The Street Rat And The Alpha

12

Maddy watched as Xavier cut the meat on his plate. She held the silver cutlery in her hands and stared between his movements and her cutlery. How was she supposed to cut the solid piece of meat before her.

Xavier, luckily for her, noticed her dilemma and took her plate and began to cut her meat for her into small pieces which she would be able to stab with her fork.

The male had no problem doing such things for his mate. If anything he relished in them. He wanted nothing more than a relationship with her. He loved that she was not perfect. That she was not a submissive perfect little doll. She was unique. The perfect mix of defiance, beauty and brokenness. Her past scars made her who she was and he wanted it no other way. Granted he might have liked her to know how to use cutlery but doing it for her was just as great. It was a way to gain her trust, a trust that was slowly being given to him.

The little comforting session he had had with her in his office and the kiss they had shared in the car seemed to have made her a little closer to opening up. He just needed to work on her and bit by bit he was sure she would learn to trust in him.

He understood that she had lived a dangerous life. A life where death and betrayal tied together. Allies could turn to enemies if they got something from it or danger arose. He needed her to understand that those days were over.

"Your highness, we were curious, when will the ball be?" A werewolf spoke up.

Maddy stared blankly at her plate, her fork that had been used for stabbing meat dropped from her hand.

A ball. No one had said anything about a ball. Weren't balls places for stuck up nobles to flaunt themselves in fancy dresses and dance to wordless music.

She glanced at Xavier and shook her head. She did not want any fancy balls. None at all. She could not dance. She did not want to be shown to all. They would mock her, belittle her, hurt her. Worst of all—

Maddy practically flew out of her chair and nearly knocked it over as she sprinted out of the room. It was too tight and big at the same time.

She heard Xavier calling for her but did not stop. She did not stop till she was in their bedroom with the door locked.

The girl immediately began running herself a bath as she had seen Lily do. She stripped off the dress and all its undergarments till she was staring at her bare body in the mirror. Her body that had scars still painted on it. Healed wounds and scars.

She never wanted anyone to know the story behind them. Never ever. They were too painful. They were locked in a vault. Getting too close was bad. There were times when she was triggered. Small little things reopened memories. Memories that needed to be locked up tight. Tight in a vault in her brain.

She put off the water without even feeling the temperature. She practically threw herself in the bath. She grabbed the soap and began scrubbing herself. Washing herself down rigorously.

She wanted the blood off. The blood and dirt. The touch of the vampire. She needed to be rid of it. Yes it had to go. It had to be removed.

Whimpers and cries left her lips as she scrubbed. She visualized another time and place. A much crueler one. One she often forgot had ever existed although the castle seemed to trigger it to come back. Things matched with then. It reminded her like a horrible alarm— a siren.

Her nails were almost digging into her skin as she desperately scrubbed, her fingers slipping and her nails scratching her a few times.

She shook her head violently as the scene replayed. They felt so real. They were long long ago but they merge in with reality. It hurt her.