Chapter 15 Clipped Wings
Briar's POV
Julian sat on the edge of my bed, his fingers tracing the red marks on my wrists where the tie had cut into skin.
"Do you know why I let you work?" he asked, his voice conversational in a way that made my skin crawl. "Why I allowed you to attend the summit?"
I didn't answer, just kept my eyes fixed on the wall behind him.
His fingers pressed harder against the marks and I couldn't stop the small sound of pain that escaped. "Because no hunter enjoys prey that only knows how to lie still and tremble. The struggle makes it interesting. Watching you fight and claw your way toward something you think is freedom—that's what makes this fun."
"But now, you actually dared to flirt with other men."
"So you admit it," I forced out, keeping my voice steady through sheer willpower. "You're just a sadistic psychopath who gets off on controlling people."
His hand moved from my wrist to my jaw, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. "No, Briar. I'm a trainer. And every inch of your skin is marked with my ownership, whether you want to acknowledge it or not."
I saw my opening when he leaned in closer, probably planning to leave another bite mark on my neck like some kind of sick territorial display. I drove my knee up hard into his chest with all the strength I had left, and for just a second his grip loosened.
That second was all I got before his eyes flashed gold, the pupils elongating into vertical slits, and he reached into his jacket pocket. The silver handcuffs caught the light as he pulled them out, and my entire body went cold with fear.
He snapped the silver cuffs around my wrists. The burning was immediate and excruciating, like acid searing bone-deep. Worse than the pain was feeling cut off from something essential—Selene, my wolf, was forcibly shoved into the darkest corner of my mind, compressed and suffocated until even my eyes couldn't shift.
Julian said, watching my reaction with clinical interest. "You won't be able to heal even the smallest scratch while you're wearing these, let alone shift or use any of your enhanced abilities."
My whole body convulsed and I could feel cold sweat soaking through my sweater. The skin under the cuffs was already starting to break down, the flesh turning an ugly mottled color as silver poisoning spread through my system. I bit down on my lip hard enough to taste blood because I would die before I begged him for mercy.
He bent over me again, reaching for my neck. I brought my cuffed hands up and raked my nails across his face as hard as I could, feeling skin tear under my fingertips. Three deep gouges opened from his cheekbone to his jaw, immediately welling with blood that dripped down onto my sweater.
Julian froze, then slowly reached up to touch his face. He looked at the blood on his fingers for a long moment, and then he started laughing, this low awful sound that made something in my chest twist with dread.
"Good," he said softly, almost fondly.
I was shaking so hard my teeth were chattering, but I forced the words out anyway. "The day you got engaged to Chloe, you lost any right to touch me. So unless you plan to kill me right now, I'll scratch you again. And again. Until everyone who looks at your face sees exactly what kind of monster you are."
The laughter died. He grabbed the collar of my sweater and ripped it open, exposing the bite mark on my neck that still hadn't fully healed. "Shame?" he repeated, his voice flat and cold. "This body has been my property since the day your father signed that contract. I don't care if I marry Chloe or other women—you'll still be locked in my cage where you belong."
His hand closed around my throat and I watched his eyes complete their transformation to solid gold with vertical pupils, no white visible at all. "Next time I catch you anywhere near Lucian, I'm putting you in the silver cells. Every wall, every bar, the floor, the ceiling—all silver alloy."
I used the last of my strength to meet his eyes. "How do you know I won't grow strong enough to break free someday?"
He released my throat and straightened up, looking down at me. "Before that day comes, I'll pluck out every feather one by one. You're my creation, my carefully cultivated prey. Even if you die, it will only be in my hunting grounds. Nowhere else."
The combination of silver poisoning and oxygen deprivation was too much and I felt consciousness slipping away, the room fading to black.
When I woke up I was in a hospital bed with my hands wrapped in thick bandages that went halfway up my forearms. The smell of antiseptic and something else, something chemical and medicinal, filled my nose.
Julian was sitting in the chair beside my bed, three bandages stuck to his face covering the scratches. "The doctor used a specialized ointment for silver burns. But silver damage doesn't heal like normal wounds for our kind. You'll be here for at least a week."
I turned my head to look out the window, refusing to speak to him.
"I've informed your company that you're hospitalized for exhaustion," he continued, standing up. "As for the bid evaluation, I'll make sure the judges are properly motivated to not let you lose too embarrassingly."
He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the frame. "Rest up and heal. Oh, and Briar—" He turned his head just enough for me to see his profile and the bandages covering my handiwork. "I'm keeping this gift you gave me. Something to remember this lesson by."
After he left I stared at the ceiling, his threats playing on repeat in my mind. I looked down at my bandaged hands and realized with cold clarity that I needed to find somewhere Julian couldn't easily access, some kind of sanctuary that even he would have to think twice about violating.
On the third day, Rowan burst into my room carrying a fruit basket, and the moment she saw my hands her eyes went red. "Oh my god, Briar, are those silver burns? That psychopath actually used silver on you?"
I nodded, and my voice came out surprisingly calm. "I left three scratches on his face, so I'd say we're partially even."
Rowan looked at me seriously. "You can't keep living alone in that apartment. You need a roommate. Julian can't just break into someone else's place as easily, and there would be a witness if he tried anything."
I laughed bitterly. "Easy to say. Where am I supposed to find a roommate? And it can't be somewhere cheap—Julian would just bribe them."
Rowan raised an eyebrow. "What if you got lucky? I'll start looking at listings for you. Rich people do sometimes look for roommates, especially if they want someone to help with rent on a really expensive place."
Later she said, "By the way, my dad's new bodyguard finally started. His name is Garrett. Total stone-faced robot, doesn't say more than two words at a time, but I have to admit he's actually competent—I sparred with him and he put me on my ass in thirty seconds. I hate being followed around twenty-four-seven, but at least he's not a useless ass-kisser like the last one."
I said, "Your father is trying to protect you. As for what Julian did to me—" Gold flickered in my eyes for just a second. "I'm going to pay him back for every single thing. This heart will never submit to him. Never."
On the seventh day I was finally cleared for discharge and was packing up my things when my door slammed open hard. Chloe stood in the doorway with her face pale and her expression furious.
"Was it you? Did you scratch Julian's face?"