7. Talya
CHAPTER SEVEN
TALYA
A lthough the betas who were torturing me were a whole lot gentler than those who abducted Colby and me, it was clear that I was nothing to them, not even a person. I thought they liked it when I screamed.
They never spoke to me, so the only information I got was what I gathered from when they talked to each other. All I knew was that they were trying to break my bond.
And they’d made valiant efforts. They’d tried to burn it off, surgically remove it, electrocute it, scrape it… Thankfully, I thought they were running out of ideas.
The truly curious thing, if I could use a word as mundane as curious right now, was that they weren’t being vicious about it. Oh, they were cruel and relentless. My begging and pleading went unheard. Seriously, it was like they didn’t hear me. But they were meticulous about only touching my bite.
Colby had bit me on my collarbone where it was both easily seen and covered. The location was probably what had made it so painful. Right over bone!
But perhaps the worst thing about this entire experience wasn’t the torture that they put me through. It was that I could feel Colby but not be with him. I could feel when they drugged him and all the different things he went through mentally and, to a minor extent, physically. His rage and his fear came through clearly—not fear for himself but fear for me.
The one thing I was thankful for in all this was that it appeared that they couldn’t remove our bond. That was a relief. What would happen to us if they could?
I was kept hydrated and fed. The only reason I ate and drank what they gave me was to keep my strength up. I’d long since given up on the idea that I could somehow pull a James Bond and break myself out. I wasn’t a strategist at all, and really, it wasn’t like I could just run if my door was left unlocked by chance.
Because I would never leave without my alpha. Living without Colby wasn’t an option. Not just because he was my alpha, but because I loved him with all of me. He was my person, my soulmate. There wouldn’t be a life without him.
That meant we were likely stuck here. With as comfortable as these people were, I’d be willing to bet that a rescue wasn’t going to happen. Wherever we were, we were off the radar. Not even a thought in someone’s mind.
Except maybe Fenton’s. The weekend was over, right? He’d come home and found us missing?
I sighed and rolled over, giving the room my back. My reprieve from them had been longer this time. They’d probably run out of ideas.
Part of me thought they were crazy if they thought they could actually get rid of a bond. Since the beginning of time, a bond had never been severed, and if it had, it wasn’t something that was widely advertised.
They were doing this for a reason, though. I didn’t care what it was, yet I couldn’t help but wonder. On the surface, I supposed it would mean that you could sell and resell omegas. Being bonded wouldn’t protect them from the black market. Omegas would never be safe.
But I wasn’t so oblivious with fear that I didn’t see that they were concentrating on Colby more than me. As far as I was concerned, they wanted to remove my bond. That was it.
Now, Colby, he was being drugged with different concoctions. I couldn’t help but wonder what outcome they were hoping for. What could they want with an alpha? What were they doing to him while he was drugged?
I squeezed my eyes closed, refusing to think about that. These people were despicable. The only thing that kept me untouched was that they were betas, so they held nothing but contempt and disdain for me.
However, everyone knew how desperately a beta wanted an alpha. I shuddered to think what they were doing to mine.
Anger wasn’t going to get me anywhere, so I pushed it aside as often as it crept in. For whatever reason, I wasn’t being drugged. Therefore, my thoughts were unhindered by chemicals, and I could think clearly.
My best chance was listening and learning all that I could. Hopefully, I’d learn something that would help me escape, find Colby, and get us both out of here before one of us was dead.
Knowing death was never off the table with people who didn’t value us more than one would a lab rat had me choking up. Tears stung my eyes. Yes, I could die, but with as many drugs as they were pumping into Colby, I knew he’d die first.
That was the only way they were going to break our bond. Death.
Food came while I was deep within this despair. I didn’t allow myself to wallow in the helplessness of it often or for long, especially not when someone might see me break down.
When they left me without a word, I dried my eyes and sat up. There was an omelet today, served with toast, orange juice, and a side of sausage. I shook my head as I sat up to pull the tray onto the bed.
The oddest thing was how well they took care of me. I showered daily. Used the bathroom six times. While I was showering, my bed was stripped, and there were fresh linens when I returned. I was given clean clothes every evening, and the meals were really good.
Aside from the torture and the fact that I was a prisoner here, I was almost treated as a guest, but I couldn’t let myself forget that I was their experiment. Their entire goal was to break my bond, and they were doing everything they could to make that happen.
So then why treat me so well?
When I finished eating, I was led to the bathroom where I brushed my teeth and used the toilet. It wasn’t shower time. I knew that because there were no fresh clothes or towels. This was just a morning bathroom run.
When the crazy woman and her three minions joined me an hour later, and I knew I was getting ready for another round of torment.
“Here?” one of the men asked.
The woman didn’t look up from the pad of paper she was scribbling on. I watched with trepidation as the four of them remained still while the woman wrote. Each second that ticked by brought me that much closer to freaking out.
Inside me, Colby was comatose—still strong, but silent and far away.
“Alright,” the woman said, nodding. Still holding her notebook, she crossed her hands in front of her and stood back to observe. My heart raced faster with each step the three men took toward me. It was only then that I saw a fourth I didn’t recognize in the doorway. He held one of those machines that jump started your heart.
My bed wasn’t against the wall, and there was room on either side of it for the betas to walk. Two went to the side between the bed and the wall while the third towered over me on the other.
There was little expression on their faces, and what was there wasn’t sympathetic. Though it wasn’t cruel either. I couldn’t tell whether they took joy in hurting me or if this was just their nine-to-five job. Once they clocked out, they went home and probably thought nothing more of it until they pulled in the next day.
Somehow, I thought that might be a bit of a stretch.
A beta took hold of each arm and pinned them to the bed. I didn’t fight, mostly because I wasn’t sure what I was fighting against yet. The third took the pillow out from under my head.
The only indication that something had changed was the slight smile that touched his lips. It wasn’t happy, amused, or even smug. It was almost… an apology?
And then the pillow was over my face, and I was being smothered.
I was sure there was some strategy to make your air last longer or whatever, but panic set in immediately. I started thrashing, screaming and begging to be let go, but my pleas went unheard.
I continued to struggle against their restraint, but it was a useless waste of energy. Even kicking my legs, which they didn’t bother to tie down, went unnoticed. I barely moved at all.
And then I wasn’t moving much at all. My body was starved of oxygen, and my lungs hurt. My muscles ached. The panic surged brighter once everything in me became aware that I was dying. I could feel Colby stir, his fear and alarm pulling him out of the stupor he was in.
But then it all began to fade. I spent the last few seconds trying to make sure Colby knew I loved him, that I would always love him, regardless of whether death came between us.
Finally, even that became too strenuous, so I went limp. My lungs stopped functioning, and no more thoughts formed once the darkness welcomed me with open arms.
“Ow,” I muttered, once more feeling electricity coursing through my body. My head spun, and the roar of a jet engine filled every recess of my mind.
“She’s alive.”
No fucking shit. Why wouldn’t I?—
My thoughts stopped once I remembered dying. I shivered, tears falling down my cheeks as I opened my eyes to stare at my murderers. They’d actually killed me!
And… brought me back? Seriously? I really, truly hoped this wasn’t going to be a pattern.
The noise in my head settled, and relief flooded me. It wasn’t a headache. It was Colby! He’d woken up to my death, but when he felt me come back, he calmed down.
Well, calm might not be the word for it.
Still, I sobbed in relief that he was still there. I could still feel him. In the moments that followed, it felt like we were both trying to soothe each other.
“I don’t think it worked,” one of the betas said.
The woman sighed. “Doesn’t appear that way.”
There was a knock on the door, but I only half heartedly paid attention. I heard enough to confirm that this was just another attempt at breaking our mate bond. Colby had been a caged animal, ready to tear down the walls, until he suddenly stilled and fell to his knees, head bowed.
The very same moment that they brought me back to life.
“I think for now, this is a failed attempt. Leave her. We’ll reevaluate the situation. But keep working on the alpha. Maybe we don’t need to sever the bond.”
My room emptied, and that was it. That was the only acknowledgment I got about the fact that they’d just murdered me in an attempt to free my alpha of our bond.
Horrible, nasty people. I should be making more of an attempt at memorizing their faces. Instead, I was lying here, desperately gripping Colby through our bond, quietly crying.
They left us alone for the rest of the day. I was given lunch, which I didn’t eat, but I ate dinner then showered. I returned to my room with a freshly laundered bed.
Just as I was falling asleep, sirens filled the building. There was shouting and screams beyond my door, and the walls began to shake.
I jumped up, looking around with wide eyes. The noises didn’t stop. The lights that came through the high, small window were certainly man made. They swept over, illuminating my room every minute or so. I needed to get up there, to make sure someone knew that I was here.
But then my door clicked open as the building gave a violent shudder. For a minute, I held my breath, then I bolted through it, swinging it open so hard that it slammed against the wall.
The hallway was filled with doors, but other than that, there was nothing to see. I threw open the door across from me, appreciating that these were just boring household locks with a switch on one side.
There was a woman cowering in the corner. A quick breath told me she was an omega. I turned away, leaving her door open, and swung open the next one. Two men, both alphas. Neither of them were Colby.
Three doors later, I found my alpha. Tied to the bed, he was lying still. I ran across the room and fought with the straps. They likely would have come off easily if I wasn’t shaking and sobbing, but that was all I had in me.
“Colby,” I whispered, taking a minute to wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. “Alpha, I need you. Please wake up.”
He stirred at my voice, but even when I got his wrists free, he remained unconscious. Colby was easily twice my size, so there was no way I was going to get him out. So close. We were so close, and now we were stuck here again.
I looked at the door just as the building shook again, and dust fell from the ceiling. In the distance, I could hear gunfire. Explosions. Screams.
With no other options, I laid with Colby, wrapping myself around him. Even in his drugged-up sleep, he wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my neck.
“I’m here,” I whispered. “We’re alive.”
For now. We were alive for now. I had no idea what was going on outside. For all I knew, whoever was out there could be worse than those who’d taken us. Worse than the people trying to tear us apart.
I closed my eyes and focused on our bond instead. Colby was stronger there. Maybe if I remained there while physically wrapped around him, I could help him through the drugs.
Somewhere in the background, I started to hear voices. Steps. Doors opening. Screaming and crying. But I remained solely focused on Colby. He was beginning to stir, mumbling through quiet growls of anger while attempting to purr to comfort me.
The door to his room opened. “There are two in here.” Footsteps came closer, and my fear spiked again. I gripped Colby with everything I had in me. “Come on, you two.” A hand landed on my shoulder, and that was it.
Colby was suddenly on his feet, growling like an animal as he gripped my trembling body with one arm, the other ready to defend. I’d never heard a sound like the one that came from my alpha, nor would I ever forget the look on his face when he stared down the threat.
“One more step,” Colby snarled in a voice that chilled me, “and I’ll tear you apart.”