Chapter 25 #3
“Whatever information you’re hiding for your father,” Vae continues, “We will find out. I promise you. We’ve got a few punishments tucked away that you really don’t want to meet. Dax, especially, has come up with some rather creative ways to ensure your compliance.”
He takes a step forward. Then another, deliberately eating up the few feet separating us. Then he’s so close I can feel his body, vibrating with pent-up tension.
His eyes search mine. Then, like he can’t help himself, his gaze drops to my mouth, and something shifts.
His cold fury melts away, bleeding into something heated. Hungry.
His pupils dilate. His tongue swipes along his lower lip. Slowly, like he’s savoring the taste of something sweet.
Or imagining it.
The space between us thickens, charged with electricity. Particles in the air spark, sending tiny jolts of sensation running up and down my nerve endings.
My skin feels too tight, my breath too labored.
His hand lifts. Almost unconsciously, like he’s not in control of his movements.
His fingers reach toward my face, hovering in the air just beside my cheek. So close I can feel the heat radiating from his skin, but not quite touching.
My breath hitches. I know I should pull away. Speak. Do something to break whatever spell we’re both under.
But I can’t. I’m totally frozen, caught between terror and something far more dangerous. Something I’ve only ever felt once before—with Caelan.
My heart hammers an unsteady rhythm as I stare at his hand, hanging in the space between us. So close… close enough to hurt me.
Close enough to…
What?
I don’t even know what I want him to do. I don’t know if I’m holding my breath because I’m afraid he’s going to touch me, or because I’m afraid he won’t.
His hand trembles. Just slightly. So small I might have missed it if he weren’t less than four inches from my face. For an infinite moment, the world narrows to the centimeters separating his skin from mine.
The flame in my chest flares. Next to it, something else, something I don’t recognize, wakes up. It stretches. Opens its eyes.
Waits.
Has the world stopped?
Have I?
There’s heat in Vaelenor’s eyes that I haven’t seen directed at me before. Desire and confusion and what looks almost like… anticipation?
My Omega shoves forward, beating at the bars of the cage, but the suppressants keep her locked in.
A pure, keening, Omega whine, mixed with fear and something else—lust?—falls past my lips.
The spell breaks.
Vaelenor’s fingers curl. His hand drops, and he backs up two steps, putting distance between us like he realized I’m made of fire. Like he’s afraid I’ll burn him. His eyes meet mine, and all the heat from before is gone, replaced with an endless well of hate.
What… what just happened?
Why do I feel like I just lost something important? Why does his hatred continue to register as rejection to my instincts?
My Omega shrinks, making herself small, feeling worthless, scared, and alone.
I wish I could do the same thing. Hide from the world.
When Vae finally speaks again, his voice is harsh, like he’s trying to claw back the control he almost lost. The look of furious loathing somehow deepens. His anger makes the terrified little girl inside of me frantically snap to attention.
If I don’t know the rules, I can’t stay safe. If I don’t know the rules, I’ll be punished.
I’ll be hurt.
“You won’t return to your father, no matter what happens. So don’t get attached to the idea of seeing him again. No one is coming to rescue you. It’s best if you get real comfortable being alone, because that’s your future.”
My lashes flutter. I sigh in relief.
There’s no way he could know, but that’s the best thing I’ve heard in years. Until now, I didn’t realize how afraid I was that they’d send me back to him once they’re done with me.
Nothing underlines the absurdity of this situation more than their genuine belief that freedom from my father is a punishment.
“Do you have any questions?”
I hesitate. I know I shouldn’t ask, but I’m desperate.
The Bond pulses in my chest. I know I’ll do anything for even the smallest scrap of news about my Mate. He’s all I can think about, even through the near-constant fear. Worry over his injuries runs in a continuous loop through my mind.
I just want to know if he’ll be okay. Checking our Bond is all that prevents me from spiraling into complete despair.
I shouldn’t ask, but I do. Even knowing it will probably end badly for me. Even knowing it’s the fastest way to anger them.
So, with all the bravery I can muster—which isn’t much—I ask, “How is Caelan?”
I mean to sound confident, but my voice is a terrified whisper. The question hangs in the air like a live grenade. One I’m more than willing to fall on, for the barest chance of an answer.
I don’t get one.
Vae’s snarl rips through the room. The sound is so vicious in its brutality that my Omega snaps to attention and screams at me to run.
Vae’s entire body is rigid, fists clenched at his sides. I can practically see his desire to lunge across the table and kill me.
Cage straightens like a puppet whose strings were just yanked. His shoulders snap back. His eyes widen with glee. He’s practically vibrating with excitement, glancing between Vaelenor and me with a psychotic look of anticipation.
But it’s Silas who moves.
The Alpha tosses down the bacon he’s been eating and stands. Three large steps close the distance between us, so fast I don’t even see him move. By the time I’ve registered that he used his vampire speed to reach me, it’s too late to run.
Quick as a striking snake, his hand whips out, and his fingers wrap around my jaw. He squeezes.
I hear the grind of bone against bone a moment before…
Pain.
Blinding, crushing pain explodes through my jaw and winds through my neck and skull. I scream, the sound high and sharp and desperate. Tears fall, tracking down my cheeks, and over his calloused, rough fingers.
He doesn’t loosen his grip. He wrenches my head to the side, forcing me to meet his eyes. They’re fiery with feral rage. I instantly understand that this is Silas showing restraint. This is controlled violence, born of bone-deep hatred and certainty in his righteousness.
“Apparently, we forgot a few rules.” He hisses. “You don’t discuss Caelan with anyone. You don’t say his name. You don’t even let your fucking thoughts wander in his direction.”
Each word is forced through clenched teeth. His breath is hot against the wet tear tracks on my cheek.
My hands fly up on instinct. Images of my father’s face overlap with Silas’s. Flashbacks of his hand wrapped around my neck days ago warp my already exhausted mind.
I’m not sure what’s real and what’s not.
What’s now and what’s then.
I struggle to pry his—my father’s? Silas’s?—fingers off of my flesh, but just like before, he refuses to budge.
“You aren’t here to ask us questions, little liar. You’re here to answer them. A task you’ve already failed at spectacularly.”
He squeezes harder. I whine in pain, the pathetic sound announces my distress to the entire room.
“Caelan is not your concern. You will never mention him again.”
His fingers dig in harder, gripping, bruising.
Black spots dance through my vision. Silas’s face twists. Morphs.
“Do I make myself totally fucking clear?”
“I will bleed you dry until nothing remains of you but regret.”
I try to nod, but I can’t move. His grip has my head locked in place, the pain so blinding I can’t think through it.
“I said—” his voice drops to a growl.
My father looms over me, eyes full of hate.
The face bleeds back to Silas’s face…
But the eyes are the same.
“Do I make myself clear?”
“Y-yes.”
My words are mangled. Barely recognizable.
He holds me for one more agonizing moment before shoving my face away with such force I sway and nearly fall over. I catch myself on the edge of the table, raising a shaking hand to my throbbing jaw, as though hiding it will keep him away.
I don’t look away. I can’t. Prey instinct won’t let me take my eyes off the predator, even as he backs away, his body vibrating with aggression.
My jaw screams in pain. My muscles are locked up. The rest of me trembles so violently, I’m sure I’ll shatter into a million pieces.
I wait for someone—anyone—to say something to Silas.
No one does.
Silas falls back into his chair, snatching the bacon he tossed aside. Calmly, he pops it in his mouth and hums while he chews.
Vae cuts into a sausage—his cutlery scratches against the china.
Cage refills his juice.
A clock ticks somewhere down the hall.
My jaw screams in agony.
They’re calm, like this is just a normal morning. My stomach drops. Maybe, for them, it is.
Silas’s words play through my mind over and over, until my lungs ache from holding back my screams. They just punished me in the worst possible way. And they don’t even realize it.
My Bond with Caelan is my only saving grace. By keeping me away from him, they’re taking away the only thing keeping me steady. My only anchor in this prison.
Even the Bond feels like it’s rebelling against Silas’s rules.
The silver thread pulses and spins, like a spitting, hissing cat. It’s furious. A feral animal rattling the bars of its cage, indignant with rage and disbelief.
Silas’s rules are an attempt to carve Caelan out of me.
I sit silently, letting my tears fall, while shame heats my cheeks. I have no idea how much time passes. That disconnected feeling is back again, despair and heartache and fear are the only things tethering me to reality.
I think I might float away. Maybe I should.
“Alright then.”
I flinch so hard at the sound of Vaelenor’s voice that my chair screeches across the floor.
“Cage will show you to the kitchen. You’ll start your work there today. Tonight we’ll try to get some clear answers out of you, and maybe you can eat dinner. Hopefully, a day of rigorous work on an empty stomach will make you a bit more amenable to telling the truth.”
He smirks. “I’ve heard hunger really does wonders for honesty.”
The tears won’t stop, and I don’t even try to stem the flow.
A day without food? Doesn’t he realize I’ve barely been fed since they brought me here?
Half a piece of toast isn’t enough to keep a child alive, let alone an adult female. My Omega lifts an exhausted head in confusion.
Aren’t Alphas supposed to protect Omegas? Aren’t they supposed to keep us safe?
Maybe he doesn’t know.
The argument is weak, but my Omega wants to come up with a rational explanation. One that will make this make sense.
What is wrong with me?
Why do all those who are supposed to protect me hurt me instead? Is it really so easy to fight your own biology?
My Omega whines silently, begging me to tell the Alpha how little I’ve been fed. But I can see how Vae’s looking at me. The same way Daxen looks at me.
Like, I’m not only worthless, but an inconvenience as well.
The loss and betrayal make my stomach cramp in pain. The rejection washes over me, but it’s a thousand times worse now. I bite my lower lip, tasting blood and salt from my tears.
The two sides of me are clashing. My Omega’s encouraging me to be quiet and small, hopeful that if we’re good enough, the Alpha will care for us eventually.
The flame thinks that’s bullshit. It flares. It snarls and spits. Insists I’ve never done anything to deserve this treatment.
It shouldn’t matter what Vae and Dax think. They shouldn’t matter.
But no matter how many times I tell myself the lie, it doesn’t stick.
It’s all too much. It would be one thing if they didn’t believe me about the Bond simply because they hate my father.
But it’s not.
To them, I’m so worthless and unwanted that they honestly can’t fathom Fate binding Caelan—and by extension, their pack—to me for eternity.
Like being stuck with me would be a life sentence. A punishment.
Not good enough for my father.
Not good enough for their best friend.
Not good enough, even, for food.
Completely ignorant of my inner turmoil, Vae snatches his phone off the table and tucks it into the pocket of his pants. Silas stands as well. Within seconds, both males are gone, disappearing without so much as a word.
As they start down the hall, I hear them talking in low voices. Discussing upcoming training schedules and plans for their day. Without a second thought, Vaelenor has already moved on to something else, forgetting about me completely.
I’m not even a blip on his radar, save for the trouble I’m causing him.
Cage looks like he’s been handed an early Christmas present. My stomach sinks.
Vaelenor left me with a cruel, sadistic Alpha. A male who takes great joy in hurting others, and doesn’t even try to pretend otherwise.
Which means, they know Cage is going to hurt me. They’re probably anticipating it. Counting on it, even. If they’re not hurting me themselves, then that’s one more thing they can convince themselves they’re not guilty of.
I vaguely wonder how much more I can handle before I collapse under the weight of it all.
I want to believe I can put up with a lot. That my Bond with Caelan will help. Shore up my defenses, and support me through the worst of it.
I only have to take one look at Cage, eyes glinting with anticipation, to know this isn’t even close to the worst things will get.
This is only the beginning.