Maureen LaurentIce water slapped my face.“Wake up, whores!”The scream came with the next bucket. I lurched upright on the freezing stone floor, chains clinking, scrambling into line before the whip found my back again. Twenty naked, shivering girls pressed shoulder-to-shoulder in the dark. The stench of piss, blood, and terror coated the air.I wasn’t born for this.Once, I had silk sheets and a father who called me “little star.” Once, I had a mother’s hand on my cheek and a fiancé who swore he’d die for me.Now I had welts that never healed and a collar burned into my throat that said PROPERTY OF THE NORTHERN DOMINION.The overseer—a scarred wolf with a missing ear—strode down the row, boot splashing through the puddles. His gaze snagged on the blind girl two bodies to my left. Pale as bone, nineteen at most, trembling so hard her chains rattled like bells.“You—crawling on the floor like a worm. What the fuck are you doing?”Her voice cracked. “I-I dropped my bread, sir… I’m sor
Last Updated : 2025-11-20 Read more