Night Flower

6

YELENA

Clearly, he has no intention of setting me free, no more words were spoken just leering and something that sounded like a grunt.

I'd be happier if he had slammed the door but like a perfect gentleman, he just closed it behind him, gently. The click of the lock was loud enough for my standard ears.

"Loud and clear."

The rustle of the sheets and the lingering scent, I mean only the blind wouldn't be affected by him or maybe a deaf person, his voice was enough. The rough palms and the heat of his body. Yes, he was doing all the right things without even wanting to do them. That night and the next other I was unable to get real sleep, a couple of hours and I was back on my feet pacing the room I had come to know like the back of my hand.

No one dared to interact with me, they just left whatever they had brought in and left. No words or looks. It was like he had told them to do the bare minimum, just keep me alive.

At different times of day, activity could be heard from different points of the room, the window from the bathroom was wide enough for me to stick my head out and take a peek, but it was like this place was designed to keep me guessing. Sounds to anyone else, to anyone untrained but to me, it sounded like a large group of people, training. Making rounds, meetings, and celebrations. The second week after his visit there was some sort of gathering, like a party. I could smell the food and hear the music but the walls blocked my view so I saw in the tub letting the soft instrumental music in.

I woke up the next day in the big tub with a pillow under my head and the bed cover over my body. The sounds of the outside world had put me to sleep too deep. What worried me the most was that whoever had come in had had the chance to end me very easily. The maid that had been assigned to tidy up my current quarters was in the process of changing the bed sheets while I drooled in the tub.

The knowing glances she threw me every time she came into the room had started to make my blood boil. It was like there was a joke I hadn't been invited to know. Another female on my list.

"Good morning."

"Good morning." The slight raspy accented voice makes my curiosity spark. Western Europe maybe. Her coloring is not a given, might be my imagination but this might be that the rumors are true, this pack is as ancient as mine.

"The master allowed outside time, night only. Today, nine o'clock." Brand new, shipped from the old country most likely. I'm so deep into my thoughts, taking mental notes that I merely nod to what she just told me. I should be jumping up and down, knowing that I'm allowed outside but the thing is that a human might be questioning why nighttime instead of the day but, maybe maybe that's downtime for them.

So many things are being revealed in such a short time.

"The master here?" Fuck it, I might not get an answer but this one didn't seem to be as suspicious as the others.

"Left. Work." Those extra rolls on the r. "Come back later."

"What is your name?"

"Lydia." She replies without looking at me, her hands are full of the old sheets, she dumps them on the floor in a big pile and moves to her next task; dusting the surfaces.

"Nice to meet you Lydia, I'm Lyanna or Anna." I had to try it, being friendly to her might give me bonus points.

"I know. Master said be careful. You spy." The last word came out as an insult out of her mouth.

I almost slipped, my belly filled with joy I felt a smile crawling into my face but caught myself just in time.

"I'm not a spy." I said with a voice filled with disbelief.

"Lie." It wasn't the tone of her voice but the look in her eyes. She was a hundred percent sure of it, that I was here to spy on them, maybe hurt them but she was not afraid or perhaps didn't care. She was here to do her job and most likely watch me. Maybe make me try to reveal my secrets.

"Its not a lie."

"Don't care. Master say you a spy, you a spy."

Okay, she's also very loyal.

"What's the other woman's name, the blond one?" Now that I got her talking, lets see how much she's wiling to give.

"Ruby." Her lips curve, "She think she boss." So there are hierarchy problems, I could watch her work as she spilled out the beans on barbie bitch. "Her father right hand of boss. Reinceck. She wanna be boss woman."

You don't say!

I would kill for a pint of wine at this right exact second, don't care about the clock screaming ten in the morning this felt like a when a girlfriend comes over and you shred to pieces the girl you hate.

Highschool vibes.

"The boss doesn't have a wife?"

"No mate, he don't want."

I didn't ask why, I knew the answer right away: because likes his freedom, because attaching yourself to someone makes your priorities change, because it will make him weak. Same reason I reject the idea of surrounding myself with the males of my pack. I don't need that kind of distraction in my life. I love my freedom too much. Yes, I don't judge him at all.

The soft short grass brushed my calves, is after nine and as promised I'm out contemplating the stars. This was a moonless night, the crickets and other night crawlers had come out to do their part. Shame it wasn't firefly season, on nights like this one when my brain was clouded with too much information just sitting still for a moment helped but tonight I had the same sensation as the last time he came into the room.

With my back to the house, there wasn't a way to figure out from which window he was watching me, either way, it didn't matter. His goonies had parked themselves in strategic spots. Like I was that foolish to reveal that I could actually run all the way to the high wall, avoid the barbed wires and blend into the night but I was starting to get information about them, about him.

"Lydia says you been asking questions."

"It's called having a conversation." Again, I didn't hear him approach me and I hated it. If we were on the same side I'd ask him to teach me. "Your people have been asking me questions since I got here, why shouldn't I been allowed to do the same?"

"Because prisoners don't have any say."

"Is that why you allowed me to get out of the room, or cover me with blanket?" This is when I chose to look back over my shoulder, he sounded close but not this close. He's actually crouching behind me, his legs are almost touching my shoulder. It would be a ridiculous posture on someone else but he looks equally menacing. With his roughened looks and his normal clothes.

His eyes are not looking at me but turned upwards to the sky and this is when I really take him in. The wide jaw and the scruffy beard, his Adam's apple, and the way his hair moves with the slight breeze.

Goddamnit, he's fucking gorgeous.

I need to get out of here.