Jane

Jane's POV

“I’m sorry, I can’t sleep with you,” I said quietly, rising from the bed.

My legs are shaky beneath me but I managed to stand up. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. He remained on the other side of the bed with the duvet in his hand.

His gaze was unreadable like stone making it hard for me to know what he was thinking.

“I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” he said flatly but I couldn't miss the venom in his voice.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the fear from seeping into my voice. “Alpha Liam, please… I can’t sleep with you.”

His eyes narrowed just slightly. “Why is that?”

I searched for words, fumbling through the panic in my mind. “It’s… it’s inappropriate,” I finally said.

“Inappropriate?” he echoed, almost amused. “How is doing what I bought you for inappropriate?” he asked, laying emphasis on his words.

My heart twisted and I couldn't bear it anymore. My voice rose without permission. “You bought me from my pack so I can sleep with you? There are other women. Plenty of them will gladly share your bed.”

He dropped the duvet. His gaze held mine in a weird way. “Why is sleeping with me a problem, bunny? You’ve done it before.”

“What?” I gasped, staring at him like he’d just spoken in a language I didn’t understand. “Done it before?” My voice cracked, almost a scream. “When did I…?”

He cut me off, his voice suddenly lower. “Jane… your work is to lay beside me every night until I fall asleep. Nothing more than that.”

I stood frozen as his words sank in. “Oh,” I breathed, feeling a strange wave of relief hit me at once.

My body relaxed just slightly, but my mind was still reeling. Just like that night, he wants me to stay beside him until he falls asleep. Something is wrong with him and I must find out the secret he is hiding beneath his stone attitude.

Without warning, he grunted. A sharp, raw sound of pain escaped his lips and that yanked my attention toward him. Then he clutched his chest and staggered back a step.

“Alpha?” I whispered, confused and frozen in place.

Pain etched on his face and his breathing became ragged. He dropped to his knees, fighting against whatever was happening inside him, then collapsed onto the bed with a heavy thud.

“Jane,” he called my name with the faintest sound.

“Alpha Liam!” I rushed to his side, kneeling beside him as he groaned, clutching his chest tighter.

“What's wrong?” I asked as panic surged through me. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t even know what was wrong.

He held onto my arms, his eyes burning into mine. In that moment, all my fear of him vanished. All I could see was a man in pain. A man breaking as his gaze held mine. And all I could think of was a way to help him, a way to ease his pain.

Without warning, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me tightly into his chest.

“What the…” I started but my words cut when I landed into his hard chest.

His arms were tight around me. The hug wasn’t a gentle one. It was desperate, like he was holding onto something he couldn’t afford to lose. His grip was strong, too strong on me.

I could barely breathe. My hands pressed against his chest, trying to create space between us, but he wouldn’t let go.

I felt his heartbeat, wild and erratic, pounding against mine. I could tell that he was in pain but in the process, he was crushing me too. After what felt like an eternity, he finally loosened his grip.

I took in a shaky breath, thinking it was over. But then, without warning, his hands cupped my face and he kissed me fiercely.

My eyes widened in shock, my body going still as his lips claimed mine like they had a right to. The kiss wasn’t soft, it was possessive and raw. It burned through me like wildfire, igniting something deep and hot and unfamiliar.

But I didn’t kiss him back. How could I even kiss him back? He was an alpha. I was… just a maid. A girl he bought to lay with him. A girl he said from humiliation.

The power imbalance between us was a mountain I couldn’t climb. It felt wrong… dangerously wrong. Everything about it was a ticking bomb and I was the only one who would get hurt if it exploded.

As if that was the clue I needed, I pushed at his chest with everything I had. He let go, and I scrambled to my feet, ready to run. I didn’t even know where I was going, I just needed to leave his presence before another thing happened.

But I didn’t get the chance to move before his hand caught mine, yanking me back with force, and I stumbled, landing hard on the bed again.

Oh my… can this night get any worse? How did I end up on the bed I desperately wanted to escape from?

“Your work here isn’t over,” he said, his voice low and unreadable.

“Work?” I whispered, unsure if I heard him well.

I stared at him, my breath ragged, my heart pounding out of control. What is my work here? First, he said I should sleep beside him. Then he held me like I was air he couldn’t live without. Then he kissed me without my permission.

He stole my first kiss away from me and he still wanted me to stay all in the name of work? I was confused, shaken, angry and afraid all at once.

Was this really what he bought me for? Because if it was, I didn’t understand the rules. And I was starting to wonder if this place would be better than the Blood Moon pack.

He adjusted me gently on the bed, like I was something fragile, something breakable. Then he laid beside me and pulled the duvet over us both. I didn’t move, I didn’t speak. I was stiff, uncertain, drowning in a storm of emotions I didn’t understand.

But he did move. He reached for me and pulled me closer. His arms wrapped around me, locking me in place. My cheek rested against his bare chest, and that’s when I heard his heartbeat. It was slow now, calm and steady unlike before, when it thudded like a war drum.

I lay there quietly, trying to piece the moment together, trying to find sense in the chaos of this strange connection.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I whispered, my voice barely cutting through the silence between us.

Was this love? Or something that only looked like love from the outside? Was he falling for me? I wondered as I awaited his answers.

Then he spoke and his words sliced through me like a blade.

“You are a pain relief, Jane. Your presence tends to take my pain away.”

That was it. It was not love, not affection. I was not even desired in the way I hoped to be. I was a relief, a pain relief.

My heart dropped to my stomach. What was I even thinking? Why did I hope for something I could never get?

He said I was his pain relief. Then guess who is in pain while taking his pain away?

Me!

I was confused and hurt. Yet, I was wrapped in his arms like a human painkiller. Something I don't want to be.