Page 33 of Alpha Chained

“Shhh. Don’t talk that way.” I raise a hand and stroke my palm over her hair in a gesture that surprises me. I don’t stop doing it, though.

“Why not?” She’s still whispering, her voice fluttering from the darkness. “You’ve been here long enough to know about this place. Surely you’ve figured out a way to get out?”

“I can’t. You know why,” I remind her. Her hair is soft and silky against my fingertips.

She heaves a breath. “Your sister. I know. But surely there must be some way. Something we could do…?”

“There’s nothing, Raura,” I murmur. “Don’t you think I’ve looked at this from every possible angle?”

She tilts her head up and gazes up at me from the shadows, and for a moment, I’m lost in her beautiful eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s just so hard to let go of the hope.”

I nod. “I know.”

I probably know better than anyone.

“We can’t give up hope, Riot. We can’t.” She lowers her head and buries it against my chest. “I don’t want to give up.”

“I know,” I say again. I can sense her frustration. Her anguish. It tears into me. I hold her closer, still stroking her hair. Impulsively, I brush my lips over the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Her voice is small. “I understand.” She heaves a sigh, pressing her cheek against me. Her body is warm and soft, plastered against mine. We’re naked, as we were yesterday, still keeping up the pretense in case Parker decides to barge in. Except, it doesn’t feel like a pretense right now.

“I’m glad I’m here with you,” she says suddenly. “I mean…not that I’m here here; this place is hell. But that I’m with you. You’ve made it bearable. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” I say because it does. I know exactly what she means. Because for the first time in years, I feel like there’s light in my world.

She stays quiet for a while – something that doesn’t come naturally to her. She likes to talk. I like to listen.

We lie there saying nothing, and the silence stretches until she speaks again. “Good night, Riot.”

“Good night,” I husk out. I’m trying so damned hard to stop my body from responding to her, but my cock is straining against my shorts, so I raise my thigh in case she presses against it. She falls asleep, and eventually, so do I, sinking into a darkness that feels like a warm blanket that covers both of us.

She knows my secret.

It should worry me, but it doesn’t. It feels like a weight has been lifted.

???

Riot

I wake before she does. I know it’s morning, even though there’s no light to mark the change between night and day. My body clock has adapted to this place. My eyes adjust to the darkness as I look down at her, picking out her features among the soft shadows. I watch her sleep, an unfamiliar yet pleasant feeling washing over me.

Raura looks so peaceful, her chest rising and falling with each steady breath. A few stray locks of her rose-gold hair have fallen across her face, and I resist the urge to gently brush them aside. Studying her, I’m struck by how vulnerable she seems, her defenses down and her body relaxed against mine. Yet there’s a quiet strength about her, too, one that I sensed even when we first locked eyes in those cells.

She shifts slightly, snuggling closer, and I tense involuntarily before forcing myself to relax. This intimacy is strange to me after so many years of solitude and brutality. But I can’t deny the comfort that comes from her nearness, her softness so different from the hardness I’ve encased myself in.

I don’t move, content to have this moment of peace while it lasts. Because I know soon enough, the world will come crashing back in.

It comes back all too soon. A sharp knock at the door has her sucking in a startled breath, her eyes flying open.

“It’s okay.” I stroke her cheek, then catch myself in the intimate gesture. “They’ve come to take me to training.”

“Again?”

“Every day.” I smile reassuringly as I rise from the bed and switch on the light. Her eyes trace my movements as I dress. “It’s fine. I get to go outside. I like it.”

It’s true. These hours of physical exertion have been the only thing keeping me alive in here. Except today, I don’t want to go. A thought comes crashing out of nowhere.

I don’t want to leave her.