did I? Yes, but no. I was sure if I moved, all the pain would crash over me like a bolder falling from a mountain top. It wouldn’t just roll over me; it’d fall right smack on top of me.
I blinked instead, the best that I could. My lashes stuck together, wet and clumped in spots.
“Moore wants to stop giving you the good stuff.” He went on, scooting a bit closer like we were in a bubble, just the two of us. “I agree. It makes you…not here.”
There wasn’t much I could do about that. I didn’t want to be here, or anywhere. The darkness was better. It kept me hidden.
“If you can….” Adrian trailed off, causing me to open my eyes that I hadn’t realized closed again. “Take some Advil or something, that’d be really good.” I could try, at least. I guess.
“That would help the nausea,” Moore’s voice broke through. He seemed closer than before. “High dose pain meds definitely mess up a person’s stomach.”
On instinct, my body froze, muscles tightening. Then, a second later, a tear leaked out as I squeezed my eyes shut through the spike of pain.
“Sorry, hon. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Something told me that it wasn’t the first time I jerked from his presence or touch.
“It’s probably bathroom time,” Moore said, like he already knew, like my body’s schedule was something he’d memorized before I had a chance to notice it myself.
And maybe he had.
Whispers of commands and touches flickered through my mind, reminders of how often I’d been told when to go. Of course he’d know. They all had.
My body flinched at the thought, but my mind didn’t bother to care. Shame was supposed to be there, I think. But it wasn’t. Not when being watched—corrected—while I pissed or shit had become routine.
So why did it feel different now? Why did Moore’s voice, calm and clinical, make something twist inside me?
Maybe because he wasn’t trying to control me. And I didn’t know how to exist without that.
“Up we go now.” That was Alpha Harris, his voice rougher than Moore’s, deeper, steadier.
I gritted my teeth and pushed myself upright, every movement dragging pain across my body like sandpaper. When my feet hit the floor, the ache roared louder, sharp in places I didn’t know could hurt.
Alpha Harris didn’t rush me. He spoke calmly, explaining each step as he moved, what he was doing, and where we were going.
His hands were firm but careful, guiding me toward the bathroom like I wouldn’t make it on my own.
And maybe I wouldn’t have. But he didn’t make me feel small for it.
Just helped. Like he’d done it a million times already.
I was slightly glad that I couldn’t see his expressions right then. I had to be a mess. Sweat covering every part of me along with the dark bruises that currently covered my entire back. and who knows where else.
I should be put together. I should look my best, because that’s what Alphas demanded of an Omega.
“Good. Now sit. Slowly.”
My knees didn’t go slowly, but Alpha Harris was there, guiding me to sit on the cold stone. There wasn’t a need for an order to release my bladder; it did it on its own.
“Sorry.” The word was hard to get out, but I felt like it needed to be said.
I was sorry for being a reliability. Sorry for being such a baby that I had to have help to make it to the bathroom. Sorry for being alive.
“There is absolutely nothing to apologize for.” With the words came a soft touch, soft motion, to rest my head against his front. I didn’t resist. Not because I had to, but because I enjoyed this kind of touch. The soft touches and soothing words. “This is not your fault.”
He was wrong.
I had done something wrong, and paid the price because of it. It was normal. Omegas got punished for a lot of things, even when they weren’t the cause of it. We took the fall, no matter what.
Because Omegas were interchangeable. Easy to be wiped from this earth because we had no rights; we had no freedoms.
“We have so much to work on, Charles.” Alpha Harris pulled back, then helped me to stand.
I had to lean on him more on the way back to the bed. My legs weak, threatening to collapse under my weight.
By the time I made it back to the bed, I was out of breath. I sat on the edge, legs trembling, waiting for the strength to crawl to the middle and disappear into sleep again.
Alpha Harris knelt in front of me, his hands braced gently on either side of the mattress.
I heard movement behind him—soft sounds, things being set down. Then his voice, low and steady.
“I’ll make you a deal,” he said. “If you can finish a full cup of pudding, I’ll read to you. You never got to finish that book I gave you.” His words didn’t push. They offered. And for the first time in a long while, something about that felt safe
I nodded once.