Chapter 5 Mirabelle
Mirabelle
Ijolt awake with Rowan’s comforter tangled about my limbs. His bed was one of the most comfortable I’ve ever had the privilege of sleeping on.
He insisted I take it and that he’d take the couch, and after my first weak protest was shut down, I just wrapped myself in his scent and promptly fell into a dreamless sleep.
Waking up like this is a lot less pleasant than how I fell asleep.
It feels like the entire wall of the trailer is shaking from the banging at the front door.
“Shut the fuck up, I’m coming,” Rowan calls.
With his blanket still tucked around my shoulders, I creep out of his bedroom to see what’s going on.
Rowan casts me a look that I can only describe as terrified over his shoulder as he sees me.
“It’s my—it’s my brother,” he mumbles.
Fear skates down my spine as Jett continues to bang on the door.
“You’ve got five seconds before I kick this goddamn door in,” Jett snarls.
Rowan hurries to open the door, and Jett’s figure fills the entire doorway.
“Fucking finally,” he grumbles, his eyes drawing instantly to me. “There you are.”
“What do you want?” Rowan asks, stepping between me and his brother.
The move shocks both of us, it seems, because Jett’s glare narrows on the smaller beta in front of him.
“You talkin’ to me shitstain?” Jett asks, his voice dangerously low.
“Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you. Dad said I was the one in charge of Mir—of the omega,” Rowan says, straightening his shoulders.
“He said you were in charge of trainin’ her, but that I was in charge of using her to get the dogs in line.” His lips twist into a sadistic sneer as he lifts what looks to be a collar. “And I’m just itching to get started.”
“Wh—what? So soon?” Rowan asks.
“Yeah, since you haven’t gotten your ass out of bed yet to take care of the new dog, I’m gonna run a little experiment. See how he reacts to our little toy here.”
“I haven’t even had a chance to see the new dog, how do you expect me to get started when I’m taking care of the omega?”
Jett shrugs. “Not my problem. He’s been here for days now, so things gotta get moving. Early bird gets the worm. You wanna train the fucker, you’ve gotta actually be ready to train him. For now, I’m taking that omega to do my job.”
Rowan’s hands clench into fists at his side. There’s a barely noticeable tremble in his shoulders.
“Now then,” Jett says, satisfied with Rowan’s silence. He turns his gaze back to me. “Come here.”
I’m surprised he doesn’t snap his fingers along with the command. I glance at Rowan, who’s turned to look at me. He offers me the slightest nod.
I remember his rules.
Listen to what he says in front of other people. I shuffle my feet closer towards him, eyeing the scary-looking rubber and plastic collar he holds in his hand warily.
Jett lets out a small huff of laughter.
“Damn, so obedient already. Looks like my brother does actually know what he’s doing.”
He reaches out, and I can’t help but flinch. But all that seems to do is excite the crazy guy.
Jett plucks the blanket from my shoulders and tosses it at Rowan, leaving me standing there in the borrowed T-shirt and boxers.
Jett eyes the clothing as if it offends him.
“If it were up to me, a sexy thing like you would be naked all the time,” he grumbles.
I shoot a panicked glance at Rowan.
“Stop it—“ Rowan’s words are cut off as Jett moves faster than I ever thought was possible.
In a blur, Jett has Rowan pinned to the wall by his neck. Rowan makes a terrible gurgling noise as his airway is cut off.
“Did I fucking ask for your advice?” The alpha sneers, spit flying from his lips.
The almost casual show of violence makes me want to dry heave. It doesn’t fit. Nothing Rowan said or did was worth this kind of punishment.
This alpha is dangerous. The only rules he follows are the ones that serve him at any given moment in time.
Rowan claws at Jett’s forearm desperately, but it’s all in vain. Jett has an entire head and probably sixty pounds on his younger brother.
“You spend one night around pretty omega pussy and you’re here talking back?”
Rowan shakes his head as much as he can, stuck in his brother’s suffocating grip.
Jett holds Rowan there, his feet hanging off the ground for another second before he lets go. Rowan stumbles, the wall behind him the only thing that keeps him on his feet.
He glances at me for a split second before averting his gaze, but it’s quick enough for me to see all the shame and disgust he’s carrying with him.
Jett doesn’t seem to care about Rowan’s wheezing coughs because he turns his dark, empty, soulless eyes to me. It’s almost like I can feel the weight of his gaze on my skin. I wish I had the power to disappear, because that’s all I want to do right now.
“Now then,” Jett says, a maniacal grin crossing his face. “Back to business.”
I flinch as his hand reaches for me again. Instead of grabbing my neck and slamming me against the wall like he just did with Rowan, his hand tangles in my long hair, wrenching my head back and exposing my neck.
My pulse flutters as I’m overwhelmed with a deep sense of helplessness.
He raises his hand, making the collar glimmer in the early morning light.
“P—please, I’ll be good, I promise,” I say, my voice a faint whisper.
“Oh, I bet you will be,” Jett snickers, jerking my head back into an even more uncomfortable angle. “And this will make sure of that.”
I can’t keep the quiet whimper from leaving my lips.
“Shitstain,” Jett snaps, jerking his chin towards Rowan. “You’re going to do the honor of putting it on.”
Rowan moves slowly, his hands trembling as he takes the collar from his brother. I stand there, my eyes wide as I stare unblinkingly at him.
The apology written in his expression is the only thing that keeps me from bursting into tears as the oppressive, heavy padlock clicks shut, locking the collar around my neck.
“I’ll keep the key with me,” Jett chuckles, shooting a smug look at Rowan. “You’re weak-minded enough to unlock it if she sucked you off well enough.”
Rowan looks... broken. Like all he wants to do is fight Jett, but he’s helpless.
I try to offer him the most reassuring expression I can. The last thing I’d want is for him to do something stupid and get himself hurt.
That seems to be the wrong thing to do because Jett draws my attention back to him by using the collar to drag me forward. I instantly feel claustrophobic as my neck presses against the plastic and rubber. I can feel its presence every time I swallow.
“We made this one custom,” he sneers, hauling me closer to him. His moldy scent is so overwhelming I have to fight back a gag. “The dogs get metal ones, so be grateful.”
He reaches into his pocket, and Rowan makes a soft sound of alarm.
I barely have a chance to breathe out a sigh of relief when Jett lets go of my hair before a blinding pain jolts from my collar down my body. A wail leaves my throat as I collapse down onto my knees. My scream echoes off the walls of the small trailer.
The pain. God, the pain. I can’t breathe. I can’t think.
My hands come up to the collar, desperately clawing at it in a weak attempt to tear it off me, trying to get the pain to stop, but all that does is make the current travel down my hands.
Then, as suddenly as it started, the shock stops. My body is still left trembling, like a phantom reaction to that indescribable pain. Tears leak from my eyes as I try to gasp for air.
I never fathomed that kind of pain was possible.
A sob shakes my shoulders as I shoot Rowan a pleading look. What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this punishment? Why is this happening to me?
Rowan has no answers for me, his helpless despair matching my own expression.
I don’t even have a second to collect myself before Jett tangles his hand in my hair again. He uses that leverage to wrench me up to my feet.
“That, you little bitch, was the lowest setting. If you fight or if you even think of escaping, there’ll be a entire world of hurt ready for you. You got that?”
I blink up at him through my tears, wincing at the burning pain on my scalp.
“When I talk, I expect a fucking answer,” he snarls.
I nod my head as much as I can, given his hold in my hair.
“I’ll be good, I promise,” I whisper, my words an echo of what I said earlier.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Jett says, dragging me towards the door.
Right before the door slams shut, I catch sight of Rowan’s head buried in his hands.