A Bad Dream

+ Medora

"That was so close! Oh, my goddess."

I pressed my back flat against the door of my bedroom. My chest heaved. I dragged sharp, painful gasps of oxygen into my burning lungs. The metal flashlight shook violently in my grip. I clicked the button, and the light died. 

The darkness swallowed the room, but the pitch black was a million times better than the pale sliver of moonlight spilling from Kaz's study.

I heard him.

The rough, ruined sound of my own name scraping out of his throat. It sounded like an animal tearing apart a cage.

My brain scrambled to process the information. It was too massive. It was too dangerous. So my survival instinct took over and completely lied to me. 

I told myself it was just a bad dream. A hallucination built by the house and my own exhaustion. I was definitely sleepwalking. None of it was real. A ruthless Alpha wouldn't say my name like that. He wouldn't sound like he was in actual pain over it.

I dropped the flashlight onto the floor. It rolled away and hit the wall with a dull thud.

I crawled onto the massive bed and burrowed deep under the thick grey fur blankets. I kept my heavy boots on. I stared up at the invisible ceiling. I was sure I would stay awake until the morning sun hit the window glass. 

I didn't. My body gave out entirely, and I fell asleep.

The dream didn't waste a single second. It dropped me straight into the freezing mountain woods.

Sharp pine needles dug deep into my bare knees. The heavy, metallic smell of fresh blood choked the air. Kaz stood directly over me. His large hands were completely coated in it. He didn't have his thick black sweater on. Just bare skin and absolute violence raging in his dark eyes.

He stepped closer. My wrists were tied. Thick, coarse rope burned my skin, binding my hands tight to a massive pine trunk. I couldn't move. I couldn't shrink away or make myself small. I was trapped.

Kaz leaned down. His jaw brushed the sensitive skin of my neck.

"Medora," he whispered.

It wasn't a sweet sound. It wasn't the whisper from the hallway. It was a promise of destruction.

"I'm going to breed you dry," he rasped into my ear. His breath was cold against my sweating skin. "I'll use every single inch of you. And when I'm done, I'll kill you and toss you right into the dirt with the rest of the trash."

He reached his bloody hand up and wrapped his thick fingers entirely around my throat.

I shot up in bed.

My lungs gasped for air that wasn't there. I tangled my legs in the heavy fur blankets, lost my balance, and crashed straight onto the floorboards.

I lay there on the cold wood. My whole body shivered uncontrollably. Cold sweat stuck my shirt directly to my spine. The cast iron radiator hummed quietly in the corner, throwing actual heat into the room, but my teeth chattered anyway. It took me a full minute to remember how to breathe normally.

I crawled across the rug to the small bathroom attached to my bedroom. I gripped the edges of the white porcelain sink and looked up into the mirror.

I looked like a ghost.

Massive, bruised purple circles dragged down the thin skin under my eyes. My face was completely pale, drained of all colour. My hair was a tangled, wild mess of static and sweat. I looked exactly like a girl waiting for the gallows.

A loud knock rattled my bedroom door.

I jumped. My shoulder slammed hard into the wooden doorframe. I grabbed a hand towel, wiped my wet face, and walked slowly across the bedroom. Every single step felt like walking through thick, sticky concrete. I reached the door, unlocked the heavy latch, and pulled it open.

Kenzo stood in the hallway.

He wore a light grey sweater and a casual, easy smile. The smile vanished the exact second he looked at my face. He actually recoiled. His broad shoulders hitched backwards. A visible shiver ran down his arms.

"Whoa," Kenzo breathed out. He looked at my sunken eyes. He looked at my pale, cracking lips. "Did you have a bad morning?"

I gave him a slow, stiff nod.

"I want to sit out breakfast," I whispered. My voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. It sounded like dry autumn leaves being crushed under a boot. "Please."

Kenzo shook his head. The casual, teasing energy completely evaporated from his posture. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"No chance," he said. His voice was firm. There was no room for negotiation in his tone. "I warned you about the rules yesterday. Six o'clock is six o'clock. You don't skip meals here." He paused, his eyes tracking the hollow, exhausted look in my cheeks. "If you want to keep a healthy body for a child, you have to eat."

Child.

A hard, violent shiver wrecked my spine. The word echoed right back to the freezing mud in my nightmare. Breeding. Using. Discarding. I wrapped my arms tight around my own stomach.

Kenzo watched me flinch. He let out a quiet, heavy sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll give you a moment to fix yourself up," he said. He took a deliberate step back into the long hallway to give me space. "Wash your face. I'll wait right here to escort you downstairs."

I didn't argue. Arguing with executioners was dangerous.

I shut the door. I walked back to the bathroom and splashed freezing water on my cheeks. I ran a heavy wooden brush through my tangled hair until it lay flat. I didn't bother changing into nice clothes. I just put on a thick, oversized gray sweater to hide as much of my body as possible. I wanted to be invisible.

I opened the door. Kenzo nodded once and led the way toward the main staircase.

We walked down the wide wooden steps. My boots felt like they weighed fifty pounds each. The rich smell of sizzling bacon and dark roasted coffee drifted up from the main floor. It made my rolling, anxious stomach clench tight.

I stayed three steps behind Kenzo. I kept my eyes fixed entirely on the knit pattern of his gray sweater. I just wanted to get in, eat a single piece of dry toast, and run straight out the front door to the waiting SUV for school. I assumed the massive dining room would be mostly empty. It was too early for all of them to be awake.

Kenzo pushed the heavy oak dining room doors open.

I stepped inside.

The room wasn't empty. It was completely full.

Kol sat by the frosted window. He held a ceramic mug in both hands, staring out at the falling snow. Kai sat on the left side of the long wooden table. He was busy piling eggs and meat onto a massive ceramic plate.

I shrank instantly. I took a quick, panicked step to the right. I tried to hide myself directly behind Kenzo's tall frame.

It didn't work.

Kaz sat right at the head of the massive table.

He wore a dark button-down shirt. The cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, exposing thick, heavily scarred forearms. He wasn't eating. He wasn't looking at his brothers.

His dark, heavy eyes were locked entirely on me.

He watched me step out from behind Kenzo's trail. His stare dug straight through my PJ sweater and pinned me to the floor.

My lungs locked up. The memory of his rough, groaning voice in the dark hallway slammed directly into my skull.

Oh my goddess, how do I escape this now?! Does he know?