Playing The Alphas

Chapter 92: The Return Of Leslie

SAMANTHA

The knocking came again. Louder this time. More insistent.

"Samantha," Jayce called through the door. "I know you are in there. I can hear you breathing. Open the door." freewebnovel.cσ๓

My heart stopped. My blood turned to ice. I looked at Leslie, bound and bleeding on the floor, and I looked at the door where Jayce was waiting, and I had no idea what to do.

Leslie’s eyes were wide. For the first time, she looked afraid.

"If he finds me here," she whispered, "he will kill me."

"That is not my problem."

"He will kill you too. For harboring a rogue. For keeping secrets from the princes."

I hated that she was right.

The knock came again. "Samantha, I am not going to ask again."

I moved. I grabbed a blanket from the sofa and I threw it over Leslie, covering her bound body. I grabbed a chair and I shoved it against the table, blocking the view of the corner where she lay. I kicked the candlestick under the sofa. I smoothed my dress. I took a breath.

Then I opened the door.

Jayce stood in the doorway. His golden eyes swept over me, taking in my disheveled appearance, my flushed cheeks, my trembling hands. His gaze moved past me into the room, searching.

"You took long enough," he said.

"I was sleeping," I lied.

"Liar."

He pushed past me and walked into the room. His eyes moved across the furniture, the windows, the shadows in the corners. He did not look at the blanket on the floor. He did not look at the chair shoved against the table.

But he would. Soon. I had to distract him.

"What do you want?" I asked. My voice came out sharper than I intended.

Jayce turned to face me. His eyes were dark. Unreadable.

"I came to check on you," he said.

"Check on me? Why?"

"Because my brother just sent you home in tears. Because the guards said they heard screaming from your room. Because I do not trust anyone in this palace, including myself."

I felt my stomach twist. "I am fine."

"You are not fine. Your eyes are red. Your hands are shaking. And there is blood on your dress."

I looked down. A small dark stain near the hem. Leslie’s blood. From when I had swung the candlestick.

"I cut myself," I said quickly. "On a broken glass."

Jayce stepped closer. His hand reached out and grabbed my chin, tilting my face up to meet his gaze.

"You are a terrible liar," he said.

I pulled away. "Why do you care if I lie or not? You have made it very clear that I am nothing to you. Just a slave. Just a body. Just something to use and discard."

Jayce’s jaw tightened. "Is that what you think?"

"That is what you have shown me." ƒrēewebnovel.com

He was silent for a moment. His eyes searched my face. Then he spoke, his voice softer than I had ever heard it.

"I came here to protect you," he said. "Even if you do not believe it."

I stared at him. I did not know what to say.

Then a noise came from the corner of the room.

A muffled sound. Leslie, trying to free herself. Trying to speak.

Jayce’s head snapped toward the sound. His eyes narrowed. His body tensed.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "Just the wind."

"That was not the wind."

He walked toward the corner. Toward the blanket. Toward Leslie.

I moved. I stepped in front of him. I blocked his path.

"Jayce, please," I said. "Just leave."

His eyes darkened. "Step aside, Samantha."

"No."

"I said step aside."

"Please. Just trust me. Just this once."

He stared at me. His expression was unreadable. Then he pushed me aside and he grabbed the blanket and he pulled it back.

Leslie lay on the floor. Bound. Bleeding. Trembling.

Jayce went very still.

"Well, well," he said. "What do we have here?"

Leslie’s face was pale. Her lips were trembling. "Please, Your Highness. I can explain—"

"Explain?" Jayce laughed. It was a cold, cruel sound. "You were banished. You were branded a rogue. You were sent into the wilderness to die. And now you are in my mate’s room, trying to steal her blood?"

Leslie shook her head. "I was not—"

"Do not lie to me."

"I was forced! The lizards made me! They said they would kill me if I did not—"

"I do not care."

Jayce knelt down beside Leslie. His hand reached out and he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him.

"You are going to tell me everything," he said. "Every detail. Every name. Every plan. And then I am going to decide what to do with you."

Leslie’s eyes filled with tears. "Please, Your Highness—"

"Start talking."

Leslie broke. She told him everything. About the lizards. About their deal. About the blood. About the syringes. About Vera. About the alien king. About the war that was coming.

Jayce listened. His expression did not change. When she was finished, he stood.

"Guards," he called.

Two guards appeared in the doorway.

"Take her to the dungeon," Jayce commanded. "No one speaks to her. No one feeds her. No one touches her. She is mine."

The guards nodded. They seized Leslie and dragged her away.

The room was silent.

Jayce turned to me. His eyes were cold.

"You were going to hide her," he said. "You were going to keep her secret."

I did not deny it.

"Why?"

"Because I did not know what else to do."

"You could have called the guards. You could have told me. You could have done anything but hide her."

"I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of you. Scared of what you would do. Scared of what would happen to me."

Jayce was silent for a long moment. Then he stepped closer. His hand reached out and he touched my face. His thumb brushed away a tear I did not know I had shed.

"Listen to me," he said. "You are my mate. That means you are mine. And I protect what is mine."

His eyes were dark. Intense. There was something in them I had never seen before.

"Anything that tries to hurt you," he said, "will answer to me."

He leaned in and his lips brushed my forehead. A soft kiss. Almost gentle.

"Now rest," he said. "Tomorrow, we have things to discuss."

He turned and he walked out of the room.

I stood alone in the silence.

And I did not know if I had just been saved or condemned.