Chapter 58 Still mine
"Was she there when...?"
"When he cut me with his blade? Or the time he sliced my thighs open to ensure I couldn't stand anymore? No. She only came in long enough to tie me up, inflict a few cuts of her own, hoping to speed up the process, and left me to die. Don't worry; you don't have to kill your mistress, Saint. The cuts weren't very deep." I whispered, barely audible past the tears that tightened in my throat.
"She was a mother, you know? Carleigh watched traffickers murder her daughter on a live feed. Subscribers paid twenty thousand dollars to watch her daughter and sister tortured. They placed them on a barrel that was tilted, forc- ing them to balance on it for hours. Her daughter didn't last long. She was sev- ered into pieces because some sick bastard wanted to watch a child die. Her sis ter lasted until she watched her niece falling to the floor, dead. She stepped off the barrel, willingly."
I closed my eyes against the imagery he painted. Carleigh told me why she put me on the barrel wrapped in razor wire, but I didn't tell that to Saint. It had plagued my dreams, dying similarly because Carleigh wanted me to suffer like her family. Shame burned through me, and Saint growled at what he thought it meant. To him, I was guilty. Every emotion I allowed to slip because of what I had endured, he took to mean that I felt shame at being involved in my father's wickedness.
"I can't fault Carleigh for wanting you dead, Braelyn. From the evidence we've seen, you look guilty," he growled, tightening his arms around me until it became hard to breathe. "Tell me what part you played in this, and I can save you. Or, I can at least figure out what to do with you."
"I didn't play a part in any of this, Saint. You've already condemned me, so what I say doesn't matter. I am guilty just because I share the same blood as my father. You and your people have deemed yourselves my judge, jury, and even- tually, you will be my executioner. Carleigh gets a pass because she was forced to endure some sick shit that happened to her, but me? I am found guilty with- out proof, simply because I failed to notice just how fucked up my father really was."
"There's no way he ran his operation and stored his victims here without your knowledge," he argued. "You are too fucking smart for him to have man- aged this scale of an operation without you figuring it out." "See, guilty. Just like I said. Get the fuck off of me," I whispered, fighting to get out of his arms.
"Do you have any idea how many children we pulled out of those fucking containers?"
"They were all covered in cayenne pepper, Saint! You didn't smell them ei- ther, did you? Did you hear them screaming? Could you tell they were out there? That field was used for battle, which is why it is called the killing fields. The name had nothing to do with them being out there. Ask anyone what they're called or their previous purpose! I didn't know the containers were even out there. Harold had forbidden anyone from going into those fields. They held no purpose to the pack; none whatsoever, which is why no one questioned his orders."
Saint didn't release me or even acknowledge I'd spoken. He yanked me with him, moving into the bedroom before shoving me down on the bed. His eyes watched as I spun around, standing up to face off against him.
"Go back to your girlfriend. I can smell her all over you. She wants you, and that's more than I can say about me. Besides, why breed a child with someone who would more than likely fucking eat it?" I snarled, watching the way his emotions shut down.
"Because the pack is held through your bloodline," he chuckled coldly. "You and I both know the pack will stay here as long as you or your child remains on this mountain. They're here because they belong here. Without a home, they're in danger of being hunted down and murdered. Fenrir wolves are already on the brink of extinction, which is exactly why they're up here hiding from the world. Would you really be so selfish as to sentence them to death after their daughters, girlfriends, sisters, mothers, and their fucking children were sold by your bloodline? And you wonder why we assume you are part of what happened here? You've given us no other plausible explanation, Braelyn. Everything you've ever done has been to benefit you and your father." "Get out of my room," I stated angrily.
"Get your pretty ass dressed for dinner, Brae. You're joining me tonight with the pack. We're celebrating our victory and your father's fall from grace." "They don't want me around anymore, Saint. Go enjoy your dinner with your girlfriend and leave me the fuck out of shit from now on."
"It doesn't work like that," he laughed soundlessly, stalking me as I stepped back until I hit something solid. His hand landed beside my head, flush against the wall. The other hand lifted, grabbing my hair to rub the silky strand between his fingers. My eyes searched his, noting the way his tongue wetted his lips be- fore he dropped his heated gaze to my mouth. "What's it going to be, Brat?"
"If I agree to what you want, can I be free from your men following me?" | asked, knowing he'd say no.
"Not happening," he snorted, lowering his nose to trail it over the curve of my jawline. "You're too much of a flight risk, and we both know you'd run from me.
"Can I move about freely? I miss the library, Saint. I miss being able to move around the lodge. Your men have prevented me from entering the one place I actually enjoy. I miss reading and lounging by the fireplace with my books."
"I can give you that freedom, but you'd still be watched." His heated breath fanned the flames of need that tightened my belly. He dropped my hair, slowly moving down to the raised peak that pressed against my shirt, rolling my nipple between his fingers, causing a soft gasp to escape my lips. "You make the most delicious noises for me, Brat."
"I need to know the details of how this works before I will consider permitting it to happen." I leaned my head back against the wall as his mouth sucked against the rapidly beating pulse on the soft column of my throat. He chuckled huskily, watching my body succumb to his skillful seduction.
"You'd begin hormone shots tonight. It would increase your libido and your heat cycle to bypass waiting for the moon to assist your womb. Each night you'd allow me to fuck you, maybe even during the day, depending on my schedule. Once you are with child, I'd still fuck you because you're mine."