Chapter 3
I was lost in a haze, guided by the pack healer to relive the horrors of the previous night again and again. Each time, I screamed, my voice raw, my body writhing as I tumbled from the bed, only for Alpha Ryland Palmer to place me back. His touch was cold, clinical, as if I were nothing more than an object to be manipulated.
The memories clawed at me—the thug’s rough hands, the taunts, the pain. My wolf whimpered in the back of my mind, urging me to fight, to run, but I was paralyzed by fear. I clutched at Ryland’s pant leg, my fingers trembling. “Please, Alpha,” I begged, my voice barely a whisper. “Help me. I’m scared. Save me.”
But he pulled away, his expression unreadable. The healer, Shepard Bell, leaned over me, his voice low and insistent, forcing me deeper into the nightmare. I relived the branding iron’s searing heat, the knife carving abusive words into my skin, the relentless humiliation. I writhed on the floor, my body convulsing with pain, my pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears.
“Everything’s set,” a voice said, cutting through the fog in my mind. “Shall we proceed to the next stage?” I barely registered the words, my consciousness slipping away. “Alpha, the hypnosis is complete. She won’t remember a thing by tomorrow.”
“Don’t push it too far,” Ryland said, his tone detached. “She’s still a warrior. Her survival instinct is strong.”
Lilly’s voice chimed in, sweet and playful, but laced with malice. “Alpha Ryland, I want Milo to have his revenge. I’ve brought in some rogues—they’ll keep her company for a few hours. We’ll observe from the control room to ensure no lasting harm comes to her. After all, she won’t remember anything.”
A long pause followed, and I held my breath, praying for Ryland to refuse. But his voice, cold and indifferent, shattered that hope. “Do as you wish.”
Those words broke me. I tried to struggle to my feet, but my body felt like it was weighed down by stones. Tears streamed down my face, the humiliation of being utterly at their mercy leaving me gasping for air.
Soon, I felt the rogues surrounding me, their laughter cruel and mocking. My scalp ached as one yanked at my hair, and they began tearing at my clothes. “Alpha, perfect timing,” one of them sneered. “Your little mate’s clothes are in tatters.”
“The thug’s had his fun,” another added. “She’s hypnotized anyway. Let us have a go.”
I wanted to scream, to fight, but I was powerless. My tears soaked into the carpet beneath me, my body trembling with fear and despair. And then I heard Ryland’s voice, so cold, so detached, as he uttered the words that extinguished my last glimmer of hope.
“Go ahead. But be careful.”
My wolf howled in anguish, a sound that echoed only in my mind. I closed my eyes, letting the darkness swallow me whole.