Page 24 of Alpha Chained

But what I do know is that I want her. God, I want her so badly it hurts. But not like this. Not as some sick prize awarded to me by a man I despise.

I let her go abruptly…so abruptly that she sits down on the bed with a thump. She stares up at me, her eyes dazed. Her chest is heaving. So is mine.

Fucking hell!

It’s been too long. Years of celibacy can do this to a man. My body’s reaction to her must be purely physical, a response to deprivation. I try to convince myself of this as I turn away from her and move to switch off the light.

But deep down, I know there’s more to it.

I push that thought aside and return to the bed. The darkness amplifies the sound of her ragged breathing. She’s terrified. I can almost taste her fear.

I run a hand down her arm, and she cringes from my touch. It stings, though I can’t blame her. She must think I’m about to hurt her, and in this place, that’s a reasonable assumption.

“Hold still,” I murmur, feeling along the bone for the break. Her skin is warm beneath my fingers, the muscles tense.

“Are you in pain?” My voice comes out rougher than intended.

“What?” She sounds incredulous. “Why do you care?”

“The bone,” I say simply. “It’s going to heal crooked if we don’t set it right.”

She goes quiet, processing my words. In the darkness, I feel her eyes on me, searching for deceit.

“I need to straighten it,” I continue. “It’ll hurt.”

“Okay,” she whispers. She doesn’t resist as I apply pressure on the break. Feeling the rough grind of raw edges beneath my fingertips, I give a sharp twist. A small scream leaves her lips, piercing through the silence like a knife.

“Sorry,” I murmur, hating myself for causing her pain even as I fix what’s broken.

The bone snaps into alignment under my fingers. Her breathing slows, becoming less ragged as the immediate agony subsides.

“There,” I say softly. “It’ll heal better now.”

She doesn’t respond, but there’s a shift in the air between us – a tentative truce in this hellish place.

“Why did you do that?” Her voice is hesitant.

“It had to be straightened,” I reply simply.

“No…I mean…” Her hand moves. I sense the gesture rather than seeing it in the dark. “This. Why did you bring me here?”

“I couldn’t watch him hurt you anymore,” I say, keeping my voice low, the words almost lost in the dark. “And I can’t imagine what he’d do next. Sell you to someone even worse than he is, maybe.”

She’s silent for a moment, processing what I’ve said. Her breathing evens out, and she shifts slightly on the bed, still cradling her arm.

“Why?” she whispers finally, voice trembling with confusion. “Why would you care?”

I exhale slowly. “Because I’ve seen what happens to people here. And you…you don’t deserve that.” I pause, searching for the right words until impulse takes over, and I say quickly, “You remind me of someone.”

She seems stupefied, eyes wide and uncertain. The defiance from earlier is gone, replaced by a vulnerable curiosity.

“Who?” she asks softly.

I don’t answer immediately. Instead, I reach out and take her good hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. There’s that strange tingle again at the contact. I try not to think about it.

“That’s not important,” I say quietly. “But… She had that same fire in her eyes. The same spirit.”

Raura’s fingers tighten around mine slightly. They’re warm against my skin, and I find myself wondering what they’d feel like on other parts of my body.

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