I woke on the night of my ninth year here to the sound of screams, gunshots, and breaking furniture. For a moment, I thought I was locked back in the box again, but when Samuel burst through the door, blood on his shirt and a gun in his hand, I remembered where I was - and the terror from more than nine years ago came flooding back, especially when I saw the madness in his eyes.
He stalked over to the bed and ripped the covers off me, before seizing me by the hair and dragging me out of bed, throwing me to the ground. I lay there, stunned, the sound of ripping sheets filling my ears. The next thing I knew, my wrists and ankles were bound, and a strip of cloth was forced between my teeth. Samuel then hauled me up and threw me over his shoulder. "We're getting out of here," he said. "And you're going to keep your stupid little mouth shut, or so help me God, I'll put a bullet through your stupid, thick little head."
So saying, he kicked the door open and strode down the hall, away from the sounds of the brawl going on downstairs. For a moment, I wondered where we were going, but when he pushed the door open to the pool, I felt cold fear grip my bones and I tensed, half expecting to be thrown in. Instead, Samuel shut and locked the doors, before throwing me to the ground. "Now," he said, his voice conversational, a chilling contrast to the madness burning in his eyes, "you and I are going to have a nice little talk." He set the gun down, but he never kept his hand far from the trigger. For a moment, I contemplated kicking it away, but knew it was a hopeless prospect; Samuel was unbound, and he'd likely shoot me in the head for my stupidity.
In any case, he was soon speaking again, and I felt goosebumps rise on my skin.
"So," he said, "let's talk. You know about your shoddy, shameful past." He chuckled, and I felt ill. "Well, let me clue you in. It's all true. Every last bit of it. I'm your uncle, and that stupid whore is my half-sister. So you needn't think you're free. I claimed you nine years ago, and you're mine. As to why?" He chuckled again. "Why does a man need a reason to claim his mate?"
I froze, and Samuel grinned in the dim moonlight. It was not a pleasant smile. "You were ordained to be my mate from the day you were born," he said. "My brother started the war with your father in order to claim you for me, because I told him I wanted you, and I would do all I could to get you. He won, and I got you. But then James interefered, and told Simon to make you his Gamma so he could keep you away from me." He spat on the ground in disgust.
"But," he said, reclaiming his cruel grin, "it wasn't all bad. James saw you as his mate, but he'd already been rejected once before, and he didn't want to make the same mistake again. Naturally, when you rejected him again, he decided he didn't want anything to do with any female, and had you demoted, not because he hated you, but because he loved you so much he wanted to distance himself from you so he wouldn't hurt you again." He sneered. "Love is stupid, worthless, and it makes fools out of the best of us. James was as perfect as a male could be, at least until you came along, you stupid little bitch.
"So there you were, demoted to omega. I knew my time had come to claim you, but then Ethan bonded with you instead, robbing me of the chance to claim you once again. But I bided my time, and then, when the moment was right, I pounced."
My eyes widened in dawning horror, and Samuel grinned when he saw my expression. "Sorry," he said, his tone all oily solictiousness. "Ethan was telling the truth as well, more fool him. But there was nothing he or James could do once I'd made off with you. Oh, and yes, Finn is the Alpha of the Blackwater pack, as well as a very good friend of mine. Ethan was sent to Reading to supposedly retrieve you and bring you back, but in reality, he was there to ensure Finn had the time he needed to set me free, and thus set our little plan in motion. I soundproofed the entire house to make sure no one would hear what was going on, and Finn blanked out everyone's memories of the time you spent there. To them, you never visited, and as far as they know, you're a traitor to your pack."
"And now, here we are." He stretched, grinning lecherously. "I have you, and you are going nowhere, my dear. But even if you somehow manage to escape and make your way home, you're going to find a cold reception on the other side of the Channel. Not only does the Windsong pack believe you to be a traitor, but all the surviving Whitewaters think the same. Including James."
I stared at him in disbelief. But even as the cold dread filled the pit of my stomach, I felt the small core of heat at the centre of my being grow stronger, as if to refute Samuel's words. It was the first time I'd felt it in nine years, and I knew Samuel was lying about one thing. So long as that core of heat remained burning, so too would James' love for me, and that was one thing that would never change. Even so, I was careful to keep my expression clear.
Then a loud thump on the door arrested my thoughts, and I froze. Samuel's eyes widened, and an expression of pure animal rage contorted his face into that of a monster. With a roar of madness, he seized me and threw me into the pool. Luckily, I'd had the foresight to take a deep breath the moment he laid hands on me, but that availed me little as the water closed over my head.
I sank like a stone, more memories flooding my brain. But this time, I had all my strength back, and, when my feet touched the pool floor, I pushed up, breaking the surface with a gasp. Samuel was at the door, exchanging fire with whoever was on the other side, and that was all I saw before I went under again.
Again I kicked my way to the surface, only to scream in horror as I desperately tried to keep my head above water. Samuel lay dead, blood pooling from the gaping wound in his chest. But it wasn't that which ripped the scream from my throat. Rather, it was the way his body lay on the floor, stopping the door from opening. Thuds sounded from the other side, indicating that someone was trying to get through, but it looked hopeless, and I could have sworn I saw a grin stretching Samuel's dead mouth as the water closed over my head once more.
I flailed desperately, trying once more to get to the surface so I could breathe, but I was already exhausted from two such attempts, and though I kicked with my bound legs as best I could, I seemed to be getting nowhere. My lungs were on fire, bubbles bursting free at increasing intervals as my diaphragm spasmed, trying to force me to breathe, the pressure growing more unbearable by the moment. I twisted about, my need to breathe growing urgent, but my efforts were in vain, and I felt despair seize me by the throat as more air escaped my lungs in ever growing clouds of bubbles. The surface with its precious air waited above, but I was too deep underwater to reach it, and finally, my need to breathe overcame everything else.
Cold water rushed into my mouth, and I choked, convulsing as I started to drown. But this time, as the darkness rushed in, I knew I'd get no rescue. Samuel had seen to that, and the panic faded as I let the water take me, peace overcoming me as the darkness closed in, snuffing my senses out altogether. 117Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo49DAr9ZlL
