//------------------------------// // Ch 23: Room Service // Story: Enchanted // by The Whiskey Spirit //------------------------------// Ashwyn had managed to clamber back onto the bed at some point, a heavy frown on her face. He had tried to turn her over to the princesses! That couldn’t be allowed to happen. They would not have her. She would be free, damnit! At least the creature was able to be talked out of it. That meant he wasn’t directly under their hooves. The creature wasn’t working with him. She paused as a shiver ran down her spine. It wasn’t from the cold, though that was an issue now that she had destroyed the sheets in her sleep. A sigh escaped her as she tried to collect the destroyed blanket that had once warmed her. Despite how well it covered her, it never brought the same comfortable warmth that it did before. Her ear perked up as she heard something from downstairs. Laughter. Her frown returned. He might not be under them, but he seemed to be their friend. Or at least Luna’s friend, based on what she could hear. She couldn’t help but wonder if she could trust him. Sure, he had been kind to her so far, but she could tell he didn’t like her. Or at the least, her presence annoyed him. So why even bother? Perhaps he had asked the creature to keep her alive until she could be retrieved. Maybe he had been told to tame her. The thought made her grit her teeth as she glared lasers into the wall. That would not happen. She was Alpha and that was final! A scowl crossed her face as she remembered her current situation. She didn’t have much choice in the matter. Whether she wanted it or not, that creature was the alpha in this house. As long as she was at his mercy, he would continue to be so. The thought left a foul taste in her mouth. The quickest way to change that would be to recover. Then she’d have every opportunity to kill him and become the Alpha again. No. Killing him just felt… wrong. She would defeat him and make him swear fealty to her. Yes, that would work better. Not to mention a magic user as scary as him would be a good deterrent for him. Until then, she would… obey. The shiver returned in full force as her hair stood on end. Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt it wash over her. As if on cue, the door opened. In the doorway stood… her Alpha. He held a small chunk of meat in his hand, and had a frown on his face. “It’s not going to work without the enchantment on it.” He told her as he approached. He must have caught her shivering then. She mentally berated herself for showing him that weakness. As though he hadn’t already seen enough weakness from her. He rolled his eyes as he stood beside the bed, even as his arm extended towards her to offer the meat. She almost lunged at it and nabbed it in her teeth, but she held back at the last second. If she did that, he would likely flinch, and she might rip off part of his hand. He would surely kill her if she did that. Instead, her prehensile tongue extended from her mouth and wrapped around the tasty chunk. The Alpha stared at it with wide eyes, or what constituted as wide for such a small eyed creature. She honestly had a hard time telling what he was thinking because of it, and it irritated her greatly. With ponies, it was so easy. Their eyes were so large that you could hardly miss them, but with the Alpha… They were so small and obscured by the shadow of his brow more often than not. Especially when he furrowed said brow. She could tell that they were expressive, it was just that she had a hard time making them out. Either way, she had no idea what was running through his mind as she pulled her tongue back, the succulent meat coming with it. She happily munched on the food, tasting the juicy flavour of it. Easily, this was the best part about her situation. Despite her reservations, the Alpha was feeding her. She no longer felt like she was on the verge of death. Though she still felt stuffy because of the fever she was running. Hopefully that would be fixed before long. It was hard to smell anything beyond the room she was in, and she had grown to rely on that sense over the past week. Without it, she might as well have been blind. Another shiver ran through her as she swallowed the meat. The Alpha saw this and frowned, a sigh escaping him. “Here.” He reluctantly pulled the scarf off from around his neck, a shiver visibly running through him. The moment he reached towards her with it, she froze up. Her claws dug into the bed, and it took all her might not to lash out at him. In the end, he wrapped the cloth around her neck, bringing a familiar warmth back to her. “Now don’t tear that up, or you’ll just have to deal with the cold. Got it?” She nodded swiftly, snuggling into the admittedly comfortable scarf. “Good.” He scratched his head as he looked down at the ruined bed. “Guess I can’t let you sleep in this bed anymore.” He sighed. “And I’m not gonna leave you on the couch.” He muttered, rubbing his temples. “Fuck. C’mere.” Once again, he reached for her, and once again, her reaction was the same. This time, however, he was not bequeathing warmth upon her, but rather picking her up. He had trouble, as her claws were still in the bed, but after she received an annoyed look from the Alpha, she was quick to detach herself from the battered mattress. The way he held her was nothing more than embarrassing. It was like she was a foal. He held her to his breast, her ear easily hearing his steady heart beat with how close they were. As he walked out of the room with her, she noticed something. Namely how close his neck was. If she truly wanted to, she could easily reach up and tear out his throat. It would have been foals play. If she hadn’t already decided not to kill him, she would have hesitated at the easy kill. From what she had seen of the Alpha so far, he was a smart one. She doubted he would leave open such an obvious weakness. It had to be a trap. He wanted to see if he could trust her to be so close to him. A frown crossed her lips as she thought about it. Why would he want to trust her to be close to him? What could he possibly want that would require such? Her question was quickly answered by the room he had taken her. It was another bedroom. One with a much larger bed that was completely soaked in one scent. The Alpha’s. Only one thought crossed her mind about what he could possibly want with her in his bed. Panic began to set in as they got closer, her claws emerging and digging into his flesh. He stopped in an instant. With a frown on his face, he looked down at her. “What’s wrong?” The question demanded an answer, and the Alpha would get his demands. “Not… want.” She told him between grit teeth. His brow furrowed in annoyance and confusion. “You… don’t want to lie in bed?” He asked, the confusion evident in his voice. “No use.” She growled even deeper. “Use? Use wha-” He cut himself off as realization came over him. “Ash, I don’t know what you think I am, but I’m not about to fuck a horse.” He told her sternly. “I was just gonna let you use my bed since you destroyed the only other one.” She blinked at him for a moment, his frown still firmly set in. She couldn’t tell if he was lying, and that was the worst thing about it. Closing her eyes, she relented. He was the Alpha right now. Even if he did want… that, she was in no state to resist. If she did, it would only get worse for her. Slowly, her claws retracted, making the Alpha sigh in relief. He gently set her down on the bed, and to her own relief, pulled the covers over her. Sadly, her relief was short lived, as the Alpha gently slapped her. It didn’t hurt in the slightest, and she assumed it was more to point out how irritated he was. “First rule. No more fucking claws.” He told her. “I’d rather not have to prepare to heal myself every time I come in here.” “I… try.” She told him, lowering herself under the covers slightly in case the lack of a solid affirmative angered him. Instead of that response, the Alpha merely sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I guess that’s the best I’m gonna get, huh?” He grumbled. When he didn’t receive a response, he just rolled his eyes and turned around. “I’ll be back in a little bit with some more food. Don’t destroy those sheets. Those are my last ones and if I have to buy new ones, you’re going back out into the snow.” He growled at her before leaving. Ashwyn could only sigh as he did so and looked at the ceiling, doing her best to get her heart rate back to normal.