When she and her sister realized the nightmare, Sophie had begged one of their guards to help them, and he and played along with her, gaining her trust. After all the medical testing was completed, he showed her the error of her ways by explaining to the Overseer, in explicated detail, exactly what she had planned and how she wanted him to help her achieve it. That was the first time she had witnessed the change.
The Overseer had laughed and taunted her, saying that she could leave anytime she wanted, but Carley would be staying with them for the rest of her life. When Sophie had protested, saying this was a free world, and he couldn’t do that, he hit her, still laughing.
“Silly girl, didn’t anyone ever teach you to never take candy from a stranger? You walked right in here, agreeing to my terms.”
“Your terms never said anything about medical testing or captivity. You offered a safe place for us to live and sleep, with food we wouldn’t have to beg for; in return, you only asked that we do a few simple tasks for you.”
“Oh, you naïve girl, you never asked what those tasks entailed, did you? I have provided you with shelter, clothing, and food, and you will provide me with whatever I ask. Well, not you, but your sister.”
Sophie would never forget the look of lust in his eyes.,
“You’re a monster!” she yelled, slapping him.
The bastard still laughed with the guard standing by his side doing the same.
“Jason,” the Overseer said, “I think it’s time we showed Sophie exactly what a monster is, don’t you?”
When both men shifted in front of her eyes; Sophie had fallen to the floor. The Overseer had changed into a large bear, but he looked like he had mange. His fur was matted, missing in spots, and the skin beneath it looked scaly and damaged. The guard, Jason, shifted into a massive crocodile, at least that’s what she thought, he could have been an alligator.
The beasts then attacked, knocking her around, hitting her hard, but not breaking the skin. Sophie realized they were playing with her. As she laid on the floor battered and bruised, they shifted back. Sophie tried to move, but her body and fear wouldn’t allow it, so she cried. Sophie had cried for all that she’d seen and all that had happened. But that was the last time their laughter at her state humiliated her, Sophie learned to never show them weakness again.
That was also the first time she was injected with the serum to heal her. The stuff burned, but as the Overseer told her, it would heal her body, so she was ready to play again. Sophie couldn’t remember how many times she had been injected with the stuff.
Still walking, Sophie noticed that the decor was starting to change. The hall where her room was located was utilitarian, but now they were walking down a lavish hallway. Thick reds and golds, brocade carpet decorated the floor. The walls were in a complementary cream with dark wainscoting on the bottom. Beautiful sconces and paintings adorned the walls every few feet. It was beautiful, so not what she was used to seeing, making her wonder exactly where she was.
As the two of them got closer to the end of the hall, Sophie’s nerves started to get the better of her. She stared at the ornately carved, heavy wood, double doors and knew what was behind them. Pain, humiliation, evil. The woman stopped Sophie’s momentum with a hand on her shoulder before she opened the door.
“You’ll wait here while I see if the Master is ready for you.” Sophie nodded once giving her accent.
When she came back holding a collar and leash, Sophie didn’t even bother to acknowledge the woman in any way. Averting her eyes to the floor, she waited while the woman first fastened the collar on her neck and then the leash to the collar, letting it fall between Sophie’s breasts.
“The Master is busy at the moment, but has requested your presence at his feet. When his business has concluded, your lessons will begin.” The woman gripped her shoulder in a sign of support, but Sophie knew better than to trust it. This woman was willingly working with these beasts. To her own dismay, Sophie realized, in a sense, so was she. Sophie wondered if one of the woman’s loved ones were being kept, as Sophie’s were. The woman opened the door.
“I’ll come back to get you once your lessons are complete.” The woman left, walking back down the hall.
Sophie kept her eyes to the ground, only briefly looking up to see the direction she needed to walk and to look for any obstacles in her way. She had learned over the years to make quick assessments, listening to the nasally voice of The Master or Williams. That man would never be her master. She walked his way quickly and kneeled at his feet. He paid absolutely no attention to her that was until he stepped closer and kicked her out of the way.
Sophie had expected it; the man was cruel. She didn’t react in any way other than to correct her position. William was having a heated conversation with someone.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Tobias, he won’t answer my calls. He hasn’t been to this damn Club in a few months. What would you like me to do, drag him here? Wouldn’t that defeat our purpose? Grabbing Sophie’s braid, William yanked her head back brutally as he continued to talk on the phone.
“Maybe you should have sent me something prettier to entice him, not your left overs mongrels.” When William released her hair, he added a little extra push causing Sophie to slump on the floor. She hated this man as much if not more than she hated the Overseer.
Correcting her position once again, Sophie waited and listened. She had learned knowledge was power with these people, and the more she collected, the better off she and Carley would be once they finally got away.
William bumped into her once again, his agitation with the phone call causing him to lash out. This time though she managed to stay in position. As he started pacing, she knew that wouldn’t be the case for long.
“I think we need to change the terms of our agreement. If you expect this thing to attract a man like Ethan Lord, then she should at least know how to fuck. He isn’t going to accept her as a Sub if she doesn’t have at least one thing going for her.”
Sophie didn’t like those words; if the man of the other end of the phone said William could fuck her, she knew she would never be the same. After all that she had been through, all that she had done, the thought of having that man inside her body repulsed her.
“No, William screamed, you don’t get it. This is a sex club that means he’s going to expect to have sex with her, and she is as cold and dull as a fish. What you’re asking for is impossible. We should just take him in like Krueger and using him for his seed.”
Sophie heard the swish of the air and the crack before of the whip hit her back. Shit, that hurt.
“As you wish, but don’t come back to me when this all goes to hell. At least the mongrel has one thing going for her, she marks well. Maybe that will be enough to divert Lord’s attention from her lack of anything else. I’ve heard he is a sadist, after all.” The second lash of the whip was expected, so even though it hurt, she was more prepared for the pain.
William was a revolting man, heavily muscled and greasy was the best way she could describe him. He reveled in inflicting pain, insisted that her training, as he put it, was essential to meeting her goal. He spent hours teaching her high protocols as he called them. How to kneel correctly, how to act submissive, and how to accept the pain he offered as punishment for even the slightest infraction. Her only saving grace was he was forbidden by the Overseer to ever touched her sexually.
If she made even the slightest error, he punished her, often telling her mongrels didn’t deserve lenience. Hell, it wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before under the Overseer. Mongrel was a common term amongst his team of thugs. There were other words, but that was the one that stuck, the one constant Sophie would be surprised if they even knew her name.
The words didn’t bother her anymore. Sophie learned a long time ago to let them roll right off her back. If this little slug of a man thought he could humiliate or inflect some kind of lesson on her, he was sadly mistaken. She played the part required of her,
the one she was very familiar with; hell, at times it felt like this submissive act was one she had been made to play.
Sophie had no idea how long her training had been going on, but her body was sore and ached all over. William hadn’t gone easy on her, using his whip, flogger, and cat on her back and legs. When those implements didn’t get the reaction he wanted, he switched to the canes, knives, and needles. Her body was littered with cuts and puncture wounds, bruises and welts. Sophie was close to passing out when he finally decided to stop, kicking her one last time and leaving her alone in the room.
Chapter 7
Ethan couldn’t believe what he was seeing on the monitor. The woman he had been so drawn to before was kneeling before a man accepting the abuse he was inflicting on her without even the slightest protest. She continued to kneel in the slave position, her arms stretched out before her, one draped over the other, her forehead on the ground, on her knees with her ass in the air. Every time he knocked her down, she got right back into position.
This was not BDSM, this was abuse, plain and simple. There was no pleasure in what he just witnessed and it sickened him. When the man pulled out the knives and needles, he had to turn off the monitor. Going to the bedroom, he dressed in his normal club attire, black leather pants and a black t-shirt. He still had several hours before the Club would be open, but he needed to be close to the woman; his bear wanted the blood of the man who had been wielding that whip, so did Ethan.
Ethan couldn’t keep the woman out of his mind as he drove from the cabin to Free. As the man abused her, she hadn’t shed a single tear, her face remained blank. What has she been through that accepting what was being done to her body didn’t even warrant a flinch? It pissed him off, not only was he mad at the man who had been abusing her, but he was mad at her. Why would she accept that kind of treatment? Didn’t she know that Subs held all the power? Why hadn’t she safe worded out? Then again, why had the monitors allowed, even watched the man’s treatment of the woman?
Ethan drove around the area for hours trying to pull himself together enough to enter the Club. When it was closer to evening and the typical time the Club would start getting visitors, he pulled into the driveway, stopping at the gate he entered his code. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered him, but putting his code in allowed whoever was inside an advantage, and Ethan didn’t like that one bit. He noticed the lack of cars; on a typical Club night, the parking lot would be packed with cars and today, other than his own, there were only about ten cars.
Pulling out his phone, he called Jacks, this time he didn’t wait for his Alpha to say anything.
“I’m at the Club, things aren’t adding up here. Can you have Wyatt and Peyton review the security feeds and pull the backlog? I want to know exactly when Lucas went missing.”
“Will do. Anything else?”
“Yeah, I just parked. Guess how many cars are in the lot?”
“What? It’s Thursday night, there should be a packed house.”
“That’s what I thought, but there are only about ten cars in the lot, including mine. What do you make of that?”
“Nothing good. Listen set your watch, I don’t want you in there for more than an hour. Max didn’t have anyone in the area, but Matthias said he was close by. If I don’t hear from you within sixty minutes, I’m having him come and find your ass. Don’t let the red bottoms and toys distract you.”
“For some reason, I don’t think that will be a problem, this time. Give me five and start your countdown.”
“Roger.”
Ethan hung up. Pulling the visor down, he looked at himself in the mirror, and quickly decided he needed to wear his sunglasses. His bear hadn’t calmed at all since seeing the woman on the surveillance feed. Shit, he wondered what the beast would do if he got an up close and personal view. Once out of the car, he adjusted his clothes, smoothing his shirt. Feeling his neck, he smiled. These fuckers might think he was coming in without weapons, but that was never the case. Ethan had lots of tricks up his sleeves.
Going through the doors, he went directly to the reception desk and presented his membership card. He normally wouldn’t have done that, but he didn’t recognize the man behind the desk and wanted to test him. Ethan had VIP access to the Club, once his code was put in at the gate, his obligation was complete, he could go anywhere without question.
“Good evening, Master Ethan, it’s good to see you again.”
Ethan didn’t really like the formal titles the club often pushed, he was happy with a Sir or Mr. Lord. Master was something a person earned individually, not something given so freely. Cocking his head, nodding slightly, he acknowledged the small man behind the desk, taking a second trying to remember if he’d seen him before. He hadn’t, so how did this person know who he was? Ethan came to the club as often as he could, but not as often as he would like. Work, life, and his Shifter genetics prevented him from being a permanent fixture anywhere. To many variables came into play; his slow aging, strength, and Shifter tells—his eyes, body, and teeth had a way of making their presences known in extreme emotional situations, and what was more emotional than sex?
That was one of the reason’s he liked Free; since it was Shifter owned and run, he didn’t have to hide his Shifter attributes as readily as he did in normal human interactions. If the beast started to respond and show, a monitor or member would step in, allowing him the time he needed to get himself back under control. For Ethan, those times rarely came, but he had watched as others struggled between the beast and the human sides of themselves.
He loved the dominance, the rough-and-ready sex he could get at the club without questions asked. He craved the feel of his hand landing on a willing woman’s ass while he spanked her into submission, pushing that fine line between pleasure and pain. His brothers often called him a sadist, but that wasn’t really the truth, he enjoyed causing pain, but not to the extent some of them believe. He enjoyed testing his limits, controlling his beast; Shifters were stronger than the average man, and he always needed to stay in control. Being a sexual dominate in this type of situation helped him control the beast in everyday situations. Stifling the beast’s nature made him a stronger man.
Shaking his head and chuckling to himself, he thought, yeah, that’s all it was, a test, but the truth was he loved a submissive woman. He had honed his skills over the years and was quite proud of his accomplishments. He also loved sex, rough and dirty, and the formality of the club. Submissives knelt at his feet waiting for his instructions, knowing they would be rewarded with pleasure for their compliance. It was a rush. He cherished his time at the club, it brought him perspective and let the outside world and worries stay outside the doors for a little while.
“Master Ethan?”
“Oh, sorry man, long week. It’s good to see you as well,” Ethan greeted, not wanting to tip his hat. “What does Master Lucas have planned for tonight’s activities?” Feigning an interest that he didn’t really feel, wanting to put the small man at ease. He was here for one thing and one thing only.
The little man preened at his attention. Ethan could tell the man was a submissive. Ethan knew he had a reputation, but this man’s needs would not be met by him. Ethan wasn’t into men, submissive or otherwise.
“Master Lucas has an excellent surprise for you, Master Ethan, a new subby has been asking for you personally for weeks. He had placed her in the blue room to await your arrival.”
Interesting Ethan thought, no one had known he was coming here tonight except for Jackson. He also knew that Lucas wasn’t and hadn’t been around. Concluding this must be the work of the new Dom in Residence, Ethan decided to pry a little, see what he could find out.
“That was nice of Master Lucas. Will I be seeing him tonight to thank him for my gift?”
“Oh, Master Ethan,” the man avoided his question like a pro, stating instead, “she is just lovely, tiny, beautiful body, and just the sweetest thing. She’s been asking for you for weeks now.” The tiny man leaned
in to whisper conspiratorially, “You know how the subbies like to talk. She wanted the best for her first experience, and you came highly recommended, all the girls just love you,” the little man giggled. “Even some of the boys,” he said batting his eyelashes in what Ethan thought was a creepy way, but the little man probably thought was seductive. His diversion tactics were sound if Ethan had been another man.
“Is Master Lucas in tonight?” Ethan asked, getting annoyed. “I would like to speak with him before I meet this new little sub?”
“Oh no, Master,” the little man giggled, “this is his date night with Lilly. Master William is in charge tonight, but Master Lucas left explicit instructions.”
Ethan wanted to fume he damn well knew that Lucas wasn’t going anywhere with this Lilly. Hell, he didn’t even know anyone by the name of Lilly, but this conversation gave him somewhere to look, at least. He hoped he would find much more speaking to other members.
“Well, it looks like I have a new subby to meet, have a good night.”
“Oh, thank you, Master, you as well.”
Ethan walked through the reception area to the big double doors. The place looked the same as it always did, a large ornate mahogany bar was off to the left, a dance floor, usually teeming with people, was to the right. Several stations for low-key play were scattered around the expansive room, smooth leather chairs and sofa’s bracketing them.
The adrenaline rush he usually got upon entering Free’s inner sanctum was gone this time and his most prevalent feeling was apprehension of what was to come. Using his senses, he noticed they were again dulled, and the chemical tinge to the air reminded him of what he had smelled while checking out Lucas’s quarters. Ethan took a seat at the bar and waited for the bartender to greet him, it didn’t take long considering there was hardly anyone else in the building.
“What can I get for you, Master Ethan?” The man serving as bartender wasn’t someone Ethan had met before, he was older, stocky but still fit, and a shifter. His dulled senses at least picked up that much. His bear was surprisingly calm, another shock. The beast within him should have been putting up quite the fuss at an unknown predator being within feet of him, be he was as calm as an overfed puppy.
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 110