Chapter 21

Eleanor:

“Don’t you have any other clothes to wear instead of this dress?” Natasha asked, taking me off guard. 

I shook my head and smiled shyly.

“Not yet, no.” I said and she hummed in response.

“Well, I think that we should go shopping this weekend. It would be our break, all the maids tend to take them in rotation, I can ask mom to arrange ours to be at the same time and we can go.” She said and I smiled. The fact that I didn’t have money was something that I couldn’t drop, but I couldn’t help but feel excited about going out to begin with. It was something that I was never allowed to do. That is, of course, unless we were traveling. I didn’t have the right to go out like other girls did.

“That would be nice to do.” I said, before I realized that someone could, or more specifically, would be looking for me. Elton wouldn’t just leave me missing without sending his men to find me, that is something that would deem impossible for him, and if father found out about me being missing, which was plausible, the whole city would be boiling.

“Hey, are you okay?” Natasha asked, putting a hand on my knee. I jumped in surprise and she frowned in confusion before removing her hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I shook my head as I looked away from her and she purred gently, catching my attention. “If you’re not comfortable with us going out, we can shop online? It can be a solution and everything that you order would come to you, what do you think?” 

“That’s possible?” I asked, and she frowned. 

“Of course,” she said, masking her confusion before getting up from my bed. The two of us were done with work, but I didn’t really want to stay alone and Natasha was kind enough to be willing to stay with me for a while until we went to bed. “Let me go and get my laptop.” 

“Wait, I don’t have any money…”

“You can pay me when you get your salary,” she said, stopping me. “But I doubt that you would be comfortable in these dresses all day and night.”

I looked down at the dress that I was wearing for a second before nodding and she smiled. She walked out the door and I frowned as I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling like the walls around me were tight. 

The air itself seemed to be tighter than usual, and I couldn’t help but feel small and weak with each passing moment as I feared a fate that I was escaping from. 

I shook my head and took a deep breath before getting up from bed and opening the window, something that I was never allowed to do back at home. Elton and my father would barely ever allow me to look outside the closed window, not that I could see anything outside the Estate itself. 

“Stop it, Eleanor.” I whispered to myself, encouraging myself out of the weakness that I felt. They couldn’t find me here anyway; therefore, I shouldn’t be worried. All I had to do was lay low and not attract any attention to myself.

“Are you okay?” Natasha asked, breaking my train of thoughts. I jumped in surprise at her voice before turning to face her and I smiled. Her eyes met mine and she frowned in confusion before I nodded.

“I just needed a little air,” I said and she looked up at the AC for a second before nodding.

“The air is indeed a little stuffy, do you want me to open the AC for you? Or do you prefer the window?” She asked and I smiled at her genuine question.

“I think the AC would be better.” I said, looking at her as she opened the dresser making me frown in confusion before she pulled out the remote. 

“I think that you should explore your own room better,” she said, making me laugh. “Now you know where the remote is and can turn on your own AC if you’re feeling hot...”

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“What do you think of these shorts?” Natasha asked, showing me the pair of pink shorts. I smiled at their beauty, and the fact that I was actually able to get pants was something that I was excited about. The last time that I wore any pants was a while into my engagement to Elton, it was before he decided to take my virginity.

“I like them, but I am a little too self conscious for such outfits,” I said and she shook her head at me as I blushed. 

“Well, you are going to be wearing them on your own time. So, it would be mostly me, as I will be invading your private time, who sees you.” She said before putting them in the cart. “You’ll look cute in them, and you shouldn’t have anything to be self conscious about, you look beautiful.”

Her compliment made my heart swell, especially since I could tell that she was being genuine. 

“So, now we got you dresses, pants, shirts, shorts, pajamas, and underwear. Do you want socks? We are still going to get you a few slippers and shoes…”

“Natasha, won’t it be too much? I don’t even know how much everything costs…”

“You don’t need to worry about the money,” she said, her tone softening. “And I have enough to pay for our shopping ten times what we just added in the cart. You just get what you like and there’s no need to worry,” 

I went to open my mouth to respond before the bedroom door was knocked, taking me off guard. I went to stand from the bed, catching the Alpha’s scent, but Natasha put her hand on my thigh, stopping me.

“Come in,” she called and I raised an eyebrow, watching as the Alpha opened the door before he silently walked toward us and handed Natasha his card. His eyes met mine for a second and I couldn’t help but feel small as my cheeks burned crimson. My wolf shied back, but the Alpha didn’t seem to care as he turned his attention to Natasha.

"Get her what she wants and needs. She has an open budget.” He said, and she nodded. He looked at me and nodded at me to follow him, making my heart race against my ribcage.

I got up from bed and followed him out of the room, my heart racing as I feared what was to come. However, it wasn’t long until I caught the sight of the blood that was on his shirt and his knuckle. “Alpha, you’re bleeding?”

“Don’t worry about them,” he said, making me frown in confusion. “Why didn’t you tell me that you didn’t have anything that belonged to you?” 

I avoided his eyes as I looked down at my feet before he put his finger under my chin, raising it gently. Sparks coursed through my body as I looked him in the eye, and the Alpha froze for a second before running his finger over it gently. “You know that I was well aware of it, but my question is, why didn’t YOU tell me?”

“You knew and didn’t offer, Alpha.” I said, choosing to keep my dignity in place. “I was waiting to get paid before I could buy any, and I was going to return the money to Natasha anyway.”

“You are my responsibility, Eleanor. And you’re working for me personally; therefore, if you need anything, I am the first to know, and I will be sure to provide it. Do you understand me, malyshka?” He asked, his tone stern as he looked me dead in the eye. My heart raced and I nodded, making him smile. “Now go before Natasha ends up buying off the whole store.” 

I had to fight back a laugh that almost escaped my lips before I took his hand in mine, making him frown as I ran my finger over the cuts that were on his knuckle. “Are you sure that you don’t want me helping with these? I can go back and…”

“Don’t worry, they will be healing in a bit anyway.” He said, his voice softening as he looked me in the eye. “Have a nice night, Eleanor…”