Chapter 6: 6

I swallowed deeply as I stood in the middle of that office.

It was terrifying to stand in the presence of the man who practically controlled your entire life. Trent was the general, he was in charge of this place, of our feeding, of our security. He could cast me out without a second glance and no one would bat an eyelid.

He had never given me reason to fear him before but now, alone in the confines of his office, I felt something crawl up my spine, anxiety seeped into my bones and my palms began to sweat. My shoulders ached and I shuffled awkwardly on my feet.

“Please, sit,” he gestured to the chair opposite his and I hesitated before taking it. “You can relax, Nadine, I am not going to hurt you. Your father is a great ally of mine.”

“Is that why you won’t hurt me?” the question left my lips before I could control it.

I wanted to slap myself, that was not the kind of question you asked the general. I watched him carefully out of the corner of my eye hoping that he wasn’t upset but to my surprise, the corner of his lips quirked up in amusement.

“No, that isn’t why I won’t hurt you but it is definitely a driving factor too,” he stood to his feet and walked over to the corner of the room to pour himself a glass of water. “Would you like a drink?”

“No thanks,” I shook my head but that didn’t stop him from walking over to me and dropping it in front of me.

I knew it was an insult to not accept the drink but I didn’t touch it. Instead, I remained painfully aware of the fact that he was standing directly behind me. I could almost feel his body heat with how close he was to me and it had me feeling very uncomfortable.

“I can recommend a few good therapists for you to talk to about what you heard, Nadine,” he began slowly. “Fear is a terrible tool and I would hate for it to continue to plague you. We are safe down here.”

“I know,” I lied. I had never felt as unsafe as I felt in the past twenty-four hours. “We are untouchable down here.”

“Exactly,” he grinned placing his hands on my shoulders and I tensed.

I was still in my training clothes and they were sleeveless so I could feel his skin on mine. It was weird and uncomfortable but I couldn’t very well just shrug it off. I tried to calm myself, tried to tell myself that he was just being nice and I was being dramatic but it did little to shake how uneasy I felt.

“People tell me that your guard isn’t very nice,” he continued slowly. “I had a chat with your friend Joshua and he said that your guard tends to be insubordinate.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Joshua only hated Caine because Caine didn’t bow down to him like everyone else. He saw through his bullshit persona and didn’t treat him like a king as the others tended to do.

“I can change your guard if you want-”

“No,” I cut him off to quickly and through the small mirror above us, I could see Trent’s raised brow. I knew he was suspicious so I cleared my throat and continued. “I don’t think Caine is insubordinate or at least, he means to be. I am already used to him and in the time it might take to get new guards-”

“Are you sure that you’re not just trying to protect him?’

“Why would I?” I fought hard to keep my voice even and clear as I spoke despite the pounding of my heart. “He is just a guard.”

General Trent smiled. “You are right about that which is why I am changing him.”

“But-”

“You are a woman, Nadine, you don’t understand the way the world works. Joshua told me that you would try to defend him. I know you must be scared of Caine but he will be rightly punished for his insubordination.”

“He didn’t-”

“The matter is closed, Nadine.”

His fingers dug into my shoulders almost as if he were trying to massage it. The action only made me more uncomfortable and I squirmed in my seat. I wanted to leave and it was clear he wasn’t going to let me go anytime soon. I felt his fingers brush my hair aside and I couldn’t take it anymore. I rushed to my feet and cleared my throat.

“Perhaps I should leave,” I began and I made to side step him but he was in front of me before I could blink.

“Did you hear about our repopulation strategy?” he asked and I knew it was a feeble attempt to keep me in his office but for the life of me, I didn’t know why.

Still, I couldn’t ignore him so I nodded. “I’m sure some women will be glad to participate.”

“And you?”

“I’m not quite interested in having children right now but thank you for asking.”

I brushed past him and got to the door when I heard him speak again. “I’m looking for a potential wife, you know. Someone who will bear my children. Someone has to take over all of this when I inevitably die.”

I cleared my throat and turned to him. “I’m sure that you’ll find someone. If you would excuse me.”

I didn’t give him the chance to respond before I high tailed it out of there. My heart was pounding in my chest and my skin felt clammy but I didn’t stop until I was out of his quarters and back in the main area.

I stopped by a wall and rested my head against it to catch my breath. I was so out of it that I didn’t even notice someone walking up to me until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I screamed louder than I should have and jumped back only to find Caine standing there, his brows creased in confusion.

“Are you alright?” he asked and I nodded. “You were in there a long time.”

“I know,” my words clamped in my throat. “I am so sorry.”

For once, I saw an expression on his face that wasn’t anger or disdain. “Why?”

I told him all about what Trent said. My insides squeezed as I spoke. I knew I wouldn’t be the one punished and yet, I felt a pang of fear and pain in my chest for him. I knew that whatever the punishment was, it couldn’t be good. My eyes welled up with unshed tears as the guilt threatened to swallow me whole.

“I am so sorry,” I finished, my voice cracking at the end. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

“You didn’t get me in trouble now stop fucking crying,” he gently nudged me forward and it was only then I noticed that he was favoring his right side.

I stopped and turned to him. “Did something happen? Are you hurt?”

He tried to evade the question but I reached out to touch him. I hadn’t done that ever and he clearly wasn’t expecting it since my hand connected with his side. Beneath all that muscle, I felt something soft and wet and I knew instantly that it was blood.

“What the fuck?” I reached out for him again but he slapped my hand away. “You’re hurt.”

“I didn’t know,” his voice dripped with sarcasm. “I’m a big boy, I can take it.”

“What happened?”

“What do you think? While you were in there, I was given a little taste of my punishment for disrespecting you and your precious Joshua. I know I’m not your guard anymore.”

“Then why did you come to find me?”

He was silent for a moment before scoffing. “I don’t know but I do know one thing, you’re not to speak to me again.”

“But-”

“They’re always watching, princess. I’m not going to be around to save your ass anymore so keep to your room and always shut the fuck up.”

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