Choice

Chapter Three

Tori’s POV

Blood splattered across my face, warm and thick, and my entire body froze. I was caught. There was no running anymore.

The two other women who had tried escaping were dragged back with me. One of them did not survive.

My fingers clenched tightly around the hem of my dress as I slowly turned toward the body beside me.

She was still shaking, her movements weak and uneven, blood spraying into the air every time the guard’s blade came down. I watched her struggle until she stopped moving altogether.

I had only ever seen things like this in movies. Never in real life. Tears streamed down my cheeks as the truth settled deep into my chest. This was how I was going to die, it will be slow and brutal.

I should brace up for what was about to happen to me.

A guard stepped behind me. Blood dripped from his massive sword and splashed onto my dress. My breathing grew erratic, my lips pressing into a thin line as I tried to keep myself from screaming.

He lifted the sword slightly, almost teasing, and my body trembled every time the cold metal hovered near my neck.

“Halt.”

The single word cut through the air. Everyone froze.

Heads turned toward the voice, including mine. A man strode forward with calm authority, his presence heavy, commanding. My heart slammed against my ribs.

Those eyes.

They were the same eyes. The same ones I had stabbed earlier, but they had an entire different face.

“What the hell,” I whispered under my breath.

“Let her go,” he said firmly, stopping in front of me.

The guard hesitated but lowered his sword.

“Take the others back to their rooms. The event is postponed,” the man continued, his voice steady, effortless, like he was used to being obeyed.

“Yes, Alpha Nicole,” the guards replied in unison.

Alpha.

So this was one of them. One of the monsters she had warned me about.

“Take her to the special room,” Alpha Nicole added, his gaze fixed on me. “I want to see her privately.”

My stomach dropped.

One of the guards appeared beside me in the blink of an eye. I barely had time to react before he grabbed me from behind and yanked me up roughly.

I struggled instantly, kicking and twisting in his grip, but it was useless. His hold was too strong.

“I don’t want to see any more bruises on her,” Alpha Nicole said calmly, not even looking back as he walked away.

The guard loosened his grip slightly, but not enough for me to escape.

**********

The room they locked me in was too nice. That alone scared me more than the bloodshed outside. Soft lighting, clean floors, expensive furniture. It did not look like a place meant for punishment.

What the hell were they planning to do to me? The fact that I was not placed with other girls eve made things more suspicious.

I paced the room restlessly, my thoughts spiraling. I should have stayed quiet. I should not have tried escaping.

But another part of me screamed that staying would have killed me anyway.

The door creaked slowly opened while my entire busy froze alongside my thought process. A man stood at the entrance.

My heart nearly stopped beating.

It was him. That was the same man I had stabbed.

My legs felt weak as he leaned casually against the doorframe, a slow smirk spreading across his face. The image of his blood on my hands replayed vividly in my mind.

“Hello, pretty,” he said lightly, pushing himself off the doorframe.

So this was it. He was here to kill me. I almost wished he would just do it quickly, but he looked like the person who'd rather want you to go through a slow agonising death.

“You know what I really hate?” he asked, walking toward me at an unhurried pace.

I backed away instinctively until my spine hit the wall. My heart raced violently. I had military training, but whatever he was, it was far beyond human. I could feel it.

“I hate it when women go silent,” he continued. “Especially when they have something to say.”

“I was trying to survive,” I snapped, forcing the words out even as fear tightened my throat. “I did not plan to stab you. You were in my way.”

Something flashed in his eyes. Interest.

He stopped directly in front of me, so close I could smell him. Oud. Warm and intoxicating. It confused me, made my thoughts stumble.

Before I could react, his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I struggled immediately, twisting, trying to yank free, but his grip tightened.

“Let go of me,” I hissed, pushing against his chest. “Touch me again and I will stab you properly this time.”

A low chuckle escaped him.

“I love feisty girls,” he murmured.

He pushed me harder against the wall, his strength overwhelming. I fought him anyway, kicking, shoving, refusing to go still. My pulse thundered in my ears.

“You should be on your knees begging,” he said calmly. “Yet here you are fighting.”

“I would rather die,” I shot back, my voice shaking with anger and fear.

He paused. "Imagine going throughall those stress just to beg for death in the end."

A part of him was right. I couldn’t decide if I should live or not. I was scared of dying and at the same time I think that's the way to get outof this hell hole.

Slowly, he removed the belt around his tunic and lifted his shirt.

“What the hell are you doing?” I snapped, my eyes squeezing shut. “This is sick.”

“Open your eyes,” he warned quietly. “Unless you want to die before I decide.”

I opened them.

His chest was bare, firm, marked by a wound that had almost completely healed. My eyes locked onto the spot where I had stabbed him. It barely looked real.

“You did this,” he said, pointing to it. “What punishment do you think you deserve?”

“Kill me,” I said without hesitation. “If I die here, maybe I can go back. I am not supposed to be in this place.”

He tilted my chin up with one finger, forcing me to look at him.

“I could have killed you already,” he said softly. “But I did not.”

Tears burned my eyes. “Please,” I whispered. “I just want out.”

His gaze dropped to my lips before returning to my eyes.

“You intrigue me,” he said. “The escape. The blade. The defiance. That alone makes you mine for now.”

My chest tightened.

“There is no escape for you,” he added. “Not anymore.”

I swallowed hard. “Then what are you going to do with me?”

His smirk returned, slow and dangerous.

“Let the others die,” he said casually. “And keep you.”

My blood ran cold.