Chapter Five
Ollie came out and shrugged his shoulders at Jensen. The alpha had heard the whole conversation between the omegas and wasn’t sure what to make of it. He’d never heard of slavery among shifters. The closest thing he could relate it to was Cade describing how the wolves had caged him and mated him off, even attempting to sell him. Hunter’s intervention had saved him, but Jensen dreaded to think what might have happened otherwise. If that was wolves in the absence of an ability to shift, then what had the lions descended into?
He followed Ollie out, needing more air. He wasn’t sure there was enough air in the world to clear his thoughts. Ollie went back to work, and Jensen sat on the wall outside the clinic, wondering how to handle the situation with Liam. At least they had a name for him now. That was something.
As he sat there, he became aware of the sound of someone singing nearby. It wasn’t Ollie, who did like to sing but was back in the matchmaking office he worked in. It wasn’t Joe, Jensen had never heard the beta do more than hum. He looked left and right, deciding the sound was definitely coming from the clinic. That left only one person who could be singing. Liam.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and listened. The omega’s voice was low and sweet, singing softly enough that he probably didn’t intend to be overheard. But Jensen was sitting near the exam room window, his voice carrying clearly through it.
Climbing to his feet, he walked back around to the door and went inside. As soon as he put his hand on the door to the examination room, the singing stopped. When he stepped inside, the omega was in the same position as before, face hidden in the bed he lay on. The sandwich lay untouched except for the small corner Ollie had eaten. That wouldn’t do. The omega needed to eat.
“That’s a lovely singing voice you have.”
Liam tensed at his words.
Jensen grabbed a chair, setting it down next to the bed.
“So, let’s try this again. You’re Liam, right? And I’m Jensen.”
Nothing, just a long silence and Liam’s shallow breaths.
“Why aren’t you eating, Liam? I can get you something else if you like. Soup maybe. An omelet. I’m sure I could rustle up some chocolate pudding from somewhere.”
More silence and a hitched breath.
“Why did you ask Ollie if he was a slave?”
No response.
“Are you a slave, Liam?”
The omega shuddered and sat up, in one movement slipping off the bed to kneel on the floor by Jensen’s feet. He bowed his head, murmuring one word. “Alpha.”
Jensen watched him in horrified silence, pushing back his chair and sinking to his knees. “Liam? What are you doing, huh? You shouldn’t be out of bed.”
He reached for the omega but as soon as his fingers touched Liam’s arm, the omega flinched, hunching in on himself. Jensen didn’t like to think about the strain Liam’s posture was putting on his injuries.
“I’m going to lift you back onto the bed again, just like last time, okay?”
When he reached for him again, Liam was shaking like a leaf. Jensen got to see his eyes for the first time, just a flash of green, muddied with fear, before he lifted him up, settling him on the bed. He didn’t let him go, instead, grasping the omega’s chin gently between finger and thumb.
The whimper caught him by surprise, though it shouldn’t have. Green eyes flashed with fear again as the omega tried to do everything but look at him.
“Hey, now,” Jensen said softly. “What’s all this about? The kneeling, the not eating? You can’t be out of bed yet, not with your injuries. And you have to eat in order to heal.”
“I haven’t earned it,” the omega murmured, his eyes still darting away from Jensen’s gaze.
Jensen tried to make sense of that. “Earned what? The food? You don’t need to—”
He stopped and took a calming breath, gentling his tone.
“Liam, you don’t have to earn food here. We have plenty and it’s shared among everyone. You’re a guest here, not a… a slave, or a prisoner. A guest.”
For good measure, he stood up and covered Liam with a blanket. The omega hid his face again, still shivering, his heart thumping away in his chest.
“I know you’re scared but not all shifters are like that, okay?”
He stood and moved toward the door, pausing when he heard soft words behind him.
“Am I yours now?”
He shut his eyes, giving himself a moment to control his anger.
“No. You don’t belong to anyone. Like I said, you’re a guest here. And we take good care of our guests.”
The singing was a stupid idea. He hadn’t thought the alpha was close enough to hear him, but he’d been wrong. And then he’d tried to kneel, but the alpha had lifted him back into bed, gently. Everything about the alpha was gentle, his voice, his touch. Liam hadn’t seen his eyes though he imagined they might be gentle too, not angry and cold like Nevan’s. But that couldn’t be right. He was an alpha, and a lion, and Liam was only an omega and a slave at that. There was only one thing he was good for and he didn’t think alphas were ever gentle about it.
The alpha left for a few minutes, returning with a cup of something that smelled good.
“I thought you might like some soup.”
Jensen didn’t seem fazed by Liam’s attempt to cower and hide until he went away. Instead, he raised the head of the bed, propped Liam up with pillows, and then handed him the mug, not letting go until he had a good grip on it. The cup was warm in his hands, the steam rising from it carrying a delicious scent. His stomach growled loudly.
“Just try a sip, okay? Just one sip,” the alpha said, his voice almost pleading. It made no sense to Liam that he’d care so much whether he ate but he obeyed, taking a small swallow. It tasted as good as it smelled, better even, and he’d taken a second, longer swallow before he’d thought it through. The alpha made an encouraging noise, so he kept drinking, the emptiness in his stomach easing.
“Are there other alphas here?” he asked as he reached the bottom of the cup.
“There are,” Jensen replied. “Why?”
“Do I belong to one of them?”
“You don’t belong to anyone,” the alpha repeated. He kept saying that, but Liam knew it wasn’t true. If no one here had claimed him, then he was still Nevan’s. And Nevan would want him back.
“Here, let me take that.”
Liam surrendered the cup with a sigh of regret. It was empty, but he liked to imagine that there was more.
“I’ll get you another mug a little later. Let’s let that settle in your stomach.”
Liam lay back on the bed, his fingers nervously twisting in the blankets. Jensen was sitting on the edge of the bed, so close that Liam only had to stretch out his hand and he’d be touching him. Would that break the illusion? The idea in his mind of this alpha with his gentle voice and gentle touch. He reached out a hand again, just skimming the top of the alpha’s thigh. Jensen’s hand found his, the touch light, bringing his hand back to his lap.
“You don’t have to do that,” the alpha said, his voice so soft, so gentle. Liam felt a tear escape, slipping down his cheek as he lifted his head. He gasped softly as warm brown eyes caught him in their gaze, every bit as gentle as he’d imagined.
Jensen fiddled with a tube that led to a needle in Liam’s arm. “I’m just topping up your pain relief so that you can get some rest.”
Then the alpha reached for the blanket that had fallen to Liam’s waist, lifting it, and tucking it around him. Liam couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the Jensen’s.
When Jensen finished tucking him in, he went to stand up.
“Don’t go,” Liam found himself saying, his hand escaping the blanket to clasp the alpha’s sleeve.
A little bemused, the lion sat down again. “Of course. I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”
Liam relaxed back against the pillows, feeling the medication start to kick in, his eyes beginning to droop closed.
He forced them open again, afraid that if he lost sight of the alpha, it would somehow break the spell he’d fallen under.
“Shh,” Jensen murmured. “Close your eyes now, get some rest.” His hand brushed a strand of hair from Liam’s forehead, his touch light.
“I… I feel like I know you,” Liam admitted, his words slurring as his traitorous eyes closed.