Chapter 6
Cassius
Okay, so he didn’t really have much invested with those party people except maybe wanting to be seen. He was rich and flashy enough for that. The rest, well, maybe I’d slowly come to understand.
What was I thinking? He’d rented me for one night. There was no time to understand a blowhard alpha in a world where omegas, especially sets, were seen as not much more than trophies. The fact that my mind wanted to try to know him made no sense. He was handsome, sure, but was I that shallow?
I knocked my head against the back of the leather seat only to be met with the soft pillow of the headrest. Sitting in this car was like being held against a warm body.
When we pulled up to a large two-story house set against a rolling backdrop of green hills, my mouth opened wide at the beauty. Malin said nothing. His garage door automatically opened and he drove in.
This was it. I was at a strange alpha dragon’s house now. I had no say in anything and if I had to fight him and run there was nowhere to run to.
The gull-wing doors opened and I got out. Malin barely turned to look at me. He keyed in some code on an inside door lock and went inside. All I could do was follow.
He threw his case on a table by the door and moved off down the hall. I hurried to catch up while looking around.
The place was clean and airy with tall ceilings.
It was smaller than the house where the party was but still rich with marble floors, thick rugs and clean walls.
Artwork hung on some of the walls—flat, framed designs of dragons that looked made of glass.
A long table lined one wall. On it were glass figures of people and animals, also triangles, squares and balls.
Some were on stands. Some stood on their own.
They caught the light and threw pink and green dots of light about the hallway.
As we moved through the house, I saw more shelves with more glass. A geode sat in one corner with purple and pink stones. The rock was almost as tall as I was.
I saw a kitchen. Off that area, Malin threw open a door and vanished. I caught up and when I walked through I saw an elaborate game room. It had a huge TV screen on one wall with chairs and couches facing it. Behind the couch was a pool table. More shelves held more glass.
Malin finally faced me. “Do you play pool?”
“I know what it is but I’ve never played.”
“I’ll teach you. But first, stay put. I’m going to go change.”
The time alone was good. I needed to get my bearings.
I thought he would be taking me up to his room for other things.
Things the ranch taught us to do when we were rented out.
Breeding things. That was what our purpose was, and they made sure to let us know that fact every single day.
The two times I’d been rented for breeding, I’d been heavily drugged.
But today I’d thrown that glass from Klonis across the room knowing that would leave me sober and coherent.
Malin was in charge and I knew it. I steeled myself for what was to come.
Then I remembered. He didn’t like sets. I was a trophy at the party, baggage for the rest of the night. The thought relaxed my muscles which I’d been tightly clenching this whole time.
About five minutes later, Malin returned.
He wore loose black pants and a black button up open to his sternum revealing tanned flesh.
He went to a wall where there were some sticks and grabbed two.
He walked around the table and handed me one without looking at me.
Then he touched a triangle at the end of the table that held colorful balls, rocked it against the green and lifted the frame.
The next half hour he explained everything about pool. He showed me how to hold a cue, which was the name of the stick.
As I tried to take a shot, he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me to show me how to place the cue, how to use it. Having his arms around me didn’t scare me like I thought it might. He was warm. Strong. Very casual.
I decided I liked pool. A lot.
Later, we ended up on one of the couches eating a meal. He offered cold cuts, cheese, bread and cake.
“I don’t cook much,” he said. “I get a lot of food deliveries.”
It was all tasty. He drank water when I expected him to mix more drinks for himself. I was happy with water myself.
He kept eyeing me, which was new. Up until now, he’d avoided looking at me too much.
I found myself wanting to know things. About him. Maybe he felt the same?
“How long have you lived here?” I asked.
One of his eyes twitched. “How long have you been at Brimstone?”
I decided I’d play along. “A year.”
“What’s that like?”
“Really? You’re asking that?”
He shrugged, running his forefinger up and down the side of his water glass. “I’ve never been there.”
“They call it a ranch but it’s not like any ranch I’ve ever known.”
“Do you have kids?”
That was an unexpected question. “You’re rude, you know that?” I blurted.
“You dare talk to me that way?”
“I do.” I glanced away, my throat going dry. “What do I have to lose?”
He shrugged, then leaned in and picked up his drink. His hand clenched the glass until I thought it would break. “I chased a set once. He was scared.”
My own fingers wove tightly together in my lap. Why was he telling me this? “Are you threatening me?”
“Just saying it so you know.”
“So, you’re a bully like all the rest? And all this.” I waved my hand through the air. “The car outside, your expensive clothes. You come from wealth. Is it really all yours?” What had gotten into me. My mouth was moving but I wasn’t thinking.
“What the hell?”
“Why don’t you just rape me and get it over with?”