"You're okay with this?" I ask as I look to Celina. Her eyes widen at my question.
"I, uh. Well... I- you, um..." she stutters as she looks to Axel for help. Being the knight in shining armor he is, Axel steps up.
"You will not question what we have chosen, Alex. If you choose to disobey, so be it. You will be taken out of the group and stay here while we go and continue on with the mission," Axel says in a voice that leaves no room for argument.
My eye twitches in anger, but I can't do anything about it because Axel is my alpha. He's the one that tells me what I can and can't do and right now, he's telling me what I can't do.
I stiffly put down Clarissa as I ball my hands into fists. I grind my teeth together and try to take deep calming breaths. Of course, it isn't working.
The silence is the room is deafening as they all wait for my answer. Celina and Callum's eyes look panicked while Axel's eyes show he couldn’t care less.
I take a deep, calming breath as I try to think of what to say. What am I supposed to say when my own alpha is telling me to let my friends die?
So, I decide to answer as honestly as I can. "Alpha, I will continue with this mission and follow your orders, but I hope you realise this comes at a price. You are asking me to stand back and watch my friends die when I could potentially help them, when I could potentially save their life. You are asking me to stand back and watch my own pack die? If I lose a friend that day when I could've saved them, I will promise you one thing... I will never forgive you and I will not be calling you my alpha."
With that being said, I calmly walk out of the room. I hear Axel's growl at the sound of my threat, but I don't care. What I said is true. If I lose a friend I could've kept alive, he doesn't have the right to be called my alpha.
7
COMRADE
I fight to keep my eyes ajar as I hear the heavy door open once again. Don't they see I've had enough? I've already been through six freaking beatings! I don't think I'll survive the next one...
Through my hardly open eyes, I see the usual guard bringing my dinner. I almost cry out in relief when I see he just dumps it and leaves.
With the little strength I have, I drag myself over to the food and greedily eat it. I'm not sure what the brown glop is, but it's better than a beating.
After finishing the glop, I drag myself back over to my rag. I try to make myself as comfy as possible, which isn't possible. I sigh as I slowly roll onto my back, wincing from the pain it causes me. At least tomorrow will be a better day...
Tomorrow's a Sunday, which means that I get my rest from the beatings, torture, questioning, everything including food. I've been going every Sunday without food for more than three years. I'm sure I'll survive.
Sunday's also a time for Kate to come down and spend most of the day with me. Since everyone's engrossed in whatever they’re doing, Kate takes the opportunity to sneak in. I think Kate's the only one that loves me anymore. Not Celina, not Axel, and not Callum. Kate. Kate's the only one that loves me and I'm ok with that.
With that happy thought on my mind, a really rare thought mind you, I drift into a dreamless sleep.
"Comrade? Comrade, wake up,” a soft voice says into my ear. I mumble and roll over, not ready to be woken up.
The voice giggles while a small hand shakes me awake. "Come on, Comrade,” the voice says again.
I groan, but open my eyes anyway. I'm met with Kate's hazel eyes that are shining with happiness.
"Comrade!" she speaks as she pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around her as much as I can; I'm still hurting a bit.
Kate pulls back with a wide smile, that's before she sees my state. Her eyes widen in shock and a small gasp escapes her ajar lips.
I sigh as I try to calm her. "Kate, it's ok. I'm fine. Don't start worrying," I beg her in a small voice.
Tears fall from her eyes as she slowly traces a finger around the bruise near my eye. I'm surprised I didn't have a black eye... I guess I should be thankful, though. If I had a black eye, Kate would be feeling a whole lot worse.
"Did Dad do this to you?" she questions quietly. I shake my head and her face fills with relief. I won't mention that he caused the bruise around my eye and a few other bruises, because I really don't want to worry her. She doesn't deserve to see her so-called dad as a killer; she's too sweet for that.
Kate suddenly gets all excited as her eyes light up and a big grin spreads across her face. I raise an eyebrow at her questioningly.
"I overheard something my dad was saying a few days ago,” she begins while leaning closer to me, like she's telling a secret. I motion for her to continue with my hand.
"I only caught bits and pieces, but what I did hear was something important, if my dad's tone was anything to go off. He said that they're coming, that they're preparing and he needs to get the pack ready,” she whispers to me, excitement lacing her voice.
I become completely still and emotionless. They're coming? Does that mean... no? No! I will not get my hopes up! It could be anyone! I will not get my hopes up believing that Celina, Axel, and Callum are coming for me. I just won't...
"It's probably nothing Kate, just let it go," I mumble as I move away from her. She frowns at me, her excitement replaced by confusion.
"Aren't you happy, Comrade? This is what you've been asking me for the past two years and you just shut out? You're not even a little bit hopeful that your friends are coming for you? Don't you care?" Kate asks me with disappointment in her voice.
Do I care? Do I really care that my friends, on a very slim chance, may be coming to rescue me? Do I really care? The answer to that question is... no. I don't care. I stopped caring a long time ago.
I shake my head at Kate and mutter in a deadly tone, "I stopped hoping a long time ago, Kate. My supposed friends haven't even made an appearance for three years. What difference would it make now? Why would I care now?"
She stays quiet at my question, just like I thought she would. I look up into her hazel eyes and all I see is disappointment, sadness, and pity.
"I feel sorry for you, Comrade” she whispers as she backs away from my cell and stands back up. "You deserve better than this, so much better." With that being said, Kate walks away and closes the heavy door behind her.
I sigh and bury my face in my hands. As much as I hate to say this, I know I'm right. Celina, Axel and Callum could've come for me a long time ago, so why choose now? Why now, of all the times I've hoped they'd come? Why now?
Later that night, the same guard comes to bring me my food. I greedily eat it up as the guard stands there, waiting for me to finish. He doesn't usually do that...
"That's right, you pathetic pup. Eat up, you'll need the energy,” he tells me darkly with a sinister grin on his face. I narrow my eyes at him and growl low in my throat.
He just laughs at me and walks off, leaving the door open. By this point, I'm very confused, mainly for two reasons. The first one is that guards never stay to watch me eat; they usually just leave and collect my plates the next morning. The second reason is that never, in my whole time being here, has someone left the door open. I could easily escape if I could get through these bars, but I can't sadly.
I stay perfectly still as I just watch the door with anticipation. Something has to be happening if a guard leaves the door open... It would have to be on alpha's command, meaning that Damon has a surprise in store for me. Oh joy...
Not five minutes later, I hear the laughter of many, as a dozen or so shadows appear near the door's entrance. I stiffen as I catch the scent of alcohol. They've been drinking… a lot.
I've encountered this a few times, Damon and his buddies, if you can even call them that. They get drunk every once in a while and they find it fun to let out all their frustration on me. I spend a lot more time in the torture room when that happens...
I close my eyes to keep myself calm for a moment. Breathe Comrade, breathe. As I hear their drunken laughter come closer, I shrink away into the shadows
of my cell.
Damon laughs as he approaches it and fumbles with the keys for a moment, before finally unlocking my cell.
"Here, Comrade! Come on! Time to come out and play!" he taunts as he makes his way farther into my cell. All the men behind him erupt into laughter, like it's the funniest thing they've ever heard.
Damon wobbles on his feet slightly and clutches at the bars of my cell to keep him steady. How pathetic. I then make the mistake of scoffing, ever so quietly. My eyes widen when I see Damon's eyes snap directly in my direction. A sly smirk appears on his face as he advances towards me.
Oh... Shit.
"Well, well, well, Comrade, I didn't find you as the hiding type,” he snarls as he grabs me around the neck and throws me towards the men's anticipating arms.
I growl as they grip my arms, legs, ankles, and neck. I try to break free, but they all just laugh and make their way towards the dreaded torture room.
At the first chance they get, they chain me up in the same place Damon did a few weeks back. I growl and snarl as I struggle against the chains, the men still laughing at me.
I stop struggling when Damon comes in, glaring a hole in his head while he just smirks evilly.
"Do you want to know a secret, Comrade?" Damon taunts as he walks towards me ever so slowly. I growl in response, to which he chuckles. "I'll take that as a yes,” he mumbles as he suddenly grips my neck in a deathly manner, only leaving the most minimal space for me to breathe air into my lungs.
"All your friends, they never loved you,” he continues. I struggle against his hold while he tightens his grip slightly at my movement. "Callum, he hates you. He hates you because it's his job to protect Celina, not yours. You were just a waste of space. Then Axel never wanted you near his mate. He wanted to kill you the first chance he got. You know what? He almost succeeded, but I stepped in to finish the job." He releases a chuckle at that.
His eyes snap back to my own flaming ones. I'm beyond mad. How dare he accuse them of those horrid things! He doesn't know jack shit about them! All he ever wanted to do was kill them! He still wants to, for crying out loud!
"Now, don't even get me started on Celina."
I freeze at his words as my anger bubbles to the surface. For the first time in years, I feel my wolf. He's only lingering at the surface, but he's there, all right!
"She never wanted you as a guardian!” he seethes in my ear. I suppress the growl that’s trying to make its way out of my throat, he's lying. "She never even liked you, she hated you. You were a waste of space when you were with them and they want you to be replaced."
"You're lying," I whisper in anger, but Damon continues on as his little buddies take a hold of almost every single torture toy in the room.
"You wonder why she hasn't come for you yet? It's because she doesn't love you. Never has, never will. To her, you're dead. She's never gonna come for you. Never. She's a lost cause now and it's all because I snatched you from under her nose!” he snarls in my face.
I clench my teeth in utter fury as my body starts to shake uncontrollably. He's lying. He's lying! I may not have hope, but I know that Celina would never think that. Ever! Or would she? I shake my head. Now he's got me double guessing myself!
I growl loudly as I feel that my wolf wants me to shift, but I can't. I'm too weak and that thought just makes my anger intensify. Damon made me like this! He brought this onto me!
I thrash around as I try and get loose of the chains. Damon and his buddies all laugh at me. I release an almighty roar at them, their laughter just becomes louder. This resulted in me becoming angrier.
"You wanna know another secret, Comrade?" Damon asks, all laughter gone from his tone, only seriousness left.
I stop thrashing to narrow my eyes into slits. He will not insult me again.
"I don't want to hear anything from you!" I snarl back at him as I spit in his face. He raises his eyebrows as he wipes the spit away. The next second, I'm being backhanded across the face.
My head snaps to the side and I clench my jaw tighter in aggravation. I will not let him get the better of me. He gets the pleasure of torturing me three days a week; I will not give him a fourth.
"Oh no, I think you'll want to hear this one,” he says with a grin. I glare at him, but his grin just grows."You're familiar with my adopted daughter, Kate."
I stiffen at the disgust in his voice as he says ‘adopted’. What's he getting at?
"I hardly know her," I lie straight through to my teeth as I say that.
Damon lets out a dark chuckle at my confession. "Bullshit you hardly know her! You don't think I didn't know she's been coming down here to talk to you for the last two years? Do you really think I'm that stupid?" he screams in my face. By this time, all Damon's 'buddies' have left. Only leaving Damon and I alone.
I become frozen as Damon's words register in my mind. He knows. He knows about Kate coming down to see me. She was so sneaky though and I never said a word. I didn't even hint it!
"I told you, I hardly know the freaking girl!" I scream back at him, deciding to play dumb. He snarls and narrows his eyes at me.
"Don't play dumb with me, Comrade. I know everything that happens in this pack house and Kate coming down to see you is one of them,” he says in a voice that sends goose bumps down my spine.
"I told you, I don't know the girl. Hell! She's your daughter! Why would she come to see me?" I spit in distaste, obviously lying. Damon doesn't have to know that though... Kate's the closest thing I have to a friend. I'll be damned if Damon gets to her.
"Daughter? Daughter! She's not my freaking daughter! The only reason why I adopted her was because Phyre wanted a child! If it was up to me, I wouldn't have adopted one!" he confesses in anger. I stare at him emotionless. Honestly, his confession doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
"So, what do you say about me bringing her down here? Give her a taste of what you go through, hmm?" he asks with a smirk as he circles me.
I growl on my own accord. No one deserves what I'm going through, whether it's Kate or my guards, no one deserves this. On the other hand, Damon seems like a pretty good applicant.
"Ah, so you defend her now? What was that you were saying about not knowing her?" Damon taunts as he stops in front of my face. I snarl and bare my teeth to him.
"No one deserves what you're inflicting on me. Only you deserve this, no one else," I tell him. If possible, I swear I see a flame ignite in his eyes. He's mad. Very mad.
"Still not confessing huh? Fine!" Damon says with a new tone to his voice before practically sprinting out of the torture room.
I sigh as I let my tense muscles relax and my head to drop forward. I'm so weak, it makes me sick.
Just as I thought I'm going to get peace, Damon storms back in. To my horror, he's not alone. With his hand clutched around her shirt, Damon throws Kate roughly to the floor.
I swallow hard as I see her eyes fill with tears. I will not break. Kate looks up at me as a single tear slips down her cheek. I silently send her a look with my eyes to keep quiet. She nods slightly, telling me she understands.
"So, Comrade, still don't know her?" Damon asks with a certain look on his face. I look away from Kate to see Damon looking straight at me.
"No!" I growl. His eyes twitch in anger, and then, he does something I never thought he would do.
"Maybe I'll just have to... force it out of you." A sadistic grin forms on his face as I prepare myself for whatever he's gonna throw at me.
Then, to my horror, Damon turns to Kate and backhands her right across the face. I stare shocked as tears fall from Kate's eyes while Damon keeps the same sadistic grin on his face.
I growl loud, causing Damon to smirk at me. That's low, even for him. Never would I have thought that Damon would hit Kate like he did. That's just... cowardly.
"Just admit it already! This bitch had been coming down here to talk to you! The pathetic little pup that she sees as a weakling. You make me sick."
I snarl at
Damon's words. Damn him! Damn him to the bloody ends of the earth!
The next few hours are unmentionable. The torture he inflicts upon me is nothing compared to the torture he inflicts upon Kate. When he finally gets the decency to leave, me being out of my chains, I rush to Kate and cradle her head in my lap.
Silent tears fall down her face, as she struggles to keep her eyes open. I grind my teeth and ball my hands into fists to stop myself from running after that bastard. Does he have no shame? Does he even have a heart?
"I'm sorry, Comrade. I'm so sorry," Kate whispers as more tears fall. I wipe them away, being careful of the bruising all over her face.
"Don't be sorry, Kate. You don't have to be. I'm sorry I got you in this mess. I promise, if what you say is true, about Celina, Axel, and Callum coming, I promise to take you with me. I promise," I whisper to her as she closes her eyes and falls into a motionless sleep.
I will get my revenge on Damon, for everything he's ever done. This isn't just about me now. He's hurt every single person ever close to me and now it's my turn.
8
COMRADE
The next few days are miserable. Instead of picking on me, Damon starts picking on Kate. I don't know how much longer she'll survive. She doesn't know how to cope with this. The worst part is that, I don't even know what he's doing to her! She just comes back to the cell battered, bruised, and she won't tell me anything. Most of the time, she falls asleep from exhaustion.
Damon's given up questioning me about Celina since he believes I know nothing. I haven't seen the torture room since that night. I shudder at the thought of it. I feel sorry for Kate though; she's seen it a lot lately.
"Get in there, girly! You're done for the day!" Mr. Crusher, yes Mr. Crusher, says while he throws Kate back into the cell. I quickly rush to her side and cradle her head in my lap. I growl at Mr. Crusher as he walks out. I hear his laugh before the door is slammed shut.
Forgotten, Saved, Loved: A Werewolf Story (Nightfall Book 2) Page 5