Chapter 14
Two blinks.
“And you knew it was poisoned? If given in the wrong dosage, it’s lethal, Master. I don’t know how it works, only that if you ingest it, you can’t move, and your body is wracked with pain.”
Why would anyone give this to someone like my Master? She threw the tissue and its contents into the chamber pot.
When she made it back to Dax’s side, his brow was pressed together. It was the most expression she’d seen from him. Sometimes his eyes smiled where his mouth couldn’t but this time, his brow was pulled in like he was frustrated.
As she watched, his mouth opened and closed, and his lips formed shapes, but no sound came out. Is he trying to talk? Does he want the meal? Maybe he IS in pain.
“Do you want it? I didn’t think…” She stopped talking because he began to blink rapidly and move his mouth again.
Leaning into him, she could barely make out as he whispered, “Poison.”
She stared into his blue–on–blue eyes as the information she had received over the last several days compiled together in her mind. The most prominent thing was that they were still actively trying to kill the Prince and he knew it.
She should be excited that he’s moving and talking but she’d learned over the years that you don’t ever react to surprise WITH surprise. She stayed like that for almost a minute as she went through everything. The options that were open to her. Her brain began placing potential threats and possible outcomes before her.
Her father had always said that she had a gifted brain. She could read advanced books at two years of age and beat him at chess by four. However, life as a slave has a funny way of turning your strengths into weaknesses and once her brain understood that her “Master always comes first“, that was all that mattered.
Nodding, she returned to the bowl and emptied it into the chamber pot as well. Then she hurried back over to Dax’s bed and sat beside him. She grabbed his hand and placed it beside her cheek.
The windows were still open, and the chilly air brushed against the back of her neck as she bowed her head into his hand.
“Master. My life here with you has been… It has the potential to be…” She exhaled, frustrated, and embarrassed. “It could be my home.”
Once again, his brow wrinkled, and she saw his pupils move ever so slowly towards her.
www
“I will always be loyal to you In my mind, I already belong to you. Whether I stay as your wife, or as your slave. But…” She closed her eyes. Was that her heart that she felt in her neck, pulsing li me the chance to prove my ability as your mate?”
a raging river? You can do this. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I’d like to stay as your wife. Would you give
His eyes dilated briefly into a cool silver as his Wolf came forward before vanishing into the deep blue–on–blue of his natural color.
One blink. No.
Bea couldn’t explain the feeling of what her heart did when she got his answer. Rip? Tear? Squeeze? Denied.
She felt the traitorous tears before they spilled over her eyelashes, and she cursed inwardly, but she wouldn’t be deterred.
“When I slaved for Rebecca, I had the memories of my past home to keep me going for a while but even memories can’t burn forever. Life became cold. And then I was sent to Master Visca’s and any memories that I did have, are long gone. Whipped, and burned out of me.”
She sniffled, not carrying how unladylike it was. His brow was no longer pressing together but his mouth was turned down into a deep frown.
“But something inside me has laid every brick down before me and it says that my home… is with YOU. That I will find that warmth again, here. You must know what Lmean. What a home is. Can’t I share your home with you?”
Shattered Alpha’s Hidden Rose
