27. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Victoria
I had a hard time sleeping, as I kept waking up because of nightmares. I know today’s going to have another test. I couldn’t and still can’t shut my mind off thinking about that. I don’t have a clue to what’s going to happen.
“You are fine... you will be fine,” I mutter to myself, curling my arms around my middle. Rubbing my neck, I can feel an ache from what Jasper and Elijah had done to me over the past day or so. My whole body just wants to shut down and sleep for a month. I’m emotionally and physically drained. Will I really be able to get through this?
I keep second-guessing myself, all while they seem so sure I’ll be their wife in the end…. do I want to survive… or let myself be killed to be put out of my misery? I'm not one to take the easy way out. I try to push those dark thoughtss away as I shake my head thinking it will reset things.
My head snaps up at the sound of the cell door swinging open with a loud bang. My heart’s already racing as I look at the person standing at the door with an apprehensive look. It’s Owen. He gives me a small smile as he walks into the room.
“Good morning, Sweetheart.” He gives me a knowing grin as he looks me over, his eyes zoning in on the marks on my neck.
“I don’t like that look on your face,” I mutter as I lean my back against the wall, eyeing him warily. The grin on his face stretches to the point he’s full-on smiling.
“Just enjoying your love marks,” Owen tells me, causing my eyes to narrow at his words. They were not fucking ‘love marks.'
“Not love marks.” I huff but I know I’m not going to win arguing with him. He seems to be in too good of a mood, which is frankly making me a bit uneasy. Okay, a lot uneasy… and fucking uncomfortable as hell.
“If you say so, but I think the other two will say that they are.” Owen has pure amusement in his voice. My lips twist into a small sneer at the thought before shaking it off.
“Let's just get this over.” I sigh, as I look up at him, leaning my head back and hitting the hard wall with a small thud.
“I won’t tease you anymore. Let’s get up so we can be on our way”. His words cause me to shift nervously, trying to calm my racing pulse. I swallow hard, forcing myself to sit up despite my body's protests. Every muscle ache from the tension and stress of the past few days. My legs feel shaky, whether from fear or lack of proper rest, I’m not sure.
"What's the test this time?" I ask, proud that my voice doesn't waver despite the dread pooling in my stomach. After the last test I have no idea what else they could think up in their twisted minds.
Owen's lips curve into a cold and calculating smile, making the hairs on my body stand on end. That isn’t helping to make my nerves any better, "You'll find out soon enough. Come along now, we don't want to be rude and keep the others waiting."
"No blindfold this time?" I snark, as I glance up at him, he tilts his head to the side at my words before shaking his head. He grabs my arm, not roughly but firmly enough to make it clear there’s no choice in the matter.
Owen's grip on my arm tightens slightly as he leads me down the hallway. "Not necessary. You'll be seeing more of the compound from now on."
I frown at his words, unsure if that’s a good thing or not. On one hand, it means they’re loosening some restrictions. On the other, it implies they’re confident I wouldn't be able to escape even with more knowledge of my surroundings.
We walk in a tense silence, my mind racing as I try to prepare myself for whatever twisted test they have planned for us next. After what happened with Amber, I know it’ll be something designed to push me to my limits.
Owen leads me through a series of corridors, each one looking eerily similar with their concrete walls and dim lighting. Finally, we stop in front of a heavy metal door. Owen punches in a code on the keypad beside it, and the door swings open with a horror movie creaking sound.
“That isn’t fucking creepy at all,” I mutter lowly, as I’m brought into the room, the door shut quickly behind us. I can hear Owen chuckle, letting me go and standing beside me. I look around me and I’m not surprised it’s a plain-looking room. There’s one long table, with seven chairs in the middle of the room and that’s it, besides the light that makes it look like a bad police interrogation room.
I frown seeing that we’re the only ones in here so far, I glance at Owen with a single raised eyebrow. I’m silently asking him where everyone else is. He made it sound like we were going to be late earlier. Which if we were, I wouldn’t really have cared. I want to prolong the next test as much as I could. There’s no looking forward to what these people’s demented minds have come up with.
“The others must be giving them problems.” Owen frowns, though he doesn’t seem one bit worried about it. I assume it’s because he knows that the girls can’t do anything damage-worthy.
Owen's casual dismissal of the other girls' potential struggles sends a chill down my spine. It’s a stark reminder of how powerless we all truly are here. "What kind of problems?" I ask cautiously, not sure if I really want to know the answer.
Owen shrugs, with a cold smile playing on his lips. "Nothing we can't handle. Some girls just need a firmer hand to keep them in line." I suppress a shudder at his words, knowing all too well what that ‘firmer hand’ likely entails. I keep my mouth shut as he gives a small huff of laughter. As I glance around, I stay quiet until Owen breaks the silence.
Owen's eyes glint with amusement as he watches me take in the sparse room. "Not quite what you were expecting, is it?"
I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant despite my racing heart. "I've learned not to expect anything in this place."
Owen chuckles, the sound sending chills down my spine. "Smart girl. Expectations can be dangerous things."
Elijah enters the room first, followed by Jennifer. Amy’s brought in by a different man I’d seen before but don’t know his name. I can see the family resemblance though. Both of the girls look pale and shaken, with red-rimmed eyes that speak of recent tears. Jasper brings up the rear, with a dangerous glint in his eyes as he herds the girls into the room.
"Ah, good. We're all here," Elijah says smoothly, his green eyes scanning the room before landing on me. A small smirk plays on his lips as his eyes find my neck. He isn’t saying anything even though I can tell he likes the marks on me. ‘The bastard.’
"Come on Sweetheart.” Owen leads me to one of the chairs at the long table, his hand on my shoulder guiding me to sit down. I tense at his touch but comply, not wanting to provoke him unnecessarily. As I sit, I notice thick leather straps attached to the arms and legs of the chair.
"What are those for?" I ask warily, eyeing the restraints.
Owen's lips curve into a menacingly cold smile, "Just a precaution. We can't have anyone trying anything foolish during the test, now, can we?"
Before I can protest, he quickly secures the straps around my wrists and ankles, cinching them tight enough that there’s no way I can slip free but not so tight as to cut off circulation. I give the straps a quick tug experimentally, but there’s no give.
"Is this really necessary?" I ask, hating how vulnerable I feel. I don’t like being bound like this. I give the bindings another strong tug, before releasing a sigh of frustration.
Owen chuckles darkly as he looks down at me, “Now be good and keep looking forward.” He gives me one more look before moving over to where Elijah is. He said something softly to him before Elijah gave a nod. The other girls were being tied down by Jasper and the other man who originally brought the girls in.
I watch nervously as the other girls are restrained in their chairs, just like I am. Jennifer’s openly crying now, her body shaking with quiet sobs. Amy looks shell-shocked, her eyes wide and glassy as she stares blankly ahead. I feel a pang of sympathy for them, even as I try to steel myself for whatever’s coming next.
Elijah moves to stand at the head of the table, his imposing presence commanding attention. His green eyes sweep over us, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Ladies," he begins, his voice smooth and under control. "You've all done remarkably well to make it this far. But now we come to one of our most crucial tests - one that will truly determine if you have what it takes to be part of our family.”
I tense at his words, dread pooling in my stomach. After everything we've been through already, what can they possibly have planned that’s even worse? I can’t figure out what might be worse than the last test.
Just a few seconds later the door opens, I can’t see who walks in, but there’s a low murmur before a plate is set before each of us girls. I frown not understanding, and looking around at the other girls, they seem just as lost, and not knowing what this test could possibly be.
Then I watch as the seats next to each of us is filled by someone. I can hear a soft chuckle, and I see Eliijah out of the corner of my eyes. The other two girls, along with someone I don’t know, so I assume they’re another family member. Swallowing, I’m trying not to show how I’m feeling. I can tell what they put in front of us wasn’t what they usually fed us.
“Now, now, girls. We prepared something... ‘ special’ for you tonight.” That voice I recognize all too well. I look away from the older man, not wanting to see him. It’s his fault I’m in this situation to begin with. It’s the first time seeing him face to face since I was taken.
“This is the kind of food you will have to get used to... it’s what our family usually eats.” The older man steps forward, his eyes zoning in on me as he gives me an all too familiar smirk, “So please... enjoy. My wife worked hard to cook this for you three tonight…”
The room is quiet again as no one moves a muscle. I glance at Elijah, his green eyes looking at me with an emotion I can’t distinguish. I shiver as I see that look shift into amusement as he stares me down.
“Now be strong darling, like last time,” his voice drawls, as he picks up the fork and takes a piece of the already cut meat, bringing it to my mouth, ‘Open up’ .” I hear his order as I keep my gaze on him. Even when I hear the cries and screams from the other girls, I still manage to keep my gaze strong.
After a few seconds I open my mouth, not backing down even when my stomach turns in disgust. As soon as I feel the meat in my mouth, I’m trying to think it was something else. It’s cow. I have to keep telling myself that as I chew and swallow, my eyes still focused on Elijah. He smirks at me, his eyes darkening as he stabs another piece of meat on the fork, taking a bite himself. He repeats the process, this time bringing the fork back to my mouth, the sounds around me almost distant as all my attention is on this man.
“Good girl.” He mutters, as I swallow another piece of meat, my stomach rolling with sickness as I try to keep down the bile that’s wanting to come up. Taking a deep breath to keep myself together, I refuse to let the tears and other emotions go.
“A very, very, good girl, ” he mutters, voice going down an octave as he leans closer to me, making me take the last bite from off the plate, “Grandfather’s definitely right about you…”
My mind is trying to keep up but all I can think of is what I was just made to eat... who, I could be eating. I snap my eyes away from him and glance around the table. All the girls are either puking or crying hysterically. I can feel all the eyes of the men on me as I make eye contact with Viktor, the grandfather of these men, the reason I’m here and the man that made this sick and twisted game up.
“You exceeded my expectations …Tori.” The nickname he calls me slips from his lips and that’s what tips me over as I feel myself starting to work myself up into a panic and then darkness.