Chapter 9
River
Isit in their so-called nest, hating their putrid scents that surround me.
There’s nothing sweet and enticing about them.
If they thought this sorry excuse for a nest would make me desire them more, they have more than a few screws loose.
The only thing it’s doing is making me throw up, which I’ve done twice.
All I can do is sit in silence, in darkness.
All I have is endless time to sit here and think.
With my father, I was a weakling, letting Storm take punishment in my stead, and when he wasn’t there, I bore the brunt of his wrath alone.
I’m tired of not being strong. Of letting men think they can control me. Of being everyone’s punching bag.
The faint drip from the sink is all I can hear in the darkness. All I have is time. Endless time to sit here and think about my life and how it's been nothing but darkness, nothing but survival.
I move as best I can, pulling on the cold chains.
Even after all this time, they aren't warm.
My body's too cold, too neglected to foster warmth at this point.
I close my eyes, the memory of my father, with his vicious words and his brutal fists emerges.
I tense, trying to push them out, but it's no use. Storm's face resurfaces, taking those hits. Storm... he always protected me as best he could, but it never ceased to fail. He'd leave, and it would just resume. It’s time I stand up and take control of the situation. I will not let these fucking alpha’s think they own me. I will not let them control me. It’ll be hard, but I need to do it.
I need to do it for Storm, and most importantly, for myself.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
The back of my skull knocks against the wall, a dull thud that rattles straight through my teeth.
The plaster shivers, flakes catch in my hair, and for a second I wonder if I’m trying to break the wall or myself.
All I want is a life with my brother, far from everything our father left behind.
This place isn’t freedom—it’s just survival.
Hopefully, he can have his, even if I can’t have mine.
From what it sounds like, he’s found his pack.
Someone he loves. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him.
The faint clicking sound and rattling of the doorknob pull my attention from my thoughts.
My gut instincts take over, and I scramble across the mattress as far as I can go.
I pull my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms tightly around them.
A small piece of me wishes the action would make me invisible.
My breathing becomes shallow, ragged, knowing that either one or all three of the monsters are on the other side of the door.
The door eases open, and one of the alphas steps through.
For a moment I’m happy that it’s just one of them.
But of the three, he makes my stomach curl the most. “Sweetmeat, are we learning to be an obedient little omega yet?” The cocky words fall from his lips as he smirks, his eyes roaming my body.
What was his name again? My mind drifts back to that night, when I foolishly thought he was attractive until he opened his mouth. Ray. That’s it. He takes another step into the room; the door left open, teasing me with the chance I would’ve had to escape if it weren’t for these damn chains.
When they first locked me down here, I thought it would be the same.
The blows, the bruises, the way my father made me learn silence like it was a second language.
I trained myself not to cry for him, not to give him the satisfaction.
But this—this isn’t him. These men don’t move like him, don’t smell like him.
They smile when they promise pain. My father never smiled.
And that terrifies me almost as much as it steels me.
Because with him, I knew exactly how far he would go.
With them? I don’t know a damn thing. That sliver of not-knowing makes me reckless.
Maybe even brave. If they want to break me, then they’ll have to work for it.
I’ve already been broken once. I refuse to give them that piece of me so easily.
The stench of sulfur increases the closer he gets to me, causing my own cherry scent to sour as my body reacts to him.
“I asked you a question. Common courtesy would dictate an answer.” His voice deepens as his brows pull together, and his jaw clenches.
“Courtesy,” I blurt, before laughing hysterically.
“Yes, that’s what I said, Sweetmeat. I was told that you were smart. Was that wrong? I mean, it’s not a deal breaker for us. Our children can inherit their intelligence from their fathers.”
“You’re insane. All three of you.” I grip my legs tighter.
Ray smiles. The fucking asshole smiles. “Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment.
” He steps forward, cutting the distance between us with each word he says.
In an instant, he’s right beside me, his head tilted as he gazes down at me.
He reaches out, brushing his fingertips along the side of my face.
I pull away from him and he releases a deep groan of disapproval.
“Don’t. Touch. Me.” I bite back, taking my time, enunciating each word. If this place is going to be the end of me then I’m going down with a fight before I end it all. My demise will be by my own hands. Not theirs. It’s the one thing I’m perfectly clear on.
“Oh, you have some fire in you.” He leans down lower, his lips grazing along my ear as I turn my head away from him. “Lucky for you, I like that. But Miles doesn’t.”
“Like I give a fuck. You’re never going to get away with buying me. My brother will come looking for me.” I really want him to, but he’s nothing compared to these men.
“Let him. Do you really think I, or my brothers, are scared?” He holds up his hands, shaking them, morphing his expression into shock. “Look at me, I'm shaking in my boots. The big bad alpha brother is going to come and kill us all.”
I scoot further away from him, willing the bones in my ankles to break so I can escape the cuffs confining them.
“Aww, why are you acting like you don’t want to be near me?” He whines, his hand moving faster than me, gripping my bare thigh tightly, his nails digging into my flesh.
The pain hits me instantly, and I whimper, biting on my lip to keep from screaming. “Let go. You’re hurting me,” I beg, hating that I’m doing it.
He sneers. “Pain.” His head falls back as a deep, rumbling laugh bursts from him.
It’s not just an opinion; this man is fucking deranged.
“Oh, you haven’t seen or felt pain yet. I told my brothers it would be fun breaking you.
Making you so broken until you submit to us, begging at our feet to take our knots. ”
Gritting my teeth, I dig deep inside myself for the strength to prove this monster wrong. “I will never submit to you or them. I’ll die before I take your knot.”
He doesn’t speak at first. Instead, he glares at me with cold, vacant eyes. The next thing I know, I’m moving through the air as he takes hold of my body and flips me over his lap. His hands lay firmly against my back, holding me in place as I fight back, squirming to get away from him.
“Sweetmeat, kill yourself and I’ll fuck the life back into you.” He pulls up my shirt, the cool air hitting my bare skin. I fight even harder, but I’m no match for his strength. Then I feel it. A hard mass digging into my stomach.
I know this game already. Pain, humiliation, it’s just another language of control. My father spoke it fluently. But with them, I refuse to translate. If I give him my fear now, I’ll never get it back. So I set my jaw and wait for the first blow.
The fucker has a hard-on.
The first smack cracks through the room, hot and biting. Pain flares against my ass, but instead of crying, I grind my teeth together. So that’s how it’s going to be? Fine. Hit me. See if I care. When I break free from this place, and mark my words I will, I’ll end your miserable life.
The second strike hits harder, as searing heat spreads. My body jolts, and the asshole laughs smugly.
He thinks this will break me? Pathetic. I’ve taken worse. My father’s done worse.
Nights spent curled on the floor, his belt leaving lines I had to cover with long sleeves. Crying never helped. Fighting never helped. Silence was the only shield I had then. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll be the one I use now.
“Such a bad omega. This is just a taste of what you have coming.”
Another sharp crack whooshes through the air, hitting me firmly on my backside. His hand stings, the pain unrelenting.
I won’t give you a sound. Not a cry, not a word. You’ll never hear me beg, again.
I recite the words over and over to myself, imagining that I’m saying them to him. My fists clench so tightly my knuckles turn white and ache, my nails biting crescents into my palms.
Every strike he makes is deliberate, and cruel. My breath hitches from the pain. I clench my jaw, pressing my eyes firmly together, holding back the tears.
Go ahead. Keep swinging. Every one just proves how weak you are, needing to beat on a female smaller than yourself to feel strong.
His punishment drags on, each smack a fresh wave of building anger and resolve that I will escape from this, one way or the other.
They want to see me crumble? But they’ll die waiting. I will never break—not for him, not for any of them.
He shoves me off his lap and I fall onto the floor, landing right on my very painful ass. I have to fight back the scream that wants to burst from me as he stands up and glares down at me with eyes full of darkness and despair.
“That’s enough for now. I came up here to tell you it’s time for dinner.”
Just the mere mention of food suddenly has my stomach growling. I don’t even know what time it is now.
“I’m not hungry,” I blurt adamantly. It’s a lie, but I don’t fucking care. The less time I have to be around them, the better it is for me.
“I wasn’t asking. Now get up from the fucking floor.”
My body stays frozen, not budging an inch. He grunts in annoyance just before reaching down and grasping my arm, all but dragging me across the floor. He only pauses long enough to unhook the chain from the hook.
“Stop,” I scream.
He halts, causing me to stumble into his back, and I let out a harumph. “If you’re going to force me to eat with the three of you, at least let me fucking walk. I’m not a damn dog.”
“No, you’re not. A fucking dog listens better than you. But thanks for the idea.”
“What?” My brow rises in confusion.
“Come on, I don’t like my food cold,” he orders as he starts moving again, giving my chains a harsh tug, causing me to have to take a step to catch my balance.
I have to take two steps to match every one of his as he rushes down the stairs. I don’t see or hear anyone else until we hit the landing.
Miles and Elliott’s voices, loud and commanding, drift out to me.
It’s not just their voices, but their scents.
I feel like I’m suffocating. The closer we get to our destination, the more I’m overpowered by the aroma of rotten eggs, burnt rubber and sulfur.
It’s bad enough they’re forcing me to wear their clothing.
“Can I just go back to my room?” I ask him, but he doesn’t even humor me with a response. Not even a look in my direction.
“Ahh, here they are. Now we can eat. I want my guinea pig to sit beside me.” Elliott’s deep baritone voice announces as I step around Ray, catching my first glimpse of the other two men.
Miles sits at the head of the table, while Ray is seated in the chair to his left. Beside him is an empty chair with a plate on the table.
“No. Since tonight is my night with her, I have other plans. Her obedience is lacking. And as I found out not even ten minutes ago, a dog is better trained than her. She’ll eat her food from the floor.”
My eyes jump to his then back to Miles, pleading with words that I can’t even form. He has to see how insane it is.
“Fine, but she can eat at my feet.” Elliott announces boldly before placing a helping of roast, potatoes and beans on a plate. Once he’s happy with the amount, he sets it on the floor.
“Seriously.” I groan. “You can’t expect me to eat sitting on the floor. How am I expected to eat with no silverware?"
“Sit,” Miles' alpha bark snaps, and I quiver under the pressure. “As for utensils, your fingers will work just fine.”
Ray tugs me over to him, handing off the chains to Elliott before moving around the table and taking a seat.
“Sit,” Miles orders and I slowly lower down, wincing from the pressure on my very sore ass. I can see Elliott smiling widely at my pain. Fucking asshole.
“Very good. Let’s eat. Our omega has a lot of training that needs to be done before we can fuck her. If what the doctor told me today is accurate, the more we force our scents on her, the better chance we have at sending her into heat early.”
What appetite I had is now gone. There’s no way I can eat a bite without puking.