Page 293 of Caged

I retreat until I hit the wall, where I slide down until I can wrap my arms around my legs and curl into a ball. Then, I cry. And neither of them utters a word.

“I wish he’d done just that,” I whisper, more to myself than to them. “I wish he’d left Caelan alone and bled me dry like he promised instead.”

Would that have been better? If I’d just been gone now rather than being forced into this prison? My Mates will never love me. They’ll never care for me. And they can never, ever know about the Mate Bond—because if they do, and that’s the only reason they change?

Gods, that would be a thousand times worse than just being rejected.

Vae inches forward, and before Dax can voice an objection, he’s crossing the room in long strides and sitting down in front of me, legs folded beneath him.

He doesn’t speak. For long minutes, he just lets me cry. Then, softly, he asks, “When did he start taking your blood?”

That startles me enough to stop my tears, and my gaze collides with his. Vae doesn’t move closer. Doesn’t touch me. But his eyes soften, and that softness breaks my heart.

It’s such a pretty echo of the way he always should have looked at me.

“A few months ago,” I whisper, wishing they’d both just leave me alone. “He used to take me to a family doctor. He said because I was an Omega, I had to go to someone private.” I shrug, twisting my fingers in the hem of my shirt.

“I had no reason not to believe him. It was the same doctor I’d seen since I was a little girl.”

“What was his name?” Dax asks.

“Dr. Albertson.”

Vae draws in a sharp breath, and Dax nods. He doesn’t look surprised, though. He looks like he already knew.

“He took so much it made me light-headed. Then he got angry with my father. He had me lie down on the exam table and went out into the hallway. I could hear them arguing. He said something about not doing it anymore if my father couldn’t keep me healthy.”

“You never thought to ask what the hell was going on?” Dax’s voice is gruff and accusatory.

“I was an Omega with no way to defend myself.” I can nearly taste the exhaustion in my own voice. “My Alpha father was the only man I’d ever spent any time around, and he controlled everything. All of it. Do you understand?”

I look between the two of them. Dax with his dark, cold good looks and Vae with his royal demeanor.

Both strong. Both capable. Both supernatural.

Neither male has ever been powerless.

I sniff and laugh sadly, shaking my head. “Of course not. How could you? You have no idea what it’s like to live in fear every day of your life. To be scared you’ve worn the wrong dress, or you’re leaving your room at the wrong time, or you’re walking or breathing too loudly.”

I can feel a glare trying to work its way onto my face, but I’m too tired even for that. I just can’t summon the energy for anger. There is only hopelessness, despair, and never-ending exhaustion.

“I had nothing. No one. Just my books and whatever hope I could hold onto that one day it would be better.”

I peer at Vae through my lashes. “I did confront him. Once.”

“You did?” His tone is gentle. It’s a pretty lie.

“A few weeks ago, he told me I had to go back. I thought it was strange, so I went to his study. At first, I thought I was sick.” I close my eyes and lean my head against the wall, releasing a self-deprecating laugh. “I thought he might be trying to protect me. Maybe he knew something that I didn’t and wanted to get all the answers before telling me the truth.”

I swipe away another tear and inhale a stuttering breath. “I was wrong.”

Vae’s still, barely moving. Barely even breathing. “What happened?”

“He told me, in no uncertain terms, that I wasn’t sick. I asked him why he would take so much blood, and he said Albertson was using it to research Omega illnesses. He said, ‘You are my daughter, and if I want your blood, I’ll take it.’”

“So you let him,” Dax’s voice is ice cold.

“I told him I didn’t want him doing it anymore,” I correct. “And he told me that if I wished to have autonomy, then I could have it.”