Chapter 7 7
Phoebe~~
With the way Knox glared at me, I knew I had messed up big time and was in trouble. I curled my legs together, seated on the bed, while patiently waiting for him to declare what my penalty would look like, but he only began walking closer to me.
How was he like that last night? It was damn scary, and he was dangerous.
Was it because I barged in there instead of being in the club?
I took a light gulp, ‘No doubt that it was. He didn't expect to see me there when I was supposed to fetch him enough money last night. Was he going to order his men to rip my flesh with a hot whip?’
“Quit overthinking!” His voice snapped me out of my daze, and I nodded even without being sure if it was what I was supposed to do. “Now explain why and how you ended up in the underground basement last night…”
I rolled my eyes from one corner to the other. An underground basement? So that was where I happened to go in?
No wonder there was no way out. No matter how I tried, I could have gotten into more trouble.
But to think of it, why did I survive? Wasn't I supposed to die after he claimed me like that last night?
I was supposed to ask him, at least remind him of his narration years ago and why it didn't happen. But his darkened expressions made my belly churn, and I avoided his gaze.
“Not going to speak? Should I help you?” he asked and moved closer, so I shifted back into the bed. “You were supposed to be at the club. So why were you there?”
My mind was still blank.
Telling him that I was trying to escape would add more salt to my injury because that was nothing but the truth. Not just that I didn't want to be a whore, but I hated it here and needed to escape, so as to find a helper from the other packs.
My wolf snarled in my head, and I pouted. What did I do just now? I wouldn't worry about this jerk before me and her, too.
‘Just tell him that you don't want another man claiming you,’ she suggested, and I thought it was a good option, so I explained it to him, hoping he would understand.
I cleared my throat and added, “Knox, I know you hate me, even though I should do that. But don't you think having other men share me is out of line? We are mates for crying out loud, and other men claiming me would also affect your wolf. It's not like I'm your chosen mate; I'm your fated mate.” and I hoped that he saw the sense I was making.
But he said not a single word.
He turned and pointed at the table a few feet away from me, then said, "That's your meal. Once done, you will be taken to meet people like you. You will stay and work with them until the end of today, then you will choose which part to follow. Being a whore, or joining them there daily. But one thing is certain; I won't let you die, because I'm just starting.”
After he was done speaking, he began leaving the room, not wanting to hear from me.
The room was so vast, and the door had a security lock for which I didn't know the passcode, so I was locked up there for real.
I tried understanding what he was talking about, joining people like me, but it didn't make sense, so I waved off the thought and climbed down from the bed. I reached the meal, and the goddess knew how shocked I was to meet my fave meal before me.
“Did he tell them to prepare this?” I snorted, my brows knitted as I glared at the dishes served in the tray.
‘Maybe, he's welcoming us back to the land of the living since we didn't happen to die,’ my wolf said in my head, and I nodded.
So true! Maybe my wolf was right.
He didn't expect me to make it back alive, right? I didn't, either. But it would have surely been better if I had died. At least, I wouldn't have to see his devilish looks again.
I slowly ate the food, just so I could get the strength for what awaited me in the future. Since I was sneaking away before meeting him in that library, I knew he wouldn't let it slide easily. He would come for me definitely, just to make sure I feel pains.
Done, I shifted the empty tray to the side, but my eyes still lingered on it. The meal tasted like his cooking craft, and no matter how I thought about it…
My eyes suddenly popped wide. What if he made the meal and poisoned me since I didn't die from last night? My breath hitched and quickly dipped my fingers down my throat, trying to throw up everything. I choked up, my face drained of blood.
Why didn't I think of this initially? This could be my last meal on earth. I choked up again and quickly got to my feet and began searching for the bathroom. It took me time to realise that the bathroom door was a mirror, making it difficult to find, so I went in and direct to the sink.
I tried as much as I could, not until my wolf snarled at me did I realise we were safe. ‘Do you really think my mate could do that? Who said all those we saw wee useless?’
She wouldn't understand. We are now sworn enemies to Knox and he can do anything to take our life. “So why did he prepare the meal? Does that change the fact that I could poison him if I get the privilege?” I grimaced, because if I can do so, I wouldn't think twice.
I was very sure he didn't prepare the meal to remind me of our sweet days, and so I could forget everything he did to me. He wanted those memories to haunt me, and I promise to be a nightmare to him too.
After washing up my hands and lips, I thought to leave only to face the spacious bathroom. I couldn't stop admiring every beauty in the bathroom. It was so huge that one would mistake it for a bedroom.
But what I didn't expect was seeing my personal items there.
I reached out to my brush, which had my name boldly written on it. I had done that back in my father's palace, so how did he get it? There were so many other things I didn't get to understand how he ended up with them, because I never left my personal belongings in his apartment when I visited him in the past.
‘Say, he took them because he knew you would need them here. But why in his room? I thought the room where we were always dressed was ours.’ My wolf chipped into my mind and interrupted my thoughts.
I scratched the back of my neck and grabbed the brush. I brushed my teeth, washed my hair down to my body, dressed my hair and then I realised I had worn his shirt into the bathroom.
“What exactly is going on?” I grabbed the shirt and began checking it. “This was the shirt I always put on. Is he okay? Why would he put on his stinky shirt on me?”
Then came the sound of the door shutting hard, making me shudder.
My eyes bulged as I stepped back deeper into the bathroom, scared that he would barge in here and drag me out.
“Where are you, female?” came the voice from the bedroom.
I exhaled and shook my head.
That wasn't his voice. More like that of his beta.
So I hastened and had the shirt, then walked out to meet the young man standing in the middle of the room, staring just at the direction from where I had shown up.
“I'm taking you to the slave mistress!!” the beta exclaimed, and it clicked once.
I looked up to him, my forehead twisted, “What did you just say? Slave what?”
“Slave mistress! Order from the alpha king,” he explained further, still with his gaze focused on me.
I went immobile.
So this was what he meant by meeting people like me? I wasn't a slave, so why should I?
After washing my hair and dressing up, was I going to work as a slave?
“You're a VIP slave…”
“Stop kidding me.” I snapped at the man who seemed to think it was that funny. “Fine! I'm sure that it isn't worse than being a whore. I'll even make friends there.”
He scoffed and moved towards the door.
About stepping towards him, my eyes landed on the fridge just to my left, and I hurried over. I dragged it open, and there were juices, canned water, energy drinks and all.
I grinned and began picking the ones I loved, especially the energy drinks and canned water.
By the time I packed them all, I called out to the man, “You could help me hold some.”
He turned to me, and his jaw dropped in shock. “What do you think you're doing?”
“Huh?!” Why didn't he know? I was taking them as a slave, and would first bribe the slave mistress with some, so she wouldn't give me too much work. “Just come help me, and I will teach you how to track down enemies,” I said to him, very confident that he would fall for that trick.