My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 185

Elara

But I didn't blame her. No one could have known the timing. No one knew the monsters were that close.

Aldric watched her whimpering. He started to speak again, his voice casual. He asked my mother for her age. She choked on her sobs, but she managed to respond, her voice a broken whisper. He nodded, satisfied, and then asked for my eldest sister’s name.

My sister whimpered the answer, her eyes fixed on the floor.

Aldric nodded again, looking satisfied. He finally turned his full attention back to me.

"I would like to provide a place for your family," he said, like he was offering us a vacation. "A place where they would be comfortable. A place where they can continue to live their lives in peace. No more warehouses. No more wagons."

He looked at me, his eyebrows raised. "How does that sound?"

It sounded like a dream. It sounded like the only fair option in a world that had turned into a nightmare. But every alarm bell in my head was screaming.

I shook my head, my voice stuttering. "What... what is the catch?"

Aldric simply shrugged. He looked genuinely puzzled by the question. "No catch, Elara. Just simple companionship."

Companionship. I knew what that meant. It was just a fancy, royal word for a personal slut.

I looked toward my mother. She was slowly shaking her head, her eyes wide with a silent plea. My elder sister was just staring at the floor, lost in her own terror.

Was my mother trying to tell me not to take it? Did she really think there was another option? Would she rather we were all put to work in some mine until our lungs turned to coal? Or fucked by every guard in this keep until our pussies were too wide to hold urine?

Is that what she wanted? Would she rather doom us all than allow me to take the burden? If I took his offer, she and my sister survived. They would live a good life. They would have bread. They would have a roof that didn't smell like wet dog.

It didn't make any sense. Her nobility was going to get us killed.

Mother finally looked up at Aldric’s face. She started to beg. She threw herself forward, her voice a shrill, desperate mess.

"Please," she shrieked. "Please. Have mercy. Look at me!"

My mother choked on her own tears. She looked down at the floor, her shoulders slumped. She had failed.

Aldric looked back at me. He smiled again, a soft, patient thing. "What do you say, Elara?"

Mother went down further, bowing until her forehead hit the concrete. She started begging again, her hands reaching out, clutching at Aldric’s polished leather shoe. She rubbed the leather like it was made of solid gold.

“Please have mercy, my King. Please take me instead.”

Aldric just stared down at her.

The look on his face was the most disgusted thing I had ever seen. He looked at my mother like she was made of literal shit, and she was currently using her shit-stained hands to touch him. I saw his nostrils flare, even through the handkerchief.

But then, I saw the moment he took a deep breath. He calmed himself down. He had absolute control. Even though he was visibly revolted, he didn't react. He didn't kick her. He didn't scream. That was the most dangerous thing about him—the fact that he could hide the monster so perfectly.

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