CHAPTER12
Luke
Five am. The piercing alarm on my clock splits the morning, dragging me out of a fitful sleep. Most nights, I couldn’t get through without at least one nightmare, but this time, things were different.
Instead of Ryker rising from his coffin and catching me, he went after Shelaine. I know it’s just a dream, but for some reason, I can’t shake off the uneasy feeling that she’s not safe.
Ryker can’t hurt her, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t others that would love to rip her from me. Micha’s the first name that pops into my head, but I know there are many others. Just because I’m safe inside The Society, it doesn’t mean she’s afforded that same protection.
That’s why I need to claim her and, more importantly, marry her. Once she’s a Lannister, it affords her the same protection that I have, at least it should. Wiping a hand down my face, I crawl out of bed and start my morning routine, only now, I have a new thing to add.
Pulling up the app, I click on Shelaine’s name and click on the camera. Since this is my first time watching her while she’s sleeping, I have no clue if the cameras will even pick her up. Are they equipped for nighttime viewing?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. There she is, sitting at her desk, stark naked with all the lights on. I can’t tell what she’s working on, but with the way her hand keeps backing up, I can easily surmise it’s not going well. What does she expect? I told her to have her ass in bed, but there she is, defying me.
Shaking my head, I close the app and head into the bathroom. Perhaps my daily run should include making a surprise visit. Shelaine doesn’t know my routines yet and has no idea that I wake up so early every day. Smirking, I brush my teeth and then head out to put on my running clothes.
She has forty-five minutes to get her ass in bed, or I’ll give her a healthy reminder. I pull on my shoes and switch on the cameras again. She shows no sign of settling down, and at this point, it’s almost moot. She has to be up in two hours anyway, but I can’t let her disobedience stand.
Even if she wasn’t tired, her ass could have still been lying there. I wouldn’t have cared if she was laying there watching tv or even reading. At least she would have been in the damn bed. But this isn’t anywhere close to relaxation, and I refuse to let her run her body down.
I meant what I said last night. Despite my faults, I take care of my property, and if that means putting her over my lap and spanking the hell out of her and plugging her afterward, it’s just what I’ll do. Besides my knives and a few other personal belongings, Ryker never really let me own anything - Shelaine is the first. But if I take care of her like I do my knives, an extension of me, then I’ll be doing pretty good by her.
Pocketing the phone, I head outside and breathe in the fresh morning air. I didn’t become a morning person because I was just naturally awake at that time; it was more like the only time of day I had any peace. It’s not just because of Ryker. Most people detest morning, making it the perfect time of day to run.
I go over to a nearby fence and stare out at the campus in front of me as I stretch. It really is genius to have these modular homes so close to the submissives. I’m sure many of the other Dominants have their own fancier homes a bit farther away, but for someone like me that’s restarting my life, it’s perfect.
It's within jogging distance to the track field as well as Shelaine. I don’t need a car to get around, and anytime I need something, I can just take the Loftry shuttle like the other students. Hell, I’m young enough to be a student myself, so I blend right in.
Once I’m limber, I start off at a light jog, just moving my body and breathing in the air. Everything is quiet and calm. I decide to head to the track to do several laps before barging in on Shelaine but find that I’m not the only one there.
Tasha runs as if someone is chasing her. I know that look. Try as she might, there’s no way she’ll ever be able to outrun her demons. I’ve tried and failed. Running over, I wait until she’s back at the beginning marker of the lap and jog next to her.
Her face is red already, even in these cool temperatures. Every chance I can, I glance over at her, trying to see if there’s something wrong. Perhaps she’s already been at this for far longer than she should. Slowing my pace, I wait for her to follow my lead. There’s no way she’ll try to outdo me. Not like this.
Sure enough, she starts to slow, and we go around the track in a comfortable run. After about ten minutes, I slow down even further and continue to do it until we’re both walking.
“Want to talk about it?” I really don’t want to know what her problem is because then I’d be obligated to help fix it, but as my student, I worry about what’s going on in her head.
“Unless you’re going to tell me how to run as fast as you, there’s nothing to talk about,” she snaps back, her eyes blazing for a moment. “Sorry. It wasn’t right for me to lash out at you.”
“No,” I agree. “It wasn’t.”
“I just. You don’t understand. None of you understand. Not you, not my parents, and not that school psychiatrist, Andrew something.”
“Ahh. An ally. I’m not a fan of him either.”
She giggles for a moment and flashes me a small smile. “For some reason, he thought I was in trouble, but I’m not. I’m fine. I’m perfect. I’m stressed, but so is every student here.”
I highly doubt there’s anyone here nearly as stressed as she is. But I can’t let myself get involved. I’ve spoken with Sir Quacks-a-lot, and if he doesn’t think she’s in trouble, then she shouldn’t be. Glancing down at my watch, I frown, noting the time.
At this rate, I won’t be able to see to Shelaine before she has to go about her day. And I still have to have my breakfast and work with some other students. As badly as I want to go to Shelaine’s, I feel like this student needs me here. I don’t want to abandon her and make whatever is going on worse. She’s a good runner. And with some tweaking, she’ll be an excellent runner.
For her sake, I sit there, listening to spout off about tradition and what running means to her. Blah blah blah. For someone who’s eighteen, she sure is whiny. But then, she probably wasn’t forced to grow up quite so fast. That seems to make a difference. Still, if Tasha doesn’t calm down, she’s sure to have a nervous breakdown.
Yeah, running is good, and sure it opens doors. But running isn’t the end all be all. It just isn’t. And that’s coming from me, a person who lives to run. Either way, I sit there and listen, not really paying attention, but just enough that she thinks I care. If this were happening after the initiation, I might be able to dedicate more brain space to her, but my mind is preoccupied with so many other things right now.
When she finally stops and looks at her watch, she jumps up in a flurry of motion, muttering apologies and altogether just freaking the fuck out. Watching her leave, I feel a strange pang in my heart. She’s just so fractious and in need of someone to guide her and help her settle down.
It must be that submissive nature in her screaming out that makes me pause. Normally, I wouldn’t give two shits, but she just seems so desperate, so lost. It really would be an easy fix to get her back onto a healthier path.
Hopefully, she’ll do something bad enough that another Dominant can get their paws on her. Either way, it’s definitely too late to do anything with my girl. Even now, I watch as she strides across the quad, her head buried in a textbook. She may have gotten away with her disobedience today, but that’s okay.
I’ll let her think she’s safe, then trap her, making it far worse for her in the end. Smiling. I stand up and jog back to my little home. I’m in desperate need of a shower and protein shake before I start the day.
As I near the door, I notice that the flap on my mailbox is up, indicating I have mail. I don’t even have to look at the name to know who it’s from. The small part sticking out has stickers covering almost every inch, and I’m pretty sure the inside will have just as many, if not more.