Page 3

Chapter three

Astria Zielle

An odd creaking made me freeze. What was that?

The wall opened up and a blinding white light burned my retinas. I covered my eyes and retreated the best I could, but all I did was hit my head again.

How ironic that the thing I’d been craving also caused me pain. That’s what I deserved for daring to want something, I guess.

“Astria.” The familiar cruel voice reminded me of bruising hands touching everywhere it wasn’t wanted. The sound hurt more than the light. It boomed loud enough to bust my eardrums.

Antoine Bunson, I wanted to say, but my throat was so parched that the sounds didn’t want to come out.

“Your father is willing to give you one last chance.”

A chance? A way out of this box.

“What do I need to do?” Each syllable cracked, but I managed to get it out.

“Start with getting a shower. We need you looking… and smelling like a lady.”

“Okay.” I moved toward his voice. Every limb struggled to shift out of its tight confinement. When I finally placed my bare foot down onto the cold concrete, pain shot up my leg until it gave out. I fumbled out of the box and hit the ground, barely catching myself on the stairs, before I bonked my head for a third time.

The slide of my fall was sure to add plenty of bruises to my growing collection, but my head didn’t need any more damage. I was dumb enough as it was.

Bunson clicked his tongue. “Come on. Crawl, bitch.”

Everything hurt, but I did as he demanded. Knowing that eventually all the creaks and cracking would work everything out. My numb toes stung as the blood flowed through them again.

“Faster, bitch.” The leather of a whip went across my bare back.

I bit my tongue hard enough to draw blood, forbidding myself to allow one smart ass remark to escape from inside my brain.

I just got out of that box. I wasn’t going to give anyone a reason to force me back in.

The whip snapped, and the tip hit between my thighs. Pain burned through my body and made my arms give out. I bit my tongue harder, so I wouldn’t give this asshole the satisfaction of my screaming. It was bad enough that tears dripped down my cheeks.

“Get up.” His booming yell made me flinch, and I hated myself for it. “The box did a number on you, didn’t it, baby? Where’s that smart fucking mouth now? Where are all those teeth that got you in trouble?”

Don’t say it. Keep your fucking mouth shut.

I climbed back into my crawling position, so that I could continue the long trek to where the showers of the prison were, on the other side of the building.

“You can do it, Astria,” a soft female voice told me. I lifted my head and found one of the local women in a prison cell. Our kids played together almost every day. “Keep going. For her.”

“Shut it.” Bunson snapped the whip in her direction, and she fled to the corner of her cell.

It gave me enough strength to keep going. I needed to get home to Kylie. I could do anything if I could get to her.

Every time I ran out of steam, another familiar female voice would speak up from the cages and remind me of my mission. My sisters never let me forget that our only purpose was to live long enough to protect our daughters from being picked from the vine too soon.

So that they may have as much peace as possible before this life becomes theirs.

If I gave up here in these halls, there was no one to protect her.

“You’re so strong,” another one spoke up. “Just a little further.”

“I thought I’d never have a chance to get that sweet pussy again. I thought for sure they’d throw away the key this time.” Bunson chuckled, kindly reminding me that even when I got to my destination, the misery wouldn’t end.

I’d clean up into something worth dirtying again. “For the record, if you try that shit you did to Peter, I’ll bust in that pretty face until you never look the same again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

This was my existence, after all.

***

One day, I would learn how to keep my fucking mouth shut.

Too bad, I only decided to shut my mouth at the worst possible times.

For the thousandth time in my life, I was negotiating for my release from prison. Well, negotiation wasn’t the right word. They had a task they needed to be done, and I wanted the cage gone.

We all knew the drill.

“I have someone who doesn’t need to be here.” My father’s disgusting grin made my stomach roil. The urge to puke all over the nice white pantsuit he always wore never ceased. Maybe some vomit would help make his outsides match his insides.

“Do you want me to kill them or fuck them?” We both knew I’d do it, so I could get back home to my daughter.

The bench I sat on, in his murder van, dug into my bare thighs, and his giant soldiers sat on each side of me, with a gun aimed at my head. The rage in their eyes told me that they only needed one reason to kill me, and that reason didn’t even need to be good.

I guess they didn’t appreciate the fact that I might find a way out of prison after the horrible crimes I committed against their brethren.

The red sparkling, barely there outfit they’d dressed me in made me think the island’s only strip club was on the other side of the sliding metal door.

The stench of cum and blood in the vehicle didn’t make it clear what was expected of me, though. I knew they wanted me to get the person’s dick hard enough they would be careless and stupid.

The only question that mattered was what they wanted me to do with it afterward.

“We have a group of outsiders visiting our island. Kill the leader,” my father answered as he picked at some invisible imperfection on his pant leg. “We need their alpha out of the way.”

“Why?”

“The alpha holds the team together. The betas only follow orders.”

“How do you recognize them on sight? What if there is more than one alpha?”

“Everyone knows a pack only has one alpha, Astria.” He scoffed at me.

“Seems like a bad setup. So if that one alpha dies, the whole thing falls apart?” Idiotic. Then again, that was how they ran things here.

My father remained silent, refusing to give me any more information. I was lucky I got what I did.

I didn’t ask for any more details than that. It would be a wasted effort. He gave me my task. It was up to me to figure out how to get the job done. “You got it, Daddy.”

I made sure to make the word ‘daddy’ as sickly sweet as I could manage. Just in case, the intended sarcasm somehow flew over his fat, ignorant head.

The men lowered their firearms, but one’s finger twitched as he held back the urge to deal with my disrespect. I shoved my way out of the crowded van, since no one thought they needed to move.

When one of his meat heads smirked at me, I resisted the urge to punch him in the face. I was in enough trouble, best not make it worse.

“Can I at least have my magic back?” I tugged on the bulky, silver collar weighing down my neck.

“Absolutely not.”

A girl could hope.

The door slid open, and the crisp breeze filled my lungs. It was strange to take a breath that didn’t stink of metal and agony. I slid the van door closed, not wanting their faces to ruin the beautiful night sky.

My collar sparked with electric volts. Convulsions painfully wracked through my bones. A warning of what was to come if I failed.

“Tick-tock, Astria.” My father’s voice was muffled from the other side, but I received his stupid little message all the same. “This is your last chance. Make it count.”

I walked up to the back door, that was a few feet from where they dropped me off at and knocked loudly on the cool metal. The van pulled away as the door swung open, not waiting to see if I actually went inside.

They had no reason to think I’d run or try to escape. Where would I go?

A woman opened it, took one look at me, and let me in. I maneuvered through all the naked women. A friend of mine was doing her makeup, and I noticed a bruise on her collarbone.

“Let me help,” I told her.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” She eyed my face, but handed over her powder.

“You missed a spot.” I did a quick cover job over the bruise. The flashing lights would hide most of it. I could feel her eyes glued to the throbbing section of my cheek. “How bad is it?”

“You haven’t looked?”

I shook my head no. This was the first time I had access to a mirror, and now that it was here, I didn’t want to look at what they had done to my face.

“The brand is healing well. It shouldn’t be that noticeable soon.”

I nodded.

“I love you, Astria,” she told me.

“I love you.” I patted her head and went over to the owner of the joint. “Hey.”

“Not you again.” He groaned. “What now? You’re bad for business.”

“Ordered by Governor Gadson himself.”

“Fuck me.” He groaned again, taking note of the brand on my chin. “You get next. Be ready in thirty seconds.”

Despite his moaning and groaning, he always put on the same song for me. A slow seductive beat about a woman sucking the life out of an unsuspecting man. Appropriate.

With easy practice, I walked onto the runway, keeping my pace slow and my hips swaying.

The group of outsiders were damn easy to spot. They stuck out like ten muscly thumbs that were certainly packing more than their surly attitudes.

Each one of them wore all black and had a critical expression. Like they were all trying to solve a difficult math equation, rather than looking at beautiful, scantily clad women.

I didn’t go right for them. That would be too obvious. Instead, I jumped up and twirled around the stripper pole. All the other dancers gave them a wide berth, which was intriguing.

In our world, this was the safest a woman could get. Because if a man tried to take what he hadn’t paid for, another man was gonna take it out of their hide. So why were the women speed walking away from this group of men?

And which one was the leader? Several of them carried oppressive energy.

It didn’t take but two more twirls around the pole to figure it out. Most of them kept a blank facade, but at least their eyes moved around and appreciated their surroundings. But one’s dark eyes were counting the future dead bodies that would litter the room.

After a few more tricks, I sauntered off the catwalk to make my way around the room, watching that one.

As I got closer, his dark chocolate eyes pierced their targets deeper than a spear ever could. Any woman that dared to get close was chased off the moment his gaze laid on them.

I found someone to dance against, that gave me a good vantage point to watch my mark. The man was a terrifying specimen. He wasn’t the biggest out of the group, but the air around him was dark and powerful.

The faintest pull in the center of my chest wanted to drag me right to him, but I fought the soft instinct easily enough.

His long black hair was pulled back from his sharp handsome face, into a ponytail at the base of his neck, and part of me wanted to run my hands through it. I’d never seen a man with long hair like that before.

“I’ve never had a feral before,” the man behind me breathed, as I shook my ass in his lap.

“Could you handle one?” I teased playfully, ignoring the sting his slur left behind.

I meandered around the room giving dances until I could justify going all the way to the back where my target sat. I started with one of his minions to help garner some trust, giving a lap dance to ease the oncoming troubles I intended to cause.

The one on the end felt softer in comparison to the others. His dark blue eyes grew wide when I stopped in front of him. I unhooked my top. Eyes on me.

“Oh, come on,” one of the men complained. “The pup gets everything.”

“Maybe you should play nicer.” I shot that one a smile, and managed to get all the men, but my mark to chuckle. The asshole didn’t crack so much as a smile.

“I’ll play as nice as you want, baby girl.”

“Fucking liar,” another one of the men shot back, causing another round of laughs.

When enough of them were solely focused on me, I finally set my sights on my prize. I sunk to all fours, making sure to appear as subservient as possible.

When I passed the one who’d been complaining about my choice for my dance, he spoke, “Come on, sweetheart.”

“I heard you’re a liar.” I kept going to where my prey was watching me, still ready to strike. Which earned me another round of laughs and the guys teasing each other. Good. The men tossed green paper at me, but I ignored the odd behavior. It wasn’t the worst thing a man had thrown at me.

But their focus was locked where I wanted them; on my ass instead of their boss. My prey, however, simply narrowed his eyes on me, practically squinting to intimidate me with his stare. I’d dealt with men harder than him before.

I kneeled at his knees, running my hands up his legs in slow, easy movements. His eyebrow lifted, as if he couldn’t conceive a woman daring to touch him. Which was possible, even though I was certain he was handsome if he un-pinched his face, that is.

I pretended that I didn’t notice the daggers he was throwing at me and climbed into his lap. Powerful men were suspicious. As long as I didn’t cower and back down, though, they always relaxed in the end.

I was just stubborn and dumb enough to stand my ground.

How many men had I been sent after at this point? Countless. How many had resisted what I offered them? None.

Now that we were face to face, I took the chance to take in all his features. It was impossible to tell how old he was. I’d never met a man that showed his years. But one thing I’d learned was the older a man, the bigger a threat he was to the governor.

The red light flashing gave his skin an off hue, but I could tell he was multiple shades darker than my pale skin. Certainly, I hadn’t been locked up long enough to lose that much color.

I gave into my previous desire and ran my hands through his soft, silky hair, scratching his scalp. Foreign men loved that shit.

His hands grabbed my hips, and I couldn’t help but follow the corded muscles of his arms down to where he was guiding my movements. His cock finally poked through his thick, black cargo pants and rubbed against me.

Strange desire flooded over me, making my movements keep time with him. My core throbbed at the way he rubbed against me. I could only think of one time I ever wanted a man to touch me, so I guess this job was one for the records.

I draped my upper body over him, leisurely feeling him up and taking stock of the bumps that didn’t belong. I’d bet my last gold coin he had weapons.

I leaned back, sliding my fingers beneath the open edges of his leather jacket until the cold, metal butt of a gun grazed my knuckles. Bingo.

His hands snatched my wrists into vise grips before I could move to grab anything. He pulled me closer until my front was plastered to him and whispered in my ear.

“A woman as beautiful as you doesn’t have to try this fucking hard unless she’s trying to destroy you.”

I’d played this hand so many times, and no man had ever seen through me. My heart pounded hard enough to make my sternum complain.

There was only one move I could think of in this compromised position.

I headbutted him in the nose hard enough to make the chair fall backward. He released one of my wrists to punch me across the jaw with a force that made me see stars in the corner of my eyes. The only part of being hit that unnerved me was the sense that he wasn’t using his full force.

Unlucky for him, he wasn’t the first time a man had clocked me like that, and I doubted it would be the last. Unless he killed me.

I dodged the next punch with a moment to spare and returned that punch with every ounce of power I could muster. I even pictured his face as my father to help aid my efforts, aiming right for that nose I’d already broken, until my fist was covered in blood,

“Fuck,” he grunted, and the next thing I knew, air whipped around me as I flipped in the air, landing chest to the floor. The concrete was hard enough that I considered playing dead.

Suck it up, stupid bitch. Your baby needs you.

I rolled over, snatching the gun out of his jacket as he tried to recover. In a maneuver I couldn’t follow, he disarmed me in less than a second. The pistol scattered across the floor, out of reach, and my arm stung from whatever he did to me.

“Need help, boss?” A deep chuckle vibrated behind me.

Shit! I needed to dispatch this guy before the others jumped me. He should have already been dead. That would have bought me enough disorientation to boogie out. Instead, we were a spectacle rolling on the floor.

He grabbed my throat and pinned me to the ground. I had to give it to the guy; He took my breath away. “I’ve got her. Check the area. She’s not alone.”

I grabbed a spilled beer bottle from nearby, where we knocked over a table and smashed it across his head. He wavered, but not enough to go down.

What the fuck was his skull made of? Titanium?

Since that didn’t work, I jabbed the broken end at his throat, but he caught my wrist in a tight, bruising hold with his free hand. I wasn’t nearly strong enough to overpower him in a battle of brute strength.

I punched at his face, but he leaned back out of reach. Annoyance twisted his mouth, but my hits weren’t landing how I wanted. My arms were much shorter than his.

Fine.

I grabbed his nipple through his strangely soft shirt and twisted it. There was a small victory in the yelp that I got out of him. The move caught him off guard, and he released my other arm.

So I stabbed him in the chest as hard as I could, forcing him to give me some space, while he dug the glass out of his body. I slid out from under him. This was not my usual customer. I needed to get this back under control.

A fist landed in my gut. Pain crushed my insides and dropped me back to my knees. It was a good thing they hadn’t fed me in a while. Otherwise, dinner would have been on the floor, along with all the blood and beer we spilled.

I recovered just in time to roll out from under his giant boot, as it came down to stamp me into a permanent part of the ground. I grabbed some of the shattered glass to slice the back of his knees, but his pants were made of some thick, heavy material that protected him.

Get creative, you stupid bitch.

I dug in the pocket at his thigh and found a knife. When I stabbed that into his leg, it pierced his protection and made purchase. I yanked on the blade as hard as I could.

He grabbed me by my hair, ripping me to my feet and throwing me like I was a rag doll. I flew onto the couch and landed against the back hard enough to flip it. I grabbed a cushion to use as a shield, when the same knife I’d been stabbing him with came down over me.

I kicked him in the knee, making his imposing body flop on me. I put my arms around his neck and kneed him over and over in the gut. Let’s see how much he likes it.

I didn’t care if he puked all over me as long as he went down. He picked me up and body slammed me to the concrete, but I held tight.

“Let go, you crazy bitch,” he snarled like a wild animal.

He grabbed my knees, forcing them to spread, so one leg was on each side of him. His upper body pinned me beneath him.

Well, my mouth landed me in prison. Might as well use it to get free.

I clamped my teeth on his neck until blood filled my mouth. I didn’t let go, even when he managed to come up to his knees. It was impressive considering I was still firmly latched onto him, using my limbs like tentacles to keep him from escaping.

His fingers dug into my hair again. A growl rumbled in his chest and vibrated my body in a way that made me feel strange. He used a hand under my chin and his hold on my hair to pull me back. I made sure to take a hunk of him with me.

When we were eye to eye, I spat a chunk of his neck and his blood out, aiming right for him.

I could swear for a brief moment that a brilliant smile lit up his face. His perfect white teeth reflected the strobe lights. Not a cruel smile like Bunson or a creepy one like my father. It was one of pure amusement and excitement.

I blinked, and it was gone. The man’s grim and mildly annoyed expression set in the place it had always been.

Maybe I imagined it. I had been hit in the head a lot. Who had fun being assassinated?

Maybe a crazy person.

The longer our little violent dance went on, the more I realized that the lack of rage was unnerving. It wasn’t uncommon for a man to lose his shit on me and make me regret being so damn stubborn. But this guy was relatively calm, considering I’d been doing my best to murder him.

I acted like I was going to headbutt him again, and he was smart enough to dodge this time. But he hadn’t realized that I never thought that would work a second time. I used his momentum to force him onto his back.

I managed to straddle his neck before he recovered. I squeezed my thighs together, hoping to apply enough force to his pressure point, to make him pass out once and for all. He’d be much deader if he would just go to sleep.

“I hope this was how you wanted to die.” A peaceful slumber for him and freedom for me.

Something about that made the furthest edge of his lips twitch, as if he was fighting back the urge to laugh or smile. That didn’t stop him from grabbing my thighs and prying them apart, though.

I worked leg muscles that I never knew I had to keep some semblance of a hold on him, but he managed enough wiggle room to keep from passing out.

Fuck this guy.

Fine!

I shifted my weight, opting to smother him with thighs and my lady bits. His hot breath directly on my center brought the terrifying prospect that I’d made a horrible decision to the forefront of my mind.

Before I could scramble away, jolts of lightning radiated from my collar. The jolts waved through my body until I flopped off of him and struggled to endure the onslaught.

I swallowed the cry of pain and gritted my teeth. The intensity and duration were a clear message.

You failed, bitch.

Even though I knew it was useless, I yanked at the collar, but there was no give. Like always, fresh waves of sparks electrified my fingertips, zapping me of any strength.

A metallic clank let me know I was in danger, but the agony ripping through every nerve I had didn’t let me dwell on it.

“Who are you working for?”

I saw a dancer hiding behind a plant across the way. I grunted some words out. “Kylie. Tell Elizabeth to get Kylie.”

If I died, I needed to know someone was taking care of her.

I finally looked up at the man standing over me with a gun pointed at my face. I’m sorry, Kylie. I tried.

He whirled to face the other direction with a groan. Red darts pierced his body one by one until his giant form flopped on top of me. His heavy weight made it even harder to pump any air into my lungs.

That was karma for trying to smother him, probably.