Chapter 73 Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter 73 Chapter Seventy-Three

Chapter Seventy-Three

Theodota

“Tie her up,” Alpha Kiel commanded, his face the very depiction of nonchalance. My brain screamed at me to find an escape route, and I looked around frantically, my eyes darting all over in search of one. This man was a lunatic. I’d been underestimating the extent he was willing to go just to extract information from me. I wasn’t eager to find out.

The gammas bound me with ropes that were tight and thick enough to leave marks that cut into my skin. I tried to steady my breathing. My knees scraped the surface of the ground, and I lifted my head to meet Alpha Kiel’s calm face.

“The water will kill me!” I beseeched. My body was already weak at that point, and I wondered why I hadn’t caved.

“Tut, tut, tut. No, it won’t, Theodota.” He said confidently, with a wide smile. My rage mounted. “Do you know why?” He asked. I willed myself not to hear the rest of his words, and to detach my concentration. Nothing would make him change his mind, I was sure. My eyes lingered on the smoke that danced above the bathtub, giving a promise of the fate that awaited me if I was dumped into it. I could picture the pain already.

“You won’t die, because your wolf will save you.” He said, and my eyes widened. I forced the reaction back, hating that I even reacted in the first place. How did he know? Perhaps seeing the questioning look in my eyes, he rubbed his hands together with a smile of satisfaction. “I’m not as blind as my son is, child. I know that your wolf has awakened. In fact, that’s the main reason why our plans changed.” He said.

My confusion was evident. “Plans?”

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll find out soon enough, won’t you? You’re going to be a great tool for us. For our cause.” He went on.

“I won’t.” I spat defiantly.

“Don’t be quick to make a decision, my dearest,” he advanced towards my kneeling self, and crouched down to play with my hair. The thought that he was touching a part of me fueled the flames of my fury. My chest heaved, and I wanted to retch. I knew nothing would come up though. There was nothing in my stomach except bile. Dria hadn’t been fed, and I’d been tortured enough that I couldn’t gather enough strength to fight. At that point, I was basically…useless. He stroked my head, and I pushed it back to avoid his touch. One of the gammas behind me, hit my head forward.

“Stay still,” he hissed.

I growled, and when my attention focused on Alpha Kiel once more, he was watching me intently, interest lighting his eyes. It was almost as if he was…waiting for something.

He pushed off the ground and straightened. “Throw her in.”

“If you want to kill me, just get over with it.” I challenged, all fear disappearing from my voice. It didn’t disappear from my chest though. I was afraid.

“Kill you?” He chuckled. “You’re overthinking it. I’m training you, Theodota. I’m interested in you, so why’d I kill you?” He questioned.

The gammas dragged me to the bathtub filled with boiling water, while I struggled to resist. I dug my feet into the ground, trying to remain in my position, but how could I overpower two gammas overflowing with vitality, while I was in the most weakest state I’d ever been? The nearer we got to the bathtub, the more apprehension covered me. He was going to throw me in a fucking boiling water.

“Stop! Please!” I screamed. None of them paid me any heed. A few inches away, they let my body fall, then one of them brought out another rope and bound my feet together, incapacitating me completely. Then I was thrown in.

“Arghh!” Raw pain, wrecking and scalding engulfed me, and tore up a loud scream from the pit of my belly. I couldn’t move, and wiggling only served to increase the pain. My head went blank, and I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. All I could process was pain. The water covered my entire body, and through the haze, I heard Alpha Kiel’s loud laughter.

“Dria, do something!” I implored, as my breath threatened to fail me. My skin softened, and I could swear I felt it falling off. I was burning from my neck, down to the sole of my feet.

“Push her head inside.” Alpha Kiel commanded.

I jerked my head to the side, my eyes going wide as lamps, plea written over my face. Surely, he wouldn’t. It was going to disfigure my face. The gammas didn’t waste time, and I felt a firm grip hold my hair and push the rest of myself into the water. For a moment, I was back on that bed, surrounding by burning, licking flames, the poison wrecking havoc within my body. My skin melted, yet I couldn’t move still. I’d give everything, anything, to be anywhere but there.

‘P…please,’ I whimpered inwardly.

My wolf panicked. I couldn’t hear her, but her fear and rage melded with mine, and left a ringing sensation at the back of my head. The Timekeeper’s words flowed through my head, and in my mind’s eye, I could see her figure standing in front of me.

“Kill them,” she had said.

My body jolted, my eyes closed and my legs went numb. The pain didn’t lessen, but I felt like I’d gotten detached. The rage, the angst, the despair, all of them flowed through my mind, and I heard a loud explosion. My scalded body landed on the ground, inducing another scream from me. Power screeched through my veins, and I could hear a faint whistle.

I’d kill them. I’d burn them all. I’d make them beg for mercy.

“Alpha! The bathtub has exploded!” The panicked voice of one of the gammas sounded above the cracks of the explosion. I couldn’t stop. It was an overpowering feeling, an addicting sensation, that soothed the pain that had engulfed me moments ago. I’d only rest if everyone in the room died. I heard something crash to the ground. The mirror maybe?

Someone pierced my shoulder just then with a needle, and like a balloon that had deflated, my body went limp, and the sounds of explosion ceased. I laid on the ground, water flowing beneath my burnt and drenched body. I forced my head up to see Alpha Kiel standing to the side, a syringe in hand, looking at me with a contemplative expression.

“Clean this place up,” he ordered his men, and left the room without saying another word. My head hung, my breathing pace slowed, and tears flowed down. It hurts to cry, it hurts to exist. Maybe if I died, it wouldn’t hurt so much. I raised a hand into my line of sight, and gasped. My skin had peeled, burnt through, and cutting a pathetic sight. I whimpered.

“No, no, no,” I whispered, my voice choked.

The men pushed my body to the side without an iota of pity, and got to cleaning the room as Alpha Kiel had ordered. The impact quadrupled my pain, and I winced. My body was sore, and my face was starting to bloat. I willed myself to get through the pain, until my wolf could gather enough strength to take me through the healing process—which was going to be painful as hell.

I didn’t have to wait for long. An excruciating pain pushed through my entire body, making my blood boil, and my hands shook. Amari. I couldn’t do this anymore.

“I want to die,” I whispered to no one in particular. “Please, let me die.” I begged.

Objects blurred, and the room seemed to spin. My body felt light, and I fought to keep my eyes open. I was feeling everything, yet I felt nothing. I wanted to shift, to give my wolf reins, and retreat into the deepest part of the border between a human and a wolf; a place where Alpha Kiel and others would never reach me. I laid there as my body healed, eyes open, but my mind was blank, and I was no different from an unconscious girl. I saw the men leave, but I didn’t hear them.

…

Time passed in a hurry, and I couldn’t differentiate between day and night. The pain had lessened, and I was starting to feel, once more. I raised my hand and let it fall back. My skin had regenerated, but goddess, the pain. I crawled onto my knees, eyes locked on the door, and determination being my only drive. I was going to get out of this cursed place. And I was going to do it now. I crawled to the door.

The door was made of metal bars, and I clutched at it like a lifeline. With mustered strength, I pulled, and pulled. I banged on it with clenched fists.

“Let me out!” I screamed, uncaring if I was going to get hit or not.

“Let me out, you monster!” I cursed, my voice raw and my throat cracked so bad. A gamma—hair packed into a ponytail—came over, a baton in hand.

“Get back,” he spat. I paid him no heed, and continued banging. The bars shook under my continuous assault on it, and the hallway was filled with creaking sounds.

“Get back, you lunatic.” The gamma hissed once more, and I paused. Lunatic. Was that what I was?

I banged on the bars with renewed strength, just as something clawed at my belly. Hunger.

The gamma looked at me sternly, as another one joined him.

“What’s going on?” The newcomer asked.

The gamma pointed at me. “She’s going mad. It’s happening.”