Pain. Extreme, scorching pain drags me back to consciousness. An intense burning sensation that radiates from my back all over my body.
Swallowing the whimper building in my throat, I remain still as I listen for any signs he hasn’t left yet. Lying face down on the cold cement floor of the basement with the back of my shirt shredded, my body was wracked with involuntary shivers.
Hearing nothing, I slowly opened my eyes, staring in shock at the fresh red stains on the surrounding floor. I drew in a sharp breath, nearly gagging at the thick scent of my blood as it combined with cedar and vanilla.
“You’ve finally joined me,” he sneers wickedly. “I hope you don’t mind, but I kept myself busy while I waited for you to wake up."
His finger traced across my back, near but not quite touching the source of the burning. I can’t help but flinch away from it, sending another wave of pain shooting from my back.
Feeling his intense gaze on my face, I close my eyes in defeat, not wanting to know what he’s done to me this time. “LOOK AT ME!” he growls, grabbing my chin and jerking me up and towards him, jolting me to a kneeling position. Pain explodes across my back as a scream tears its way out of my throat. I can feel blood dripping down my back, and while my healing is slowed because of the years of starvation, it should have at least stopped bleeding by now, seeing as the blood on the floor is long dried.
Tightening his grip until it felt like he might just crush my jaw, he snarls. “Open. Your. Eyes.” I instantly obey, unable to withstand the additional pain, and he loosens his hold to a bearable pressure. “Good,” he purrs, “now you can see my handy work!”
Wrenching me into a standing position, earning himself another scream as he drags me by my chin into the tiny bathroom. Roughly turning me so my back faces the tiny sink and the cracked mirror above it, he glances back at the mirror on the wall as he positions me just so in front of it.
Knowing I wouldn’t have one, he pulls a hand mirror out of his back pocket and holds it in front of my face, angling it so I can see the mirror behind me. Even though I know I will probably get into more trouble than I already am, I stare straight ahead, ignoring the mirror, desperately not wanting to see what he’s done.
Shooting daggers at me with his eyes, he gives a hearty chuckle before lowering the mirror. He steps closer, leaning his face towards me until our foreheads are almost touching, his grip tightening on my jaw.
Smiling, he stares into my eyes before brushing his nose along my jawline to my neck. “Mmmm, I can never get enough of the smell of you like this,” he whispers into my ear, licking and nipping it gently as I tremble in disgust.
“Come on little doll, take a peek in the mirror for me, okay? After all, it’s rude to complain about an early birthday present, isn’t it?” His voice drips with charm, his new pet name for me making my stomach turn.
I blink in confusion. An early birthday present? No one has celebrated my birthday in the last ten years, and like everything else, I’d forgotten the date. I only know that I turn 20 this year but don’t know when.
Grinning wickedly after seeing that his comment had the desired effect, he stepped back. Tightening his grip on my jaw ever so slightly, to remind me of my place, he raises the mirror again.
When I hesitate again, he raises his eyebrows at me and clears his throat, a signal that he is losing patience with me. Knowing that the alternative would be a lot worse, I took a steadying breath and slowly raised my eyes to the small mirror.
Staring blankly at the mirror behind me, it takes a moment to understand the words while reading them in reverse. When I work out what it says, I finally release the gut-wrenching sobs that have been threatening to surface since he first opened the basement door.
My entire back is a bloody mess, and he has carved four large words into my skin, four devastating words:
PROPERTY
OF
ALPHA
BRADY
“No!” I sob, “No, no, no!”. Ripping my chin from his vice-like grip, I tore chin from his grip, putting some space between us. My chest feels tight, and I feel like I can’t breathe properly as I take gasping breaths of too little air. Stumbling out of the bathroom, I rushed toward the door in a panicked daze.
It’s bad enough that I’d lived here like a slave for the last ten years, barely fending off this perverted Alpha of a pack that’s never been mine. Now, I was branded like an animal, labelled property, owned, claimed by my tormentor.
No wolf would ever want me now. No one would ever dare to lay their hands on the property of an Alpha.
“I knew you’d love it! Now no one will touch what’s mine!” He growls possessively as I reached the door, yanking on it, remembering too late that he locked it when he came in. Whipping around, I shrieked at his unexpected closeness. He pushes forward, pinning me against the door, his eyes burning with a dangerous mix of anger and lust.
I arch my back away from the hard surface, crying out in pain. His arms block my escape on either side, and his body presses tightly against mine before he pushes his face into my hair, breathing deeply.
“Once you turn twenty, you can sense your mate, and he can sense you. I won’t have anyone else put their hands on my favourite toy!” He whispers seductively in my ear, pressing a kiss behind it. “Now, you are mine, all MINE! No wolf, not even your mate, will want a woman with my name, an Alpha’s name, on her.” His husky voice filled with desire makes me shudder as he confirms my thoughts from earlier.
My knees buckle as my last hope is ripped away from me. I allow myself to drift, no longer caring to fight the darkness threatening to pull me under. My final thought passes through my mind before I succumb to it’s current.
‘I am never getting out of here.’
POV: Echo I bolt upright with a screech of shock and pain as the frigid water splashes over me. Wiping my sopping wet baby curls off of my forehead, I shiver violently in my now wet clothes. Glancing around, I see the last two people I ever want to wake up to see standing next to my bed. Magnifying tenfold, the increasingly throbbing pain in my back steals my breath away, leaving me gasping for air. Flailing, I try to, and fail to keep the strangled whimpers and cries from passing my lips. Alpha Brady and Luna Embry smile maliciously as they watch me inch my way back toward the wall behind me. The small amount of movement is enough to make the room spin, and my body futilely attempts to empty the non-existent contents of my stomach. It results in excruciating dry heaves for several moments, causing tears to pour down my face. The violent movements had stretched the wounds on my back in a way that drove the excruciating pain deeper into my body than I thought possible. Collapsing on
POV: Echo “Eat!” Brady demands, as he places the fork firmly in my hand. Trembling, I looked at the plate in apprehension, wondering what kind of torture he'd come up with now. Grasping the fork so tightly my knuckles turn white, I scoop some eggs onto my fork and bring them to my mouth. I hesitate for a moment before placing them in my mouth and chewing. Waiting again after I swallow, expecting it to be laced with silver or wolfsbane. When no pain comes, I dig into the meal. Only a quarter of the way through, I had to stop. Slowly sipping on the glass of orange juice, I savour its sweet flavour. Having had nothing but water for so long, I’d forgotten how deliciously sweet that juice was. My stomach feels full and slightly painful, as I have eaten as much food this morning as I typically see over a period of days, maybe even upwards of a week. I feel absolutely stuffed. The Alpha has been watching me this whole time, and I have avoided looking at him, trying to pretend he wasn’t the
POV: Echo Working with the laundry has never been so uncomfortable in my life. I quickly emptied the dryers and then ran the washers again to rid the clothes of the stale damp scent clinging to them from sitting wet for three days. The pain in my back twinged every time I reached too far into the machines for the clothing, resulting in me having to almost crawl inside the massive dryers to get everything out. As I do so, I can feel Brady watching my every move with a purely animalistic gaze of desire. He stands just behind me, his eyes darkening with his wolf, making me desperate to get out of the basement before he acted on his desire. I thanked the Moon Goddess when I finished, and he simply gestured for me to head up the stairs in front of him. Not wanting to provide him with the time or opportunity to touch me or change his mind, I scrambled up the stairs as quickly as I could. Three steps into the kitchen, I paused, stifling a horrified gasp when I saw the state of it. In thre
POV: Echo The jolt of being tossed onto the soft mattress brought me back to my senses, just in time for him to move to the edge of the bed in front of me. Before I can react, he grabs me by my ankles and drags me until my legs hang off the bed and I’m lying on my back in front of him. Trying to control my emotions, I attempt to force my fear back, and replace it with calm. Repeating in a loop in my head, I tell myself that someone is going to interrupt him. Either his Luna coming home or a mind-linking pack member needing his help. Someone is going to stop this. Despite my best efforts, even I could smell the waves of complete panic rolling off me the moment he dragged a fingertip down my thigh. He sucks in a deep breath, smirking, and I can smell his arousal instantly. My wholebody trembles as he takes my hands and gently pulls me into a sitting position. Running his hands over my hair, smoothing it down, he slowly shifts it to the side so he can access my neck better. Aware that
POV: Echo The harsh sound of the dryers buzzing, signalling the end of their cycles, startles me awake. My joints scream in protest as I slowly dragged myself to a sitting position. I’d passed out in the same crumpled heap I’d been tossed in, and my whole body was stiff and sore. Sitting for a minute, I waited for the aching to fade away. Attempting to take stock of my injuries, new and old, I frowned, raised my shirt, and gingerly touched my ribs, before cautiously stretching. My ribs don’t even so much as ache, which is odd given how many were broken prior to my tumble down the stairs. Curious, I inspect my other injuries and find they are also absent. Undoing my finger splint and pulling it off, I see my finger has also healed entirely, which surprised me because its healing had been slowed considerably before. Jumping up off the floor, I rush towards the bathroom, pulling off my shirt as I go. Quickly removing the bandages from my back and letting the gauze flutter to the floor
POV: Echo I rarely I allow myself to take a trip down memory lane. It’s even less often that I think back on that day. After passing out, I had woken up in the basement and that’s where I stayed. No one ever explained what happened other than that my parents were killed trying to escape as they were responsible for their Luna’s death, and that I was to be punished in their stead. Apparently, their deaths weren’t punishment enough. I wished nothing more than to have ignored my stomach and turned in the other direction. If I had, I may have been fortunate enough to find myself in a neighbouring pack, one who didn’t hate my very existence. Or I may have just died from exposure. Anything would have been better than my life right now. Sighing, I gave the pants I just picked up an extra vigorous shake. All the hopes in the world wouldn’t take me back to make a different choice. I needed to focus on the giant piles of laundry around me, and on having my wolf. My parents made their choices
POV: Echo I made it to my spot by the door just as it swung open. Immediately assuming a servant’s stance, hoping to the Goddess that he doesn’t notice how hard I’m breathing, I focus on calming my pounding heart. I watched his feet move forward a few steps as he took in the sight of all the folded laundry on the table and in labelled baskets on the floor. “Hmm…” he hums, his feet turning back towards me and stopping just in front of me. He watches me try to and fail at containing my panting breath. I don’t think I have ever moved that fast in my life. I owe my speed and ability to mostly complete an impossible task to my wolf. She lent me what little energy she had to spare. I know I am screwed when he stiffens, raising his hand to my damp hair. I’d done my best to give it a solid rinse with the water I was provided through the single cold tap to my trough tub. However, I didn’t have time to wash it with soap, as I’d literally had two minutes to bathe, dress, and be on my spot.
POV: Echo Having finished stripping rooms, I quickly ducked into the basement to swap the laundry again and quickly freshen up before making my way over to wait in the dining room. Standing in a corner of the room, I was glad that I’d been able to keep my new dress clean for serving. My nerves were jittery, making me anxious as I waited for them to arrive. Hearing the front doors open, Alpha Brady’s voice drifts into the dining hall as many footsteps approach. The smell of something mouth-watering wafted through the door as warriors from both packs filed in. I closed my eyes and discreetly sniffed the air, taking in the scent of a forest after a rainstorm mixed with a strongly brewed coffee. Stiffening slightly as Tala chanted, ‘Mate! Mate is here, Echo!’. Her excitement flooded through me, and I couldn’t help but glance around the room quickly. There are men, mostly warriors, who are moving to sit at the table, filling their plates with mountains of eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and