Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
The number of people moving around me in the bathroom was jarring after coming from the pit. The low murmurings instead of the piercing noises had me unsettled and fidgety.
“Luv!” Rosie ran up to me, her arms engulfing me.
I stood still, like an abused dog. The only touch I had for a week resulted in pain: my daily trips to the bathroom, the guards striking me, slamming me into walls, or throwing me down.
Taunting me with food or fresh water and dumping it down the toilet before I could touch it.
“I’ve been so worried.” She pulled away, taking in the stiffness of my frame. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” I couldn’t get any more out. I hadn’t spoken to anyone but my visions in over a week.
Every person who bumped my shoulder getting by me had me tightening in on myself more. The inclination to strike out or hide had me inching toward a wall for safety.
Rosie’s lips pressed, eyes watering. “I am so sorry.”
“For what?”
“I was the reason you went in there.”
“No.” I shook my head. “You weren’t. They needed no reason to put me in there. Are—are you all right?” I stumbled over my words, trying to fully speak again. “Did they . . .”
“No.” She shook her head. “They’ve left me alone since.”
My shoulders eased down.
“You don’t have to protect me,” she stated firmly. “I’ve dealt with and suffered through what men like those need to do to feel powerful. And I survived. I’m stronger than you think.”
“Without a doubt, you are.” She was probably far stronger than I would be in that circumstance.
“X?” Birdie, Zuz, and Wesley gathered around me, all looking relieved and slightly shocked at seeing me. I knew I looked like hell. “Fuck, are you okay?”
I nodded at them.
“Hey! No standing around and talking,” a guard yelled at us, dispersing us quickly.
“Come on.” Rosie lightly touched my arm. “Let’s get you something to eat. You can have my rations this morning.”
“No.” I shook my head vehemently.
“You can and you will.” She glanced down at my figure. “Looks like you need it far more than me.”
I couldn’t remember the last solid food I ate. All you want when you are down there is the hunger to vanish. The pain and emptiness in your stomach drives you mad. Then it suddenly stops. You are thankful until you realize your body is not being kind—it’s shutting down.
Dying.
We strolled into the mess hall, the blocks of color dividing the room into segregated groups. I hated this place with every fiber of my being. I didn’t think it could get worse than Halálház, but Istvan made it possible.
I missed the talking, fighting, and the blending of people. I didn’t even realize the freedom we had there compared to this.
The control and domination of Markos’ reign held us down with an iron fist. The levels of hell just kept going on and on. Taking away more of our humanity, more of things we needed as beings. Stripping away the will to live.
My skin prickled with the sensation of eyes on me. My head jerked to the side, feeling Warwick’s gaze like electricity, reminding me I still had fight left in me.
Sitting by himself at a table near the half-breeds, he still looked like the king watching over his people. His dark hair was tied up, his tattoos showing on his arms and under the V-neck of his shirt, his muscles trying to rip the fabric open, demanding to be released.
The man dominated the room, absorbing all the attention and charging the air with his carnal, predatory aura.
Kill.
Fuck.
He made you want them equally.
His aqua eyes met mine, and my body reacted as if I was seeing him for the first time in Halálház. The jolt of fire, the rush of desire, a connection I didn’t realize then, which would bind us together beyond time and space.
He wasn’t any less brutal, sensual, or dangerous, but I no longer feared the wolf. I coveted his viciousness, sought his violence, and craved his raw force.
Because I was the same.
He accepted it in me, let me acknowledge it in myself. We went to war, crawling out of the depths together. We fought. We killed.
We survived.
“My mate.” The words echoed through me again, his eyes slinking over every inch of me. My body flushed as my imagination contrived the feel of him. I craved him so much, I could almost feel his tongue dragging up my thigh, parting my folds and licking through me.
“All right, ladies and gentlemen!” Zion’s voice broke my gaze off the legend, twisting to see him standing at the front of the buffet area. “Because you’ve all been so good. There will be a special treat for you tonight. So eat up! Some of you will need it!”
His speech knotted in my stomach as our section went up to get our small bowl of gruel, which appeared a little thicker than usual.
“Drágám.” a voice whispered next to me in line.
It took everything I had to not respond as my uncle nestled in closer to me in line.
“How are you doing?”
He was worried about me when he was the one who had lost so much.
“I’m fine.” I dared a glance over at him, my stomach looping into a knot. He still looked far younger than his years, his wounds healing quickly, but that was the surface. The grief behind his eyes made him look desolate, drawn, and pale, sorrow hunching his shoulders.
A thread of alarm wrapped around my lungs. He looked like a man that was only existing—no longer living. He lost his soulmate. His heart. Misery could kill a perfectly healthy person if you no longer had the will.
Grief and worry filled my eyes with tears. “Are you all right?” I felt stupid the moment I asked. Of course he wasn’t. “I’ve been so worried about you.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“I will always worry about you. You are the only family I have left.” Please let that be enough.
“No.” He moved his hand subtly, his finger grazing mine, squeezing, a warmth spreading through my nerves. “You have family all around you, drágám.” He let his scrutiny drift over the tables full of my friends, tilting his head to one. “That one especially. He loves you.”
My attention flickered to Warwick.
“He might not say it, but I know firsthand when a man flips his entire world upside down for a woman . . .” Andris’s eyes poignantly met mine. “She is it. Ling was that for me. Your father was the same with your mom.” He flicked his head back at the wolf. “He would die for you.”
“And I would kill anyone for him.”
His lips pinned together with a nod, his head bowing. “I would have taken the bullet for her.”
“I know you would have.” I clutched his fingers tighter. There was no question. And I felt ashamed I was glad he didn’t. The thought of losing him . . .
“I can’t breathe without her.” I heard Andris whisper, his voice quaking.
“Move it!” Joska slammed into Andris’s shoulder, knocking him forward. “Fuckin’ fae-lover.”
Andris righted himself, moving up to the counter. He peered over his shoulder, his expression heartbreaking.
“I love you.” he mouthed before Joska pushed him deeper into the throng, out of my sight.
The sentiment should have been comforting; my love for Andris had become everything. He was like a father to me now. But for some reason, it only made my stomach twist into a tighter knot, filling me with trepidation.
The day continued to get worse.
My back ached, my fingers bled, and my head pounded, and this time, they had us take different water breaks, so I never got a chance to even brush by Warwick.
About an hour before the end of our day, Boyd, Samu, and two others I didn’t know marched in, heading directly for us. Terror swirled in my belly, but I kept my expression impassive, already preparing for them to grab me.
Without a word, they headed for Zuz, seizing her arms and yanking her up.
“What’s going on?” She struggled in their hold as the men yanked her off the bench. “No! Let go!”
Commotion drove the girls near her into a frenzy of yells and failed attempts to stop them.
“What are you doing?” Birdie asked, her pitch rising. “Where are you taking her?”
A baton cracked across Birdie’s face, pitching her off her bench to the ground with a cry.
I started to rise, but I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. “Don’t.” Nora shook her head, telling me with her eyes to sit back down.
I did, watching helplessly as they carried Zuz from the room, screaming and thrashing against them.
What the hell was happening? What were they going to do with her? Why her?
“Get back to work!” Joska ordered us. “Or you will be next!”
Terror buckled everyone down, returning to sewing with shaky hands.
I saw Kek subtly help Birdie back into her seat. Blood gushed from her nose and split lip, but otherwise, she seemed all right.
We worked the next hour in utter silence, our heads down, the noises of the enormous machines across the warehouse hissing and firing as the men labored.
Warwick was put on the furnaces, melting the bullet casings into shape.
Sweat pooled off him, making him look like he jumped into the river with his clothes on.
The cotton blend of his pants stuck to him, following his every move like a shadow.
Through my lashes, my eyes traveled over his physique, following the flex of his muscles, the curve of his ass. I could almost taste the salty sweat dripping down his spine on my tongue, the feel of sweaty skin against my own.
His head jerked suddenly, his brows furrowed, his gaze finding mine across the space.
“Get back to work!” A whip lashed across his bare back, breaking his skin.
The guard struck again. A sob gurgled in my throat, but I tried desperately to hide my response.
His jaw clamped down, his teeth grinding as he took the flogging.
He breathed in, turning back to work, his body bristling against the submissive response.
The Wolf wanted to attack. The legend wanted to kill.
But they would hurt those he cared about. Ash, Kitty . . . me. I was his Achilles heel here.
“Okay! Dinner time, fishes.” Joska called out, people instantly stopping, rising, and heading to the door.