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Odin slipped inside, the sound of moving items at the sink coming for a second, followed by running water. The water continued even when he returned, stopping between the doorway and the bed. He met Hunter’s gaze and silently waited.
“No.” Hunter shook his head and shifted back another half foot.
“It’s been a few days,” Odin chided. “You need to wash.”
He didn’t bother asking how Snow could be certain Hunter wasn’t showering during the day while he was alone, a bit too afraid of the answer.
“It has not,” he disagreed. “You clean me every night…after.” He couldn’t bring himself to say it, flushing in embarrassment when a knowing glint entered Odin’s deep brown eyes.
“Don’t act like a child afraid of bath time,” he said, but it was clear from the upward tilt of his ruby-red lips that Odin was getting off on this exchange. He typically did. He liked it when Hunter fought back, so much so that more than once, Hunter had considered giving in just to wipe that challenging glint off his face.
The impossibility of his situation was all that kept him from doing so.
All that would do was replace the challenging look with one of smug satisfaction.
“I’m not,” he stated. “I’m acting like a pet because you’re treating me like one.”
Odin cocked his head. “You’re free to leave this room whenever you want.”
“Liar.”
He took a step closer to the bed, slow and careful, clearly trying not to spook Hunter with his approach.
It didn’t work. Hunter’s gaze dropped down the length of his bare chest, and he crawled back another foot. Soon, he’d run out of bed, and it was never good when his feet touched the ground. At least here, in the sea of blankets, on the mattress which had sides that needed climbing over, he stood a chance. Odin was faster and stronger. He’d be on him in a heartbeat if he so much as planted a toe on the ground.
Hunter wasn’t sure when or how the rules of their twisted game had been set, only that he knew them, and knew that so long as he remained safely on the bed, Odin wouldn’t pounce. He’d simply…wait.
And Odin Snow was nothing if not patient. The day after Hunter was first brought here, he’d used violence whenever the Dominus came near. Odin had moved off to the sitting area and waited for hours until the stress of his situation had finally gotten the better of him and Hunter had passed out.
When he’d woken, it was to find himself encased in the other man’s arms, Odin’s chin resting on his shoulder. Even in sleep, he’d held onto Hunter so tightly he hadn’t even been able to wiggle a centimeter free of his hold.
“All you have to do is mate with me,” Odin said, as if Hunter hadn’t even spoken. He took another step. “Agree, Huntsman, and we can forget all about the bath. I’ll unlock the door for you right now.”
“This door, maybe.”
That hit a nerve and a muscle in Odin’s jaw ticked. “A bigger cage is better than a smaller one.”
“Admitting you’re keeping me caged now?” Hunter pulled himself back, feeling the edge of the bed.
Odin was close enough on the other side that all he’d have to do was dive for him and that’d be it, but he didn’t. “It’s not just to satisfy me. I’m keeping you safe, Little Whisper.”
“Don’t call me that!” The biggest mistake of his life had been leaving that room last week. Doing so resulted in him running into a psycho, getting drugged, and sleeping with Odin. During which, in his drugged-out state, he’d confessed to his greatest secret.
There weren’t many of his kind, if any, left on the planet, a world once rife with beings who could wield power over the elements and counterparts who could boost their ability. Shouts were also few and far between, with the three known strongest being the rulers of the Brumal mafia, a criminal organization that ran everything from the lower streets all the way up to the top levels of the government.
“There’s no use denying what you are,” Odin told him gently. “You’re a Whisper and I’m a Shout. We were made for each other, Huntsman. Mating with me is in your best interest as well as mine. If other Shout’s found out—”
“They won’t unless you tell them,” Hunter cut him off. “If neither of us says anything, if we keep it a secret, no one will know. You could let me go and—”
“I warned you what would happen the last time you tried to convince me to release you,” his gaze darkened, “or do you not recall?”
Hunter’s breath caught in his throat, and he froze. It’d only been a few days since that threat had been made, and in his haste to try and talk some sense into Odin, he’d forgotten all about it. That tended to be the case whenever being a Whisper was brought up.
As a Shout, Odin could control heat, and though he was already one of the most powerful men on the planet, it wasn’t enough. He’d been at a tentative peace with his step-brother for years now, but a few weeks ago that peace had been shaken. Right after they’d slept together, as soon as the drug had finally left Hunter’s system, Odin had openly told him about his new plans.
He was going to use Hunter.
Whispers had the ability to boost a Shout’s power with their blood. Keeping one around meant an unlimited power source, and while it was only necessary to keep them breathing, mating with a Whisper had an even stronger effect.
