Chapter 16 A Smirk
Fiona
Every time my door opens, I war between attacking–which I’ve been warned not to do–and hiding under my blankets in shame. It’s quite clear Liora knows exactly what I was dreaming about the other day when she walked in and I was dreaming of Alpha Varek. She has said nothing else, but the small, knowing smile on her face makes my cheeks flush.
It’s just the guards bringing my lunch. They shuffle in quickly, set the tray on the bed, and rush out, locking the door behind them. Either they don’t trust that the Alpha’s threat is enough to keep me in line, or they don’t know about it. But when Varek said he’d chain me up again if I touched another guard, I believed him.
It’s not worth it anyway. Every time I’ve gotten past the guards right outside my door, I haven’t made it down the stairs. I need another strategy. Right now, that involves being good and hoping I can earn enough trust to make a break for it–eventually.
Lunch is almost always the same thing–some sort of meat, some bread, and a vegetable of one kind or another. Today, it’s turkey and green beans. I choke it down, even though it’s flavorless, and then I make my way over to the window that faces the training grounds.
I stand here a lot anymore, since I discovered I can see the warriors running through their exercises for much of the day. From this height, they’re not all that big, so it’s hard to see even individuals, but I know their routines so well I can follow them from all the way up here.
A sigh escapes my lips as I settle on the windowsill. I long to be down there with them, sparring and working on my form. The trainers back home have taught me everything they can. Would the trainers here be able to teach me new skills?
It doesn’t matter. I’m a prisoner up here in a tower, and they’re completely oblivious to me. There’s no way in hell Alpha Varek would ever let me go down there and work with them.
Not in my current state of rebellion anyway.
I haven’t seen Varek in several days, not since he got in my face and threatened me. Not since he caused me to have a fucking wet dream about him. If I act up, will he come back? I have to wonder if it would be worth it to get myself into enough trouble so that he comes back.
But why do I even want to see him? He’s a tyrant, a bully. A kidnapper. Even if my father did end up agreeing to him taking me, as he said, he only did it to make sure no more of our people had to suffer or die. If my father had the forces to come and get me, I have no doubt he would do so.
The sound of loud footsteps interrupts my thoughts on the stairs. That’s definitely not Liora, though she’s not exactly a petite little woman. No, I know who is coming before he even opens the door.
Varek doesn’t knock. He just barrels in. I’m not going to remind him again that this is my room because he’s already reminded me it’s his castle.
I turn to face him, but I don’t approach. My hands are on the windowsill as I wait for him to speak. We seem to be having some sort of stand-off, though, because he simply stalks across the room, his dark eyes smoldering.
Fuck, why does he have to be so Goddess damn hot?
He walks right over to me and looks over my shoulder out the window as if to see what I’ve been watching, like he doesn’t know. I don’t move. His shoulder is only an inch or two from mine, and I can feel the heat radiating off him.
Flashes of my dream come back to me. I bite my bottom lip and hold my breath the best I can. When I have to inhale, the scents of spice, the woods after the rain, and leather fill my lungs.
Varek pulls away and stands in front of me with his arms folded across his chest. His short-sleeved shirt shows off his massive muscles. His dark eyes seem to bore through me, and I continue to try to out-silence him.
“How odd that you don’t have anything smart to say.” A small smile pulls up one corner of his mouth in a sarcastic smirk.
I win.
“I didn’t see the point. It’s not as if you care what I have to say.” I match his smirk.
His smile widens, and for a second it looks genuine. “Watching training?”
“The best I can. I’m pretty high up here.”
“Better than being pretty far down there.” He shrugs, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Must be driving you crazy to have been up here for so long without being able to shift or train.”
“It’s not fun,” I admit. “And if you think I’ll be of more value to you because of my warrior status, you might want to consider letting me get some amount of practice in. You don’t want me getting all flabby and slow while I’m wasting away up here.”
“You’ve been getting enough practice in beating the living shit out of my guards, haven’t you?” he counters.
“Not recently.” I drop my eyes slightly because it pains me to admit that I’ve been listening to him.
“Maybe if you can prove that you’ve learned your lesson and stop behaving like a wild woman, I’ll let you spend some time training in an environment where you won’t be tempted to try to run away again.”
I can hardly believe he’s even considering that. I should be grateful, but it’s difficult for me to find the words, so I say nothing.
“Just wanted to come and see if the rumors were true,” he says, taking a few steps away from me. I don’t want him to go for reasons I can’t explain or accept.
So I feel the need to smart off. “What rumors? That your guards are all scared shitless of me?”
“I already know that’s true.” He takes a few more steps toward the door, turning to go, but over his shoulder he says, “They’d come in when you’re sleeping, but they wouldn’t want to wake you–and interrupt your dreams.” There’s a twinkle in his eyes that makes my stomach roil.
Varek disappears out the door, and I bend over in agony. Fucking hell!
He knows!