Chapter 34
Nicole slowly opened her eyes, feeling disoriented and confused. The last thing she remembered was running through the forest because she needed space, but now she found herself in a dark, unfamiliar room. As she tried to sit up, she realized that her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were bound together.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a man walked in. Nicole recognized him immediately- It was Shane. Her heart began pounding in her chest. Fear crawled up her spine and she found it difficult to breathe. No! No! How? How was she back there?
She tried to fight against her restraints and untangle herself, but it was no use.
"Well, well, well," Shane said, smirking at her. "Look who's back in Crimson. I've been waiting for this moment, Nicole. I knew you couldn't resist coming back to me."
Nicole trembled as Shane's minions surrounded her, their eyes filled with malice and cruelty. She knew what was coming next - the t*****e, the taunts, the endless cycle of pain and despair.
"You can never escape from me, Nicole," Shane continued, his voice low and menacing. "I own you; your mind, your body, your soul. You will never be free from my clutches." "Do you know what you've done? Do you think Liam would stand for it?" She screamed,
"Aww, you're on a first-name basis with him now, slut..." He growled, grabbing her by her hair. "You're giving it to him the way you gave it to me back then, huh? Sluttish bitch!"
He smacked her, his eyes burning with anger and rage.
Nicole gritted her teeth, refusing to give Shane the satisfaction of seeing her break down. "You can do whatever you want to me," she said, her voice shaking with rage. "But you will never break me. I will never give up, no matter what you do." Shane laughed, his eyes glittering with amusement. "We'll see about that, won't we?" he said, nodding to his minions. "Bring her to the t*****e chamber."
She felt a wave of despair wash over her as she was dragged to the chamber, the sound of Shane's mocking laughter ringing in her ears. The first hit knocked Nicole into unconsciousness.
****
Nicole woke up to darkness and dampness. She was lying on a cold stone floor, her body aching and sore from the beating she had received. As she tried to move, she felt the sharp pain from her bruises and cuts, causing her to whimper in agony.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching, and she immediately knew that Shane and her tormentors were coming for her once again. The sound of the heavy door opening made her heart race and she braced herself for the pain to come.
Shane and his minions entered the dungeon, their eyes gleaming with malice and cruelty. Nicole tried to muster up some courage, but the sight of them made her tremble with fear.
"Nicole, Nicole" Shane said, smirking at her. "I wonder what type of treatment you're receiving because you've suddenly gone soft. How's it that just one hit knocked you out, Nicole? He's pampering you as his slut, right? You wormed your way into his bed, didn't you?"
"Go to hell," Nicole spat.
Shane laughed, his eyes glittering with amusement. "Oh, I think you need to find out that you're already there," he said, nodding to his minions. "Get her up."
Two of Shane's minions roughly pulled Nicole to her feet, causing her to cry out in pain. She could feel the bruises and cuts on her body throbbing, and she knew that she was in for another round of t*****e.
Shane approached her, holding a silver whip in his hand. "I think you need a reminder of who's in charge here," he said, his voice low and menacing. "You remember your old friend, don't you? He missed you. Did you miss us, Nicole?"
The females around him cackled, and Nicole noticed that most of them had changed. It wasn't the same faces. She wasn't surprised, Shane used females like tissues, and tossed them away after.
He cracked the whip and Nicole felt the searing pain of the silver against her skin. She screamed as the whip hit her again and again, the silver burning into her flesh.
Because she hadn't been under any kind of t*****e for a long time, her body was tender and her flesh easily tore open as he flogged her repeatedly. Pain overwhelmed her neurons, she couldn't withstand the agony of the silver whips. Her body convulsed with each blow, tears streaming down her face.
But even as he flogged her, she knew what she feared most of all. And it was the fear that she would never escape, that she would be trapped in this dungeon forever.
The fear that Liam would never come for her, that Shane would eventually break her and she would lose herself completely as she had once done when she was with him.
Her fear and pain grew until she felt like she would explode. Her wolf whimpered within her as it tried to ease her pain. Nicole screamed as she felt herself slipping away. The whipping suddenly stopped and Shane grabbed her by her throat.
"Missed me?" He taunted, "I missed you, you know?" He sniffed her blood-matted hair, then her skin.
"You looked so good, it reminded me of the times we had together. Did you think I would ever forget you? You did a disrespectful thing by leaving me, Luna,"
A shiver of disgust crawled down Nicole's spine and her eyes shot open. She had been wrong when she said that her worst fear was Liam not saving her. Her worst fear was being touched by Shane.
She trembled in revulsion. She could take his t*****e, she could take the insults, but she never wanted Shane to touch her again. Sensing her fear, he gripped her face harder and licked it.
She gritted her teeth and whispered to herself, "I will survive this. I am strong. I will never give up. I have to survive."
Her mind was flooded with their time together, the chains he used on her, and his assaults both mentally and physically.
Nicole's mind wandered back to how he had treated her like a possession to be used and abused at his will.
He starved her for days, denying her food and water until she was weak and barely conscious. He had commanded her to do his bidding, forcing her to carry out his every whim, no matter how degrading or painful it was. Alpha Shane had a sadistic streak that ran deep and he took great pleasure in inflicting pain on those around him. He would use whips, knives, and other implements to hurt Nicole, relishing her cries of agony.
Nicole remembered the times when she had begged him to stop when she had pleaded with him to show her mercy. But he had never listened. He had always been cold, cruel, and unyielding; determined to break her spirit and make her submit to him completely. She refused to grant her s****l memories access to her mind. They tormented her night after night. Shane had used her till exhaustion.
Despite all of this, Nicole still loved him. She believed he was her mate, so she accepted whatever hell he brought. She had believed that there was a good man somewhere deep inside him, that he was simply lost and in need of someone to guide him back to the light.
But as time went on, she realized that this was a lie. Alpha Shane was a monster, through and through, and nothing she could do would ever change that. But then, she couldn't stop her loyalty and what she thought was love for him, because he was her mate. Shane laughed maniacally, "You missed me, didn't you? I know that bastard doesn't understand your kinks. He doesn't know you the way I do. How bad do you want it? You missed me, baby?"
Nicole trembled, biting her lips until she drew blood. Luckily, Shane let go of her and then smacked her again. He continued hitting her until his Beta came in with news about the pack.
As Nicole lay in the dungeon of Crimson, Nicole felt a sense of anger and betrayal wash over her. She had truly given everything to Alpha Shane, she blindly trusted that he was the one for her. Only to be treated like a piece of trash. She had trusted him, loved him and he had repaid her with pain and suffering.
Grunting in pain, she forced the memories of her time with Alpha Shane to fade away. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, but the pain was too much. So much, so that she began screaming.
She lay on the cold stone floor, her body aching and sore from the flogging and punching she had received. Her wolf was nowhere to be found. Nicole realized bitterly that she had been given a Wolf bane to weaken her wolf essence, making the t*****e even more excruciating.
Her body was on fire and she could barely move from the pain. She had never experienced such agony before and she couldn't understand why Shane hated her so much or why Shane had captured her again.
She was barely conscious now and hardly heard the door to the dungeon creak open. Nicole tensed up, tears spilt down her eyes. She already knew what was coming- another round of t*****e. Yet this time, it wasn't Shane and his females who entered the room. It was a woman she had never seen before.
The red-haired woman walked over to Nicole and stared down at her with green, cold, calculating eyes. "I'm the new Luna of Crimson," she said. "And I want you dead."
Nicole's heart sank. Why? She asked herself. If Shane had gotten a new Luna, why was he still bent on destroying her?
The Luna grabbed Nicole by the hair and dragged her out of the dungeon. She dragged her through the forest, her grip was tight and unforgiving. Nicole tried to fight back, but her weakened state made it impossible.
When they finally reached their destination, Nicole saw Alpha Shane waiting for them. His eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure as he looked at her.
"You're still alive. How wonderful. I guess we'll have to do something about that, won't we?"
A cold shiver ran down her spine. Couldn't Shane forget her? Didn't he have other victims and other things to do? Why was he so fixated on her? After all these times, she had hoped that Shane had forgotten about her. But it seemed that he was still fixated on her, still determined to break her.
"Stupid bitch, how are you still conscious?" He raged. Smacking her again, again and again.
The Luna joined in, and together they inflicted terrible pain on Nicole. She screamed and begged for mercy, but they didn't stop. They laughed and taunted her, telling her that she was weak and worthless.
Nicole's body was wracked with pain. As the t*****e continued, Nicole's hatred for Crimson grew stronger. She longed to go back to Dark Moon and Alpha Liam, where at least she had some sense of safety and protection. Why hadn't Liam come for her?
Eventually, Nicole's body could take no more. She passed out, her mind and body finally giving in.
When she woke up, she was back in the dungeon, her body covered in bruises and cuts. She felt a sense of despair wash over her. How much longer could she survive in Crimson? How much more t*****e could she endure?