Chapter 34
I carry Red back to her room. She doesn’t say anything. The little devil is catatonic. Her shock has her freezing instead of fight or run. Red is like a doll as I set her down on the cot and head into her bathroom. Turning the shower, I get the water hot before going back to her.
She hasn’t moved. Red’s eyes are lifeless as she stares off into space. I’m sure her mind is racing, and she’s hating herself. Her morals fade from her grasp.
I saw when the bloodlust came over her. When she transformed into someone different. Red didn’t hold back, and for her first time torturing someone, she was amazing. She’s more like us than she’s ready to admit.
They say the first time is the hardest. We never had that issue. When Alpha and Bravo killed our deadbeat parents, I watched with a smile on my face. It was freeing, and I soaked up every sound, every beg, plea and cry for mercy that left their mouths .
I approach her like she’s an animal about to bolt, gently placing my hand on her shoulder. Red slowly looks at me, blinking as if she can’t see me. Her eyes look dead and drained of any feeling. I cock my head towards the bathroom, and when she doesn’t move, I pick her up and carry her in.
Setting her under the spray, I watch as she just stands there, not moving to clean herself. The blood trails down her body and flows towards the drain. The water turns a pinkish red.
Red is in no shape to do anything right now, so I grab my shirt and pull it over my head, taking my pants and boxers off in one go. I bend to unlace my boots. Once they are off, I step under the spray with her.
My brothers won’t be happy I’m doing this. They think I’m gaining feelings for our pet. They are wrong. She’s just a whore to me.
A womb for my children .
Red is our toy, but I like to take care of my toys. She’s no use to us if she’s a broken shell of herself. The mind is a delicate thing, and it doesn’t take much to shatter it completely.
I maneuver her around, wetting her hair and body before grabbing the shampoo. My fingers dig into her scalp, being sure to get rid of the blood that taints the strands. It’s difficult to see since her hair is almost the same shade as blood.
I rinse it out and massage the conditioner in. Grabbing the loofa, I scrub her body down. The scent of the strawberry hair products blends with the summer peach body wash.
Once she’s all cleaned, I shut the water off and step away to grab the towel. Wrapping her up and bringing her back to the cot, I dry myself and get dressed again. There’s nothing else I can do. Red is unresponsive, and maybe I should just leave her alone.
I know Alpha will be back with something for her to eat soon. As I move to leave, she reaches out a hand and grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
“S-s-stay, please,” her voice is flat and so low that if I weren’t looking at her lips, I wouldn’t have known she spoke. Red stutters when she’s stressed out. I first noticed it when we electrocuted her.
My body moves without thought, and I sit beside her. I don’t reach out to touch her yet. Just like the night after her confinement, I want her to come to me, to crave me.
Red’s eyes are glued to the dirt floor, and I can see tears dripping down into her lap. “Is he really dead?” She asks as she turns to look at me. I nod and watch as her face drops even more.
“I didn’t mean to kill him, I just didn’t want to take his place. I don’t want to die. Killing is wrong. It’s against the law. It’s a sin!” Red is talking to herself, trying to make herself feel better, but that won’t work for us.
I grab her face and make her focus on me. “You did kill him! You did that, no one else. Like you said, it was you or him. In this world, it’s kill or be killed. Only care about yourself and be the apex predator. Prey only gets destroyed.”
My voice is firm as I want her to absorb what I’m saying and understand that she has no choice if she wants to live.
“My brothers are the only ones who matter to me. We have each other’s backs. One day you may be like us, but you’ll have a target on your head. If you want to survive, you have to save your own ass.” Alpha would beat my ass if I said she mattered to us. I have to make her feel like she’ll be alone.
She sits in silence for a moment, my words turning the gears in her skull. “Why? Why make me like you?”
I’ve been waiting for her to ask this. So far, she hasn’t questioned much. Her focus on winning and saving herself from punishment.
“You’re our whore. If you’re gonna continue to serve us, eventually, you’ll have to do more than open your mouth and spread your legs.
You’ll be an asset to our business. No one expects a woman, and that will help us.
Femme fatales are hard to find. We are killers, hitmen, the thing people fear in the dark. ”
“As your owners, we can use or make you do anything we want. Sometimes, sneaking into a job is difficult because everyone expects a man to be a killer. But they won’t see you coming until you are standing over them as they take their last breath.
” My tone is sharper than I intended, but I need her to understand this.
Red doesn’t speak again. For a few minutes, she only blinks up at me. Then, she scoots over and wedges herself against my side. I toss my arm over her and let her contemplate her new life.
I don’t have feelings or emotions. My brothers and I were always hardened killers. But this little devil is getting under my skin.
I wrap my other arm around her and shift Red until she’s on my lap. We sit there enjoying the silence. At least that’s familiar to me.