Chapter 10 Ash
Ash
My pulse roars through my veins.
Strawberry fucking shortcake.
That perfume. That goddamn fucking perfume is driving me crazy.
I was exhausted after the fight I just had, but after catching a whiff of the terrified omega they dragged in, I’m fucking ready for another.
A fight where I pound my fist into the faces of all three motherfuckers.
My eyes narrow at the thought. Sure, my eyes haven’t left the tiny, trembling, pale-skinned omega once, but the last thing I am is protective.
I’m a selfish bastard through and through.
You have to be to survive in this fucking place as long as I have.
But as I watch Jett backhand the omega so hard her entire body jerks, it takes all the limited self-control I have to bite back a growl.
The other two trainers don’t even bother giving me a second glance after Jett asks them to help with the girl as he slices off her clothes.
I should stay out of it. Keep my mouth shut.
But this is new. Different.
They’ve never done this bullshit before, and I know there’re plenty of other buildings they could violate this omega in, so why are they doing this with me here?
It has to be that they’re trying to do something.
“What the fuck kind of show is this?” I snarl, unable to keep my mouth shut.
“What, you complaining?” Jett laughs, reaching up and squeezing one of the omega’s perky tits so hard she winces.
The movement actually draws my attention to her body in a way I know I shouldn’t look.
Not because she’s obviously as much of a captive here as I am, based on the collar around her neck, but because I know that her being naked is some sort of tool these motherfuckers are trying to use against me.
“She’s a pretty thing, ain’t she?” Jett laughs, the excitement in his tone after causing her pain obvious.
Anyone who spends thirty seconds in a room with that guy can instantly clock that he’s a sadist.
“Why does it matter?” I say through gritted teeth, every one of her pained winces cutting through my skin worse than the whips they occasionally use to keep me in my place.
But I’m good at ignoring pain, which means I should be good at ignoring her.
Jett just shrugs before one of his disgusting hands reaches between her pale thighs. She lets out a startled sob.
“No! Stop it!” She cries out.
“Shut the fuck—“
The omega interrupts Jett’s words by vomiting all over his arm and herself.
“You stupid bitch!” Jett roars, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the shock collar remote.
With a single push of a button, the omega’s pained screams echo around the walls around us.
“Fucking disgusting,” Jett growls, still letting the collar shock the girl. “Get the hose. We’ll have to spray her down.”
One of the trainers takes his sweet ass time getting the hose from where it was left, forgotten beside me when they had a more interesting toy to play with. Jett keeps the shock collar running the entire time.
I’m surprised the omega doesn’t pass out from the pain.
“Here, boss,” the trainer says, handing Jett the hose.
Only then does he turn off the shock collar.
The girl slumps in her chains, her feet collapsing from underneath her as her body twitches. It’s a brutal sight to witness.
There’s a part of my brain that’s banging against the walls of my body, telling me to lose my shit, to tear everything apart and kill anyone who dares to hurt her, but I beat that part of me into submission.
I need more fucking information, and right now, I have none.
My jaw clenches as Jett turns the hose on its harshest setting, spraying the poor omega down with water so ice cold, I know it’ll seep down into her bones.
“You know, I expected that if anything were to make you chattier, it would be this,” Jett says casually. “But no, guess not.”
Jett nods to the other trainers, and they uncuff her from the chain hanging from the ceiling, letting her collapse into a pile on the cold, wet floor.
She doesn’t fight as they cuff her to the floor by her ankle.
My jaw clenches as things click into place.
That chain is long enough for her to move around the room.
It’s long enough for her to move close enough to me.
My theory is only confirmed when Jett moves towards the exit, punching in a code before the chains binding me to the wall lengthen, the winch whining like it hasn’t been replaced since this torture chamber was built.
“You just leaving her here?” I growl slowly.
Jett doesn’t bother giving me an answer. I already know.
“She’ll freeze to death,” I snap.
“Not my fucking problem if she dies,” Jett hisses, shooting her a disgusted glare.
I know he’s telling the truth, too. He really doesn’t give a shit if she dies.
I wonder what she did to piss him off. Other than vomiting all over him.
The door slams shut with a definitive thud, leaving this omega trapped.
In here. With me.
She’s curled up on the ground, her long hair plastered to her body. She’s not shivering anymore. I can’t tell whether that’s because she doesn’t dare move or because she’s just gotten that cold.
I’m pretty sure omegas are ridiculously fucking fragile, but I didn’t expect them to freeze to death in a few minutes. How the hell haven’t they gone extinct if that’s the case?
“Hey, you,” I say, trying to keep my voice as even as possible, but it comes out in a rough growl.
She flinches, not even daring to peek at me through the curtain of her hair. The buzzing of the generators for the floodlights fills the silence between us.
“You still alive?” I grunt.
“Y—yes,” she says through chattering teeth.
Well, good, she hasn’t stopped shivering. That means her body is still trying to warm up. When the shivering stops and the body gives up is when shit gets bad.
My gaze roves over her exposed body. She has a constellation of freckles all across her back. I don’t know why that’s what I notice first.
There are bandaids all over her legs, which means someone on this compound takes, at the very least, basic care of her.
I have a decision to make.
Help her or leave her to freeze to death.
Fall right into the trap the trainers have most definitely set for me or hold on to the little of freedom I can.
And lose the last bit of my fucking humanity in the process.
I shake my head, gritting my teeth as I try to shake that nagging voice at the back of my head. The stupid one that still has me actually considering helping her.
“Do you know why they brought you here?” I ask her.
“I—I do,” she mumbles, her voice barely a whisper as she remains curled in a ball on the floor. “They brought me here ‘cause they think if I can get close to you, then it’ll make you easier to control.”
My brow raises in surprise at her honest answer. So she knows.
But the way she’s saying it doesn’t quite make sense to me. She’s not saying it conspiratorially, as if she’s saying something she thinks will earn my favor. She’s saying it almost as if she’s defeated, resigned to her fate.
“You wanna control me, shortcake?” I growl, my jaw ticking when the nickname slips through without me thinking.
Shortcake?
Where in the ever-loving fuck did that come from?
She surprises me by pushing herself up. She’s quick to pull her knees to her chest and cross her ankles to hide her body.
She shakes her head, her movements jerky from the stiffness in her muscles. Probably from a combination of the shock collar and the cold.
“No need to hide. I’ve already seen it all,” I growl.
My jaw clamps shut, and the annoying feeling of guilt picks at me. Like a scab at the back of my brain.
She flinches, burying her face in her knees, hiding even more of herself from me.
Oh, I don’t like that. I don’t like her hiding from me.
I have to bite back a growl as I force myself to sit down, my back pressed against the wall as I prop my elbow on one raised knee.
“Stand up,” I bite out. My demand is harsh, and my tone is harsher.
It’s not a bark, though. She could refuse.
I’m curious to see what she’ll do.
She blinks at me with those wide eyes and slowly pushes herself to her feet.
Obedient little puppy.
The low, approving growl that leaves my chest surprises me.
Her arms cross over her chest, pushing her tits together to try to hide some of her modesty, as she nervously shifts her weight from foot to foot.
“Come here.”
Her strawberry scent thickens in the surrounding air, taking on both the sour hint of her fear and a thrilling sweetness that has my mouth fucking watering.
She takes a couple of hesitant steps forward. Close enough for me to lunge out and grab her, if I wanted. The length of chain they left me with might as well mean I’m not chained at all.
But I don’t.
I want to see how close she’ll come to me on her own.
“Closer,” I say.
A couple more hesitant steps. A glance up at me. A couple more steps.
She repeats this process until she’s standing between my spread legs.
Right where I want her.
Brave girl.
Despite her enticing curves right in front of me, I keep my eyes on her face.
You can learn a lot just by watching people.
I know my strengths. I win my fights by understanding my opponents.
And even though this naked, trembling omega couldn’t beat me in a fight with both my arms tied behind my back, she’s still my opponent.
“If you don’t want to control me, then why the hell’re you here?”
“They—they bought me,” she whispers, her gaze darting away from my face.
“Sounds about right for that bunch of sick fucks,” I grit out.
I eye her assessingly.
“I could kill you right now. Tear your throat out. Or snap your neck. You’d be dead before you even hit the floor.”
She swallows hard. The entire motion makes her head duck down.
“I know,” she whispers.
“Then why aren’t you running, screaming in the opposite direction? That chain should get you far enough away from me if you want.”
“Be—because I don’t want to die.” Her voice is soft. Pleading.
She knows the only shot of survival she has is me.
Her life is in my hands.
If only I knew what the fuck to do with it.
I could let her die. Let her freeze to death.