Blood and Ruin (Blood and Ruin Series Book 1)

Balor is making sure I’m ready for King’s next little session. A warmup.

A shitty excuse is what it is, not that he needs one. He’s a jaguar shifter who loves to inflict pain on others in any way he can.

Balor was here when I arrived six years ago, when I was just the sad little girl who had lost her mother, oblivious to what King had in store for me.

I learned quickly just how sick and twisted supes and humans can be. King made sure I was well acquainted with how brutal and bitter the real world is, but no matter what he did, he could never completely break me. My dreams of getting out of here, always in the back of my mind.

But a dream is just a dream until you make it happen.

I knew I needed to work for it. Nothing in life comes easy for people like me. I wasn’t a princess locked in King’s Tower waiting for her prince to come save her.

Having an ability doesn’t make me feel invincible or special—it’s more of a curse than anything. My ability doesn’t forgo the physical or mental torment inflicted. The pain and aftermath just become an obstacle; one you can move past after enough time.

“Let’s go,” Balor says. He has no weapon this time, but he doesn’t need one. Not with his jaguar abilities.

I plant my feet apart, getting in position. Balor is just as twisted as King, but I’ve picked up a few things from him.

After a while of being the punching bag, I started to fight back, learning moves and stances that enabled me to hold my own against an attacker.

I was no shifter, but with King’s Tower having a revolving door of criminals; I had plenty of practice.

 “Finally.” Balor’s smile turns cold and cruel. He lunges for me, targeting my face, but I swiftly duck and twirl to my side.

“Want to play hard, I see.”

Lightning fast, he kicks my feet from under me. I grunt, landing hard on the ground, the wind knocked out of me.

“Get up.” He growls.

I grit my teeth, pushing off the ground, too stubborn to give in so soon, knowing this routine all too well.

Balor moves so fast I don’t see him until a kick comes from behind. Pain shoots across my back, knocking me down, my palms hitting the hard floor with a slap.

“You’re as useless as those vile humans. That ability wasted on someone like you.”

Gritting my teeth, I push myself up, ignoring the dizziness and throbbing in my back. It will heal soon enough.

Before I get the chance to get a punch in, he grabs me by the throat and slams me into the wall. Sharp burns slash across the side of my neck as he extends his claws.

“I could break that little neck of yours and watch on as the light dims behind your eyes. You wouldn’t be able to stop me. Too weak, too fragile to defend yourself.”

There are other types of strength that have nothing to do with physical contact. I doubt this dick would live through one of King’s sessions without it doing some permanent damage.

“Though there is one good thing about this little arrangement. I get to stub out that innocent wide-eyed look, over and over, for as long as I want.” I watch as his eyes dilate, as he tightens his grip on my neck.

Adrenaline runs through me, numbing the throbbing pain in my neck. I rear a leg back and kick him as hard as I can. He jolts to the side, his hand easing enough for me to gulp down some fresh air.

“Bitch. You’ll pay for that.” He slams his other hand into my stomach again and again before dropping me to the ground.

It rips a groan from me as pain spreads out around my chest, squeezing it tight as I try to catch my breath. My head spins as the lights around me flicker in and out.

Balor stands over me, a cold smile on his face. “Where’s that smart mouth now?”

I give him a hollow chuckle.

“Still… a… dick,” I garble out.

Balor’s eyes flash as he kneels on top of me, pushing me into the hard ground. I hear the sickening crunch as his fist connects to my jaw. My head snaps sideways as pain shoots along my jaw and across my face. My vision blurs as I look for him, but I can’t focus on any one thing, everything dimming and swaying around me.

Pushing up on shaky hands, I ignore the darkness spotting my vision to find the psycho.

My injuries knit back together easing the bite from the sharp pain.

I glance around when he appears in front of me, punching my head hard. I taste the blood, darkness dimming my vision once again.

Before I can think about where he is, my head is yanked backwards and slammed into the ground. The breath is taken from me as I garble out a moan.

The bastard is upping his game. Knocking me around is one thing, but it seems he isn’t holding back anymore.

Thick rivers of blood ooze down my head and face, joining the gash on my lip as I wait for my ability to kick in.

“Having fun?” King appears as if he was there the whole time. His expression is composed yet detached. His appearance neither soothes nor eases any nerves from Balor’s now halted attack, knowing a bigger monster will now take his place.

King is always more thorough with his torment.

Balor blanches spotting him, swiftly taking a step back from me. “Sir, I was just—”

“Leave.”

Balor bows, avoiding eye contact. Giving King a wide birth, he leaves the room like the place is on fire.

King takes off his navy suit jacket, folding it and placing it on the back of his chair. Rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt, he moves over to me. Standing above me, he looks down at me like I’m filth.

Silence grows around us as his stony stare drills through me, waiting for my ability to finish up.

“I have a more potent blocker cooked up for you. One that should last much longer.”

Pulling out the small green vial, he throws it at me.

“Drink it. All of it.” His tone leaves no question for objection. I know all too well what King will do if I don’t obey his commands and pushing the fragile boundary I had was not the smart thing to do right now. Not when I was so close to getting out of here with Alana.

My injuries all healed, I stand up and loosen the lid. Knocking it back, I let the vile concoction work its way down my throat, coating it like thick slime. Wincing at the horrible aftertaste, I glance down at the small bottle, wondering how long it will take this new batch to kick in.

Pain explodes in my head as I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me.

“Fuck!”

I try to catch my breath as my lungs burn with each inhale.

“Speak again, and I’ll cut out your tongue.” King’s voice is cool and detached, a testament to his nature. He doesn’t care about anything unless he has something to gain from it. I doubt there’s a beating heart in his chest, instead in its place, a malignant chunk of meat that keeps the fucker alive.

No one knows what King is, just that he’s powerful beyond measure. His power is dark, an entity of its own, and nothing like the warlocks and demons I’ve come across.

A soulless creature that destroys anything in his path.

My vision dims and tilts as I stand up on shaky legs, knowing it’s best not to look weak. He’ll just drag this on longer if I do.

Dark blades appear from nowhere, surrounding me. A blaze of fire carves up my skin, slicing through it like paper as they attack. I grit my teeth against the fiery pain, dropping to the ground.

Fuck, that hurts.

Heal, I beg my ability, but nothing happens. King’s green vile does what he wants, blocking my ability from working.

I try to catch a steady breath, but before I get the chance, my head is pulled up and slammed down against the ground. Hard.

A sharp pain jolts across my face, making my vision blur.

“Better, this one will do.”

He created a block that worked. I was fucked.

Pushing up, I get half-way before another bolt hits me.

I whimper, stumbling forward, landing on my hands and knees.

Silence echoes around me, realising my mistake. Something large from behind grabs hold of my hair, pulling it tight. Unable to reach out and stop them, my arms hang limply beside me, no longer obeying my command.

I come to a sharp stop as King comes into view.

“Your new alphas have been asking questions.” My blood runs cold at the mention of the guys. I try to move, but a searing pain shoots through my body, stopping me in my tracks.

“They are causing more trouble than they’re worth.” King’s words move through my brain like thick sludge.

“There is something almost… familiar about them.” He stares at me with a cruel smile.

He couldn’t know. If he knew who or what they were to me, they will be killed.

I try to speak, but there’s too much blood filling up my lungs.

His nostrils flare at my attempt just before he strikes me hard across the face. “Silence them or I will.”

“Up.” His command strikes the room like lightening.

I grit my teeth through the pain. An uncontrollable shake rattles through my body as I force myself to my knees.

Before I can steady myself, my hands are gripped tightly behind me. My whole body freezes up as cold metal bands are placed around my wrists.

A shooting electric pain envelops every nerve in my body. My vision blurs from the tears running down my face.

“Quite painful, aren’t they? Cast in iron and said to have been dipped in the blood of all three harpies, the pain they emit is as vicious, violent and cruel as their counterpart.” Wave after wave of agony falls over me as my pain tolerance is pushed to its limits. King’s attempt to reach my breaking point, yet again.

I try to scream, but my brain no longer functions. All I can feel is pain. I can’t move, every inch of me trapped in a loop of agony.

Dark spots blink across my vision as I sway, making it hard to focus on what’s going on around me.

“Right now, your nerves are attacking your body. Destroying itself from the inside out and melting your organs to ash.”

I hear the smile in his cold voice, making me shiver. Even after all these years, hearing the delight in his voice is unsettling.

Holding me in place, the pain turns sharp, pulling every nerve in my body like a bow strung too tight. My lungs burn to take a deep breath.

Flames attack my throat travelling to my chest as I choke on ash. I’m frozen in an endless loop, trying in vain to take a breath but become halted by the relentless electric shocks.

I’m powerless to do anything but try and hold on.

To think of anything but my broken battered body and mind.

I need to focus. To fight. To hold on that bit longer.

Trying to breathe through the pain, I slowly lift my gritty lids.

King’s dark eyes come into view.

“With the blocker in your system. It will take days for you to heal completely.” His cold chuckle echoes around me.

Suddenly I’m lifted into the air. A long black cord coils around my throat, taking whatever air I have left. I claw at it, trying to get it to release me, but it’s no use. My energy is gone and along with it, any hope I had for my ability to kick in.

I gurgle as more dark cords appear, growing sharp points as they dig into my legs and stomach.

Blood dribbles out of my mouth in a stream as I choke down liquid flames. Black spots dance across my vision. I welcome it, too tired to fight any longer.

A spark of energy tugs somewhere inside me, just as darkness calls to me.