Go to sleep

Sophia's POV

Frozen with fear, I slowly turned my head to face the figure behind me. This was very bad. Although it was clearly too late for regrets, I could not help but berate myself silently. 

What on earth made me think I could escape right now? This place was crawling with brutal, intimidating Alphas and their bodyguards. Surely, I should have known they would catch me. 

"Trying to escape already?" The same deep voice washed over me. By this time I was face to face with him. The asshole who had bought me. My blood boiled at his presence. Adamant, I refused to acknowledge his words. 

The metal pressed against my neck turned out to be a bracelet which he continued to press hard to make a point. I could tell he was trying to hurt me, probably as a warning or something like that. If I were in a different situation, I might have found that funny. With the amount of pain I had received from my stepfather, he would have to do a lot better than a bracelet.

"I wasn't." I finally spoke up. 

He looked surprised that I'd answered. 

"You weren't what…" He asked. 

I bit my tongue. He was obviously trying to get me to succumb. But I knew it was useless to fight back. I was powerless here. I had no choice here. 

"I wasn't trying to escape," I said, keeping my voice as low as possible. 

I heard him emit a low chuckle and suddenly he pulled me closer to him, gripping my chin and forcing me to look up at the smirk curving his lips. "Good girl."

For some reason, those two words sent goosebumps all over me. I could feel my cheeks warming as I struggled to swallow. Why was my heart racing so? 

Desperate to kill this weird feeling, I tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too strong. "I already said I wasn't trying to escape. Can you let me go now?" 

He cocked an eyebrow at my words. "Tsk, tsk. Again with the attitude. Here I thought you were learning."

I gasped sharply as his fingers slid down my chin and gripped my neck. And then he pulled me even closer. Close enough that his perfume tickled my nostrils. It wasn't sickening like those of the men who usually mistreated me like this, but it still bothered me. 

This time, I was scared to speak. He was wordless as well. He just grabbed my neck silently and stared at me for so long that I began to feel uncomfortable. His green eyes roved over my face down to my neck and then to my chest.

My first instinct was to cross my arms, but I remembered he had me in his grip. His gaze irritated me to the core. Ever since I was sold, this was all I had experienced; being put on display for all to see. I was treated like nothing but an object. And I hated it. 

It brought back memories I longed to forget.

Memories of my stepfather. 

"You know, I was going to reject you," he suddenly spoke up, startling me a little. "I mean let's face it, your features aren't exactly pleasing," he snorted. "You stink, you're ugly, you have zero curves…and the list goes on and on. No wonder Jordan was unable to sell you. He always sells out his girls."

I held back the sharp retort that was hanging on the tip of my tongue. I don't know what disgusted me more; how disgustingly disrespectful he was, or the fact that he was okay with human trafficking.

But then again, what more did I expect from a power hungry asshole like him? This was how they were, the whole lot of them.

"But apparently, you don't know how or when to keep your mouth shut. So I'm going to teach you how. And after I'm done with you, you'll testify that no one messes with Darien Gray and gets away with it."

Darien. 

So that was his name. 

He punctuated his words with a menacing smile and I felt my courage begin to waver. Teach me? Could he possibly mean what I thought he meant? The dangerous look in his eyes told me I might be right. Was he going to take advantage of me? 

My heart sank, dread quickly filling me up.

I couldn't let that happen. I had to escape…somehow. 

"What are you going to do with me?" I asked, hating how my voice shook. The last thing I wanted was for him to revel in my trepidation. But…I needed to know what I was being thrown into.

He let go of my neck just as he burst into loud laughter. "Oh, there's no rush. You'll find out soon enough. You know, I think I'm going to have fun clipping those high wings of yours. Let's see if any of that sass will remain."

That only skyrocketed my anxiety. "What do you want with me?!" I asked as he backed away from the car. 

He peeked into the car once again. "Keep up that attitude and you'll find out sooner than later. Now…enjoy your nap. It's been a long afternoon."

Still battling with fear, I scrunched my face in confusion. Nap? What the hell was he talking about?

It happened too suddenly for me to grasp anything. In a split second, he swooped into the car and slammed a white cloth over my mouth and nose. An overpowering scent from the cloth attacked my senses, and in desperation I tried to hold my breath. Tried to hold it long enough so he could leave.

But that was no use. 

I could already feel myself slipping.

My attempts to fight him off were futile. I suddenly felt drowsy and lightheaded. He had drugged me. And whatever substance he had put in the cloth was effective. My eyelids suddenly felt too heavy for me. 

Again, I tried to fight it. 

I need to stay awake, I kept telling myself. What if something happened to me? What if he took advantage of me while I was passed out. Given the little I already knew about him, I really wouldn't put it past him. 

And it scared me. It scared me to the core.

"Go to sleep now," I heard him say. But the words were floating around me. 

The last thing I saw was his smirking face before everything went black.