Her Alpha King

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Two years later...

"Mommy? You okay?"

I rolled over so that I was facing James, he'd grown so much over the last two years, the chubbiness in his cheeks thinning out into that of a child rather than the toddler he was when we first got here. His walk had become more confident, gone was the clumsy toddling about as sure steps took their place. The one thing that remained was the infantile lisp that he still carried in some of his words, one of the last things that reminded me of the happy little boy that I'd found in the woods two years ago, clinging to his brother's back.

I reached a shaky hand out to him to touch his dirty, bruised cheek, saddened at the loss of life in his grey eyes.

"Mommy's fine baby."

It was a lie, I wasn't fine, far from it actually. My back was raw and covered in fresh open wounds and reopened old wounds, my throat raw from screaming. The whippings were a real bitch. My bruised and cracked ribs made it hard to breathe, made it hard to move, everything was just so hard now.

Being here should've broken me down to the girl I was before I'd been rescued but the two little boys depending on me were giving me a reason to fight back every chance that I could, and I did. The punishment that I'd taken today was meant for Steve. He'd had an asthma attack in the middle of carrying a plate of food for one of Tony's men and dropped it. How a man could ever decide that tying a child to a pole and whipping them with a whip with glass shards at the end I would never understand. But that was the punishment that was decided upon and when Steve came barreling into the makeshift kitchen in the network of underground caves, asking me for help, I knew it had to be done.

It was some of the most excruciating pain that I'd ever felt but I'd do it again so that my kids wouldn't have to.

"Mama, I'm sorry you got hurt cause I'm too sick."

I forced myself into and upright position despite the white hot pain that flared on my back and ribs. So that I was even with Steve's tear streaked face.

"Honey you don't have to apologize it was an accident."

His eyes watered and I saw the stubbornness set into his features.

"But they still hurt you u because I dropped it."

I wanted nothing more than to lie back down and try to sleep but my sons comfort had to come before mine. I know what it's like to feel like everything is my fault, to be blamed for things out of my control and I didn't want that for him.

"No sweetheart, they hurt me because they're bad people not because of anything you did. Okay?"

I could see the doubt still clouding his eyes but he nodded anyways.

"Okay. I love you mama."

I smiled tiredly back at him.

"I love you too baby."

I turned to James.

"And you too Jamie."

That gained a rare smile from the little boy.

"Love you too mommy."

I smiled, happy that the conversation was over for now.

"Now how about you two help me lie down again so we can get to bed, yeah?"

They both nodded fiercely and helped me lie down and they gathered in front of me where they'd slept for the last two years. I was glad that Steve hadn't grown more than an inch or two despite being eight years old now or else the three of us sleeping on the one cot that was provided was be nearly impossible. I sighed deeply as I watched over them, I'd sworn that I'd never let this happen to my children but look at where we stand. Under Tony's thumb with no way out just like he always said. We were stuck here.