Page 48 of Benedict’s Rejuvenation (Dark Patriots #5)

“I’m the one who owns you! You’re only thought should be what can you do to make me happy, pet.

That’s all I want. And for that to happen, you must do everything I say.

I’m here to lead. You don’t need to think.

That’s what a man is for. You’re to be my pretty doll, who one day, when you embrace your new life, will be taken out and shown off.

“Just imagine how jealous the other owners will be of me. I’ll have the most beautiful, obedient pet of them all. They’ll want you, but I won’t let you go. You’ll be my ultimate pet. There’s never been one like you.”

“I’m not a pet! I’m a person. I have a mind. I can make decisions for myself,” I yelled back.

I knew that I’d be punished more, but I didn’t care.

I detested Vadzim and everything he forced me to endure.

The man wanted a woman to be his puppet.

She would only speak with his permission.

Parrot his words and ideas. To allow him to use her body how he saw fit.

And to be his victim whenever he was in the mood to inflict pain.

“I see that you need another lesson. That’s alright, I feel the need to be with my pet.

I know you love these, and that’s why you pretend to disagree and argue with me.

Isn’t it? You want me to hurt you and mark your body, leaving behind the reminders of who you belong to.

Well, all you have to do is ask, KenKen.

” Vadzim’s smile sent a shiver throughout my body.

Tonight was going to be an extra painful one. Oh God, what if I couldn’t stand it?

Suddenly, my hair was grabbed, and I was being dragged across the floor toward the cross. No! Not that!

“No, Please, No!” I screamed as I fought to get away.

Maybe this time I’d get lucky. I’d somehow get away from him and up the stairs and outside.

And Slava and Nikita would be occupied elsewhere.

I’d steal a car. And I could go home to Keeley.

As he strapped me to the cross, my dream of seeing my sister vanished, and I was left crying like my heart had been torn away.

You’ve got to become stronger. You can’t let him win, I reminded myself for the hundredth time, at least.

It was the sensation of being shaken that brought me to the surface and out of the memory.

I opened my eyes to find a frowning Ben leaning over me.

The nightlight was on. The sheet was twisted around my body.

I felt like I was a mummy. I kicked and tugged with his help until I was free and able to move.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, sat up, and cupped my throbbing head.

“Here, have a drink of water. Your mouth has to be dry,” Ben offered, and a glass appeared under my nose. I took it and gulped down the water. I felt like I hadn’t drunk anything for weeks. I drained it.

“Thank you,” I croaked as I handed the glass back to him.

“You’re welcome. Do you want more?”

“No, that’s plenty. God, I’m sorry, Ben.” I muttered.

“Sorry for what?”

“That I woke you up. Damn dreams.”

“Hummingbird, I don’t care that you woke me up. What I care about is that you had a bad dream, and I know who it was about. I was afraid of this.”

“Afraid of what?” I was twisted around so I could see him. Ben was scowling, and his fists were clenched.

“That being there at Wynne’s and acting the way we’ve had you and your sister acting, would trigger your flashbacks and PTSD of Vadzim. I saw how much you hated wearing the submissive collar tonight. I’m sorry. I should’ve never let you do it, even though you said it was alright.”

His fist hit the bed twice before I grabbed it. I raised it to my mouth, where I placed kisses on it.

“Don’t abuse this hand. It’s not your fault.

And yes, while the collar wasn’t my favorite thing, it was the whole vibe I got off Wynne that did it.

There’s sickness there, Ben. It’s hidden from the world, but I can sense it.

He’s a monster. Is he exactly like Vadzim?

I don’t know, but I do know this. He has to be stopped. ”

“Baby, we’ll do everything in our considerable power to make sure he is.

And to help whoever we can. You did so well tonight.

The way you stuck to the role was amazing.

And then how you and your sister got him to give us a tour of the house.

Beau and I would’ve never been able to do that.

Just imagine what his face will look like when we take him down and he gets to meet the real Kensy and Keeley Mills.

He won’t know what hit him. And we’ll make sure he suffers. ”

I scooted closer and then got up on my knees.

I wrapped my arms around Ben’s shoulders.

I was eye-to-eye with him. He was giving me a loving look.

I pressed a kiss to his forehead, then his cheeks, and nose.

“Benedict Madris, how did I get so lucky as to find you and have you love me like I love you?”

“It wasn’t luck, baby. It was fate. I was led to the Dark Patriots and then to that cabin in the woods because fate was determined to bring us together.”

“Well, thank you, fate. How did you become so understanding and loving, Ben? Many men aren’t, and they view being soft at times as a sign of weakness and not being a real man.

Did your parents raise you that way? You haven’t talked about them.

I know about your sister and her family, but not the rest of your family.

Do you have other siblings? Are they like you, too? ”

As I mentioned them, I realized that he’d never said anything about his family, other than his sister, Cassia, and her family. Were his parents gone? Did it hurt to talk about them?

I didn’t want to cause him pain, so I rushed to add, “Wait, Ben, you don’t need to talk about them if you’d rather not.”

He looked uncomfortable. His face was scrunched up. I saw him take a deep breath before he met my gaze and responded.

“I don’t talk about them because they’re hard to explain. I’ve only ever discussed them with a couple of people. Heath is one of them. I’d love to forget I was ever related to them, which I can’t. My upbringing was vastly different from yours. And it wasn’t normal or pretty.”

“You don’t have to tell me, but know if you do want to talk about them, I’m here.”

I got a small smile out of him. “Thank you, babe, but you should know all of me and where I came from. There’s a reason I don’t tell people about them and only speak of Cassia.

Let me start with my sister. I didn’t reconnect with her until almost four years ago.

I was still in the Army, and Heath was already out.

I had been digging around trying to find out if my family was still around.

I discovered Cassia had gotten away from them and was living on her own.

Since I was still on active duty and on constant missions, I couldn’t see her.

Instead, I sent Heath, but I asked him not to mention me.

Heath pretended to be someone else and kept tabs on her.

“Unfortunately, he did it in a way that she thought she had a stalker, and so did her man, Blade. It almost got Heath’s ass handed to him. Anyway, I eventually let her know I was keeping an eye on her. She was shocked.”

“How did you find out she got away? Got away from what?” I asked, fear rising in the back of my throat. I knew whatever he was about to say, I would hate.

“There was an article about Dublin Falls, Tennessee, where she lives, and a recipe was submitted to an online forum for bakers. An Army friend’s wife is an avid baker and always collects recipes.

For one of our command parties, she made one, and everyone went crazy for it, asking her for the recipe.

She printed it out and handed copies around.

I happened to glance at it, and I saw the name Cassia Parrish.

Her name isn’t exactly common, so I wondered if it could be my sister.

“With Heath’s help and some digging, I discovered it was my sister.

I was waiting to get out of the Army, and then I planned to take Cassia to wherever I settled so I could be close and protect her.

I tried to have Heath get her away from the Warriors MC, thinking Blade was playing with her.

When I finally met Blade, he was quick to inform me I was wrong.

They were planning to get married, and she was pregnant.

“You asked what she got away from. We grew up in a community called the Church of Converts. If you’re thinking that sounds like a cult name, you’d be correct. Although the members didn’t see it that way, or at least most of them didn’t. Some saw the light, but were afraid to leave or couldn’t.”

Ben paused to allow me to absorb what he revealed.

And maybe to have a break. I was stunned.

Like most people, I’d heard a bunch about fanatics forming cults and the terrible things that they did.

Stuff like how they treated their followers.

And how they often had bloody confrontations with the law.

“Your parents were cult members?” I asked to be sure I wasn’t hearing shit.

“They were. My mom died when I was young.

Cassia is technically my half-sister. Our father had several wives.

That was how the Church of Converts was.

They believed the Bible instructed men to have multiple wives and have as many children as possible.

And women were put on this earth to serve them and to be used however the fathers and husbands deemed fit.

Daughters were regularly forced to marry much older men in the congregation.

Cassia was forced. Her so-called husband, Reuben, was an abusive prick, like most men in the cult were, including our father, Alaric Parrish.