7. Natty
SEVEN
NATTY
PRESENT
The minimal light from the window bled into the room like an ominous dream I couldn’t seem to wake up from. The metal around my wrists pinched as I tried to move my arm away from Alec’s head. It made me hiss in pain.
“For fuck’s sake, Alec, these are too tight.”
The cuff around his wrist, connecting us, was significantly looser and it was currently attached to the hand tossed behind his head. He didn’t care that it forced me awkwardly close to him, nor did he seem to mind that I was in pain.
He confirmed as much when he clicked his tongue, staring up at the ceiling. The grayish hue of the room led to a brightened ceiling, and it had me wondering if there were still guards rotating in shifts outside our window. It honestly had me wondering how thick the opaque glass was, and if I could somehow use these metal cuffs to break through it.
“If you didn’t want to be locked up then you shouldn’t have tried to run.”
I thought back to the moment he’d opened that door and found me sneaking in, he was beyond angry. So much so he grabbed me, viciously tossed me on his bed and slowly leaned over my chest, dragging his nose down the length of my neck. My breathing hitched as fear climbed my throat, coating my mouth like ash. I didn’t think Alec would touch me, but his hands landed on my hips, where he gripped me, and his knee landed between my thighs.
“Don’t,” I rasped, unsure of what he was going to do but desperate for him not to do it.
He’d drawn back and stared down at me, then pulled my left wrist up and aggressively slapped the handcuff on. My diminishing freedom hadn’t really sunk in until he slammed the other link onto his wrist.
“There, Artemis. You’ve been chained to your beast, now you can either slay me, or fuck me, but you’re not getting away without doing one of those things.” His anger twisted with hurt, and I hated how it made me feel. This dance Alec had done around me my whole life, always making me feel horrible for not choosing him. It only worsened after that night together all those years ago.
I stared at the dark green color along his walls, listening as Alec started falling back asleep. It was morning, and I was hungry. The silence in the house was unnerving. We were obviously staying somewhere not many people knew about, if any. While there might be a few members moving around outside, I hadn’t heard any of them enter the house. Even after Rachel had mentioned Fable having women over, I had never heard a single moan, shout or scream.
It was complete nothingness and being locked in this room was driving me crazy.
“Won’t your club miss you?” I turned my face, inspecting the man chained to me.
His dark hair was skewed messily, all dark strands that matched his dark brows. He had equally dark lashes, and I assumed perhaps he’d gotten those from his mother. Silas didn’t have long lashes like that; if he did, they might lessen how beautiful his eyes were.
Alec let out a sigh, bringing his free hand to his chest to scratch. “I have people in place taking care of things while I’m gone.”
“So you can be gone for however long this thing will take? What if Silas never shows up?”
I knew that wasn’t going to be the case, likely as much as he did, but I wanted more information from him .
“So what if he doesn’t…you’ll be mine, and Fable still gets what he wants.”
I clenched my fingers into a fist where he couldn’t see. “Which is what?”
Alec’s chest expanded with a sigh, but he just let out a chuckle.
“So close, Artemis. So close, but no, you’re not getting his plan from me.”
Frustration frayed my nerves.
“So you think he’ll come here to this location?” I toyed with a random thread from my shirt, realizing how bad I smelled. As far as I had gathered, it had been two days since I arrived. While Alec had been showering every day, I refused to join him. Instead, I stood awkwardly outside the stall, ignoring the wet spray hitting me, and whatever made him groan and grunt while inside.
“Not here. He won’t be able to find us here…we made sure of that. But our men are watching for his club to make a move, we’re also monitoring the Stone Riders.”
“Why go through all of this work just for a little payback? Aren’t you worried about losing your allies, or your club? This sort of ripple could have major ramifications.”
Alec laughed. “Baby, the only thing I really care about currently is keeping you.”
A sour feeling filled my stomach as reality crashed back into place for me.
“I’m not yours to keep, Alec.”
He turned his face, his gray-blue eyes landing hard on mine. This felt intimate, us lying in bed together, creating pillow talk. All I had to do was tug my hand and remember there was nothing romantic about this.
“The way I see it, you’re not being kept by anyone, least of all my brother.”
I turned away and faced the wall so he wouldn’t see how badly my chin began to tremble from the hurt he’d just caused. Because regardless of the past I had with Silas, there was truth in what he’d said…a thread of honesty that was far too painful for me to accept.