Chapter 82 by Cara Anderson
Ch. 82 Wolf Fight
Mallory’s POV
My instincts were screaming at me to let Raven loose on the vile excuse for a wolf in front of me. The moment he’d appeared in front of me, I protectively shoved Darcy behind me. Her frightened whines, the reminder of what he’d done to her, cut me to the marrow.
Darcy and I had never been friends. To be honest, I’d never wanted to know the woman who stole all the attention of my childhood crush. But I’d been around her enough to know that she carried herself with unerring self- possession. The broken, mewling mouse she was now, to see someone so completely destroyed that they’d become a mere shadow of themselves, rocked me to my core.
“You couldn’t manage to contain a wolfless woman and a chained up piece of trash? Pathetic” Quade hissed at the Omegas cowering in the corner of the room, diverting his ire from me for the moment.
The two women bared their throats to him but refused to meet his eye. Evelyn started to open her mouth but I shot her a warning glare, hoping it would silence her explanation. Quade didn’t realize my wolf was awake and I had no desire to enlighten him.
“Forgive me, Alpha.” She stated simply. Regina emitted a whimper but said nothing.
“Get out!” He bellowed, and the Omegas scurried from the room. Ducking as they squeezed past his hulking frame in the doorway as if they anticipated his wrath to take physical form.
Reaching behind my back to grasp Darcy’s hand, I took a step back, pressing into her to force her to move with me. She grunted when I stepped on her foot but quickly backpedaled, working with me to give her tormentor a wide berth. He chuckled at our attempts to evade him when we were now securely locked in with nowhere to go.
“You let my pet off her leash without my permission.” He sneered at me. Unfortunately, I can’t let that go unpunished ”
The gleeful expression on his face told me he didn’t find it unfortunate at all. In fact, he found the idea exhilarating.
“He won’t touch us!” Raven snarled in my head, fighting to take over.
I closed my eyes, hoping he hadn’t seen the truth in them, that she was awake and feral with the need to protect our pups.
“He’s an alpha male, Raven. Don’t start a fight you can’t finish.” I warned her, forcing her to the back of my mind.
“I wonder what punishment would be most effective in teaching you your place.” He tapped his chin, the gleam in his eye revealing how much he enjoyed contemplating the possibilities.
I was more than ready to tell him what he could do with his punishment when Darcy broke free of my hold, shocking me with the strength of her reaction. She boldly leapt in front of me and growled at Alpha Quade. It was a human growl, not that of her wolf, but it promised violence all the same.
“If you want to punish someone, punish me!” She screeched at him. ” She hasn’t been here long enough to know better. I knew the rules, knew the consequences and I let her unchain me anyway! Punish me!”
“Darcy, no!” I tried pulling her behind me again but it was like plucking a cow from quicksand. She was unmoveable.
“Don’t worry pet.” He brushed his knuckles along her jaw, sending a shiver of disgust down my spine. “An hour or two with my men should suffice to remind you who you belong to.”
“What does that mean?” I shook with rage at the insinuation. “Darcy, what is he talking about?”
“Don’t worry, love. With your lust for disobedience, I’m sure they’ll get their turn with you too. But not before you wear my mark and provide me an heir. In the meantime, I’ll just have to think of something more creative.”
A knock on the door stole the Alpha’s attention and I breathed a silent sigh of relief at the diversion. Only to wish it back again the moment the door opened.
“Take her away.” He directed the two men waiting there. “She’s yours for an hour each or two hours together if you don’t mind sharing. Then put her in a cell.”
“Noooo! Let me go!” Darcy shrieked and flailed, as they dragged her away.
I jumped at the men, catching one by the arm and pouring all my strength into prying Darcy from his grasp. He shook me away easily but I wouldn’t quit, kicking him and biting the muscular flesh of his bicep when his steps faltered from my attack.
But before I could inflict enough injury to free her, I felt my feet leave the ground and the room turn upside down.
“Get the fuck out!” Quade bellowed, kicking the door shut behind them.
Defeated sobs bubbled up and spilled out as I hung limply over his shoulder. He flung me onto the bed and sneered at me in contempt. Apparently having no instinct for self-preservation, I started to berate him for his caveman- like behavior, but he hissed at me to shut up.
“What is that sound?” He grunted as if it pained him to admit he didn’t already know the answer.
“What sound? Are those psychotic voices chattering away in your head again? You really should see someone about that.” I smirked, my mouth on auto-pilot.
Quade’s face turned a bright shade of furious as he stalked toward me, squeezing my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“What did I tell you about that impudent mouth of yours?” His fetid breath blew across my face as he huffed every word.
“Hmm. Apparently I wasn’t listening. Oh well.” I shrugged defiantly.
“I.Said.Shut.Up!” He gritted out.
“And I said-” He pushed me back on the bed, stealing my breath and my words.
I expected him to climb on top of me, try to kiss me, or touch me in some other unwanted manner. But he didn’t. Instead, he leaned over me with his head hovering above my abdomen, not making contact at all. The act sent terror bursting from my chest into every cell of my body. He was listening to my babies’ heartbeats.
“Are you pregnant?” His voice was deadly cool, a calm before the storm.
“Wh-, what? No!” I denied it but the damage was done.
He’d read the truth in my eyes before I could mask the fear I harbored for my unborn pups. I could feel my wolf beating against the wall I’d erected between us. If her pups were threatened, no barrier would hold her for long.
“You fucking slut!” He wrapped his rough hand around my throat, not enough to render me unconscious but enough to make me wish I was. “You let those mutts touch what’s mine!
“I bet you took them all together didn’t you, you little whore. You like a good gangbang, don’t you? Well don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of that when I’m through with you. But we’ll have to get rid of the little spawn first.”
That was all it took for Raven to crash through the last of my tightly held control. Fur erupted on my skin and my canines lengthened. Claws tipped my fingers without my permission, but I would have summoned them anyway.
“What the-” Shock colored his features at the evidence of my wolf’s presence.
But he wasn’t afforded the privilege of speaking further. He’d underestimated my wolf, discounted the fact that she was an Alpha in her own right and recovered like one. Now, she would make him pay for the oversight.
Raven and I melded together as one, half human, half wolf. Our claws sliced through his wrist, forcing the release of our airway. He pulled back an arm with a nearly severed hand, palm and fingers dangling by a thread. A strangled cry made its way to his throat but died on his lips.
The look of unveiled hatred in his eyes followed me as I rolled off the bed and out of his reach. If I let him get his hands on me, or hand singular, as the case may be, he was going to make me hurt for what I’d done to him.
We were locked in this room together and he was the only one who could command his men to unlock it. There was nowhere to go and he knew it.
“You stupid bitch!” He approached like a lion about to pounce. “My hand will heal, but what I do to you won’t. Your precious Alphas’ pups will never take their first breath.
“I’m going to take what I need from you and there is fuck all you can do about it. Then, when you’ve outlived your usefulness, I’ll throw you to the wolves, literally. I’ll let my men use you like the dirty whore you are until you’re so dead inside you lose all will to fight.
“And just when you beg me to let you die, I’m going to toss you in a cell, keeping you alive with the memory of everything you suffered to keep you company. But don’t lose heart, little Luna. If you’re very good, I might let you out of your cell to service me from time to time.”
A murderous rage welled up within me and a violent scream reverberated through the room. I launched myself at Quade, my vision red with bloodlust. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t see. All I could do was act.
Snarls and growls filled my ears and hatred for the man who thought to own me fueled the fire in my veins. Claws sliced and teeth shredded, the smell of fresh blood permeating the air. I knew there was pain but I couldn’t feel it, so overcome by the homicidal haze I found myself in.
One moment the ferocious sounds of a wolf fight ricocheted around me and the next there was dead silence. Darkness clouded my eyes though I could have sworn the lights had been on. The sound of fists on wood echoed in the distance but my brain couldn’t reconcile that with the ominous quiet in the space around me.
I was tired. So tired. Maybe I’d already fallen asleep. Maybe I was dreaming. But before I completely succumbed to the blissful blackness consuming me, I could have sworn I heard someone calling my name.
“Mallory!” It was Colton’s voice I heard and I knew that couldn’t be right.
Yes, it had to be a dream.