Chapter 7: Shiny and new
Noah’s POV
"Sit"
I am asked to sit and I obey.
The documents are in front of me, and I stare at them blankly.
I can’t read anything, and it’s not because of my poor eyesight. It feels like looking at a nightmare where the white paper and the black ink have merged into one.
"Sign"
Elias hands a pen to me and I stare at it in the same way I’m staring at the documents. He wants me sign it and give my life completely to him.
The thing is that he already owns my life. Even if I put on a show and refuse to sign, he still owns me.
He already called me ’it’, and no one in their right minds would ask permission from an object before they completely possess it.
I take the pen from him with a shaky hand. "Where do I sign?" I ask, and when I lift my head, I find his eyes on me.
The way he’s looking at me hasn’t changed. I remember when I got my first book as a treat with my own money, I had inspected it like this.
Are there any cracks? Do I need to return it? Is the color just right?
Elias taps on a dotted line three times, and my eyes drop to the document on the table. He has already left his own signature on it.
"Before I sign this...will you give me two things?" I ask him with my hand hovering over the document.
"It depends" he says simply and I grip the pen harder.
"On what?" I dare to ask with frustration in my tone, and instead of giving me an answer, he takes his seat in the chair next to me.
Elias folds his arms across his chest before he rests his back on it.
His movements are precise and clean. He feels like he calculates even the amount of air that goes in and out of his lungs.
"Will you k-kill someone else again?" I ask my question and he tilts his head to the side, lips twitching as he stares at me.
"It depends" he says again and I hear the pen creak in my palm from how hard I’m holding it.
"On what?"
"It depends on you, beautiful. Their lives are in your hand...that doctor, the father of a young daughter’s death is in your hand" he says, raising his eyebrow when my hands drop by my side.
He snapped that man’s neck within a second just because I defended myself. He’s really a monster.
"You didn’t have to- you- you didn’t have to kill him"
"You didn’t have to test me, Noah. There are only a limited number of times a person can be...defiant" he says and lifts one finger to my chin.
This is the first time he’s touching directly...
My breath shakes and his lips slowly part into a soft smile that shows his straight white teeth.
"You enjoy being touched" he whispers and I turn my head away, distancing my chin from his hand.
I was genuinely expecting his touch to be as cold as his personality. But his hands are just like every other person’s...they are warm.
Warm but different. Without effort, he’s making my skin feel warm.
"People like to dare death, you know..." he says and drops his hand to the table.
The alpha rests his face on one hand and drums the fingertips of his other hand on the surface of the smooth table.
"...they dare death and get surprised when death actually takes them" he completes his sentence and the smile drops off his face.
"What about Zane, will you let him go?" I ask and Elias doesn’t answer that question. He just continues to drum, staring at me with deep brown eyes.
"Will you hurt him? Zane means the world to me, please. He’s a good person" I say despite his silence.
"You asked for two things and I already gave that to you" Elias murmurs softly.
"That’s not true, I only asked-"
"’Will you kill someone else again?’ that’s one. ’On what?’ that’s two" Elias counts on his finger, talking to me like I’m a child.
"Can I ask one more?" I say and he pulls out his pocket watch. The alpha opens it and hums, staring at it while drumming with his left hand.
He and Damien might have different approaches, but the exact same blood of running their victims mad runs in their veins.
"One more, one more because you’re shiny and new" he says and I nod.
There’s no use to argue with him on his I’m a human or a ’shiny and new’ tool, so I just accept his description for me.
"My father...governor Goldsmith, is he alive?" I ask.
"Alive and well" Elias says and as soon as I breathe a sigh of relief, he goes ahead to smash my heart to a rock carelessly. "Your father is on a vacation at a tropical island. His assistant, Julie, is also with him"
What?
"You’re lying"
Elias doesn’t argue to prove me wrong. He just pulls out his phone—a neat and less popular brand—to show me the picture that is waiting there.
It’s as if he timed everything.
Dad’s on the screen.
My eyes well up with tears as they roam the bright screen. That’s my father, that’s the man that trained me to be a resourceful and elegant omega.
He’s shirtless and wearing a pair of colorful shorts. His hands are on his waist and his beer belly is jutting out, I used to find it cute but now...I can’t think properly.
My eyes are starting to sting.
In the picture, Julie, his personal assistant and Mom’s rival is suntanning next to him topless.
"It’s a- it’s a lie" I whisper and Elias put it down.
"I told you, you can cry now. Once the clock hits five, Gotteigen will celebrate you as my bride. I won’t like to see your tears then" he taps the document.
White paper and black inks are in front of me, but my dad on a yacht is imprinted in my brain.
Will I really sign this?