Hunger Strike

Verania

When I saw the boy running toward him, I immediately felt scared. I was too far away to hear their conversation and genuinely feared for the boy's life.

But then I saw how the Cruel Alpha held him and how broadly the child smiled. That was when I knew that he wasn't being mistreated.

Sad children rarely smiled.

I experienced that first-hand.

I automatically assumed the boy was his son. The way the boy looked at him suggested that the Alpha was a parental figure for him. I would say the boy was around ten years old. Considering Alpha Rasmon appeared to be around twenty-eight, it made sense.

At least he wasn't a monster to his own son.

That didn't mean he wasn't cruel, though.

I left my position from the window and headed toward the bed. Sitting on the edge, I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I tried to open the door and of course, it didn't budge. I tried random combinations on the keypad and it didn't work either. The window seemed to be bulletproof. It was so thick that even knocking on it hurt my knuckles.

There was no escape from this room.

The Cruel Alpha's warning words to me echoed in my head once more. No obedience , no food. Well, it wasn't the first time that food was denied to me. Madame Freya once stopped feeding me for three days when I was younger because I burned one of her dresses while ironing.

Granted, I chewed on some leaves and the other girls who were with me brought me food, but I still didn't eat for the most part.

I'd be just fine.

And if I was lucky enough, I'd die in my sleep and not have to deal with this man and his punishment any longer.

Because I wouldn't obey him.

He could rob me of my innocence and take whatever

he wanted from me—nothing would be given willingly. I was tired of being a slave and being told what to do.

What did I have to lose, anyway? A life I didn't want?

I looked around the bedroom. It was fairly small and the bathroom consisted of a bathtub, a toilet, and a sink. There was no water when I opened the taps, though, which made me wonder why that was. How was I supposed to use it with no water?

Or was he afraid I would purposely drown myself in the tub?

At least the room was clean. The bed was comfortable, too.

Sighing, I pushed my depressive thoughts to the back of my mind. The sky outside darkened with every passing hour and before I knew it, Alpha Rasmon's voice filled my ears, making my heart beat faster.

"Have you changed your mind? Knock on the door if you did."

I pressed my lips together and remained on the bed. I couldn't hear him walk off but I assumed he did because I didn't hear anything else.

In the morning, the same thing happened. I remained on the bed. I was still doing fine. I was so angry and determined that it filled me up. It was a whole meal and tasted divine.

Later that night, the same thing happened. I had a few hunger cramps but nothing too serious. I spent most of the time sleeping anyway so I wouldn't feel the pain hunger brought with it.

I was definitely having a harder time than when I was a kid. Having a few bites to eat here and there made a huge difference and I hadn't realized it until now.

By the end of day two, I was weak. I couldn't even deny it. I didn't even hear his voice anymore. Everything was just so twisted up inside of me. The hunger pangs were relentless and my mouth was parched. I didn't even have water. He was truly a cruel man.

I'd die of thirst before the hunger took me if things went on like this.

Still, I was determined to stay put and stand my ground. Even if it killed me.

I was in and out of sleep for the most part, so much that I finally lost track of how much time went by. I was so weak that even the pangs left me alone. I could positively say that everything was peaceful, and I could go on like this for the rest of eternity.

I felt strangely clean and pure; cleaner than I ever felt in all my life.

At some point, I tried to raise my head and it spun so fast that I was forced to lower it onto the pillow again. Sometime later, I cracked an eye open and was startled by the sight of someone standing over me. The sky outside was almost fully dark but I could see Alpha Rasmon's face clearly even though the lights were off.

He was fuming.

I kind of expected him to say something and when that didn't happen, I lost interest. My general weakness was responsible for this—I was sure that if I were in a normal state of mind, I wouldn't have just turned my face away from him.

Right now, I didn't care.

I heard him curse before he said, "So, this is how it'll be with you? Do you wish to provoke me, slave? Do you have the slightest idea who you're dealing with?"

I couldn't speak even if I wanted to.

A sound of surprise left my lips when he scooped me into his arms. With the last bit of energy inside of me, I thought to fight him—I wouldn't even mind it if he dropped me in the ground. I just didn't want to be in his arms.

But my mind and my body were two separate entities. They didn't know each other anymore. I could only look up at his face as he carried me out of the room. His jaw was clenched and he was grinding his molars. His nostrils were flared. His eyes remained straight ahead, though—he never looked at me.

Outside of the room, it was so cold.

I nearly curled against him because of how warm he was but I fought this insane, survival instinct, and tried to keep as much distance between my body and his as I could. I kept my hands over my belly, refusing to touch him.

We went down the stairs—he was moving quickly. I must have lost consciousness because I was awakened by a light slap on my face. My eyes sprung open and I saw the Cruel Alpha standing before me, his face inches away from mine. His dark, thick brows were drawn together and his thin lips were pressed in a hard line.

"Stubborn fool," he grunted before he grabbed the glass of water from the plump woman standing beside him, squeezed my cheeks so hard that my mouth had no choice but to open, and poured the liquid down my throat.