CHARLOTTE

My mind continues to race as I head back to my room, worry and anxiety making my palms sweaty and movements jerky.

As much as I would love to have a tutor as Silas suggested, the thought of seeking out Gray and asking him for one feels overwhelming. It wouldn't surprise me if he demanded something in return for his favor, and the last thing I want is to be indebted to him.

I push my hair out of my face and release a shaky breath as I walk through the dining room and past the kitchen doors. The Shadows continue to move around inside, working in a comfortable silence as they ready breakfast for the three Demons.

Peeking around the corner, I make sure that the hallway leading to the stairs is empty before hurrying towards them. My assumption that my males would still be sleeping was wrong, and I'd like to get back to my room before running into anybody else.

Moving quickly down the hallway, I come to a halt as I hear Alexander's voice echo through the large doorway that leads to the sitting room. In a panic, I eye the distance between the sitting room entrance and the stairwell that sits just past it.

There's no way that I will be able to make it there without him noticing me. Sucking in a deep breath, I straighten my back and hold my head high as I shuffle towards the wall and continue forward.

Hopefully, he won't even give me the time of day and will pass by with no issues.

My heart rate picks up as his voice grows louder, my footsteps speeding up in response. Clenching my hands into fists by my sides, I trip slightly over my own feet as Alexander comes barreling around the corner.

Tucking away my fear, I plaster a weak smile on my face and back up against the wall so he has room to walk by uninterrupted.

He pauses momentarily as he notices me, the frown on his lips deepening as he pulls his phone away from his face and hangs up on whoever it is he was speaking to. I drop my head to the ground as he approaches, still holding onto my childish hope that he will continue walking and leave me alone.

It's not until cornering me against the wall that I realize how foolish that thought was. I'm his intended target, and the realization has me pressing myself further against the wall in an attempt to steer clear of his anger.

I flinch and try to make myself appear as small as possible as his hands make contact with my shoulders and he slams me against the wall. My back arches at the force, a quiet hiss falling from my lips at the sharp pain, but I continue to hold my ground nonetheless.

His essense is suffocating as he invades my personal space, forcing me to breathe in slowly through my mouth in an attempt to keep its effects at bay. The intensity of it has me desperate to drop to my knees in submission, my body's feeble attempt at staying alive.

I stiffen as he bends towards me, his face burying into my hair before aggressively sniffing me. Is he upset that I didn't shower? The stronger breeds tend to have more powerful senses, but I didn't think they would be so intense.

Alexander's fingers continue to dig painfully into the muscles of my shoulders as he lowers his face to my neck and smells me once more. Turning away from him, I stare at the stairs I am desperate to escape to as I try to hold back my approaching tears.

When I left Silas, he was settling back in his chair with the book he was reading before I interrupted. It's unlikely that he's going to head this way and come to my rescue, meaning that my only hope is with Gray.

At this point, I would be relieved to see him. His tempting aura is better than the angry Alexander I'm encountering at this moment.

"Charlotte." Alexander grunts as he pulls his face away from my neck and straightens back up. His hands loosen slightly where they hold me, but he maintains a firm grip to keep me in place. "I bought you for one simple reason. Do you know what that is?"

I gulp, struggling to keep a straight mind when his power is seeping out of him like this.

"I'm sorry." I apologize, assuming that this has something to do with Gray.

It's been made more than clear to me that I was purchased with the intent of being a steady source of food for the Incubus. When he said that he was going to stay out of my dreams last night, I didn't think anything of it and was actually grateful, but as I stare at Alexander's heaving chest, I'm beginning to realize that that didn't mean that he would go without.

I'm willing to bet that he fed off of Alexander again. It would explain the Demon's current anger.

"I didn't know." I plead, not even bothering to care how transparently fearful I am being. If being weak is what's going to keep me alive, then I'll be the most helpless Female this realm has ever seen.

Alexander laughs before releasing me.

"You're going to fuck Gray today." He spits out, his words holding no emotion and leaving no room for argument.

My bottom lip trembles as he says this, the action seeming to anger him further as his hands are returned and he pushes me into the wall once more. I wince as my shoulder blades slam against the brick.

I can see him in my peripheral vision lowering his head so he's at eye level with me, but I refuse to look at him. I doubt that I could even if I wanted to. Every pore of my body urges me to break free and run for help, but no amount of reminders that there is none seems to be pushing that desperate need away.

For a brief moment, I wonder if Silas would defend me if I were able to somehow make it back to him. Probably not. He's stuck up for me a few times, but I doubt that he would argue with Alexander on this. Especially if my assumption that Gray snuck into his dreams last night is true.

I was purchased for the sole purpose of feeding Gray, and at the end of the day I know that's most important to them.

There is no time to react as Alexander releases my right shoulder and grabs my chin, his fingertips digging into my cheek as he forces my face upwards. I stare at his nose as he glares down at me.

"By the time lunch rolls around, I expect you to have welcomed him to your bed. If the scent of your fucking," Alexander pauses and leans forward to smell me once more. "purity is still lingering, you'll be spending a week in an Incubi den being passed around until you're begging for us to take you back."

Despite my best attempts to contain them, fat tears build and spill over onto my cheeks. I clench my jaw shut as I nod. I knew better than to think that these men were genuine in their promises not to hurt me.

I am grateful, though, that they are letting their true colors show early. It's better to learn now than be lulled into a false sense of security and crushed later on.

Alexander scoffs as he steps away, his hands remaining on me for a moment longer before he finally drops them back to his sides. He lets out a quiet sigh as he takes a moment to look me over.

He almost seems to hesitate as he glares down at me, his eyebrows drawing together and mouth relaxing, before all traces of softness vanish and he's walking away as if this incident never happened.

I watch, frozen, as he turns and heads through the doorway leading to the dining room. The second he's out of view, I'm slamming my hands against my mouth to muffle my sobs. My knees threaten to give out as the adrenaline drains from my body and leaves me exhausted.

His essence lingers in the room despite his absence, and I fear that it's going to be stuck to my clothing. If I didn't know any better I would say that he was purposefully forcing it out, but I admittedly am not familiar enough with him or his breed to know what it naturally feels like.

I shake my head in disbelief as I let out a dry laugh and wipe roughly at my cheeks. Crying isn't going to get me anywhere.

Shutting my eyes, I lean back against the wall and take a minute to collect myself as I recite my father's words in my head. I am nobody's property. They can take my dignity and self-respect from me, but I am still my own person with thoughts and feelings.

They can't take that from me.

I force myself to take in one last shaky breath before straightening my shoulders and pushing off the wall. My knowledge of the Incubi dens is limited, but from what I do know, giving myself to Gray will be the lesser of two evils.

The dens are notorious for overfeeding, draining their females until they are too weak to do anything, let alone serve them. From the hushed whispers that I've overheard throughout the years, they are known to use up their women in mere days and are frequent customers of the auctions.

I'm unwilling to take the risk of being sent there.

My mouth goes dry as I hurry up the stairs and rush towards Gray's bedroom. Pushing away all my fears, I force my mind to go blank as I come to a halt by his bedroom door.

Pausing, I stand outside and listen to the sounds of him clattering around in there. There are a couple of loud bangs followed by the sound of the bathroom door slamming shut a few seconds later. Not wanting to put this off any longer, I raise my fist and knock on the wood.

My knock is met with complete silence, the loud noises from whatever he's doing coming to an abrupt stop. Biting at the skin inside of my cheek, I stare up at Gray as he pulls the door open.

A smirk spreads across his face as he leans his hip against the doorway and stares down at me. My face flushes as I take in his unclothed state, my pulse quickening as I unintentionally give him a quick once over. Other than a pair of absurdly tight underwear, his body is entirely bare.

Knowing that my job is to seduce him, I allow myself to take another moment to look him over. He looks how I imagined him to, with long limbs and strong muscles that make my stomach roll. He flexes underneath my gaze, the muscles covering his stomach tightening before being relaxed once more.

Gulping, I force myself to look away and glance into his bedroom. It's at least three times the size of mine, covered in dark muted colors and filled by a bed that could easily fit six of him.

I assume that him being an Incubus means that that's the exact purpose of it, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's filled it to the brim on many occasions.

"Charlie." He chuckles, pulling me from my thoughts as he steps back and waves me inside. "You disappeared this morning before I had the opportunity to chat with you."

I purse my lips before forcing out an apology.

"Sorry. I wanted to take a look around the place before everybody got up. I didn't think that my absence would be noticed." I murmur, opting to be truthful.

He'd probably be able to sense if I lied to him anyways.

Gray hums, thankfully not appearing upset over my exploring.

"I'm surprised that it's you approaching me." He admits. "I thought that it would be the other way around."

I shrug, remaining quiet. I don't know whether or not I should tell him that Alexander sent me here to sleep with him. There's the possibility that he would stay true to his word and refuse to take me, and I don't want to take that risk.

It's easy to see that Alexander is the one in charge here, and as much as I'd like to believe that Gray is genuine in his promises to keep me safe, I have no trust for his little leader. If pushed far enough, I have no doubts that Alexander would send me away despite Gray's wishes.

He mentioned only forcing me to stay in the den for a week, but if I can help it I would like to never step foot in one of those dirty places.

Gray doesn't seem to notice my sour mood as I approach him, his smile only growing as I tentatively place my hands on his waist. He makes no moves to further my touch, but I can feel his hidden essence slip out of him in response.

I wonder if sexual activity makes it harder to hold in. Urged on by his reaction, I slide my hands up the sides of his abdomen in the hopes of luring out more.

My goal is to get so overwhelmed by his power that I start to want what's about to happen between us. Clenching my jaw shut, I lean forward and inhale his scent as even more begins to spill out of him.

Almost immediately it begins to take effect, my core clenching as I feel intense arousal start to build inside of me. Gray looks confused as he stares down at me, his eyebrows pulling together as he reaches forward and cups the sides of my face.

"Are you okay?" He probes.

I nod, plastering a wide grin on my face.

"Yeah, just been having a hard time forgetting about the dream you gave me yesterday." I respond, internally cringing at how desperate that makes me sound.

Gray's thumbs stroke my cheeks softly before dropping to my shoulders. I hold back a wince as his hands land directly on top of the spot where Alexander gripped me earlier. I'm most definitely going to be bruised.

Shrugging his hands away from my arms, I dig my fingers into the stiff muscles on his sides and gently push him back inside his room. Trying to emanate the scenes I've read about in my books, I lead him to his bed and push him back on his mattress.

Gray chuckles as he lays down, his arms darting out to grab my wrists and tug me on top of his waist. I can't seem to look away from him as I straddle his hips, my mouth dropping open as my sensitive flesh grinds against the hardened bulge in his underwear.

A quiet grunt falls from his lips as he grabs my hips and rolls them against his, further pressing himself against me.

Before I can register what he's doing, I'm being pushed to the side and placed on my back. I stare up at him with shock, my mind hazy as I crane my neck and bury my face into his chest so I can better breathe in his intoxicating scent.

Gray's lips curl upwards into a smirk as he stares down at me, his eyes narrowing before he bends and presses a soft kiss to my collarbone.

"You're an awful liar, Charlie." He whispers into my skin. "Why are you trying to feed me?"

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