27. Chapter 27
Isleptfitfullythrough the night with the cage digging into my skin where I lay. A few of the wolves came in, approaching different cages and dragging women out of them one at a time. Their screams dragged me from what little broken sleep I managed.
Refusing to move, I lay there, opening my eyes just enough to be able to see through my lashes. Some of the women try to fight as they are dragged out of the cave, their screams echoing off the walls. Others curl in on themselves as the wolves carry them away.
When the first woman returns, a petite blonde from the cage next to me, her left eye is swollen shut and she hangs from Alaric’s arms. Her open eye is unblinking as she stares into nothing. I can just about make out the wetness on her face from her tears. Blood drips from her lips and there are white stains marring her skin.
That”s the moment the trembles in my body start. The wolves are doing what they want to the women and then caging them like animals. I watch each woman they take during the night, and my shaking gets worse till the cage I”m in is rattling around me.
Rolling over, I rub my eyes but all I do is get the dirt caking my hands in them. I keep blinking, my eyes watering. When my vision finally clears, the woman in the cage opposite me with the swollen eye is staring straight at me. I go to open my mouth, but she presses her finger to her lips, so I slam it shut again.
The door rattles behind me, and her eyes widen like saucers. I can see the look of terror on her face. A small whimper escapes through her lips. The metal crashes against the rock wall and several of the women jump in their cages.
”Grubs up, bitches.” Alaric”s voice echoes through the cave.
He approaches each one, throwing something inside. When he gets to mine, he sneers at me before tossing a piece of stale bread onto the floor. My stomach rumbles. It”s been forever since I last ate and I”m starving. Launching for the bread, I grasp it in my hands, not even caring about the dirt covering it.
I take a bite; it tastes horrible, but it”s something to fill the empty space in my stomach. I watch Alaric as he moves to the next cage. Instead of throwing the bread in, he just stops and stares down at her. She curls up on herself and whimpers again.
”Awww, my favorite bitch.” He crouches down at the end of the cage, a huge grin cracking his lips. ”I”ll come for you again tonight.” He reaches his hand inside the cage and strokes her leg, but she pulls it away from him.
Alaric lets out a snarl. Pulling his hand back, he slams his fist into the cage, and she yelps. The look of anger on his face disappears and he reaches back inside the cage and places the piece of bread down by her feet.
”It”s okay, my sweet little mate. We”ll take care of each other”s needs later.” It sounds more like a threat than anything, but his use of the word mate perks my ears.
Is she like me? Is Alaric wanting to claim her, like Rufus wants to claim me? What is with these wolves, wanting to take what isn”t theirs? There is a deep-seated anger building inside me. I hate these wolves and when I get out of here, I”ll kill them all.
Alaric moves along the rest of the cages, throwing the stale bread at the last of the women. When he”s done, he kicks a few of them on the way out before slamming the metal door behind him. I look back over at the woman next to me.
”How long have you been here?” I whisper. Her head lifts and her eyes cut to mine.
”Too long... a few months maybe.” She stutters. Her voice is barely a whisper. ”Sasha and a few others were here before me, but Thea came after.” She points to a few of the other cages as she speaks.
I look around, taking in the state of the women locked up around the cave. There”s hardly any fight left in them as they curl up in their prisons as far away from the doors as possible.
I wonder when the last time anyone was allowed to clean themselves. The woman across from me has blonde hair that is matted and greasy, her pale eyes dull and hopeless. I don”t even want to think about what she has been through for the last few months whilst they have held her captive. I saw what they did to Ginny in just one night.
What have all these women endured? When I get out of here, when Jax, Bane, and Diego come for me, I”ll free them, too. There are a few whispers around the cave, other women talking to each other.
”Demi.” I blurt out. ”Me, I mean, I”m Demi.” I need to fill the almost silence, even with the whispers it”s still too quiet.
The woman watches me, taking in the information. It takes a few minutes, but she finally opens her mouth to speak.
”Lila...” Her voice is still a whisper.
”What do they want from us, Lila?”
”The one who called me mate keeps saying something about a blood moon and a blood bond.” She brushes a matted strand of hair away from her face.
”That”s Alaric. Or at least, that”s what the others keep calling him.”
”He”s an asshole.” I can hear the anger in her voice. ”He won”t let the others touch me apart from to bring me back here once he’s done with me. He says I”m his, and as soon as the blood moon comes, we”ll be joined forever.” A shudder runs through her body, but I don”t think it”s from the cold. ”I just want to go home.”
Pulling her knees up to her chest, sobs wrack through her slight frame. I want to hold her and tell her everything will be alright, but I”m not sure if I even believe that myself. I”m just dozing off again when the metal door slams against the wall. My eyes snap open and I look around the cave. Most of the women are curled up in balls, shuffling as far away from their cage doors as possible.
Hank stops at the door of my cage. Squatting down on his haunches, he inserts the key into the lock and opens it.
”Come on, Rufus wants to see you.”I glare at him as he leans on the door.
Without another word, he reaches in and grabs my ankle. I kick out at him with my other foot, but it”s like hitting a brick wall. With his hand around my ankle, he drags me out of the cage, not caring about the fact the metal is scraping my back and cutting my skin through the thin fabric.
Once he has me fully out of the cage, he grabs my upper arm and drags me to my feet. Everything aches from being in such a confined space. I swipe out with my hand, my nails claw across his face, and draw blood. A growl rumbles through his chest, and when he looks at me, his eyes are glowing, and I can see fangs jutting out of his mouth.
”Stupid bitch!” His fist connects with my face, knocking my head to the side. Fuck! My jaw aches and I taste blood in my mouth. Spitting it in his face, I bare my own very human teeth at him.
With both my hands now in his, he drags me out of the room and a guard closes the door behind us. He”s taking me down the darkened tunnel again, past the showers. I start to squirm; I don”t want to end up back in the other place hanging from the ceiling again.
”Why can”t you bitches just stop fighting?” He growls at me as he pulls me along. ”It”d be so much easier if you just accepted your fate.”
”A fate of what, exactly? Being raped and murdered by monsters?” His eyes cut to me with a glare.
Another growl comes in my direction… guess he doesn”t have an answer for that one. We pass the room I first woke up in and I let out a small sigh. Taking a right, we head down another tunnel. This one is a little brighter, with more lights hanging along the walls and someone has put thick rubber mats on the floor. We stop outside another metal door and he knocks on it.
”Enter.” With a shove, the door opens, my eyes widen at what I see.
This room looks almost normal. The same rubber flooring from the tunnel covers the entire space. There’s a basic kitchen set up on the left, okay, so it”s a camping stove on top of a unit and a small fridge under it. A rickety table is in front of it, with four mismatched chairs around it. In the middle of the room is a dirty-looking couch and a coffee table in front of it with a few books on the top.
Following the room round, I spot another opening, with a curtain half closed over it. Beyond it is a bed with rumpled sheets. There”s another curtain to the right of that one, which is currently pulled closed. It”s kind of homey, well, if it wasn”t for thefact there was a bloodthirsty, murderous wolf living in it.
”Ah, my precious mate.” The closed curtain draws back, and Rufus makes his way out from behind it, buttoning his pants as he walks. A huge grin is plastered across his face. ”How do you like your accommodations?”
”They”d be great if I was a dog like yourself. But as a human, I find them kinda lacking.” Rufus” eyebrow raises at me as he ponders my comment.
Way to go, Demi. Why not just piss off the crazy murderer?
”It”s not for long, my sweet. Once we”re mated, you”ll move into this room with me.” He moves closer and stops just in front of me, looking down at my face with those creepy eyes. ”Come, I”ll give you a tour.”
”I”d rather...” Pulling me away from Hank, Rufus yanks me forward and I almost fall. His fingers lace through mine and he holds them so tight I swear he”s going to break them. Rufus brushes my hair from my face, his eyes glancing at my cheek.
“What happened here?” He turns his head to glare at Hank.
“She attacked me, so I stopped her.” I roll my eyes.
Like I would have actually been able to do him any serious damage.
“And you couldn’t do that without marking her skin?” Hank goes to open his mouth, but he’s cut off. “Get out!” Rufus commands.
Hank lowers his head in submission and backs out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Rufus runs his fingers over my cheek. I wince as they brush against where Hank hit me.
“Don’t worry, little one. I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you again. You’re mine, your punishments will be dealt with by only me.” I have no idea if he thinks that’s any better, he’s fucking crazy. “Now, on with the tour.”
Moving to the ”kitchen” area, Rufus points at the meager items there, telling me what each item is like I”m an idiot. When he moves to the couch, he presses up behind me and I can feel his erection pushing at my ass.
”I can”t wait to bend you over this, and maybe when you”re good, I”ll even let you ride my cock,” his words whisper in my ear. He must think they sound sexy, but all I want to do is kick him in the balls and run.
As if to show what he means, Rufus pushes me over the back of the couch. His clothed cock rubs up and down between my ass cheeks. My nails dig into the material on the back of the couch, and I bite my lip.
Must not throw up.
Rufus holds me by my wrists and keeps thrusting against me, small moans escape from his lips. I let out a grunt as the material of his pants chafes against my naked skin, and he takes it as encouragement as he thrusts harder.
Leaning over my back, his lips brush across the nape of my neck and he bites into my skin, his blunt teeth dig into my flesh.
”Fuck! I”m not sure I can wait a few more days till the blood moon.” His tongue darts out and licks across my ear lobe. ”My wolf wants to fuck you into submission.”
Rufus’ body against mine disappears and I collapse against the couch. My head leaning on the musty-smelling cushions, I risk a glance over my shoulder. Rufus is palming his erect cock through his pants, his eyes almost entirely black with lust, with the glow of amber seeping through.
”Come, I want to show you the best bit.” He grabs my hand and tugs me back up, dragging me across the room and through the curtain.
It’s a bedroom, but there are yet more chains. Some hang from the ceiling, some are attached to the walls and there”s a closed chest at the end of the bed. As we get closer to the bed, he throws me down on the mattress, and I bounce slightly against it.
Then Rufus is on me, his legs straddling my thighs. I start to kick out my legs trying to get him off me, but he digs his fingers into my hips. His claws dig into my skin, splitting it and tears roll down my cheeks at the sudden pain.
”I”ve had these added just for you.” His claws trace up my sides and over my breasts before moving up both my arms. Slamming my eyes shut, I keep wriggling. “It’s for when you’ve been a naughty girl. Like right now. I’m going to have to punish you for attacking Hank.”
There”s a clicking noise as something wraps around my wrists. I tug at them, but I can”t move. Rufus moves back down my body, ripping my legs apart. I try to pull them away, but something wraps around my ankle and there”s another click. Then another.
My eyes open and I lift my head up a little. I”m spread-eagled across the bed, each limb wrapped in a manacle. I pull with all my might, but it just makes the metal bite into my skin. I scream, and pull, then scream a little more.
Rufus stands at the end of the bed, looking proud of himself. Opening his jeans, he pulls out his cock and fists it. I scream and cry as he jacks himself off, pumping up and down his length. His eyes close, and just when I think he might come, he stops. Kneeling on the bed, he crawls up between my legs. He lifts the grimy babydoll up so the material is scrunched above my breasts.
”Your fear smells so delicious. Can you see how hard it makes me?” His hand is back on his cock. He”s soclose to me now and I can”t do anything to stop him.
Rufus goes back to his cock, leaning over me as he does. His mouth moves all over my body, teeth biting down on my nipples, and I scream. Covering my lips with his, he forces his tongue into my mouth.
With his hips thrusting, his teeth sink into my lower lip. If he bites any harder, he”ll go right through it. He groans, and then I feel it; wetness all over my torso. Letting go of my lip, he sits back, his eyes running over my stomach. Removing his hand from his cock, he rubs his cum into my skin, leaving a sticky mess.
Blood drips from my lip and I can”t stop panting. It feels like I”m suffocating. As Rufus smiles down at me with blood running down his chin, I close my eyes and lose my grip on consciousness.