10. Chapter 10

Iremain on the bed, staring at the darkness in the room. I close my eyes. Maybe I should sleep. It has been a long day.

There is a load in my chest, which grows heavier and heavier.

Zil is out of the room and I'm alone, but he is going to be back soon, and I don't know whether he really is here to help me or not.

All I know is... I may not be back at my home anytime soon. And... not that my workers will miss me a ton, but... what is going to happen when I'm gone?

Everything I've built will be gone.

Just like that. Poof.

Technically, the stall isn't gone, but... it is pretty much gone for me.

I sniff and roll over, burying my face in the pillow.

I hate this.

Even if Zil is here to help, he isn't going to let me go home just like that. He wants me as his mate, and he said I should make it obvious so everyone on the spaceship will know.

But I don't want that. Maybe he hasn't done anything bad to me, and he even used the medicine on me, but at the same time, he is still keeping me here even though he knows that he shouldn't have.

Or... Maybe for his kind, they just do whatever they want. And maybe he isn't even sorry about that. All he wants is to take me from the captain.

Treating me like an item he can do whatever with...

It doesn't take long before there are footsteps in the room. The door is so quiet that I missed it, but he isn't as quiet.

"Hazel?"

I remain quiet, waiting to see what he is going to do to me.

He comes even closer and I can't help my racing heartbeat. "Hazel..." his voice is deep and... menacing. "Why are you pretending to be asleep? Who are you trying to fool?"

Something lands on the bed, right next to me. It feels lighter than him. Maybe that's the pillow.

His voice comes again. "I know you're still awake. Talk to me."

I gasp, and a sob escapes me before I can stop it. Now it is clear I'm pretending to be asleep.

The bed shudders when he climbs onto it. I close my eyes even harder, waiting for him to punish me or do something.

His hand lands on my back. The whip lashes that died down earlier throb with heat again. He runs his finger along the marks again. He is quiet and I don't know whether he is waiting for me to talk.

He sits on the bed and keeps stroking me. I shiver at his hand. Even more tears drop and soak the pillow. He knows I'm pretending to be asleep, but what is he waiting for?

"Hazel... Are you crying?"

Oh... Is he trying to soothe me?

I gasp again. "I don't know."

He isn't the one kidnapping me. He didn't even know about that until he ran into me. Maybe I shouldn't blame him. But...

He sighs. "It's okay. I understand."

"No, you don't." Nothing is okay.

I get up from the pillow and punch his chest before I can stop myself. My punch doesn't move him a single inch. He watches me, seemingly confused. Maybe my punch is so weak that he doesn't even think that's a punch, which is pretty embarrassing.

He watches my hand on his chest. "What does this mean?"

I tap his chest with my fist. "I don't know. I want to punch you and I'm mad at how I'm here."

"So... You punched me."

"Yeah, I suppose so." I take back my hand and put it on the bed. "Are you mad at me?"

He shakes his head. "Not really. Your fist does nothing to me."

"I know. I'm not built to fight." If I were better at fighting, I could have fought against the captain for long enough that someone else came to my rescue.

"Does punching me make you happier?"

I shrug. "I don't think it will do a thing. Like you said, you aren't the one who kidnapped me, so it won't make a lot of sense for me to blame you."

He takes my hand and I tense. Is he going to break my hand or something? He takes my hand to his chest. "You can punch me if that'll make you feel better."

I scowl at that. "Are you laughing at how bad my punches are?"

He shakes his head. His face is ice cold and shows nothing at all. He is a bit too serious to be joking with me. "Here, punch."

"You are crazy."

He glances at me, and the gaze freezes me. "This is your only chance and time."

"But why should I punch you? Just because the captain and you are both uzains?"

"I want you to feel better."

"Like I can be punching the pillow? But instead, I should be punching you?"

He nods and seems to be genuine. I punch his chest again. When he is trying to make me feel better, it feels bad to punch him.

I sigh. "You are so nice to me. I don't think I should punch you or kick you or do anything to you. I hope you aren't hiding something."

He frowns, and my gut shouts how he is hiding something. Hmm...

He clears his throat. "I'm not nice. I'm a uzain."

"Oh..."

He reaches his thumb to me and rubs my cheek, taking a tear off my face. "Don't cry."

"But I can't help it. I'm here and I can't leave. You said you want me as your mate, which doesn't sound like I'm heading home anytime soon. I—" My voice hitches and my throat gets tight. I stop talking so my voice won't crack.

He watches me for another moment. Maybe there's something wrong with his face. He is showing absolutely nothing at all. It feels like I'm talking to a wall.

He points at the bed. "Sleep."

"But I'm not tired." I am, but I don't want to sleep when he is going to be sleeping right next to me. It feels... he is a big guy and with what he can do to me... I can't close my eyes when he is here.

He sneers and shows off his horns. "I said you'll sleep."

"With you?"

He blinks. "Yes. There is one bed here and you will sleep on it."

"And you'll be here."

He clenches a fist. Maybe I should stop talking. I lie down on the bed and he pulls the blanket for me. He fixes his pillow and rests on it. I roll over so my back is against him. Maybe he will roll me over and make me his mate, whatever that means.

The bed moves when he rolls around, getting comfortable.

Moments pass, but I'm alone. He didn't wrap his arm around me or anything.

Um... Am I the one overthinking it? Or is he waiting and planning for something that'll be worse for me?