Chapter 5 — Bitter Encounter

AURORA

I glanced at Draven as he lingered by my door, frowning at his words.

“What do you mean by that? Why do you keep saying it?” I asked, genuinely curious.

He shrugged casually, though his golden eyes glimmered. “Because I mean it. You’re the woman of my dreams.”

I scoffed, looking away. More like the woman he could torment until I became his nightmare. I swallowed the words and clutched the pile of clothes he had shoved into my arms.

When Draven left, I let out a shaky breath. The fabric in my hands dragged me back to memories I’d rather bury.

Veronica, my father’s wife, had once forced me to scrub clothes until my hands bled, pretending she was grooming me to be a perfect wife. In truth, she enjoyed making me suffer.

When I’d complained, Father dismissed me as dramatic. I shouldn’t have been surprised when he sold me. He hadn’t defended me then, why would he start now?

Anger burned hot in my chest, but I blinked away the tears. None of them deserved my tears. Clutching the clothes, I stepped into the hallway, wondering where they even washed things here.

Did werewolves have some ritual for cleaning? Or was it just as simple as water and soap? Their clothes looked human enough, though the fabric radiated warmth, as though it was alive. It was very strange.

I kept my gaze sharp as I walked, mentally tracing possible escape routes. If I ever had a chance, I needed to know where to run. But every corridor felt like a cage.

The silence was broken by a scream. A sharp, high-pitched wail from the far end of the hall.

I froze. My first instinct was to walk away, to pretend I hadn’t heard. But the scream came again, and the voice sounded familiar.

“Damn it,” I muttered, hurrying toward the sound.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

One of the pack guards had a human girl pinned against the wall. It was the same girl who had helped me to my feet when I first arrived, after the wolves had beaten me down.

“Wanna join the fun?” the guard leered when he saw me, his eyes glowing a savage amber.

Disgust twisted in my stomach, and I stepped back.

His grin turned feral. “Then move along, bitch, before I decide to tear into you too.”

I couldn’t move. My body screamed at me to run, but my legs refused. I watched in horror as he ripped her dress away, his claws grazing her skin as he groped her roughly. She screamed, begged, but he only groaned, aroused by her cries.

He gripped her throat, cutting off her air, then released her with a laugh. “Yeah… that’s it. Be a good little toy, and maybe I won’t shred you.”

As I watched the scene, something inside me broke. A raw, primal scream tore from my throat and I charged at him, throwing myself onto his back. My nails dug, my teeth bit, and I kicked wildly, fighting with every ounce of fury I had.

“Get the fuck off me!” he roared, clawing at me.

But I didn’t let go. Not until he finally released the girl. I tore at his face, his skin, his hair, anything I could reach until a force like iron ripped me away.

I cried out as he flung me hard into the wall. The girl crumpled to the floor, sobbing.

The guard turned on me, his wolf eyes blazing, fangs bared. His claws flexed at his sides, and his anger was evident on his face.

“You stupid human,” he snarled. “Couldn’t just look away, could you?”

Pain lanced through my ribs as I tried to sit up. My voice shook. “You don’t have to hurt anyone. We can talk about this—”

He laughed viciously, interrupting me. “Talk? I’ll make you regret interfering.”

In two strides he was on me. His hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air. My nails clawed at his wrist as I gasped, tears streaming down my face.

“Please, spare her!” the girl cried desperately.

He hurled me across the hallway like I weighed nothing. My back slammed into stone, and a groan ripped from me as agony shot down my spine.

“Next time, walk away,” he sneered.

Then came the pain. A raw suffocating agony that ripped through every bone in my body.

His wolf ability crashed into me, pressing me into the ground, crushing me. I screamed until my throat tore, curling into a ball to protect myself, but the force only intensified.

“P…please!” I choked out, trembling uncontrollably.

He crouched low, sneering at me. “Tell me, little heroine… how does it feel now?”

My vision blurred. My screams grew weaker, my voice hoarse and broken. Somewhere beyond the haze I heard the girl pleading again, her voice cracking, then a sharp slap and a cruel laugh.

“Shut up, bitch!” the guard barked at her.

None of it mattered. The world was fading, my body shutting down, desperate for the pain to end.

“P…please… mercy…” I whispered, barely clinging to consciousness.

Just then a thunderous voice ripped through the hall, deep and commanding, echoing like a growl of thunder.

“How dare you touch her?”