Chapter 12
Callie
P retending to enjoy myself during this reception is torture. As the night comes to an end and people start to wind down, I have to face the fact that Barrett, Kyler, and Sebastian didn't come for me. Even thinking of having to endure Damien alone has me terrified. I told myself I wouldn't let it come to this. Yet here I am, in a wedding dress, with nothing left to do but bide my time and wait for him to ruin me.
I found a seat near the outskirts of the dance floor and have been watching everyone for the last ten minutes or so. I catch sight of Soren in the crowd, and my heart begins to race. It’s time. They’re getting me out. He slowly makes his way over to me, and I have to force myself to stay calm.
"You look lovely," he says while glancing around cautiously.
"Nobody can hear us. They're all too focused on saying goodbye to each other. Is it time?"
"We can't get you out tonight." He wastes no time crushing all of my hopes.
My stomach drops, and I feel the unrelenting sense of dread begin to consume me. This isn't happening. The only reason I even went through with the wedding today is because I was expecting them to pull me out of here before tonight became an issue.
"It's not ideal, I know." He sighs like this is an inconvenience to him.
"Not ideal? Damien is going to force himself on me tonight. You realize that, right? He already tried earlier after the ceremony."
His face winces, and he shakes his head. "I'm sorry, Callie, but there's no way we can do it tonight without risk. Every single member of Rogue's guard is here in attendance, and your father still has everyone on high alert. Tomorrow, everyone will be relaxed, hungover, and sloppy. The celebrations will be over. Your father and Damien will both think they got what they wanted."
I try not to cry. If anyone is watching us, I can't let them see how much his words are upsetting me. My lip twitches, but I push the feelings away.
"The guys already laid into me, but tomorrow, everyone will think the threat has passed. Sebastian can sneak in as people are leaving. I'll try to run interference for you tonight."
I look at him, eyes filled with dread. "Interference?"
"I have a diversion planned to pull him away from the compound."
I nod, offering Soren a soft smile, keeping up the pretense of a casual and friendly conversation, but on the inside, I want to panic. "Okay, I'll be ready for you to get me out tomorrow then."
Soren gives me one last glance before shaking my hand and walking away. He pushes through the crowd to find someone else to talk to. My eyes fall to the floor in front of me. This better not go wrong. Damien was never supposed to have a chance to be alone with me. It's bad enough that he is technically my husband.
I lift my head to see him walking over to me, and I try to keep a blank face. He doesn't get to know I'm struggling. It's killing me inside, but I have to act like everything is fine.
"Ah, my beautiful wife. It's time for us to retire for the evening, don't you think?"
I look up to see his hand extended. When I don't take it, he grabs my wrist anyway. With a smile, he pulls me out of my seat and into him. Pain shoots through my stomach in the burned area. The skin has started to heal nicely, but the area is still sore when pressure is applied to it. I try to pull back from him, but his fingers dig into the soft flesh of my wrist.
"Damien, that hurts."
"This is going to be the least painful part of the rest of your night." He winks like it's some sort of fucking joke. I have to resist throwing up the bile churning in my stomach.
I don’t get the chance to say anything else. The next thing I know, I’m thrown over his shoulder as he walks out of the building. Once outside, he sets me down and grabs my wrist again to take me toward the house. I don’t even put up a fight. He pushes me inside, and I take a moment to glance around. The setup appears similar to my father’s house. The only difference is there isn’t much decor. It feels old and lonely.
Before I can register what's happening, Damien spins me around and shoves my chest up against the front door. He rips open the entire back of my dress, and I feel the cool air hit my skin.
He closes in on me, pressing his stomach to my back as he leans down to whisper. "Go upstairs to the first door on the left and get naked. I want you on your knees waiting for me when I get up there."
"I won't." I push back and spin around to face him. I don’t like him being this close to me.
"You will. You told me before that you wanted me to be rough with you, didn't you? That’s what you wanted when I was playing the part of Julian. You wanted me to take control of you, tie you up, and use you. You asked for this." He narrows his eyes.
"I thought you were someone else. That was before I learned who you really are. I don't want you like that anymore. I don't even want you touching me."
He grips my hair, pulling my head to the side. "You will do what I tell you to, or I’ll make you do it."
"I'm not doing a fucking thing." I try to push against his chest to get free of him, but I'm not strong enough.
"You will do it willingly, or there will be consequences. What do you think Avery is up to tonight? Does your father know you told her about Rogue?" My eyes go wide. He knows he struck a nerve by bringing her up again. "I know you told her, and you know what happens to non-members who find out about Rogue's existence?"
He smirks knowing he has complete control of me. I shouldn’t have put Avery's life at risk like that by telling her about Rogue. My head hangs low, and I give him a defeated nod. I won't say the words, but he knows I’ll do whatever he demands. I won't let anyone else get hurt because of me.
"Good, go upstairs and do what I told you to do."
I take the steps one at a time, trying to figure out if there's any way I can get out of what's about to happen. If I do anything, it could end badly for Avery. I know Damien will follow through with his threat. The only reason he hasn't done so already is because he knows it’s the perfect leverage over me.
I think of Barrett and Kyler when I walk into the bedroom and strip, tossing my wedding dress over my shoulder. This is a day so many people dream of, and here I am, living a nightmare.
I sink to my knees and place my hands on top of my thighs, letting a tear fall down my cheek before it drips onto my bare chest. The cold, hard floor feels foreign on my knees, and I'm sure I'll have bruises on them in the morning; not like Damien will care.
My heart slams in my chest with every passing moment as I wait for him to bust through the door and take something that will never belong to him. Fear and apprehension have me wanting to curl into a ball in the corner. I remind myself. One night to protect someone I love. I can handle one night.
Even if the guys don't come for me tomorrow like Soren said they would, I'm getting out of here. I'll escape or die trying. I’ll get my revenge on not only Damien but every single man in this society. They’re all evil.
I stay on the floor with my heart racing for what feels like hours, waiting for him to show up, even though I know it’s only been a few minutes. Finally, I hear the sound of someone coming up the rickety stairs. The rise and fall of my chest intensifies as a shadow appears in the doorway. I keep my gaze on the floor in the submissive position that he said he wanted me in.
"Well, that's disappointing." He sighs.
He steps into the room, stopping in front of me, and I see his boots only a few inches away from my knees. I don't make any effort to move or look up.
He kicks my knee with one of his boots. "Look at me".
Slowly, I lift my head until my eyes meet his. He leans down and tangles his fingers in my hair before wrenching my head back. "What happened to the feisty bitch from earlier, huh?"
My only response is to close my eyes and wait for his next move. He pulls me up and drags me toward the bed, throwing me on the ground beside it. I wince at the pain as my knees connect with the floor again but pull myself right back into the submissive position with my hands on my thighs and my head bowed.
I feel hands on me, but I take my mind somewhere else. I can’t be in this moment, so I focus on counting in my head, one number at a time until I reach two hundred and ninety-five. I focus solely on the numbers, until I hear a sound that pulls me back to the moment.
A phone rings from the pocket of his pants on the floor. He ignores it the first time, but it continuously rings. He finally steps away from me, before leaning down to grab it.
"Yeah?" He answers his phone before it can go to voicemail, pausing while whoever is on the other side speaks.
I can't bring myself to look up at him. My eyes fall to the floor, and panic spreads through me. This better be Soren's way of interfering. He told me he had something in place.
"You realize it's my wedding night, right?"
Another pause from him gives me the slightest bit of hope that Soren might have come through after all.
"Fine. I suppose you're right; one more night won't be the end of me."
He leans down to pull his pants and underwear back up his legs, and then I hear him fiddle with the buckle. Still, my eyes are trained on the floor. I don’t want him to see any hope in me.
"I'll be there in a few minutes," is the last thing he says before he ends the phone call. He kicks me again, and I grimace. My head finally lifts, and I see him eyeing me with disdain.
He sighs. "This will unfortunately have to wait. I'm needed for some unexpected business. Tomorrow, I'll take my time with you, sweet wife."
Bile threatens to spew out of my mouth over even the thought.
"Go clean yourself up. You look like fucking shit. There will be a guard waiting for you outside the bedroom door to take you over to your father’s house for the night. I'll be back to get you tomorrow and make sure you're properly cared for." He steps out of the room, and I take a deep breath, thankful to finally be alone.
I give myself a moment before I'm able to stand up and walk to the bathroom. I turn on the shower and step inside, wanting to clean every bit of this day off me and focus on the future. The water pours over my body, and I let the warmth pull me under. I think of Barrett for a moment before glancing down and seeing the initial he carved in my thigh.
I turn off the shower and walk back into the room to look for some kind of clothing. All I manage to find is a large shirt that falls to my knees and a pair of men’s boxers. It's not ideal, and these are, no doubt, Damien's clothes, but I can grab something of my own when the guard escorts me back over to my father’s house. I don’t want to be there either, but it beats being here.
Once I have the clothes on, I sigh and open the door to find the guard standing there waiting for me like a good pet. I know some of them have to see what’s been done to me, yet nobody lifts a finger to help. It’s disgusting.