Chapter 73

Chapter 73
Jesse

The walls of this room were a pale, expensive cream color. I hated them. I hated the soft carpet under my bare feet and the way the sunlight hit the mahogany desk in the corner. 

It was all too quiet. It was the kind of quiet that let my brain eat itself alive.

It had been three days since Maddox told me, with a voice as calm as a summer pond, that my friends were dead.

I had been wondering how someone could look so normally while saying something so monstrous. 

A knock came at the door but I didn't answer. I never did.

The door opened anyway, and Maddox stepped in. He wasn't wearing armor or his Alpha leather today. Just a simple black shirt. He looked like a normal guy, which made my stomach turn.

"Jesse," he said. His voice was low. 

"You haven’t touched your breakfast."

I looked at the tray on the nightstand. Cold eggs. Dry toast.

"I’m not hungry." I told him flatly

"You need to eat to keep your strength up," he said, walking further into the room. He didn't stay by the door like the guards. He acted like he owned the air I was breathing. Well, I guess he did.

"Strength for what?" I snapped. My voice sounded scratchy, like I’d been swallowing sand. 

"So I can sit in this fancy box for another ten hours? Or so I can listen to you tell me who else you’ve managed to kill?"

Maddox didn't flinch. He pulled out the chair from the desk and turned it to face me. 

"I told you, their deaths were a consequence of the battle. If you hadn't escaped—"

"Don't," I hissed. "Don't you dare put their blood on me. You hunted us, we were just passing through. We weren't even on your main territory when you started the ambush."

"I want to move past that, Jesse. I want to know about you. You’re... different from other rogues I’ve met."

I looked at him. Really looked at him. Was he serious? Did he think we were friends? Was this some kind of sick game?

"Why do you care?" I asked. My hands were shaking, so I tucked them under my thighs. "Is this a hobby for you? Kidnapping people and asking for their life story?"

"I’m trying to understand you," he said.

"There’s nothing to understand. I’m a rogue. You’re an Alpha who likes to play god. That’s the whole story."

"You had a family once," he pushed. "I can tell by the way you carry yourself. You were trained by someone who knew what they were doing. Who was it? What was the name of your parents or masters?"

I felt a flash of Claude’s face in my mind. The Revelle Pack. The smell of pine and the sound of the cliffside where we used to hide. Then I remembered the way Claude looked at me when he told me I was nothing. I pushed the memory down so hard it hurt.

"None of your fucking business!" I said. 

"Actually, why are you even here? Don't you have a pack to run? Or more people to go harass? Just leave me alone. Stop bothering me."

Maddox stood up. He didn't look angry, which was worse. He looked... disappointed? Like I was a puzzle he couldn't solve.

"I'll have the guards bring up something fresh for lunch," he said. "Think about what I asked, Jesse. I'm trying to be kind here."

"Kind?" I whispered as he walked toward the door. "Is that what you call it? Why are you hidng behind this nice attitude?"

"I'm not hiding. I could have put you in the dirt with the rest of them," he said. "Remember that."

After saying that, Maddox exited the room, leaving my wallowing in my thoughts.

It had been over a week now. One would think a person would get used to a routine, but every morning I woke up in this room, the walls felt like they were leaning in a little closer. 

Maddox didn’t stop. If anything, he was getting worse. He was always there, hovering around me like I was some kind of prize he had won at a fair and he was still trying to figure out how it worked.

He came in around noon today. I was sitting by the window, staring at the trees outside and wishing I could just be a bird, or a squirrel or anything that could just run away and never look back.

"Jesse," he said. He didn't even knock anymore, he just walked in.

"What do you want, Maddox? Is it time for our daily chat where you say nothing and I get angry?"

I heard him pull the chair out. He sat down a few feet away. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head. It made my skin crawl. It felt like being poked by a finger I couldn't swat away. 

"I was thinking about the kitchen," he started. "I realized I don't actually know if there are things you can't eat. Do you have any allergies? Peanuts? Shellfish? Anything like that?"

I finally turned my head, squinting at him. "Are you serious? You’re asking about allergies?"

"It’s a simple question, Jesse."

"It’s a weird question!" I snapped. 

"Why do you care? Are you worried I’m going to die on your expensive rug? Or are you trying to act like you actually give a damn about me?"

He didn't answer right away. He just kept staring. He looked at the shape of my nose, the way my hair fell over my forehead. It was invasive. It was creepy and perverse. Honestly, was he losing his mind?

"I just want you to be comfortable," he said.

"Comfortable?" I laughed, but it wasn't a funny sound. 

"I’m a prisoner. You killed my friends. You’re holding me here against my will. And you think asking about allergies makes it better? You’re delusional. You’re actually fucking crazy."

I stood up and walked to the other side of the room. I wanted space. I wanted miles of space between us.

"Just tell me one thing," I said, pointing a finger at him. My hand was shaking again. 

"Why? Why did you hunt me so hard? We were just rogues. We weren't a threat to you. Why did you spend so much time and energy just to put me in this room? What is the point of all of this?"

"I’ve told you. You’re special, Jesse. You have a role to play."

"That’s not an answer! A role to play? What does that even mean? Am I a toy? Am I a pet? Why won't you just let me go? If you hate rogues so much, why keep one in your house?"

."You’re being difficult again. I’m trying to have a nice conversation with you, and you just want to yell."

"Because you're lying!" I screamed. "Every time I ask a real question, you change the subject or tell me I'm being a brat. You’re hiding something. I know you are. What is it? Is there a reason you look at me like you’re seeing a ghost?"

Maddox’s face went stiff. His eyes darkened, and for a second, I saw the Alpha that killed my group. His patience was gone. He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"I’m trying to be kind to you, Jesse," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Most Alphas would have broken you by now. I’ve offered you good food, a warm bed, and my company. I offered to take you for a walk in the gardens this morning, and you told the guard to go to hell."

"Because I don't want your favors!" I yelled back. "I don't want your walks. I don't want your food. I want my life back. I want my friends back. I want you to stay the hell away from me!"

He stepped closer, invading my space. He was much taller than me, and he used that to try and make me feel small. 

"You’re going to learn to appreciate what you have here. Whether you like it or not."

"Never." I whispered, staring right back into his eyes.

Maddox looked like he wanted to grab me, but he stopped himself. He just huffed, looking genuinely annoyed that I wasn't falling for his "nice guy" act. He turned on his heel and marched toward the door.

"Eat your lunch when it gets here!" he barked without looking back. 

"And stop asking questions you aren't ready to hear the answers to."

The door slammed shut. I heard the lock click.

I sat down on the floor right where I was. My heart was thumping against my ribs. He was hiding something big. 

I could feel it in the way he avoided my eyes when I asked why he kept me. 

He wasn't used to being told 'no.' He was used to everyone bowing down, and me fighting back was clearly getting under his skin.

But that didn't make me feel better. It made me feel uneasy. If he wasn't keeping me for information, and he wasn't keeping me for labor... what was he keeping me for?

I looked at the closed door and felt a cold shiver run down my back. I needed to get out of here before I found out the answer.