Page 79 of Monster. Me.

"You son of a bitch—" Rupert starts, but I’m not having it.

"No, you son of a bitch!"

"How dare you—"

"No, how dare you!"

Silence falls. Well, that was a helluva conversation.

"If you expect me to apologize, you’re seriously mistaken, you fucking rapist. You deserved every blow. You tased me, let me remind you, and you tied my hands, you sick bastard. If you try to twist this around now and make yourself the victim, I swear—"

"I have no intention of doing that," Rupert cuts in. "When they brought me here, they had to change my clothes because I reeked of Drax’s pheromones. Me! And you? Think about how you must have smelled! I never wanted to have sex with you before, but his scent—"

"You still had a will! You could have fought it!"

"Believe me, I tried! But fine. I know my share of the blame. But the truth is, in this program you signed consent to have sex with me—"

"Consent to sex includes consensual sex in its basic meaning, and I said many times that I did not want to do that." I clench my fists, blood boiling in my veins. "And one more thing! I was not the first one to step outside this relationship. You fucked Caspian and let Juan fuck you. I know because I saw it with my own eyes. Only after that did I go to Fenn. I have a clear conscience, or at least as clear as one can have in a situation like this!" I add furiously.

Rupert looks at me with cold eyes, one of which is deeply bloodshot, which is very distracting.

"So it’s Fenn now, not just Drax?"

"Don’t even start."

A moment of silence. Rupert stares at the ceiling.

I just have to emphasize it, “Think again if you think you can force me into sex the next time. I’m not an omega or a beta. I’m an alpha like you, and I’m telling you I’m not falling for that damn taser a second time.”

"The thought of touching you tempts me about as much as touching a snake," Rupert says dryly. "Just don’t come to our room reeking like the mutant!"

"Don’t try to make it sound like you had zero control, because I know you were angry at me. Didn't that fuel it?"

"I was, but his pheromones just pushed me further! Can you take showers after, huh?"

"Fine! Just remember, I’m not going to be a toy for your kink of licking someone else’s cum, but we can both gain something from this program. I know you cared about the money, and now you also have that little trio with Juan and Caspian, and maybe you’d like to spend some time with them, and I also have my own reasons to stay in the program for a little while longer."

Unexpectedly, I notice a subtle scent coming from something lying on the table.

It’s a small metal ball, something like a tea infuser. I pick it up and inhale the scent. Oh wow, nice… but I quickly compose myself and add,

"So? What do you say?"

Rupert watches me. His lower lip is already so swollen he probably has trouble speaking, but I don’t feel guilty. He put his hands on me first, I owe him nothing.

"Well," he says slowly. "It’s not in my interest to leave this program now. I make more money here than I do as a receptionist and dental technician.

We stare each other down.

Silence.

"So. You can handle the humiliation in front of the other alphas that your own varia got you in the face?" I say it in a sarcastic tone.

Rupert slowly turns his head toward the window.

"You know what’s funny? When I submitted the first version of my application to this program, I submitted it as a varia. Not a vector."

Wow. I widen my eyes. I was not expecting that part. I stare for a moment at his beaten-up face.