**Aife pov**
I was startled awake to more laughter. However, this time, it wasn't the mocking, ugly laugher that I heard before I lost consciousness.
The laughter that surrounded me now was joyful and genuine, nothing what I expected of vicious creatures like my kidnappers.
Although fully awake, I didn’t open my eyes, fearing the unknown, anything that might happen once they realized I was awake.
And the fear was spot-on, because seconds after the thought ran through my mind, the laughter died down.
“Look at this, boys. The sleeping beauty has finally decided to bless us, heathens, with her godly presence,” someone snarled to my right.
My heart was hammering in my chest, I was so scared that I couldn't breathe, and my lungs felt like they were set ablaze.
“We know you’re awake, stop playing your stupid games, this isn’t the wonderland anymore, princess,” another voice joined.
This one I recognized. It was the man who took me.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and blinked to adjust to the bright light above me,
not ready to face whatever was going on around me, but it wasn’t like I had any other option but to follow the commands and silently suffer until I found a way to escape them - dead or alive.
“There you go, wasn’t that hard, huh?” He kept mocking me while all I could do was focus on stopping the tears from spilling over.
They had seen my rock bottom, my desperation, fear and pain. All of them had seen enough, I refused to give them more satisfaction of seeing me suffer.
“Stand up!” The leader barked.
The way he spoke to me... It was surreal. As if I was his enemy, as if I had hurt him or taken something precious from him, not the other way around.
It was unfair. He was a stranger, the first time we met was literally when he attacked my pack and killed my family. Why did he act like he had the right to pretend he was the victim?
The man was far from it.
And yet, gritting my teeth and balling my fists, I slowly sat up to realize I had been sleeping on a long table.
My eyes quickly took in the surroundings. The table was overflowing with different foods and beverages. The view was tempting enough for me to remember that I hadn't had a bite for hours, but despite the protests of my stomach, I acted as if it didn’t affect me.
As my gaze slowly lifted from the mouth-watering view, I stole a glance at the faces around me.
From what I could see, only men sat at the table. There had to be a couple of hundred of them around me and that was judging only by the fraction I saw.
I couldn’t let my mind dwell on the situation. If I let my thoughts take the upper hand, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the commands that were barked at me; instead, I would overthink the possibilities of their plans.
My hands and knees shook as I rose to my full height, the action accompanied by loud shouts and whistles.
Soon, I realized my clothes were torn. Not to pieces or completely destroyed, but there were holes and cuts where I hadn’t had any before I lost consciousness.
A lump formed in my throat. As the hungry, heated gazes burned holes in my skin, the lump grew bigger, almost to the point of suffocating me.
“I promised a show, didn't I?” The leader laughed, his cold, emotionless tone echoed against the walls of the room.
While the savages enjoyed themselves, I couldn’t shake off the words he had spoken. A show... A show of what?
“What is your name, princess?” The leader spoke over everyone.
It took all I had in me not to glare at him and plan a thousand torturous deaths I would wish upon this man.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I closed my eyes and whispered, “Aife.”
There was no point in lying. In fact, there was no point in asking the question either.
I was sure the brute had overheard my name when dad shouted for me, so the beast was just playing with me. Like a cat, chasing around the mouse before he devoured it.
“Good girl, your father taught you how to follow the commands of your superiors. Impressive,” the leader mocked, tossing something at my face. “You deserve a treat,” he added.
My eyes snapped open as I heard a light thud sound right next to my feet. I couldn’t believe it... He had thrown a bone at me. An actual bone!
Surely, he was expecting a reaction, but I was too stubborn to give him one. I didn’t thank the savage for his generosity because there was none, but I also didn’t spare him a glance, just focused my gaze on the pitiful bone.
“Showtime!” He roared so suddenly, his voice startled me enough to jump.
Everyone laughed at my reaction, some even pointed their fingers at me and encouraged me to cry some more.
Never in my life had I thought I could learn how to hate someone, but here I was, learning first hand that hate wasn’t just a strong word to use.
“Strip!”
I heard the word, but didn’t react. Even as the men around me acted like they hadn’t seen a woman for decades and some tried to grab me, I still didn’t move.
This had to be a cruel joke. No one was that soulless and merciless.
I knew that my lack of reaction angered the leader when he slammed his fist against the surface of the table. I could feel the force behind the impact underneath my bare feet. But my blood ran truly cold when he snarled, “I said, strip, bitch!”
No wonder they didn’t have any women around the table. No self-respecting woman would tolerate being treated like a lower being.
Somehow, I found the strength to force my lips in a thin line and shake my head. I was willing to die for this. Death sounded better than the humiliation anyway.
A hand grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and yanked on it with so much force, the sound of the fabric tearing filled the room.
“If you are stupid enough to think your precious little family died in that explosion, it's on you.” The leader snarled. From the corner of my eye, I could see him rise from his seat, face burning red, fury clear in his eyes. “But if you are willing to check how true your theory is, be my guest and defy the commands, mommy dearest’s throat will be the next one I slit.”
This had to be an attempt to manipulate me, but I didn’t care. Even if he lied to make me do something I didn't want to, I still refused to give up on hope that someone had survived.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I spun on my heel and faced the man. For a second, a smirk spread across his lips, nearly making him look a little human, until it disappeared and the scowl returned.
My hands clutched the fabric of my shirt as tears spilled over and streamed down my cheeks. I kept biting on the inside of my cheek to remain quiet as I pulled the shirt over my head and threw it on the table. Then, I quickly pulled down my pants and tried to pretend that I wasn’t here, I didn’t stand in front of these monsters, exposed, at their mercy.
But of course, it wasn’t enough. It was never enough for the monsters of his kind.
A hand grabbed my chin and forced me to meet the empty gaze. “I said strip,” he repeated himself as he hooked a finger under my bra and tugged on it. “All of it.”