Chapter 77

Chapter 77
Jesse

My wrists were starting to throb, but I didn't let my face show it. I just sat there on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor, while the hours crawled by. 

Maddox really thought this was a big deal, didn't he? 

He thought tying me to a bedpost was some kind of ultimate torture that would make me crawl to him and beg for mercy.

It was almost funny. Almost.

I’d lived as a rogue for years. I had slept in freezing rain, gone days without eating, and been hunted by people much scarier than Maddox’s guards. 

I had been caught in traps that actually drew blood. Compared to that? These silk cords were nothing. 

They were a joke. Yeah, they restricted my movement and made my arms ache, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I’ve survived worse things before breakfast.

The only thing that actually bothered me was thinking about Rhea. If Maddox was willing to do this to me, the person he keeps calling his guest, what was he doing to her? She was down in the dark, in the damp, probably in heavy iron chains. 

This was a guest room to him. What was the dungeon like? 

Every time I felt a cramp in my shoulder, I just thought of her and shut my mouth. I could endure this. I had to. It was the least I could do while she was suffering down there because of me.

I lost track of time after a while. I tried counting the patterns in the rug, but I gave up after a few hundred. My head started to feel heavy, and I might have drifted off into a weird, half-awake state.

Suddenly, the click of the lock made me snap my head up.

The door swung open, and a small maid walked in. She was carrying a fresh tray of food, and behind her were two of those stone-faced guards. 

They didn't say a word. They just walked over to the bed, and one of them reached down to undo the restraints.

The second the pressure left my wrists, I pulled my hands back and rubbed them. My skin felt hot and raw.

"You have thirty minutes to eat," the guard said. Then they both stepped back and stood by the door like statues.

The maid didn't look at me. She just placed the tray on the nightstand. It was more of the same, hot soup, bread, some fruit. The smell hit me, and my stomach betrayed me by growling loudly. 

I hated that I was hungry. I hated that my body wanted his food.

Another woman walked in then. She looked a bit older and was wearing a clean white apron. She had a basin of warm water and some soft towels draped over her arm. A nurse, I figured. She walked straight to me and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Let me see," she said. She reached for my hands, and I flinched, pulling away.

"I’m fine,"

"Don't be difficult, dear," she said. 

"The Alpha said to make sure you weren't marked. Just let me look."

I looked at the guards, then back at her. I slowly held out my hands. My wrists were a mess. 

The skin was bright red and there were deep, sore indentations where the cords had been pulled tight. It stung as the air hit the raw patches.

The nurse dipped a towel into the warm water and started to dab at the skin. It felt good, even though it smarted.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked. 

"Why the "kindness" after the chains? Doesn't that seem a bit... I don't know, bipolar? Is that the word?"

The nurse didn't answer. She just kept cleaning the redness. 

"He just wants you to be healthy, Jesse."

"Healthy?" I let out a dry, harsh breath. "Is that what we're calling it? Chaining someone to a bed is the new health trend? What's next? A nice beating for my circulation?"

She still didn't look up. She started applying a cool ointment that smelled like herbs. It took the sting away almost instantly. 

"There," she whispered, finishing the second wrist. 

"The soreness should go down once your healing kicks in. Please... just eat your soup. It makes things easier for everyone."

I looked at the soup, then at my red, ruined wrists. Nothing about this was easy. Not for me, and definitely not for her down in the dark.

\---

I watched the nurse gather her equipments together. My eyes kept darting back to the younger maid standing by the door. I’d noticed it the second they walked in. It wasn’t just a look of pity or even curiosity. It was familiarity. It was the same look the guards gave me, and the same look the people in the hallway gave me before I was locked in here.

They always looked at me like they were seeing someone they hadn't seen in a long time. Or maybe like they were seeing a ghost? Either way, it was starting to freak me out. The nurse was done so she packed up and left.

The guards finally stepped outside the room as well to wait in the hall, closing the door halfway. I took a deep breath. This was probably my only chance to talk to someone who wasn't Maddox or a soldier.

"Hey," I whispered, looking at the maid. She jumped a little, her hands fidgeting with her apron. "What's your name?"

She looked at the door nervously, then back at me. "R-Raya," she mumbled.

"Raya. That's a nice name," I said. I tried to make my voice sound friendly, which was hard considering I felt like screaming. 

"I'm Jesse. But I guess you already knew that, right? Everyone seems to know my name here."

She nodded slowly, but she didn't say anything. She started picking up the towels the nurse had left.

"Raya, can I ask you something?" I leaned forward a bit, ignoring the sting in my arms. 

"Why does everyone look at me like that? Every time a door opens or I see someone in the hall, they stare. Even you. When you walked in, you looked... surprised. Why? Have I got something on my face?"

Raya’s eyes went wide, and she shook her head fast. She looked like she wanted to run away. 

"I’m not supposed to tell you anything, Jesse. Truly. I’m not even supposed to be talking to you. The Alpha... he gave very strict orders. No talking. Just cleaning and feeding."

"Right. Alpha's orders," I muttered. Of course. Maddox had everyone in this place terrified. 

I didn't want the girl getting in trouble, I’m not a jerk, so I didn't push her. I didn't want her ending up in the dungeons next to Rhea just because I was curious.

I leaned back against the headboard and let the nurse finish up with the ointment. My mind was racing, though. It made no sense. 
Why would an Alpha go through all this trouble for a rogue? Why keep me in a fancy room instead of just killing me? If he hated rogues, he should have finished me off with the others. But he didn't. He kept me, he lied to me, and he stared at me like I was made of gold.

There was a secret in this house. A big one. And I was right in the middle of it.

Raya moved closer to the bed to grab the water basin. As she leaned over to pick it up, the light from the window caught something shiny hanging from a small loop on her dress, right near her waist.

My heart skipped a beat. It was a key. A heavy, old-fashioned brass key.

Was that the key to the door? Or maybe the key to the back stairs? I stared at it, my brain suddenly feeling very sharp. If I could get that key, I wouldn't have to wait for Maddox to "decide" I was being nice enough to leave. I could find Rhea. 

I looked at Raya’s face. She was too busy with whay she was doing and she was provably thinking I was just brooding. She had no idea I was staring at her hip.

'Should I try to take it?' I wondered. My pulse started thumping in my ears. 

What if I mess up? What if the guards see me? But then I thought about Rhea. I thought about the chains. 

I couldn't just sit here and wait for Maddox to break me.

I watched the way the key swung as she moved. It was so close. Just a few inches away. All I had to do was be quick.