Chapter 13: Guts

Chapter 13: Guts Kaya I was sold again. Traded. Whatever. It is just happening all over again. Just like back then... I slowly shift my eyes to Storm, and the way he glares down at me just makes me want to shrink and disappear altogether. Although Magnus is gone now, the tension he left lingers around us, sticking to our bodies like a damp cobweb. I am about to give up on holding the tray––I’m suddenly so weak that I can barely stand, let alone be responsible for holding something. "Where is the other one?" Storm barks at Jack, who flinches just enough for me to see his submission. "In the kitchen," he replies gruffly, his eyes switching between him and me. "I went to check if everything was fine so––" he probably wants to explain why he was absent, even though I’m pretty sure Storm hadn’t even noticed. He stopped him midsentence and grunted like a cornered animal. "Send her to my room on the second floor," the alpha instructed, his eyes snapping back to me. "You... come with me right now!" I’m not sure why he is suddenly so mad. After all, he had just made a rather lucrative deal and been released from any responsibility for his attack on Alpha Arcanis. Nevertheless, the malignant glow in his narrowed eyes forces a cold ripple down my spine, and I have no choice but to submit to his overbearing authority. Silently, I hand the tray over to Jack and follow Storm like a shadow while he once again leads me to another unknown. As I walk into his room, a strong, stale smell greets me with its heavy musk. His room is the same as any other room in his pack house––or so I assume. Dark, spacious, with minimum furniture, just enough to complete his regular daily tasks. Only Storm’s bedroom has one major difference, an element that I dare to assume no other room has. A giant diamond claw is plastered in the middle of the wall, just above his king-sized bed. How tacky, I think to myself as I assess the size of that claw-shaped diamond. All that money he has stolen, and the best he could think about was that. I stand near the door, reluctant to go further inside, while Storm is pacing slowly towards the bed. I don’t want to think about it, but my bitter experience nags at me rather annoyingly: you know what this is going to be, Kaya. After all, they all want the same thing. I’m weak again, almost dizzy even, but as I lean on the door frame, the door suddenly flings open, and a familiar scent wafts in, slapping me with its faint flowery notes. "Shut the door," Storm barks at Shelly, who seems to be quite surprised to find me in this room. She follows his order and closes the door, and to our mutual surprise, a quiet clicking sound attracts our attention back to it––the door is locked from the outside. I exchange worried glances with Shelly, but we don’t have much time to share the dreadful moment as the man walks up to us, his eyes glistening with unconcealed malice. I expect him to approach Shelly first, but instead, he turns to face me, and his lips stretch into a wide grin. "You two are lucky, aren’t you?" he asks with fake sweetness in his voice. "Alpha Arcanis didn’t get the chance to taste you both, but I won’t miss out on that opportunity." He leans in closer, and I swallow hard as his disgusting, poignant breath brushes over my skin. "I mean, can you blame me? You are just two whores, yet so many important people are quite eager to lay their hands on you. I gotta find out why, won’t you agree?" This time, he looks at Shelly, but I know that his words are directed at me. Yes, everybody wants to know why. Everybody wants to have what they can’t get. No longer paying me any more attention as if I no longer exist, Storm returns to Shelly and grabs her chin with his right hand. I can feel the pain just by looking at her, but she barely even flinches. She is used to this, she has endured a lot worse when she had to entertain Damien’s guests. "You will be first," he says, and my blood almost freezes in my veins. "Strip and lie on the bed." Shelly doesn’t say anything, her eyes are helplessly locked on me, but I am too frozen to react. Truthfully, I’m afraid that by simply moving right now, I will only make it worse. Resigned, she frowns just enough for me to see her disappointment, then starts walking across the room, her slightly trembling hands working on removing her clothes. I can’t move my eyes away from her until she finally stands completely naked, her subtle curves are now more prominent under the dimmed light. I am used to seeing naked bodies––I’ve seen many of them in my life, but there is something about the naked female body that makes me want to turn away. Perhaps it’s a simple realization that no matter what, my body will never look this normal. I’m lost in my thoughts again when Storm’s gruff voice cuts through the depth of my consciousness. "Nice ass," he comments as he licks his lips greedily. "Looks like Alpha Damien likes hard bodies, huh?" She doesn’t say anything while I wince in disgust. Most werewolves are in good shape, his attempt to sexualize her form sounds so unnecessarily cheap that I can’t help but imagine him with the rivulets of drool at the corners of his sleathy lips. Clearly irritated by the absence of Shelly’s reaction, Storm climbs onto the bed in front of her, his dark eyes slithering over her naked body. She is strong. I have seen her in Dion’s bed numerous times, but only now do I pause to wonder––is it really that easy? To be someone’s pleasure toy? Damien calls us his mates, but he has never hesitated to share Shelly with his friends or allies before, and she has never refused or thrown a tantrum. Each time, she spread her legs obediently and played her role with an unwavering mask of perfect submission on her beautiful face. Now, I finally see it. Even something like this requires quite a lot of guts.