Chapter 16 #7
Strapped down with thick metal restraints lies a strange creature.
His skin is pale, almost ash-gray, with a faint silvery tint.
His eyes are open, completely black, like a demon’s.
No eyebrows. Between parted lips, I see a row of fangs, identical to Fenn Drax’s: double canines, dense, and sharper than human teeth.
There’s something else about his face that resembles Fenn even more.
He looks like some ancient vampire with gray skin.
Long black hair, pale lips. Probably not as tall as Fenn, but still over seven feet tall, long-limbed, though not nearly as muscular, leaner instead.
Something like a black one-piece suit covers most of his body, but I catch a glimpse of something trailing beside the bed: a gray, bare tail hanging off the side of the rattling wheels.
Our eyes meet for a moment, and a chill runs down my spine, like something just brushed through my mind.
The alphas push the bed past me without a word, heading toward a glass gate at the end of the corridor. It slides open silently, and they disappear inside.
I stand there watching them go. I have no idea what I just witnessed, but I’m not even sure this facility is only about alpha fertility research. I sigh and shrug, stepping into the elevator.
There are more things in heaven and earth than philosophers ever dreamed of.
I ride down to the lobby, and then take the elevator I already know to the floor where the program participants’ rooms are located.
Hoping I won’t run into anyone else, I slip into my room to quickly change and rinse off.
I don’t want to provoke any more comments, but the moment I’m done, I head out to look for Rupert.
I more or less know the way to the hospital wing, so I rush in that direction.
After a few winding turns, I manage to get there.
Fortunately for me, Rupert has already regained consciousness. I try to walk into the room, but an alpha is standing by the door and extends a hand to block my access.
"You can’t go in there alone."
"And why would I—" I cut myself off, not finishing, because honestly, that’s obvious. I beat him up. Someone might think I could come back to finish the job.
I peek in a little.
Dr. Lee is standing by Rupert’s bed.
"Can I come in?"
The doctor nods. But the alpha stays close by, ready to stop me if he has to, though eventually the doctor persuades him to let me through.
"Hi, Rupert," I say, feeling my jaw tighten because forcing a friendly tone with him really costs me a lot.
Rupert’s bloodshot eyes turn toward me, and it looks like he’s had a burst blood vessel in the whites of his eye.
Silence. Dr. Lee stares at me for a moment with raised eyebrows.
"I hope nothing serious happened. I went a little too far, but I’ve got a pretty explosive temper," I rattle on, glancing toward Dr. Lee and making an innocent face.
"I’m like that, but I trust Rupert can forgive me, right, baby? We both really want to stay in this program, Doctor, and I believe we’ll be able to get along," I add, partly to Dr. Lee, but the message is aimed at Rupert too.
I realize how that sounds, like a violent man trying to talk his victim into keeping the status quo. And they do not know that, in fact, he raped me. Still, the situation doesn’t look good.
"Doctor, could you step out for a moment? I need to say a few words to Marlow," Rupert says.
The doctor suddenly lets out a squeaky sound and sneezes loudly. Okay, I deserved that murderous look he sent me. Then he just waves the alpha who brought me here out with him, and they both leave, closing the door behind them.
"You son of a bitch—" Rupert starts, but I’m not having it.
"No, you son of a bitch!"
"How dare you—"
"No, how dare you!"
Silence falls. Well, that was a helluva conversation.
"If you expect me to apologize, you’re seriously mistaken, you fucking rapist. You deserved every blow. You tased me, let me remind you, and you tied my hands, you sick bastard. If you try to twist this around now and make yourself the victim, I swear—"
"I have no intention of doing that," Rupert cuts in. "When they brought me here, they had to change my clothes because I reeked of Drax’s pheromones. Me! And you? Think about how you must have smelled! I never wanted to have sex with you before, but his scent—"
"You still had a will! You could have fought it!"
"Believe me, I tried! But fine. I know my share of the blame. But the truth is, in this program you signed consent to have sex with me—"
"Consent to sex includes consensual sex in its basic meaning, and I said many times that I did not want to do that.
" I clench my fists, blood boiling in my veins.
"And one more thing! I was not the first one to step outside this relationship.
You fucked Caspian and let Juan fuck you.
I know because I saw it with my own eyes.
Only after that did I go to Fenn. I have a clear conscience, or at least as clear as one can have in a situation like this! " I add furiously.
Rupert looks at me with cold eyes, one of which is deeply bloodshot, which is very distracting.
"So it’s Fenn now, not just Drax?"
"Don’t even start."
A moment of silence. Rupert stares at the ceiling.
I just have to emphasize it, “Think again if you think you can force me into sex the next time. I’m not an omega or a beta. I’m an alpha like you, and I’m telling you I’m not falling for that damn taser a second time.”
"The thought of touching you tempts me about as much as touching a snake," Rupert says dryly. "Just don’t come to our room reeking like the mutant!"
"Don’t try to make it sound like you had zero control, because I know you were angry at me. Didn't that fuel it?"