Page 8 of Blood Bought

Yes. No. Fucking hell.“If he’s going to expect me to consent or whatever, probably not. I’m sure Sonny ran off to tell him as much.”

He laughed again. “I’m sure he did. I’m also sure this is step one in a series of steps that he has planned. This is how things could be for you, but there’s another way they could go. You could stay in your mother’s old room. I believe she kept a journal.”

I stepped closer to the bars without realizing. “She did? Can... can I have it?”

He clicked his tongue, reaching out to grip them and lean in. “Not yet. Remember what I said about good girls?”

So that’s all this will be. Them dangling tiny pleasures in front of my face until I give in.“I remember. But take a look around you, Ren. I’m no one’s good girl. Guess I’ll be in here for a while.”

“Tiny pleasures at first. Very big pleasures later. It’ll get better with time, Addy. Any other questions? I need to feed and being down here with all this moaning is killing me.”

Moaning? I shook my head quickly, not wanting him to get any ideas even though he was still close enough for me to kiss. “No. No more questions.”

“Until next time.” He licked his lips and backed away, a promising smile on his lips as he turned away, and a heartbeat later, I was alone again.

I laid on the thin mattress and wrapped myself up in that blanket, and for a moment, I let myself just smell him. Maybe that was the point; to get me accustomed to his scent to make me more pliant, or maybe Ren stole these things and Alaris would kill me for it.

The what-ifs are going to eat me alive,I thought bitterly.And if by some miracle they don’t... Alaris will.

Lucky me.

Chapter Four:

No one came to seeme on day four, and on day five, my first visitor brought me more food. I scarfed it down and dashed to the bars, reaching through to stop the girl who’d refused to speak to me the first time. “Please stay,” I said genuinely, pleadingly. “I’m going insane in here. I promise I won’t ask you to do anything that will get you in trouble.”

She looked nervous at best, but after a glance around her she nodded, bringing my attention to her exposed neck. There were bite marks along the sides, trailing down below the same dress she’d worn days ago.

“I’m going to assume that asking you about those will just make you run away, so I won’t ask. What’s your name?”

“Elenor. You’re Adalind Silk. I-I knew your mother.”

I dropped my hand and tried to smile softly. “Did you? Can you tell me about her at all?”

“She didn’t stay down here with us, but she was nice enough to visit. She’d help around when she could and... where’d you get that blanket?”

“Oh.” I tugged it a little tighter. “Ren gave it to me when I asked for one. Aerin and Malik didn’t exactly give me time to grab a jacket and it’s a lot warmer in southern Veresian than it is up here. Am I not supposed to have one?”

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