Page 39

Lilith

W e came across a couple more groups of fox shifters as we made our way towards the warehouse. They all told us the same thing. A man that looks like me and Striker snuck into the warehouse and freed everyone, getting captured in the process. What was he thinking? We had a plan.

Thuly is getting more antsy as we get closer, so I send him ahead with the rest of the group. The guys follow me as we head to the back entrance. There is no time for words, no time for kisses to calm me down. This is it. We wait until we hear the main door slide open and the group go in and chaos ensues before I slowly open the door and we slip in. The group has been working quickly to unhook everyone. There are only a few dead shifters in the room, theirs, but otherwise clear.

“This was too easy,” I say. Thuly hops over to a body and starts chewing on it like it’s a turkey leg. “I’m going to go find Fermin.”

“Okay,” Daemon says, stealing a kiss from me.

“Be careful,” Kael says before he and Callum kiss me.

“I’m not going far,” I laugh.

I see Volis. I sigh, relieved, as he nearly tackles me with a hug. “You’re okay,” he says quietly.

“Of course, I’m okay,” I say. “What’s going on? Why did you go in early?”

“I overheard Zypher on the phone saying that you were killed. I just… I got mad and upset. I stormed in without thinking,” he says.

“You’re okay, though? He didn’t hurt you?” I ask.

“No, I’m okay. Kira is pretty weak, though,” he says with a frown.

“Who is Kira?” I ask.

“Oh, right… One of the fox shifters that we freed happens to be my mate,” he says. “The little stubborn ass wouldn’t leave, so she ended up hardly eating since Zypher first got them.”

“So her rescuer is her mate, and you thought she would just walk away from you?” I ask. “Oh… Uh Dad is mated to Brenna.”

“Woah. How is he taking that?” he asks.

“Well… I think technically she’s the one taking it,” I laugh, and he chuckles. “It’s the happiest I’ve seen him.”

“I think Striker is slightly traumatized after hearing them talk,” I laugh.

“Eh. He’ll be okay,” Volis says as a woman walks over. She is no taller than me but younger and has bright orange-red hair. “This is Kira.” Volis introduces her proudly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kira,” I say with a smile.

“It’s nice to meet you too; I’ve been hearing a lot about you.” she says happily.

“There should be a team here in the next few minutes to go back to the capital,” I say. “Get on the bus.”

“I need to…”

“The only thing you need to do is to get on the damn bus, Volis. You were just held captive for days with very little food or water. You couldn’t shift right now anyway because you are nearly malnourished at this point and dehydrated. Take your mate and go to the house. We will have time to catch up then.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says with a sarcastic salute.

“Asshole,” I laugh and hug him tightly. He squeezes me back, not wanting to let go.

“Watch your back, please,” he says. “Oh, and let me…”

“Bus is here,” Leli says.

“But…”

“Go,” I say. “I can handle things.”

“Fine,” he sighs, “I love you, Lilith. Be careful.”

“I will,” I say before I walk across the warehouse to search for Fermin. I only see Vash.

“Hey,” he says.

“So?” I ask.

“It was a little chaotic when we got in here. There was a bunch outside that we took down pretty fast. The ones inside, though, they didn’t even fight,” he said. “Really… None of them put up a huge fight. It was like they gave up.”

“Keep an eye out. Something doesn’t feel right,” I say. “Have you seen Fermin?”

“There he is,” Vash says, pointing over to Fermin as he walks into the warehouse.

“Hey,” I say with a smile. “I just wanted to say thank you for your help along the way. I’m glad you all got along so well.”

“Uhm… You’re welcome,” he says, shifting somewhat nervously.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Uh… Zypher was killed,” he says.

“Woah. I didn’t even know he was here,” I say. “Who killed him?”

“I did,” he says. He is shaky and won’t look at me.

“Hey. Hey, it is okay. You did what you had to do, yeah?” I say.

“Yeah,” he says dismissively, nodding. “Do you want to see him before they burn his body?”

“Uhm,” I say as I turn to see what the guys are doing. I see they are talking to some of the witches who were held captive with Volis. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I’ll just update them later.” I nod. If he’s dead, I want to see his corpse to make sure, maybe burn it myself for the hell he has put me through.

“After you, my Queen,” he says, gesturing for me to walk ahead of him.

“Was Morwen found?” I ask. “I know they did some bad shit, but I don’t want anyone torturing anyone.”

“He’s over here,” Fermin says, pointing off to the side of the building.

“Was he running?” I say. I see his body, and he looks unharmed from here.

“No,” Fermin says simply.

“Why was he killed and not just brought to me or the kings?” I turn to ask Fermin. Instead of Fermin, Morwen is behind me with a sick, twisted grin. I gasp and try to step back away from him but run into someone else. A hand covers my mouth before I can scream, and Morwen promptly snaps a thick metal collar around my neck.

I scream against the hand on my mouth and try to drop my weight down to slip out of his grip, but they both grab ahold of me. My eyes are looking all over the place. I don’t see Zypher anymore. Where did he go? I begin to hyperventilate. Fermin is teary-eyed as he watches the scene unfold. I direct my anger at him, but he can’t understand what I am saying to him.

“You are an even bigger fool than she is,” Morwen says to Fermin as he pulls a knife from his waistband and stabs it into Fermin’s stomach and twists it before stabbing him again. They leave his body bleeding where it dropped.

Zypher drags me backward before throwing me into the backseat of an SUV that was hidden in an alley. Morwen slides in beside me as I am picking myself up from the floorboard. Morwen grabs me by the hair and drags me up to sit on the seat, and I scream in pain.

“Inpulsa ,” I say through gritted teeth. Nothing happens. I try to imagine his blood boiling beneath his skin. Still nothing. Tears stream down my face as I turn and start hitting him when I realize none of my magic is working. “ You sick piece of shit ,” I scream at him as I hit him.

He still has a tight hold on my hair, but he grabs me by the throat and slams me back against the seat in an attempt to get me to stop. I breathe in sharply, momentarily stunned. I start kicking and punching him when he pushes me down flat on the seat and gets over the top of me to wrap both of his hands around my throat. I don’t stop thrashing, even when I know I can’t breathe.

Morwen lets go of my throat before pulling a pistol and pressing it to my forehead. “ Fucking pull the trigger, ” I scream at him. “ Do it, you fucking coward. Go ahead. Be a big man and pull the goddamn trigger. ”

Zypher is too fucking obsessed with me to let him kill me. Not right now, at least. I know they are going to try and break me down. Zypher knows exactly how to do it. He would call it his specialty. I have to remember that I have to fight. That I have a reason to fight. This is not the end of my story. It can’t be. They will not be how I leave this world.

Morwen hits me with the butt of the gun, and I laugh at him. When he rears back to do it again, Zypher slams on the breaks. “Stop fucking hitting her in the head. She’s fucking useless if you put her into a goddamn coma.”

“The bitch needs to learn her place,” Morwen growls.

“She’s got a perfectly good pussy. Fuck her until she cries or something. Don’t do hit her with that again,” Zypher says firmly.

“Better listen before he punishes you,” I say mockingly. When he turns back to face me, I smash my forehead on his nose.

“You fucking bitch ,” Morwen screams at me. Zypher jumps out and drags me out of the vehicle before Morwen can beat me to death.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Zypher growls at me as he slams me against the door. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“It’s better than being stuck with you again,” I say with a deadpan expression.

“You need to stop this little cunt act of yours,” he says.

“Or what?” I ask. “Are you going to rape me into submission again? Are you going to lock me in a room for five more years? Fuck you .” I spit in his face, and he grabs me by the face and slams my head back against the window, making me whimper in pain.

“Spit at me again and I’ll cut your goddamn tongue out,” he says with a grave tone. “You don’t need a tongue for me to fuck that pretty little throat. Do you understand me?” I nod, tears welling up because I can’t say anything with the grip he has on my face. “Get in the godsdamn truck, shut the fuck up, and be a good girl.” Zypher opens the door back and shoves me inside to sit beside Morwen.

“I’m going to make you regret that, whore,” he says as he grabs me by the hair and drags me closer to him.

“I doubt it, psycho,” I retort. Morwen keeps a tight hold on me as we drive. I could continue being a raging bitch, but I am pretty sure he would actually cut my tongue out.

We haven’t driven for long when we pull into a garage in the back of a massive abandoned building. Morwen gets out and drags me with him. “If you run, I’ll break your fucking legs,” Morwen snaps at me. He has a tight hold on my forearm, his gun still in his other hand. Zypher unlocks a door before I am taken inside.

It is the concrete room from my vision. The metal table is there, bolted to the floor in the middle of the room. In the back right corner, chains are hanging from the ceiling. In the back left corner is a makeshift bathroom and a metal bar running along the left wall.

Morwen shoves me into the room, towards the table. Zypher bends me over the end so that Morwen can attach the chains to my wrists and pulls my arms above my head. They don’t speak a word as they slice my clothing off and put a hood over my head. Zypher lets out a moan as I feel his hands travel along my naked body. I shudder, disgusted.

I hear their footsteps fade away, followed by the door slamming shut. I groan and put my head on the cold table. I am more annoyed that they put a fucking hood on my head. What the fuck am I going to look at? The gray walls?

They leave me here like this for what seems like a lifetime. My body is aching from how I am positioned, and I am cold. When the door comes open again, I hear shuffling around. One of them places their hand on my lower back, and I flinch. “Nothing to say?” Zypher says.

“If you are expecting me to beg or some shit, you are sadly mistaken,” I say simply.

“No, you’re too much of a stubborn bitch for that,” he says. “I know you well enough, Lilith. I know every button to press to get a reaction. I know what makes you mad. I know you internalize everything, so all I have to do is wait for you to shut down, and you’ll go back to that helpless little girl that I had living in my home.

“You like them weak and helpless, Zypher?” I ask. “You have no idea what I’ve become.”

“We’ll see about that,” he laughs. I hear his zipper, and I make myself relax. I know his habits with sex. He is so predictable, so I know what to expect. What I don’t expect is for my magic to no longer protect me from pain. Zypher slams himself in my ass, and I let out a blood-curdling scream. I pull on my chains in hopes that they’ll loosen, but they don’t. He thrusts into me with so much force that I am quickly reduced to nothing but sobs as he rapes me.

When he finishes, Morwen steps behind me. “As soon as you left, I had that lock picked. You thought you could castrate me, bitch?” He yells at me as he shoves himself inside of me. Pain surges through my belly, and I cry harder. I refuse to beg. I won’t do it, but gods dammit, this hurts. No amount of begging will change the fact that I’m going to be here for a while.

Morwen is more brutal than Zypher and lasts longer. My body gives up at a certain point, and I lie across the table whimpering in pain. When he finishes, he shoves himself inside of me as far as he can, making me cry out in pain. When he finishes, Zypher takes off my restraints so Morwen can stand me up. He pulls me back from the table a few steps with his arm banded around my waist.

“Each and every day, I want you to remember this moment and know that it is your fault,” Morwen says ominously. He grabs the hood that is covering my head and yanks it off.

“ No! ” I scream as my legs buckle. Pain stings through my heart, and reality comes crashing down around me, forcing the realization to sink in.

This is all my fault.