Chapter 2

John grabbed my chin. "Did you hear that? Your fiancé, Leonard, wants you to take good care of us."

His rough thumb pressed hard against my lips. "You sure know how to run your mouth, huh? Wonder if you'll be making those sweet noises in a bit."

I opened my mouth and bit down hard on his finger, using every ounce of strength I had until I tasted the sharp tang of blood.

John let out a scream, shoved my head aside, and slammed his fist into my stomach. The impact made me double over, pain exploding in my gut.

I coughed violently and spat up bitter bile. Cynthia kicked at the edge of the tub. "You bitch, with death staring you in the face, you dared to bite."

She turned and shouted toward the door, "Leonard, she bit Mr. Stone and drew blood."

Leonard's impatient voice came from outside. "Rip out her teeth. Make sure she can't hurt the guests again."

That sentence shattered the last bit of hope I had for Leonard.

Three years, more than a thousand days and nights, I gave everything to love this werewolf, and all he did was casually tell them to rip out my teeth.

John clutched his bleeding finger, his glare twisted as he stared me down. "You're not leaving here alive today."

He jumped straight into the tub, filthy water splashing everywhere as his massive body bore down on me.

I desperately tried to retreat, but my back hit the cold tiles, trapping me with nowhere left to escape.

The rats in the tub started crawling up my arms.

Their sharp claws scratched my skin, while the other men began unbuttoning their shirts. One of them couldn't wait and snapped his belt through the air, making a sharp sound.

"Drag her out."

"The tub's way too cramped."

"Let's do her on the floor."

Two pairs of strong arms grabbed my shoulders and dragged me out of the water.

I kicked and thrashed desperately. "Let me go, you animals."

Cynthia snatched up a bottle of body wash and smashed it against my forehead. "Stop struggling. Be a good girl and spread your legs. Maybe the gentlemen will spare your pathetic life."

Blood streamed down my forehead and into my eyes, flooding my vision with red.

I was dragged out of the tub and slammed onto the marble floor, rats crawling all over the place.

The squeaks of the rats mixed with the men's wild laughter, filling the air.

Suddenly, a black metal drum appeared at the bathroom entrance, crashing down onto the floor.

Cynthia dragged the drum inside and ripped off the lid, unleashing a wave of putrid, rotting stench that slammed into me.

Inside, giant rats covered in writhing maggots squirmed around, each one twice the size of a normal rat, their eyes burning with a sinister red glow.

Cynthia set the drum right over the tub and gave it a shake. "Let's see how long you can keep up that act. These giant rats haven't eaten in three days. They love fresh human meat."

She turned to the men. "Hurry up. When the giant rats are set free, they'll leave nothing but broken bones of her."

John ripped off his tie and lunged at me, his filthy hands grabbing at my chest.

With everything I had, I rolled aside, desperately dodging his touch.

My back slammed against the edge of the sink, and I gasped in pain.

"Still trying to hide?" John finally lost his patience. He yanked the towel I was using to cover myself and tossed it into the filthy water crawling with rats.

All I could do was curl up in the corner, wrapping my arms protectively over my chest, as the four men surrounded me, looming over me from above.

"Pull her hands apart," the man with glasses, Owen, ordered, pushing up his gold-rimmed frames. "Mr. Wolfe sent us a gift. Let's make the most of it."

Two of them stepped forward, one on each side, stomping down on my ankles, while the other two pried my arms apart by force.

Pain shot through my wrists as their grip tightened, bones popping under the pressure.

"Get off me. Don't touch me," I screamed desperately, sinking my teeth into the wrist of the guy on my left.

He howled in pain, then swung his fist back and smashed it right into my face.

My lip split open, blood gushed out, and my head reeled.

Cynthia cackled wildly beside me. "Hit her. Hit her hard. Mess up her face. Let's see how she thinks she can seduce Leonard."

Leonard's voice came from outside. "Cynthia, don't make it too dirty. Someone will have to clean up tomorrow."

He cared about tomorrow's cleanliness, but couldn't care less about the hell I was about to go through.

I stopped struggling and stared coldly at the door. "Leonard, remember every word you said today. I'll throw every single one back at you."

A mocking laugh came from outside. "I'll be waiting."

John unbuckled his belt, folded it in his hand, and cracked it sharply. "Still talking harshly at a time like this? Guess we haven't been rough enough with you yet."

He raised the belt high and brought it down hard on my thigh, the sting so sharp that it left a bloody welt almost instantly.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to make a sound. I couldn't let these animals see me break.

"Still acting tough, huh?" John raised the belt again and aimed it right at my face.

Quietly, I slipped my right hand toward the sharp-edged metal drain cover at the bottom of the tub.

I jammed my fingers into the gap and pried it up as hard as I could. My nails split and broke, blood mixed with the dirty water, swirling down the drain. The metal cover budged an inch.

Cynthia caught what I was doing and marched over, slamming her stiletto right onto my hand. The heel stabbed straight through my skin. "Trying to grab something to fight back, huh, you filthy rat."

She twisted her heel in, and the pain shot through me, making my whole body seize up.

But I didn't let go. Instead, using the pain as leverage, I wrenched the metal cover free with a sudden burst of strength.

The sharp edge sliced into my palm, blood gushing from the wound.

I clung to the metal shard. It was all I had left to fight with.