Page 17 of Chosen (The Registry #2)

Chapter

Thirteen

JAMIE

And I lay the blame firmly at the feet of Draken.

No.

I shake my head. The Sector Leader.

I’m not supposed to feel anything toward this man but when I woke up in bed, beneath the fur comforter, my body aching all over from his sexual domination.

There’s a stickiness between my thighs and my core throbs as a reminder of what we’d done.

My nipples are still tender from how aggressively he’d suckled them.

And the worst part of the entire experience? I’d loved every second of it.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. My sister had mentioned something about the cross-referencing program that had given me the breeder designation.

She mentioned something about matches over a certain percentage being so compatible with one another, there’s almost a mystical pull between the two people.

I was convinced it was something she’d made up to justify willingly giving herself to a superious .

I’d condemned Noah for doing exactly what I’d done.

Am I a traitor? How could I have fallen so easily in his arms and liked it? What if this one time with him was enough to impregnant me. How would it feel to carry his child? Even now my body misses his and I’m disgusted with myself.

No!

I refuse to give in to whatever this invisible pull I feel toward him is. At the end of the day, he’s still a superious , a Sector Leader at that. I’ve heard about all the cruel things that go on in this Sector.

I’ve only been here for a week and experienced cruelty at the hands of my own people.

Those two maids are homo sapiens like me, but they treat me like I’m less than dirty.

Perhaps they hold some kind of privilege around here and the worse they are toward me it curries more favor.

This kind of place can turn people against each other.

That’s the kind of place this is. But if I’m being honest with myself, this place is nowhere near as bad as my assignment as companion. I have my scars to remind me of that horror which I’ll never forget.

I push the covers off me and get out of bed and head to the bathing room.

Taking a hot bath had been my one comfort since I arrived.

I press the panel on the side of the sunken tub and watch the water pour from the openings at the bottom.

I press another button to turn on the jets once the tub is filled halfway.

The water soothes my aching flesh as I ease myself into its depths and enjoy the feel of it against my skin.

I close my eyes but I’m immediately reminded of the Sector Leader, his perfect body, his hands on my skin and the way his beard felt between my thighs.

Fuck!

I had to stop thinking about that man.

I sink beneath the depths of the water and I’m hit by a sudden memory. Someone is pushing my head under and I fight to break free. The more I fight the more water fills my lungs. I can’t break the surface because that hand is too strong for me to break free from

I sit up abruptly, gasping for hair. So caught up in a moment I thought I’d suppressed, I nearly drowned.

Suddenly the bath is no longer a comfort to me and I press the button to release the water. I slide out of the tub and grab a towel that the maids had left for me.

After drying off, I wrap it around my body and head out to the bedroom. I freeze in my tracks when I see a woman with short brown hair. She’s wearing the same uniform Rhia and Sahra, a long sleeved, dark blue dress with a white collar.

There a smile resting on her lips as she bows to me. “I’ve bought you something to eat. Lord Draken thought you might be hungry.”

Her tone seems friendly enough. It lacks the hostility of Rhia and Sahra but she wasn’t overly friendly like Maggie.

“Umm, who are you?”

“I’m Willa. I’ll be serving you until you’re given permanent attendants. I’ve brought some fresh underwear, and some other items you can wear until you’ve been fitted properly for your wardrobe.”

“My wardrobe?” I’m so confused because I have no idea what’s happening.

Not that I wished to see either of them, but still had to know. “What happened to Rhia and Sahra?”

Willa’s lips twist with clear annoyance. I don’t know if it’s because my question has irritated her or if she didn’t get along with those two. Either could be true but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter because those two were horrible bitches.

“They’re no longer at the fortress.”

“What does that mean?

“They’ve been reassigned. I’m not at liberty to say more. I see that you’ve been enjoying the tub, so I brought you a basket of bath accessories, some salts and fragrances. I also have a cream that I thought you might like. For your back. If I may, I can apply it for you.”

What did The Sector Leader tell her about my back. Did he say my scars were unsightly and unappealing? But then I remembered how tenderly he’d touched and kissed them. Was he just being considerate?

“What did he say about my back?” I asked warily.

“He just said that you had an injury and this cream would help you. At the risk of stepping out line, before I became the Sector Leader’s maid, I used to work in the kitchen.

I got a very severe burn that caused nerve damage.

Surgery helped the nerve damage but the cream helped with the burn scars.

” She pulled up her sleeve to and revealed a scar on her arm.

A companion named Channa was set on fire at my last assignment after she had displeased the Master’s wife. The burn scars had been so severe one side of her face looked skeletal, and she had unfortunately lost an eye.

The burn marks on Willa’s arms didn’t seem as severe as she’d described.

“It doesn’t look so bad.”

“Trust me, when it happened, a big chunk of my skin had melted off. This cream was made by some of the top scientists in Sector 8. They gifted several jars of it to the Sector Leader.” Hearing this about my Sector Leader takes me by surprise.

Who is he really? Is he the harsh beast who kills without impunity or is he a leader who garners respect from his subordinates.

“And he shared it with you?”

“Well, he gave it to the staff physicians to stock in the infirmary. He’s strict but fair and takes care of the staff. Should I rub the cream in your back?”

I take a step backward. “My back…I don’t think…” I don’t want to see the pity in her eyes when she sees my scars.”

“I understand Miss. But there’s nothing to be ashamed of. How about we try it out and if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll stop.”

She seemed sincere and this was the first non-hostile conversation I’ve had with another homo sapien since arriving here. I slowly nod. “Okay.”

“Please have a seat.”

I sit on the lounge chair and lower my towel.

To her credit Willa neither gasps in horror or even makes the slightest sounds of surprise when she steps behind me. With gentle fingers she slathers the cream on my scars and massages them into my injured flesh. As the cream glides against my skin, it makes my flesh tingle.

Willa applied it in a way that didn’t make me feel embarrassed. Where the heck was the woman the past week.

“It feels like something is going on,” I whisper in awe.

“Apparently it’s infused with something called nanites that help buries itself in the skin and repairs it. Your back will probably never be as smooth as it once was but it will repair some of the damage. There, all done.”

“Thank you, Willa. You’re the first person to be kind to me since I’ve come to the fortress.

” I didn’t dare mention what happened between me and the Sector Leader because I refused to see what happened between us as a kindness.

He was simply trying to impregnant me and I was just fulfilling my duty.

“It was my pleasure to serve you. I’ve laid some clothing out for, you. These should last until the tailor comes to take your measurements so you can get into some proper clothing.”

I’m touched by her kindness. “Thanks again. Uh, you mentioned that you’d be my maid temporarily?”

“Yes, until the Lord Draken selects someone on a more permanent basis. You’ll have two maids.”

I shouldn’t care but my curiosity is piqued. “Are you the Sector Leader’s only maid?”

“No, he has another one, her name is Anora. You may see her when I’m unavailable.

“And do you like serving the Sector Leader?”

“As I said before, can be strict but he’s always been fair it’s the…my apologies. I spoke out of turn.”

I have a feeling she was about to tell me something I wasn’t supposed to know. “Please tell me, Willa.”

“Forget I said anything. It’s best that you don’t know.”

“Is it because you think I’d run and tell the Sector Leader?

You don’t have to worry about that. Besides, I have more reason to be wary of you than you need to be of me.

I’m new here and so far my experience hasn’t been great with the other staff.

So please, if you think it’s something that could help me out while I’m here then I wish you’d tell me. I promise, I won’t say tell anyone.”

Willa begins to pace the floor, wringing her hands together. “I just need you to be careful. The Sector Leader’s second holds a great deal of power in this fortress and a lot of the staff is loyal to him. Be careful who you trust.”

I’m not sure what to do with this information. My capacity to trust is already pretty low but hearing this gives me a new concern. “How do I know that I can trust you?”

“Anora and I have been with Lord Draken since he became the Sector Leader. He has his own factor of staff who are loyal to him.”

“I sense a but in there.”

“But…the Chancellor’s loyalists are slowly starting to outnumber the Sector Leaders’ people.”

I can hear the fear in her voice and it worries me that something sinister is going on in this place.

“Does the Sector Leader know?”

Willa shakes his head. “I’m not sure if he’s aware. He’s been extremely busy lately. There’s been a lot of mishaps in this Sector lately and he’s been away a lot.”

“And when he’s away, his Second-In-Command is in charge?”

“Yes. I think I’ve already said too much. Please don’t ask me to tell you anymore.”

Of course. I didn’t want the woman to be any more uncomfortable than she already was.

But now I had a new fear to face. I’d been so worried about being a breeder and fighting against these awakening feelings I had for the Sector Leader. But now, I was wondering if I’d landed myself in the middle of a civil war.