out of everyone’s way.”
He shook his head, his sharp features hardening into a frown.
“It’d be too dangerous any time of the day.”
“It’s not like you have any predators around here,” I insisted.
“Yes, we do. You know that.” He widened his stance. “There are plenty of predators on the Anomaly. I’m their captain.”
“Didn’t your crew already get what they wanted?” I rolled my shoulders back, trying to hide my frustration. It was impossible to have a calm conversation with this man. Whenever I tried, he knocked my composure off within a few sentences. “You used me for their entertainment in exchange for my life and safety. That was the deal, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. But only in exchange for your life. Safety is never guaranteed around here.”
“That seems hardly fair.” I bit my lip to prevent it from trembling, feeling duped and taken advantage of.
He kept shaking his head, unyielding.
“You cannot leave this room. Definitely not on your own. I’m busy, and I have no escort to give you, either. I don’t trust anyone around here enough to leave you in their care.”
I drew in some air, trying to calm my rising frustration. An argument would not be in my best interest right now. I needed his cooperation.
“You’re not even trying to search for a better solution with me,” I said, calmly enough but not without some bitterness in my voice.
“I’ve already found the best solution there could be in this situation.”
“Keeping me locked up? Around the clock?” My temper flared, and my voice leaped higher. “Why?”
“Because this is the safest place for you!” he snapped. His own patience was obviously even shorter than mine. “Out there, someone will always want more from you than what is allowed.”
“But that’s not what has been negotiated. You said ‘once a week’ only, and I believed you...” My voice rang high and brittle to my ear. Frustration burned my eyelids with tears.
I’d gone through the most degrading experience in my life, and it bought me nothing. No safety, no freedom.
If I wasn’t allowed to leave this room, my only chance for escape disappeared.
I could not stay here forever.
“You’re their captain, aren’t you?” I pleaded. “Order them to leave me alone. That was the deal.”
“I can’t guarantee my orders will be followed, unless I personally supervise their execution.”
“Sounds like something a micro-managing control freak would say,” I couldn’t hold back the snappy remark. He was obviously making up excuses to deny my request.
He stretched his neck, his jaw tightened.
“You chose to live,” he growled at me. “Your survival is now my responsibility. I decide how it can best be accomplished.”
“And locking me in this room is the only solution?”
“Yes.”
I groaned exasperated. “Forever?”
“Until the next week’s session.”
Session? Sounded so proper and legit, it made me want to puke.
“The jerk-off fest, you mean?” I seethed with anger. “Is that all my life is now? You’ll keep me locked up in here, like an animal in a cage? Letting me out only for that pathetic entertainment you’ve invented?”
He flinched at my words but recovered quickly.
“It’s not my fault you crashed here.” He kept his voice even, but a flush of color on his bronzed cheeks and the wild lashing of his tail against his legs betrayed his agitation. “Do you understand how much disruption your arrival has caused? I’ve spent years, establishing the current order, and I have to work daily on maintaining it.”
“Well, excuse me, for choosing to crash on your neat little freak fest and to wreak havoc with my arrival!” I no longer cared about preserving any kind of diplomacy, spurred by the frustration, shame, and desperation. And fear. The cold, brutal fear that I might be forced to remain here forever. That this would be the only life I’d ever know. “Do you think I wanted to come here? This shithole is the last place I want to be!”
He huffed, leaning toward my face and fully invading my personal space. The burnt orange of his irises lit up with barely contained rage. His hot scent wrapped all around me, making my breath hitch.
“I promised you a fast, clean death,” he gritted through his teeth. “The offer still stands if you change your mind. Otherwise, you are to do what I say. Just like everyone else in this shithole.”
This was an outright threat. The heat of it made my blood boil.
“If you think that I—” I started, not even sure yet how I was intending to finish the sentence but determined not to let him have the