Sold to the Alpha With Silver Eyes - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

*Eden*
The woman in the mirror staring back at me is someone I don’t recognize. The sunken cheeks, bags under my eyes. I drag my fingers over my protruding collar bone, my chest heavy with an intense wave of self loathing. My shoulders look sharp, my elbows knobbly, and tears drip down my cheeks.
I used to be so confident, not that I was the most attractive woman in my pack, but I wasn’t in the least bit unattractive. Curves that could turn heads, muscles that made me proud to wear a crop top or even a pair of biker shorts with a sports bra to training. Now, I’m nothing more than a sack of bones, with nowhere to go and no one to lean on.
“Eden.” There is a knock on the door and I turn to the side, my hand sliding down my flat stomach and over my hipbones that showcase my pelvis.
I blow out a depressed breath of air, my chest shaking as I try to hold back the tears. How the hell am I still alive? I should have died long ago, with beatings and not being fed right. How the hells have I survived?
“Eden?” Dev calls once more and I wipe my tears and clear my throat, trying to hide the fact that I have been crying.
“Uh, yeah, just a minute.” I call back to him as I rush around, throwing some clothes on. I push the door open hesitantly, looking up at Dev as he stands there and waits for me.
“Did you need to use the bathroom?” I ask, pushing around him, my body brushing his as I move to the bed, ready to jump in and hide from him.
“No, you have just been in there a while. I was worried you washed away down the drain.” He says, his not-so-subtle jab about my size stinging as I feel him following me. “I ordered food for you and it’s here.”
He gently touches my arm, motioning toward the couch where his bed is made up. A coffee table is set for two and I notice steaming bowls of soup, bread and a spread of fruit and vegetables. My mouth instantly wets with the desire to eat. My lips smacking as I inch my way over to it.
“Thank you.” I say, my voice hoarse as I round the table, and drop to my butt and settle in, looking at what seems to be a rich chicken broth.
“The healer suggested you start with broths and bread until your body is ready to consume more regular foods.” He says, taking a seat across from me. “Though it would be best if you went for an actual evaluation in the morning.”
Great, so he really meant it when he said I needed therapy. Not only am I ugly and scrawny, but now I need a wolf shrink to help me sort through my life? Fucking great.
“You are eating the same things?” I ask, choosing to ignore the topic of his choice. He looks away, scratching his neck.
“No, I ate while you were in the shower but when I saw this arrive, I asked for some too, so you didn’t have to eat alone.” He offers, and I force myself not to smile at the sentiment.
“What did you eat?” I ask him and he clears his throat.
“Just eat your food, Eden.” Then he lifts his bowl, drinking from it as if it were a wide-rimmed cup.
The last time I ate in front of him, I must have looked like a starved animal, so this time I take my spoon, ladling the warm broth into my mouth. There is no helping the noise that comes from my throat, the sound of someone having something they have craved for so long. It touches a part of my soul, the warmth, the subtle flavor of rosemary and thyme, with a hint of sage enhancing the chicken broth.
I reach across from a small roll, breaking it in half, the warmth of it surprising me as I chuckle aloud.
“Its warm,” I mutter, a smile on my lips as I press the bread to my lips, enjoying the softness of it and the heat.
“Can I ask you a question?” Dev asks and I look up, blinking, having forgotten he was even here.
“Yes,” I answer, taking my bread and dipping it into the soup. As I lift it to my lips, I smile softly, taking a big bite. It reminds me of my mom. The homemade bread and soup for when I was sick.
“You can’t smell anything?” He asks. I frown, setting my bread to the side as I sigh heavily and look at him.
“No,” I say cautiously, my eyes narrowing in on him as if he is setting me up for a trap.
“Can I ask what happened?” Dev looks intrigued. His elbows on the little table as he leans forward like I have some huge secret to tell him. I lick my teeth, then blow out a huff of air.
“Well, I was injured, trying to save my brother.” I shrug it off like it isn’t a big deal, knowing full well it is. I tried, and I failed, and this injury is my constant reminder that I wasn’t strong enough then and I sure as heck am not strong now.
“And did you save him?” He asks, even though I am pretty sure he knows these answers. I trust Leoni, but I know she will always report to Dev, so it’s not shocking he knows this. What’s shocking is him asking like he doesn’t.
“Uh, no.” I swallow roughly, looking down at my soup. “No, he died.”
“That must have been hard.” He whispers, and I look up at him.
“He was a teenager, just a kid.” A tear falls down my cheek and I chuckle. “I wasn’t always this weak and miserable.”
“Eden, about what I said…” He begins, but he breaks off a look of disappointment on his face.
“You aren’t wrong.” I take advantage of his silence, breaking in to smooth this over as soon as I can. “I am weak, and underfed. But I wasn’t always like this. I was a good warrior, not the best, but a solid fighter with a bubbly personality, and I would have been an amazing mate.”
“With a little help you can be all of that again,” He says, giving me a big smile. I tuck my damp hair behind my ear and frown.
“Some of that will come back. I can train and eat to regain what I lost in weight, but that bubbly girl with dreams of a mate and a life with a family is gone.” I shrug.
“It doesn’t have to be,” he says, sounding disappointed in my answer. I can’t help but chuckle dryly. “How easy it is from the outside to tell someone things will get better and to dream again. Dreams are for sleep, nightmares are my reality. I will dream of my family and wake every day to them being gone. I will have illusions of a love I will never find. It is just what my life is now. And I have reconciled with that.”
He again furrows his brows at me and frowns deeply, his head shaking as if I am not understanding something.
“Once you gain weight and feel more like yourself, it will be easier to be optimistic.” He looks so sincere, his eyes full of hope, and I scoff.
“Can we just eat, please?” I mutter, dragging my hands through my hair before I settle back in and silently eat my soup.
“Seriously? You are going to just shut down over this?” He asks, irritation blooming in his voice.
“Are we friends?” I ask, arching a brow as I take anther bite of bread. “Let’s be real here. You are only asking because I overheard what you said. You wouldn’t care about any of this stuff had you not been caught talking about how I look. And it’s not like you are wrong. I am a weak, I am sickly because of my malnourishment and while I appreciate your help, I don’t need your concern.”
He scoffs heavily, shaking his head as he laughs sardonically. He pushes back from the table, leaning back against the couch. It makes me uncomfortable how he looks at me with zero emotion on his face, his gaze assessing and his demeanor stoic as ever.
“What?” I ask, touching my face as if I have food on my cheeks.
“Oh, now you want to know what I have to say?” He asks.
My eyes go from concerned to murder-esque in three seconds, my head tilting to the side. I lift the bowl of soup to my lips, drinking it all down in one shot before shoving the last bit of roll in my mouth and stomping over to the bed.
“Goodnight Eden.” He says, his voice a teasing lilt that only makes my frustration grow. So instead of responding, I turn to my side and yank the blankets over my head.