Page 47 of Reforging Onyx

Onyx smiled humorlessly. “I’m just not meant to have a good day with Shane, I guess. I don’t know. I’m sorry we interrupted your meeting.”

“I’m not sorry. You’re more important than my meeting.” Dominic offered a faint smile. “I’ll try to see what I can do about arranging other companionship for you. Perhaps we could go watch a movie in our little cinema?”

“I want to keep exercising,” Onyx said quietly. “With Shane. I don’t care about the rest. I don’t mind being alone.”

“He upsets you, Onyx." A hint of frustration crept into Dominic's voice. He would keep Shane on to exercise with Onyx if that was what the Rayne witch wanted, but he wasn’t particularly fond of the idea.

But finding someone to replace Shane to train with and exercise with Onyx would be difficult, and unfortunately, the wolf was still the most ideal candidate for those things.

“So do you,” Onyx pointed out. “But that doesn’t make you go away either.”

Dominic laughed softly. “Touché,” he replied.

Onyx sighed. “It’s fine, Dominic. I don’t need companionship.”

“I’d have agreed with that once, months ago. Now, I don’t. You do need companionship and others that you can socialize with. Enforced solitude is its own form of torture, after all. Prisoners in isolation used to go mad. Presumably still do.” He sighed, then used a finger to tilt Onyx’s face up so he could drop a kiss onto his lips. “I’ll make something work. But yes, you can keep exercising with Shane.”

“Thank you." Onyx brushed his lips against Dominic’s before taking a step back. “Let’s watch something.”

Dominic wrapped an arm around Onyx, ushering him toward the door. He would allow Onyx to have Shane if he so chose, but he didn’t have to like it.

Perhaps he’d look for alternatives. Just in case.

Chapter 21

Onyx

It had only been three fucking days, and Onyx was already beyond irritated by Dominic’s latest initiative.

Why did he of all people need tutoring? He didn’t need to know how to use algebra or wax poetic about great literature. He was a goddamn sex slave, and the only lessons he wanted were the ones he had with Shane. He spoke the language of violence, and he spoke it well, and the preliminary interviews with potential tutors of other subjects had left him in a shitty mood.

Whether they’d come because of the novelty of potentially teaching the Rayne slave or the money, it didn’t matter. As soon as they realized just how little he knew, they’d turned condescending, and he’d wanted nothing more than to punch them all in their smug faces.

He’d been eleven during the takeover. Eleven. Then he’d spent the next ten years training to learn how to kill supes. Everything he’d learned at school, he’d long since forgotten, and that hadn’t included the sort of classical training Dominic seemed keen on him learning.

He hated it.

He hated the tutors, he hated the way they made him feel, and most of all, he hated Dominic for making him feel stupid.

That wasn’t anything new; he was used to hating Dominic, even if he wasn’t used to the reason being so utterly mundane.

Well. Sort of.

Maybe Dominic had just gotten tired of Onyx not understanding his obscure references. Or maybe he was just curious to find out how stupid Onyx really was. Maybe if he’d had a normal life, he would’ve been smarter.

But he wasn’t.

Even sitting on the floor by Dominic’s feet with music or a book was better than participating in an initial “evaluation” by someone who saw him as lesser.

“I’m not doing this again,” Onyx announced to Dominic at the end of the third day. “You’re insane, which we already knew, but this only makes you seem more insane. This isn’t going to work.”

Whatever this was.

Dominic put down the pen that he was using to mark up a series of documents and glanced up at Onyx with an arched eyebrow. “What isn’t going to work?” he asked mildly.

“This bullshit with the teachers,” Onyx replied sullenly. “I don’t need to learn anything they’re trying to teach me. I’m just here for you to use; why do I need to know history and whatever for that?” He made a face. “It’s like you’re trying to torture me.”

Not that this was worse than what Dominic had done in the past, but even so. He didn’t like it.