Chapter 81
Chapter Eighty-One
TWO WEEKS LATER
~Harlow~
Thane and Rhen come down at dinner time every other day to toss their laundry in the washing machine. Thane always commands me to not move until they both leave. Other than that one sentence, I am granted nothing by way of conversation. I am beginning to forget what my own voice sounds like.
Yet every two days, I get to dry and fold it. It’s incredible how such a silly task can become the highlight of my day. It is something to cure the boredom, if only momentarily.
Today, when Thane comes back down to retrieve the laundry, I peer over the side of my Den. I don't bother moving, knowing he will command me to remain still if I do. It seems pointless and is just unnecessary pain.
He moves toward the basket of folded clothes tucking it under his arm. Only, when he turns around, he doesn't head for the stairs. He stops at the edge of the Den.
I stare at him, wondering what he wants, when he reaches into his jacket pocket. He tosses something on the cushioned floor. I stare at it, not daring to move toward it in case it is some sort of trick.
"Rhen linked it to his card," is all he says before he walks back up the stairs.
I only move to retrieve the device when I hear the door shut and lock in place—a Kindle.
I stare at the device, and tears prick my eyes.
I am crying over a stupid e-reader, and I can't even tell if they are happy or sad tears.
I am crying for something so stupid. So basic.
It isn't a TV, but it is something. I always loved reading, but I could never really afford books, and they are a bitch to carry while on the run.
* * *
~Raidon~
Leon needs blood. He has gone three weeks with only feeding on us, and his hunger is burning out of control.
I already checked with my mother, who said while not ideal, it won't hurt our baby to feed on Harlow, though it would weaken her physically.
Were-babies aren't like human babies. They are more durable, but the mother isn't.
Since she is carrying an Alpha baby, the pregnancy will be even more draining on her, the baby growing far bigger than other weres in the short period. Werewolf pregnancies only last 16 weeks, and Harlow should be roughly six weeks along now. Any day now, she will begin to show.
"Who is the extra plate for?" Thane asks, pointing to the dinner plate on the counter. This is why I insisted on cooking tonight. Thane rarely lets anyone in the kitchen to cook dinner. He likes cooking. So, I am not shocked that he was instantly suspicious when I asked to do it.
"It's for Harlow."
Thane taps the bowl he just prepared, full of minestrone soup. I keep trying to tell him she needs more than that, but for some reason, he is using food as a punishment, since he can't punish her the way he does us.
"I am taking Leon down there. He needs blood," I tell him.
"No! What if he loses control and kills her?"
"What if he does lose control, Thane, and goes down there while we’re sleeping and kills her?
" I argue. She isn't human. She has more blood pumping in her systems than they do.
Plus, my mother would never risk her grandchild if she thought it might kill Harlow or the baby for Leon to feed.
Thane thinks for a second before he sighs.
"And your mother said it’s okay?"
I nod. He just can't feed off her too long. And Harlow will feel weak and dizzy for a little bit.
Thane presses his lips in a line. "Once a week, and no more than that, Leon," Thane tells him.
Leon nods. It is like watching someone go through withdrawal. For a week, he’s okay with just our blood, but any longer and he starts to get antsy. By now he’s gotten irritable, erratic, and constantly needs to feed on us.
"I mean it, Leon, you can't be feeding on her every day like you were before," Thane warns him.
But I have another question that no one has addressed yet. What are we going to do with Leon if Thane kills her? And the baby? A baby needs its mother. And I honestly don't believe I could rip it from her arms.
"Go, before I change my mind," Thane snaps at us. I snatch the plate of food off the counter and head for the Den.
Walking down the steps, the room is awfully silent, depressingly so, but damn, is her scent is potent after being locked in here for weeks.
Leon growls behind me. As I get halfway down the stairs, I find her sitting amongst the cushions with the Kindle Rhen gave her in her hands.
She lifts her head before her eyes widen as she gets to her feet.
Only when she does, do I feel Thane's oppressive aura directly behind me.
"Remain where you are," he orders her. I glance over my shoulder to glare at him as he follows us down the steps. I was hoping to ask her if she’s okay, to speak with her, just to hear her voice again. With Thane behind me though, I know that won't be happening.
She watches us approach. Thane takes the plate from me, setting it on the table along with the bowl of soup. If he is giving her a choice, surely, she will pick the steak and vegetables over the same soup he feeds her every damn night.
When Leon jumps into the Den, what little excitement she had dies as she instantly recognizes why we came down here. If I could, I would sleep down here, but lately Thane's punishments have been brutal whenever we attempt to sneak down or try to speak with her.
He even commanded us not to use our mind-link to connect with her.
Rhen hardly comes out of his room, barely speaks to us.
He just sits in his room stewing in his anger and sadness.
He stopped coming to work a week ago, and the place is barely holding together without him.
Only since he’s been gone did I realize he runs that place more than Thane does.
She opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. Realizing she can't even beg, her shoulders drop as she falls on her butt. Leon tries to speak to her, to coax her to look at him, but she refuses, just offers him her neck and stares at the bathroom door.
She knows we’re here to use her, not free her. And that makes my stomach sink. Leon stares at her for a few seconds before he rises to his feet. I look at him and watch as he climbs out of the Den.
"Leon?" I ask him, but he shakes his head, climbing the stairs two at a time.
"I'm not feeding on her when she doesn't want me to," he snaps at us before I hear the door slam.
Harlow stares after him, but it’s Thane that breaks the silence.
"Next time you won't refuse him unless you want me to hire a fucking Omega feeder for him," Thane snarls at her before storming out. A whimper escapes her, and even I think that is a low blow. Playing on her instincts.
"Shh, I made you dinner," I tell her, hoping she will reply. She can speak if spoken to. She can say yes and no. Maybe not hold an actual conversation, but she can answer. She offers me silence before rolling over and laying on her side.