Alpha's Blind Luna novel Chapter 76

“Goddess, I can’t remember the last time I had a shower.”

I chuckled as Hector looked into the bathroom. “Imagine how I feel.”

“Did you want to take one first?”

Shaking my head, I was reading over the information the front desk provided. Apparently, there was a shopping district not too far from where we were. I looked at the little map printed on the page.

“Auri?”

“Oh! No no! Go take a shower. I’m going to head down and pick up a few things. At least some food for you. See if we can’t look semi-normal.”

Hector walked into the kitchen where I had been leaning on the counter looking at the booklet. “Want me to go with you?”

My eyes roamed over his naked figure. Sure, we had been naked for weeks but this was a completely different environment. It was hard keeping the smile off my face as I took him in.

“No. I blend in a little more than you do.”

“I can blend in.”

This made me laugh. “Hector, you’re almost a foot taller than the average height here. Not to mention you absolutely are something to behold.” My eyes wracked over his muscles again. “I got it. I’ll be back in a couple hours. Get a shower and take a nap.”

“I don’t know if I feel comfortable letting you go out there alone.” He came up and brushed his hand against my cheek.

“Don’t worry. I can speak the language and I have a map now.” I held up the paper. “I’ll be fine. They aren’t looking for us, not yet. We will have to see if they even do. Oran might cut his losses and just leave us be.”

Hector’s lips made a thin line on his face but I smiled. Walking around him, I grabbed the room key and headed to the elevator. He watched me as the doors closed and I took a deep breath. Yes, I would be okay but if there was a lot of people, it would be harder. I needed to get used to it. Get back into society. Little bird was gone, they had not broken me this time and I refused to let them get to me. I felt like I should feel worse. I felt like I should be broken and sitting in the corner but for some reason, I wasn’t. The adrenaline had already worn off and I expected to crash but it never came. Was I really so used to this kind of pain that it didn’t bother me anymore?

It wasn’t too bad of a walk and I don’t think many people noticed I didn’t have shoes on. At least, not with my head held high and walking with confidence. There was a lot to be said with how you carried yourself, even in the worst of situations. I remedied the issue with shoes first. I brought Hector and I three pairs. Nice shoes, Converse knockoffs, and some flip flops. I slipped the flip flops on as I continued my shopping. It was an expensive part of town but I felt no guilt as I swiped the lab coats card. She had been inside my body so much sure she knew about it more than I did. This was a little payback.

A few shirts, two nice button-up shirts, two pairs of jeans, a pair of slacks, socks, underwear, a razor kit, and Hector was done. I picked up two jeans as well, some slacks and a pencil skirt. As well as two fitted button up shirts, a jacket, and some regular t-shirts. Socks, underwear, and bras were the next thing but I didn’t bother putting them on. I needed a shower. A long, hot, soap scrubbing shower.

I stopped when my nose was hit with an onslaught of wonderful smells. There was a section that had street food vendors. I spoke to some of the locals and asked what was the best here. They recommends a few of the places but said to stay away from the ones with too many tourists. I thanked them and paid cash for the four bags of food I now carried back to the hotel.

The front desk woman smiled at my overloaded hands and she was nice enough to grab the elevator for me. In total, it took me three hours but I figured it was fine. Placing the bags on the table, I set out the food and peaked into one of the two bedrooms. Hector was snoring softly on the bed and I smiled. As much I wanted to leave him there to sleep, I knew he needed to eat. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I brushed the hair out of his face. The motion woke him and he sat up straight. I smiled at him.

“I have food. You need to eat. We can sleep later.”

He nodded and swung his legs over the bed. Taking a deep breath, I tried again not to ogle him. Back in the kitchen, I moved the clothes bags over.

“Damn Auri, what did you get?”

“Everything? There is underwear and…a razor kit.”

His eyes widened and he immediately dug through the bags. He pulled out the razor box.

“Wait till you eat!”

“Hell no. This animal is getting off my face. Now.” He growled and I chuckled, shaking my head.

He disappeared for a few minutes before coming back. I had been sipping on a water bottle that was stocked in the fridge and I nearly spit it out as he walked back in. Damn if he wasn’t fucking handsome shaved. If anything, he looked more manly without it. His strong jaw and cheek bones screamed model and I swallowed.

“I have never felt such relief. What did you get?”

I hummed before my brain realized he asked me a question. “I could explain it in Chinese but not very well in English. Just know it was recommended by the locals. They even told me which stalls to stay away from, which was really nice.”

Hector grabbed a plastic fork and dig into one of the to-go boxes. He moaned as he put a forkful in his mouth.

“Oh goddess, I missed spices.”

I chuckled but I looked down at the dumpling in my hand. It looked and smell good but I was worried.

“Auri, eat! You haven’t eaten in…what…?”

“Two years.”

His fork froze in midair and he looked at me. “What?”

“They never fed me food. They injected me with what I needed. They did too many surgeries and I’m sure they didn’t want food in my stomach. As soon as I got in, I didn’t have another bite of food.”

I could feel his worry and pain for me through our bond. Looking down at the fluffy dumpling, I took a deep breath.

“I don’t even know what my stomach will do at this point. I don’t feel hungry anymore. It’s like I just don’t need to eat but now…I guess I have to get over it.” I tried to force a smile.

“Auri…you don’t…”