Sylvia's Torment (Enforcers and Coterie Book 2) (26 page)

No. No, her love for Derek was different than the obsession D had for her. She would never keep Derek a prisoner. Would never deny him the choice. Would never do anything to hurt him. D wouldn’t hesitate to cause pain to keep her in line.

“In time, you’ll come to want me. You’ll see I’m the better man. And your little attempt at escape,” he continued as he waved his hand towards the destroyed walls, “it won’t work. I’ll tranq you before you even leave the room. If you managed to get out, I’ve paid a mage for extra safeguards. There’s a dampening field that stops any scrying or mental links. I know about the Alpha’s ability to connect with his pack and find them. That won’t work here. The barrier also packs a hell of an electrical punch. Touch it and you’ll be out cold.”

Her stomach dropped as he systematically destroyed each of her hopes. Even if she killed him, she’d still be trapped in this house. A very isolated house, if she went by the lack of noise and outside traffic. Not once had she heard a car drive by or people talking, which meant they were either outside of the city, or he had a piece of very rare property that muffled all noise.

Stiffening her spine, she refused to let him see how his words affected her. He valued strength? He valued adversity? Well, she’d certainly give him a taste of it. She wouldn’t give him an inch if she could help it. In the manner of the werewolf, she turned her back to him, dismissing him from her mind and showing him to be of no threat.

She knew he understood her gesture when he appeared by her side using his preternatural speed. Gripping her shoulder tightly, he spun her around.

“
Never
turn your back on me again. I am your
master
, not your inferior. Do it again and you’ll learn what I’m capable of.” His words were low, all the scarier from the control in his voice.

There was no hint of emotion on his face. Only the fingers digging into her flesh betrayed his icy displeasure. Had he been her Alpha, the appropriate response would have been to show her neck in a sign of submission. She refused to submit, though. He wasn’t her Alpha and never would be. She stared him down, not giving him an inch.

She would no longer cower.

After a long moment, D released her arm and stalked out of the room. She sank to the floor, drained and exhausted. While he had punched holes in her escape plan, that didn’t mean she was giving up. No longer would she let someone else dictate her fate. Her head drooped, and she dozed off. The lack of sleep from previous nights had finally worn her down, and she was unable to stay awake any longer.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Strong arms wrapped
around her, holding her close. The solid
thud, thud
of Derek’s heartbeat echoed in her ear and comforted her. How she missed having him next to her. A gentle kiss placed on her head had her turning her face upwards. She wanted a proper greeting, and he didn’t disappoint.

“You’re not real. I’m dreaming this,” she whispered sadly, gazing into his beautiful brown eyes. “I’ll wake up, and you’ll be gone.”

She squeezed him tighter.

Fingers skimmed across her face and into her hair, palms covering her cheeks. “I’m looking for you. I’m not giving up. This time we have a better lead on what happened. We’re tracking down everything we can about this man. We have video of him from outside the therapist’s office, and we’re cross-referencing it with the personnel from the compound. I’ll find you.”

“He has a dampening field around his house. It’s supposed to stop mental links. He also has a collar and chain on me. It’s spelled against me breaking it, and he’s done something to the lock. I don’t have the full details. I’ll try to get what I can out of him.” She tried to give him as much information as possible before a thought struck her. “Wait a minute. How are we talking? Damn it, this is just a dream.”

“No, it’s our lifebond. It keeps trying to snap into place, and I’m no longer resisting it. However, it’s still not enough to break through the shielding. I have Mara helping me. One of her areas of expertise is telepathy. She’s boosting the link. I’ve been trying for the past few hours with no luck until you fell asleep.”

An emotion she’d never seen before shadowed his eyes – fear. He’d taken on countless adversaries, eager for bloodshed, and yet now, he was afraid.

“I’ve caused you so much pain.”

Her fingers touched his lips, and he gently kissed the tips. The corners of his mouth lifted.

“No, sweetheart. Pain is being without you. You didn’t cause this, he did.” Anger painted his face with brutal lines. Anyone else and she would’ve been worried, but she knew Derek would never turn his anger on her or an innocent. “Has he hurt you at all? Are you okay? I can’t tell in this dream, since it’s your subconscious projecting the image.”

“I’m fine. He hasn’t hurt me, and I don’t think he will. At least nothing permanent. He thinks we’re mates,” she spat out the words, disgusted by his twisted claims.

Derek tensed, a low growl erupting from him.

“I’ll kill him. When I find him, I’ll tear him apart.”

“It’s okay, darling.” Odd amusement bubbled in her as she tried to comfort him.

She, at least, knew what was happening. He lived in the world of unknown.

Knowing they had a short time and he needed as much information as possible, she told him what she’d learned.

Sylvia tilted her head, hearing a faint click that didn’t belong in the dream. “I think he’s back. I don’t want him catching me sleeping.”

She gave him another quick kiss then forced herself awake.

She took a few moments to center her mind and become aware of her surroundings. The low inhale and exhale from D was off to her right, far enough away she didn’t feel threatened. Through her eyelashes, she studied him. There had to be a weakness she could exploit, a way to get under his skin.

Distain coupled with sexual advances would be the best way to keep him off guard. He’d never believe she suddenly capitulated. He would, however, believe her attracted to him while fighting it.

As much as it disgusted her, she knew she could do it. She’d had a few assignments as an Enforcer to act friendly to sleazy men, make them feel special when all she wanted to do was rip their throats out.

“What do you want?” The hatred she felt spilled out, making her voice harsh. To counteract her natural feelings, she thought of Derek, of his loving hands, deep voice and gorgeous body. The scent of desire shamed her when she realized she was correct. His sense of smell was stronger.

D’s pupils dilated, and he took a deeper breath. She wanted to scream that it wasn’t for him, that she wanted him dead by her hand. But she held her tongue, letting him believe she lusted for him.

On shaky legs she pushed herself upright, not wanting to be in a position of weakness. She gave him what Derek called her haughty look. Chin tilted upwards, shoulders straight, eyes narrowed and a mocking grin all showed him he was beneath her notice.

It excited him even more for her to treat him as worthless. Well, who was she to disappoint him?

“I said, what do you want?” She stared him down.

A thrill of victory danced through her when he lowered his eyes first. He was not Alpha material, no matter what he thought. Or maybe he just liked being dominated by a woman. If that was true, then she’d control him with ease given her natural tendencies towards dominance.

It was one of the reasons she enjoyed being with Derek. Outside of the bedroom, he rarely backed down from her and never would have lowered his eyes.

“I brought you more food. Oh, and something to drink.”

For the first time, she noticed another covered dish in his hands.

Did he get them on sale? It seemed an odd thing for him to have, covered dishes. With a small flourish, he removed the top, and the delicious scent of breaded pork chops and scalloped potatoes reached her nose.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. How long had she slept for? The previous meal he’d brought her had been supper choices, and so was this meal.

Misunderstanding her stare, he said, “I wasn’t sure what you liked, since you didn’t eat much in the compound. Werewolves like meat, right? And you ate the potatoes from the last meal I made you.”

She wanted to sweep it all onto the floor and punch him until her anger subsided. Rail at him for mentioning that horrible place so causally, disregarding the unimaginable and inhumane torture they had put her through. Torture he had a hand in. None of the guards had tried to stop what the scientists did. In fact, many of them had helped.

“Put it on the bed,” she demanded.

Inwardly, she cringed at her rude tone. Her parents had taught her better manners and she clamped down on the “please” that automatically came to her lips. She watched impassively as he did her bidding. He balanced the plate carefully atop the remains of the destroyed mattress.

“Sit. Eat,” he demanded in turn.

Well, he didn’t seem to suffer any remorse from
his
lack of politeness. She wavered, wondering if she should deny him. The tightening of his lips and the banked anger in his eyes decided it for her. She’d pushed him enough for now.

Gingerly sitting down, careful not to disturb the plate, she held out a hand for the cutlery. This time she ate slowly, savouring each bite. She had to admit this was doing wonders for some of her phobias, or at least for now.

Perhaps she’d end up with worse ones later on.

“Why?” she asked. “Why did you work for them?”

He looked surprised. “For the money, of course. They paid quite well.”

“But what they were doing, it was horrible. Didn’t it bother you?”

“Why should it? There are always causalities in war.” He shrugged, not understanding her disgust and hatred. “And make no mistake, there is a war going on. The humans are getting tired of being the weaker race, and we’re changing the status quo.

“Plus, they gave me first choice for what I wanted injected in me. They wanted to reward me for my work. I brought them quite a few of the subjects. In fact, I was the one who captured you.” The pride in his voice churned her stomach, and she regretted eating.

She turned her face away from him. The mere sight of him filled her with disgust.

His hands shot out and gripped her face tightly, forcing her to look at him. “Make no mistake, you are mine and will always be mine. I picked you out, and you’ve proved worthy. I don’t care what you think or how you feel so long as you’re obedient. Do you understand me?”

Unable to break eye contact, she saw the deep cruelty and lack of compassion in him. He could and would hurt her if he thought it necessary. He had no softer feelings for her. She was a possession and nothing else.

“Yes,” she whispered, unwilling to outright defy him just yet.

His fingers tightened painfully, digging into her cheekbones. She refused to protest or jerk away. He was testing her, seeing how much she could take. He’d have to do a lot worse before he’d hear a sound coming from her. She’d found a well of strength deeper than she thought possible.

“Good. You remember that.” He leaned over until their foreheads were almost touching, his fingers still gripping her.  “Damn, you’re so beautiful. And you’re mine.”

Before her mind understood his words, he tilted her head upwards and covered her lips with his. He ground his mouth against hers, forcing it open. She almost gagged when his tongue pushed into her mouth.

She froze.

Three months of conditioning took over.
Remain still, don’t provoke him.
The scientists and guards had shown her time and again what happened when she disobeyed. A part of her screamed to do something, anything, but her muscles locked in fear.

He forced her down onto the ruined mattress. The cutlery clattered against the plate as they landed on the floor. The noise distantly registered, and she thought briefly of the mess it caused before dismissing it.

Sylvia suffered through his groping, his hands rough on her breasts. His body covered hers, keeping her in place with his weight. His hard erection pushed against her hip. Wet kisses on her neck, skipping pass the collar. When he reached her shoulder, he leveraged away from her and ripped her t-shirt.

The tearing sound roused her from her fear.

Stop him. Tell him no!

“Please, stop,” she whispered, fearful of retribution.

When he shoved aside her bra and lowered his head to her breast, she finally had the strength to move. Placing her hands at his shoulders, she pushed hard against him.

“No, stop!”

He raised his head, and she shuddered at the feral look in his eyes. This was not a man who would listen to reason. He’d already proven he didn’t care about another’s pain, had caused plenty of it while employed at the compound. He would gladly take what he thought was his due.

He snapped at her, “You are not in control here. You
will
obey me. I don’t care if it’s easy or hard on you. In fact, I’d prefer it if you fought. It’ll be more fun when I finally break you, make you beg for it.”

He bent down and bit her breast hard enough to draw blood.

The thought of this psycho raping her broke through her mental numbness. Meekly rolling over and showing her belly would not happen. She was a fighter, a warrior, and she’d show him what a werewolf was capable of doing.

Claws pushed through her fingertips and she slashed at D, catching the side of his face. He laughed and grabbed her wrists, forcing her arms above her head. She bucked wildly, trying to force him off of her.

She wanted to change and fully embrace her wolf side. The collar gave her pause. It could choke her. It fit snug on her slender throat, and as a wolf, she had a much thicker neck. That didn’t mean she was without other weapons. Although it was a strain on her, she could hold a partial shift for a few minutes. Nowhere near as long as an Alpha could and with less control over which parts held the shift.

She retracted her claws, not wanting to waste the energy on holding them at the ready. Instead, she concentrated on her teeth and felt her jaw elongate. She snapped at him, narrowly missing his cheek. He pulled back with a curse then brought his head back down, slamming it against her forehead. Pain exploded in her mind, but she determinedly ignored it.

The lacerations from her claws dripped blood freely onto her face and the smell had her wolf trying to break free. She nipped at him again, this time catching his ear. Her tooth pierced through the fleshy lobe, and he let go of a wrist. He punched her temple several times, and she released his ear, a little dazed from the pounding.

Refusing to give in to the pain, she took advantage of his anger and carelessness. He’d had her pinned. Now she had an arm free, which she used to elbow him in the throat. His sudden wheezing was her reward. Both hands flew to his bruised larynx, releasing her.

Using all her strength, she shoved at his shoulders, pushing him off her and onto the floor. She jumped off the bed and kicked his ribs. She grinned, savage and feral, at the satisfying crack of bones.

He’d wanted to fight a werewolf. Now he’d deal with the consequences. She kicked him again, using her heel to push into his sternum. He fell onto his butt, arms bracing behind him. He glared at her, and the blood added fierceness to his features.

Springing to his feet, his hands moved in a blur as he punched at her kidneys then her jaw. She blocked his moves, familiar with the dizzying speed natural to her kind. They traded several punches and kicks, each blocking the other. Sylvia noticed he was flagging a little, his hits and blocks coming in just a fraction slower. She, however, rode an adrenaline high. It’d been too long since she’d had free reign in a fight. She’d had to curb her base nature in the compound lest she wake up healing countless broken bones. Now it was a life or death situation, and her blood sang.