Chapter 12: Sutton

I had somehow fallen asleep to Alpha Lucas comforting me. I shouldn’t have been surprised. It had been an exhausting day. I was still badly injured and healing. I was emotionally raw from everything that had happened. So, really, it wasn’t any real wonder that I gave in to something that just felt nice for once.

But as I woke up, I noticed that Alpha Lucas’s arms were still holding me. My legs were draped over his lap and my head was resting on his chest. I slowly sat up, realizing he was also asleep. I didn’t want to wake him, but I needed to move. My body was getting stiff and I needed the restroom. So, I moved cautiously, removing his arms gently. I had managed to shift one off of me when my stomach betrayed me. A loud growl echoed through the quiet room, protesting that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday.

Alpha Lucas stirred awake. “Sutton… what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

His tone sounded so genuine and sincere that I felt my cheeks flush.

“I’m sorry,” I said meekly. “I was trying not to wake you. Go back to sleep.”

“Do you need something? Are you in pain?” He brushed my hair away from my face, searching for any sign of discomfort.

“I’m fine,” I replied, sliding off his lap awkwardly. “I just wanted to give you some space.”

Again, my stomach betrayed me with a loud rumble and I flinched.

“You need to eat something,” Alpha Lucas said decisively. “I’ll get you…”

“No, no, it’s fine,” I insisted. “It’s two o’clock in the morning. I can wait.”

Alpha Lucas was already getting up. “This isn’t a discussion, Sutton,” he said. “You’re too skinny as it is. If you want to get your strength back soon, then you need to eat. There is no reason to wait. Come on.”

He lifted me off the bed and set me on my feet before I could protest. He took my hand and turned to leave but I froze, planting my feet. The idea of him taking me out of the room made my heart race for some reason. I couldn’t fight. I couldn’t run. This room… this room felt safe. Well, as safe as I could ever feel.

Alpha Lucas looked back at me. “It’s okay, Sutton,” he assured me. “We’ll go down to the kitchen and find you something.”

I didn’t move. I swallowed, trying to find a reason to stay. I looked around the room. My eyes fell on the bathroom. I did need the bathroom and a few moments to clean up a little sounded better than food at the moment.

“I’m sorry, Sutton,” Alpha Lucas said, reading my mind. “I was overzealous. Take some time to clean up. I’ll bring food up to you.”

I nodded my gratitude, escaping to the bathroom and shutting the door behind me. After relieving myself, I went to the sink. There were toiletries sitting neatly on the counter. Turning on the water, I washed my hands and face. I didn’t know when I’d be able to shower with all the bandages, so I settled for a warm cloth to clean what I could. Brushing my teeth made the biggest difference.

The entire time, I avoided looking in the mirror. I didn’t need to see the damage. I’d seen it before.

No… that didn’t seem right anymore. This wasn’t the same as all the other times.

I took a deep breath. Lifting my head, I opened my eyes. My breath hitched at first, but the longer I looked, the less severe it seemed. The signs of healing were evident.

“This is the last time,” I told myself.

The last time I would let someone do this to me. I was done taking it. As far as my old life went, I was already dead. So I had no reason to put my life above my dignity anymore. I’d fight to the death if someone tried to lay their hands on me again. I wouldn’t be a prisoner again.

The sound of the bedroom door came through the walls. Alpha Lucas was back. I still didn’t understand why he was doing all of this for me, but I was starting to think he wouldn’t try to be my next captor. I left the bathroom to find him setting dishes down at the table.

“I hope you like soup,” he said. “My cook makes the best bone broth soup. It’ll do you good and I thought it might help you fall back asleep. You should get some more rest.”

“That sounds perfect,” I said honestly.

I joined him at the table as he closed the laptop that had been left there and set it aside. I eyed it for a moment.

“I apologize if I’ve been keeping you from your work,” I said as I picked up my spoon. “You really don’t need to keep an eye on me so closely. I won’t be going anywhere until I’m healed.”

“Thank you, but I’m perfectly capable of determining whether my work needs me or not,” he replied.

His words were stern but there was a playfulness in his tone. My stomach fluttered and I felt my cheeks blush yet again. It was frustrating that that kept happening. It made the silence awkward as I tried to scramble for an explanation for the reaction.

“So, um… you mentioned figuring out my next steps earlier,” I said a little timidly before taking a spoonful of soup. “Truth is, I wouldn’t really know where to start.”

“Well, you have plenty of time to figure that out,” he said casually. “And we can help you with that.”

“We?”

“I told you that I wasn’t planning on keeping you locked away, Sutton,” he said, a twitch tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You will be meeting some of my packmates.”

“Oh, yes… well, that’s kind, and I’m sure they will all be lovely,” I said politely, “but I’m not sure they’ll be much help. I mean, I doubt they know much about what options I’ll have once I’m back in human territory.”

Alpha Lucas tensed. “And why must you return to human territory?”

“Um… well, I don’t want to presume how you run your pack, but I know lycans prefer their own kind,” I said. “It’ll be better if I just…”

“Sutton,” he interrupted. “You’re not human.”