Chapter Chapter Twelve - Ashley's P.O.V
I want to dedicate this chapter to the very first person to comment words of encouragement on my Instagram post, you made my day. I have never written anything in my life and to be told that you are enjoying my story had me walking around with a silly smile on my face all day. Thank you steffikins2020 xxx The world needs more people like you who lift others up xx
“Please don’t,” I pleaded desperately; I couldn’t endure any more torture. I had been bent and broken in more ways than I could scarcely conceive possible. There was nothing left of me to give; I was a twisted shell of my self that had been discarded at his whim. I could feel Callie growing weaker and weaker inside me. She couldn’t take any more wolfsbane or silver, I overwhelmingly thought with a sudden sad realisation.
For days I had tried to stay strong, Callie and I had fought with everything we possessed, but it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t physically capable of assisting but had frantically pushed all of her mental strength into me. Ultimately, it is the sole thing I believe that had kept us alive.
Oir tormentor had ruthlessly torn me down to nothing, right where he desired me to be and then when it still wasn’t enough, he had gone insane with uncontrollable fury. Our brutal end had been so close, and I had almost desired it. I practically begged for it. Somehow, I knew I had to survive, that this wasn’t where my life ended.
Alpha Dante had caught me off guard in our pack territory just after my 18th Birthday celebrations. I had snuck out of my own party as Callie had wanted to enjoy a run in the forest. How was I meant to know that a deranged Alpha, my mothers’ high school sweetheart no less, had been stalking me. He had sought revenge.
Callie and I hadn’t seen it coming.
One minute we were running happily through the forest, the next thing I remember bitterly was waking up chained in a filthy dirt floor prison with a splitting headache. My vision was blurred due to the slow trickle of blood running down my face I noted. I winched as I tried to scrub the blood away, hissing as I realised that I had been shackled in silver cuffs.
Every time I shifted my hands, the silver would bite savagely into my exposed skin and produce a slight hissing noise as it burnt through my raw flesh. I wasn’t certain how many days we had been down here or how many injuries, mentally and physically, we had sustained in the systematic abuse.
Behind me, I heard a door being opened roughly. I slowly turned around to allow myself to take in my surroundings. I knew by my predicament that I was not in a safe place nor with anyone I could trust.
Millions of nightmarish scenarios had run through my sore head in those anxious moments, none seeming to fit. What the fuck was going on, I thought desperately. Frantically I tried to reach out to Callie but received no response. It unwittingly made me shudder, realising for the first time in my life, I was alone.
Blinking back tears, I narrowed my anxious eyes in the direction of the door. In the dimly lit room, I could make out the frame of a huge male stalking towards me.
“Like what you see, baby girl”, The man teased, mirth dancing in his every word.
I desperately wanted to scream and shout at him and inform him what a huge fucking mistake he was making. Unfortunately my throat was so dry all I could manage was a small choked out squeak. Great I thought as he laughed harshly as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
“Ready to cooperate or do I need to continue with the lessons,“he purred. The sound coming from his chest had me choking on the bile rising from my dry throat. I would rather die than allow this man to touch my body ever again.
Violent images of the last 24 hours suddenly come back to me, and I doubled over, spewing up what little stomach contents I had left. In my broken state, I had erroneously thought it all a terrible nightmare.
The harsh reality was staring me in the face, however. I had indeed been kidnapped by Alpha Dante and was being held and tortured by him. I was being held like an injured bird in a cage, and I watched tensely as he stalked towards me with a large key in his calloused hand.
My eyes grew enormous with fear. I desperately tried to scramble backwards away from the door, away from the impending pain that I knew he was going to unleash on me. All too soon, I felt rough cold bars sorely pressing against my bruised back.
Utilizing them as a brace, I pushed myself up onto my feet. I swayed a little but drew myself up to my maximum height; I would not cower at his feet like a little bitch I thought with a contemptuous sneer pushing my chin higher in reckless defiance.
The action seemed to enrage the Alpha as he let out a loud warning growl and strode towards me with a menacing look in his eye. “I see you plan on defying me at every turn Ashley. I may not break you today, but I can assure you that I will break you, and you will agree to be mine,” He snarled.
I noted with horror that his wicked eyes swirled black. His wolf was fighting to come to the surface, he didn’t seem to have much of a hold on him, and I said as much. My gibe infuritate him. Shit. The last thing I recalled was Alpha Dante grasping me by the hair, tears starting to sting in my eyes. He twisted me around, pushing one calloused hand down the front of my pants. With the other hand he slammed my bleeding head forcefully into the metal bars. I had rapidly succumbed to the darkness and could only feel his hot breath on my exposed neck as he took what he wanted from me in the dark, dingy cell.
In the corner of my unconscious mind, I could hear someone willing me to wake up and could feel large hands shaking me. I instinctively let out a wail of alarm and tried to push the hands off of me. “Ashley, wake up. It’s ok, It’s me” The voice spoke close to my ear. Reluctantly opening my eyes, I realised that I was no longer trapped in my nightmare but was still in hospital, and the hands that were groping me belonged to Zac, I registered with a sigh of relief.
“Are you ok, Ashley? You were talking in your sleep?” He said with minor concern etched on his attractive face. I hated being responsible for that look, so I sat up in the small bed and cupped his face in my hands. “I am now”, I said, flashing him a beaming smile. Leaning in closer to place small kisses along his jawline. The action produced the effect I desired, and he leaned in closer, letting a purring sound escape his chest as he rubbed his face along the side of mine.
“Zac,” I said breathlessly. “Mmmhmmm”, he replied distractedly.“You had better cease what you are doing, or I won’t be responsible for what the Doctor sees when he steps in here shortly to sign my release forms”, I purred back. “I am already one step ahead of you, Ashley and have locked the door,” he said sheepishly with a chuckle while reaching up to take his t-shirt over his head. All I could do was mock scold him with a tsk tsk noise before he captured my mouth with his, taking my breath away and any dreadful thoughts of my nightmare with it.
When he finally pulled away from me, the sheepish grin on his face had turned into an absolutely feral one as he smelled my arousal. The man was insatiable, I thought darkly. And I loved him for it. It didn’t take long for either of us to discard our clothing in a frantic rush to couple. We both needed this and wouldn’t take our time; we needed to be together as one. We desperately needed to fuck hard and feel each other’s raw need for the other.
There was nothing gentle about our hurried coupling, we both quickly achieved the release that we so craved and fell into each other’s arms on the small bed. Letting out a sigh, I playfully pushed Zac off of me and made my way to the bathroom to shower and get ready for my impending release.
As much as I loved being fucked by Zac, a lot was on my mind and I had a tremendous day ahead of me. I smiled sadly at the anxious thought of tonight possibly being the last night Zac and I would be together. As if on cue, Zac entered the bathroom and told me to stop what I was thinking. I knew he was right. Nothing could influence destiny. Not even the Goddess herself. Knowing that it didn’t belong to us made my throat tight with raw emotion. Curse the mate bond, I thought bitterly, turning the shower off and stepping into the warm fluffy towel Zac held open for me.
I leaned impulsively into his embrace, feeling safe and allowed all the emotion to drain from me, I needed to be strong, so I stayed there until I was sure that it had all left my body. I pulled away from him slightly and examined his eyes with a questioning look. I overwhelmingly wanted reassurance that everything would be ok. He didn’t need to use words. He answered me with a slight nod of his head and a gentle, tender kiss on my forehead in response. I let out a shaky sigh and pulled him in tighter.
As I got dressed, I took a few steadying breaths and told myself to suck it up. Life will be whatever the Goddess saw fit for me, and I couldn’t dwell on my sorrow for too long, or I was sure I would drown in it. Turning to Zac, I asked about his personal plans for the day and informed him that I had planned to tag along. He was exasperated and replied that he was allegedly spending it in my room at the packhouse. I raised one eyebrow at him and laughed sarcastically. This was going to be a long day, I thought. The man was maddening. I did not doubt that my father had put him up to it, however.
“I will have to find something to do on my own then,” I said as I signed the last of the release forms for the Doctor. He had just entered, and begrudgingly had agreed to allow me to return home on the provision that I did not do anything too strenuous for the next fortnight. Zac just rolled his eyes at me when the Doctor said that. He knew that wasn’t going to happen. Not when we still had the rouge threat and the Blood Moonball tonight.
“Maybe I will see if Alpha Kane and Alpha Ryane need any assistance with anything then,” I said with a laugh. To my amusement, the words had the muscle in Zac’s jaw working double time. “I am certain I can find something for US to do in that case,” he replied tersely.
I quickly stepped back towards him and kissed him on the cheek, “I am just winding you up. Geez, Zac, take a chill pill,” I scolded.
Before I was discharged from the hospital, I checked out my reflection for the first time in the room’s floor-length mirror before exiting. Wincing in shock, I noted that I was covered in dark purple bruises, superficial cuts and scrapes. There was no way any amount of concealer was going to cover that amount of skin, I thought miserably. I gently lifted my t-shirt and noted that the ghastly wound to my stomach had not finished healing, and boy was it ugly. It snaked around the previous scars inflicted by Alpha Dante and was red and angry. I touched it and winced at the burning pain.
“We don’t have to attend the Ball, Ashley”, Zac said quietly beside me. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Zac. Besides, I like when you step on my toes,” I teased him gently. “Come on, let’s get the day started,” I replied impatiently, shifting the subject while pulling him towards the hospital door. Towards our destiny.
Thanks for reading, I hope you like my story thus far xx
I will post chapter updates on Instagram.
Facebook - xxitsmeimbitchesxx - Fan Club.
Instagram - xxitsmeimbitchesxx