CHAPTER THIRTY TWO ROXANNE I watched Ryker intently as he removed the cuffs. “I'm sorry,” I whispered. He didn't answer me though. He just kept removing the shackles that restricted my movement and I couldn’t be more grateful. “You were having a nightmare,” he pointed out.I nodded shyly, embarrassed that I had slapped the Alpha Lord. I was getting closer to my death. Closer than I imagined.“Were you just watching?” I ask as I try to shield my chest, uncomfortably aware of how damp my clothes were from sweat. “I was coming to check on you and you looked like you were ready to break out of those so I came in. It's none of my business really, I just didn't want you hurting yourself.”“This is the hundredth time that you've checked on me since you kept me in this room,” I said flatly. “That's because I can hear whatever noise you make. You don't have to be so lousy you know!”I nodded, “Heavy on peace and quiet eh?”“Hang in there,” he murmured as he helped me sit up.I rolled my e

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR ROXANNE “You again,” I blurted out before I could stop myself as I opened the door to reveal the cute man from yesterday. “Do you have a problem with it Ma'am?” He asked as he watched me. I smiled softly , “No I don't. What…Your…Um…I can swear I remember the first alphabet. It's an M right. The problem is I can see it in my head but I can't just remember.” He chuckled. “It's Miles.” “Ah, thank you!” I whispered gratefully. “I forgot.” “It's okay. Are you ready for your tour?” He asked. I shifted uncomfortably in my dress and nodded reluctantly. “Although I'd rather stay in bed and shut myself from the world, but of course the Alpha would remind me of how irresponsible I am.” Miles smiled at me. It was a genuine smile. “See, Alpha Ryker is really hard working so sluggishness irks him. He's hard on everyone. He likes when everyone is busy, you know?” I nodded. “Ma'am there's a towel on your head.” I froze and quickly removed it before closing the door of

CHAPTER THIRTY SIXRYKERShe took in ragged breaths and pushed back her hair from her face. She had just showered and the scent of vanilla filled my nostrils. Perhaps it was her shampoo but it smelled like what could be eaten.She pulled her legs up to her chest. “My parents were really good. I don't know about how they treated the people. I was quite young then.”“But I know they loved my brother and I a lot and they taught us to look out for each other.”I nodded as I listened, scared to interrupt for she might stop talking. “Zane loved me a lot. I would show him all my dumb paintings and drawings and he would tell me that's the most creative thing he had ever seen,” she chuckled and stared into space as though the memories had come flooding back.“I was neve scared. I had my big brother around and no one dared bully me but yes I was weak. I've always been weak. I couldn't do what kids younger than me were doing. It was that bad. But Zane told me it was because I was young that whe

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT ROXANNE The events of the past days weighed upon me like a ton of bricks. I was grateful for the past few days though. Maids woke me up and served me. It was so unreal. Months back that used to be me. Running helter-skelter trying to get work done but it was better here. They spoke to themselves but not to me and although they did stare at me, I never really heard anyone talk about me.I still found it hard to adjust. I was probably never going to get used to this place but one thing I was getting used to was not being accepted. The Alpha refused to see me for days now and I stopped going to see him too. He was a busy man. And for Beta Miles, he was hardly ever present. He and the Alpha were the only people I spoke to.I stared at the pancakes on my plate. I couldn't eat them all. I was hungry but not for something sweet. Dragging myself out of bed, I forced myself to the bathroom. The one place I detested a lot. Yes I wasn't one of those morning people but I

CHAPTER FORTY ROXANNE I stared down at the fishes in the fish tank a little too long to realize my fingers were growing numb from gripping the edges tightly and my breaths were ragged. I watch the fishes swim with no care in the world, breathing in and out— surviving, thriving!I was jealous of them. Yeah it was dumb as fuck to be jealous of fishes but as much as I was jealous of them— something about them triggered my inner trauma.The longer I stared, the more I seemed to notice things that I didn't notice. One of the fishes was trying to swim to the surface, then it stopped. Not because it wanted to, but because it was trapped in a tiny fish mouth.I could hear my breath loud and clear as I watched it happen. The fish was rather tiny and it looked starved but it managed to stomach a larger fish. The water was now covered in blood and the fishes were slowly dying.“Lady Roxanne,” Beta Miles' voice cut through my mind, snapping me out of my other world.I forcefully tore my eyes f