*Sophia’s POV*
Some hours later, I heard the sound of the lock click again. Appearing on the other side was Danny, a steaming pizza box in his right hand.
He looked at me cheerfully, as if it was perfectly normal for me to be locked away in the attic. “Dinner! Come on, get it while it’s hot.” He placed the box on the table, opening the lid and grabbing a slice for himself.
I joined him, unsure yet of what he might do if I refused. I was also hungry. If I was going to think of a way to escape, I needed my strength. I took my own piece and began to eat.
He watched me closely, clearly approving that I was eating without protest. “There’s a good girl. You’ll feel better once your stomach is full.”
We ate the rest of the meal in silence. I guessed Danny was waiting till after to begin the interrogation. Sure enough, once the box was empty, he sat back with a satisfied sigh. “That’s better right
*Sophia’s POV*I was woken up by the sound of my door being opened. I hurriedly pulled the covers up to my chin, unsure who would be coming in.“Morning sweetheart.” Danny grinned at me widely, as if he had not threatened me the night before. “Time to get up and get dressed. We have a big day today.”I sat up, she clutching the sheets. “What is going to happen today?”He sat down on the edge of my bed. “You’ll see. Now come on, up you get.”He shuffled backwards so he could lean against the wall, and I realised he planned to stay in the room while I got ready.I rose out of bed, folding my arms in front of me, cursing myself for wearing shorts to bed rather than full pyjama bottoms. I went over to the wardrobe to grab some clean clothes. At least I could change in the bathroom after my shower.Just as I went to select some items, Danny cleared his throat behind me. “Sho
*Sophia’s POV*Mack attempted to stop her from continuing. “Denise, now is not the…”“Keep your mouth shut, Mack. Unless you want me tell Danny who you’ve been shagging.”Mack promptly shut his mouth, and I wondered why his choice of partner was so significant. I didn’t have time to think about it too much, because Denise was leaning across the table and boring her eyes into mine.“Now listen here bitch, I couldn’t give a shit whether or not you want to be here, but you need to know about the kind of sacrifices this pack has made to make sure you ass is in this damn house.”Mack went a little pale. I’d never seen him like this before. “If Danny finds out…”“What the fuck did I just say, Mack?” She spat her words at him. He went silent, but I could see the way he was shifting awkwardly in his seat. Whatever Denise was about to tell me, was
*Sophia’s POV*I had no idea what he meant by ‘marking’ although whatever it was, it sounded painful and more worryingly, permanent. I could have screamed as Danny dragged me to a room I’d never been to before, but the truth was, I didn’t want to frighten Jack. I was going to get him out of here, but in the meantime, I wanted him to feel as safe as possible.I was led below the house, to a room I assumed should have been a basement. There were no windows, so the only light was from the clinical strip lightening from the ceiling. There was not a lot in here in terms of furniture, a couple of chairs and a bed that looked more like the kind you would find in a doctors’ surgery. Then, I caught sight of chains. I began to quiver. I felt for certain now that this room was used for torture.Danny led me over to the bed, which I could see now had straps on either side. “Get on sweetheart.”I stiffened, my eyes
I was no doctor, but even I knew this wound was not healing well. Danny had provided me with some balm to rub on it every few hours. This reduced the pain for a while, but my skin showed no signs of recovery. The area around the mark was an angry red, and the mark itself continued to weep. It was truly disgusting, and I had no idea what to do about it. For the past two days, Danny had kept me locked in this room. He only came to see me to bring food and have sex with me. Shamefully, no matter how hard I tried, I could not resist him. Now he only had to look at me, and I would want him. I could feel my grip on reality slipping away as I sank further into his spell. The pain of the injury he’d caused me, was the only thing that anchored me.For the first time in days, I thought about Thale. I was surprised that he had not tried to take me again. Although now I was guarded constantly, it was going to be a lot harder to accomplish. I realised there was a part of me th
As she leapt into the air a flaxen coloured wolf pounced towards her, using its jaws to swiftly take her down to the ground. I recognised it was Danny. He pinned her down, but despite his teeth sinking into her fur, Denise would not stop trying to release herself from his grip. She snapped and snarled in my direction. She wanted my blood. I felt frozen to the spot.Thomas jumped up, quickly circling round the table. “Sophia, get behind me.”I did as I was told, watching in horror as Thomas also shifted. His wolf was much smaller than Denise’s or Danny’s but I could tell from the way he moved that he was quick. It was just in time, as Denise managed to writhe free from Danny’s clutches, blood pouring from her neck. Thomas growled at her but she swiftly picked him up by the ruff as if he was a rag doll and threw him against one of the walls, causing an almighty crash as various pieces of artwork shattered. Thomas let out a yelp a
As planned, when Jack came to see me the next day, I told a lie. I had considered telling him the truth, but when it became clear that Danny wasn’t going to leave us alone, I had no choice. I also tried not to let on how unwell I was. I’d barely been able to eat since the day before, and the combination of that and the pain was making me feel weaker and weaker. In contrast, Jack actually looked the best I’d ever seen him. He’d put on some much-needed weight, and he just generally looked brighter.When he saw the wound however, his expression darkened. “That looks so bad Sophia. I can’t believe she did that to you.” Jack looked at me anxiously. Danny patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. I won’t let her near your sister again.” He was definitely a good liar. “Our doctor is going to come and take a look in a bit. She’ll have it fixed up in no time.”Jack nodded, but
A mixture of emotion washed over me. I wanted to get out, I did. But this mark…as insane as I knew it was, it made me want him. The prospect of being away from him frightened me. Another thought occurred to me. What about Jack?“But…how? And what about my brother?”Dr Squire began helping me out of bed. “Don’t worry, your brother’s tutor is one of Mr Roberts’ men too. We’re going to get him too. With the stone.”I let her dress me, but I still had so many questions. “But Dr Squire, this mark…I want to leave but…”She stopped and gave me a sympathetic look. “I know, you feel bound to Danny. However, I wasn’t lying when I said you could die. Mr Roberts can fix it though.”How was he going to fix a wound that wasn’t healing? It wasn’t like he was a doctor. I was about to ask her how he would do it, but my bedroom door opened and I shut
Dr Squire glanced at me. “Hold on Sophia. We’ll be okay now.”I heard the screeching of tires, knowing that the other Range Rover had come to a sudden stop. I looked out the back and saw that a line of blazing fire acted as a barrier between us and our pursers. I couldn’t even see Danny anymore. But then, I heard an ear-piercing howl that was fuelled with pain and loss. It wrenched my heart so forcibly, I wanted to throw myself from the car. I had never heard him howl, but somehow, I knew it was him. He was a creature of his fathers making, but I knew there was some good in there. I had seen glimpses of it. That was what I found myself mourning as a single tear made its way down my cheek.Dr Squire had slowed down now, clearly content that for now we were safe.“Will he be okay?” I whispered.She sighed. “Yes. For now. Remember what you feel for him is not real though. It is all to do with that ugly mark he’
Two months later...“Again?” I asked, half laughing, half hoping.“Yes, again,” he growled. “I have a lot to make up for.” His hand traced up the length of my leg, back to my core that was now drenched in the pleasure of both our bodies.“You’re going to break me if we go on much longer,” I uttered, my breath catching as his fingers began circling my swollen clit.“Tell me to stop then,” he said darkly into my ear. “Tell me you don’t want me.”Instead of saying anything, I let my legs fall open, allowing him to take me to another high. Just when I thought it wouldn’t be possible to go there again.“You look so beautiful when you’re like this.” He traced soft kisses down my neck, grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin.He took his hand away, and I whimpered. But before I could open my mouth to protest, he&rsqu
Despite the wonderful news that he was recovering, it took another three days for Thale to show any proper signs of life. During those three days, I mostly drew him. It was the first time I’d been able to do any kind of art since the first day I’d let him lead me to bed. As he lay perfectly still, I committed his profile in minute detail to the paper in front of me. It was still too hot for me to bare being too close, so it was a way of being intimate with him without touching his body.It was during one of these sessions, that I saw him open his eyes for the first time in a week. Just as I looked away to sketch his mouth, I heard a groan. My eyes snapped back to him, nearly crying with joy as I saw him writhe.“Thale?” I rushed over to his bedside the paper and pencil clattering to the ground. I took his hand in mine. “Thale can you hear me? It’s me. It’s Sophia.”His eyes flickered open and shut, an unearthly sou
I reached the room, breathless. Mrs Elliot was close on my heels. “What’s happening?!”Dr Squire was looking at Thale’s arm closely, concern written all over her face. I went over to her side, and had to clap my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.The skin on Thale’s wrist looked like it was coming away. As if it was shedding like a snake. The area was inflamed, with chunks of scales lifting away from his body.“I’m sorry Miss Bell. This is what I was afraid of. His body is beginning to break down.” Dr Squire stood back up, taking the gloves from her hands as if she was done.I looked at her as if she was mad. “Well, what can we do then? There must be something we can do?”Her eyes finally met mine. “Now this is happening, the chance of him surviving is extremely low. Dragons rarely recover once their skin begins to shed.”I shook my head furi
I tried my best to engage with Jack. I owed him at least that. I forced the soup and bread down my throat, if only to encourage him to eat his. Despite me knowing how delicious it was meant to be, the chunky vegetables kept feeling like they were going to get stuck in my throat. But I managed it.By the time we’d finished, Jack seemed to be talking with more ease than he had with me in a long time. Perhaps there was every chance we could repair our relationship. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted.After Jack went back to his room, I asked to speak with Louis. When the gruff man with kind eyes sat down in front of me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I’d viewed him at first. After all, he’d been the man that had guarded my door when I wanted to escape. But now he was a comfort, one of Thale’s loyal men that genuinely cared for us.“I wanted to thank you, for what you did. If you hadn’t shown up with
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, and I woke with a start, looking to see if Thale was awake. But he was in exactly the same position as before. His face was relaxed, and if it hadn’t been for the wounds and burns covering his profile, I may have been able to kid myself that he was simply sleeping.“Miss Bell, sorry. You asked me to tell you when your brother was awake?”I turned my face to see Mrs Elliot’s face. Her hair was not as neat as it usually was.“Yes, thank you. Can you take me to him?”She stepped back so I could get out of bed. I pulled away from Thale reluctantly, but I knew I needed to see Jack.Mrs Elliot led me to a room I vaguely remembered Thale showing me. It faced out onto the grounds, the same view my art room did. I briefly hoped that I would get some time in that room again, and not because I was mourning…Jack was sitting by the window, curled up with one of Ashdown&rsquo
I scrambled over to him, grabbing his face and shaking it.“Thale! Thale wake up!”I put my ear to his chest, I thought I could hear a heartbeat, but I couldn’t be sure. I frantically racked my brain on how to conduct CPR. Why didn’t I know how to do that?I began to make an attempt, pressing my hands down on his chest, and intermittently bringing my mouth to his to blow air into his lungs. Nothing. He wasn’t stirring. Was I doing it wrong?“Thale! It’s Sophia.” My voice began to break. “Don’t you fucking leave me. Don’t you fucking dare.”I banged on his chest. Still nothing. I screamed out into the darkness. I collapsed sobbing onto his chest, crawling beside him.“Please wake up,” I whispered. “Please.”The sound of tires approaching made me look up. Through the fog of the ash, I could see the truck coming towards me. The light blo
I had never seen Thale shift properly, so I was not completely prepared for what I observed next. Fallon’s skin seemed to bleed into onyx scales, causing him to look as if he was being savaged by a terrible disease. Like with Danny, his bones began to break. His ribs tore from his back, stretching out into deformed wings. His head went under, elongating in an unnatural way. Talons sprang from his hands and feet, the appendages growing and lengthening. Minutes later, he was the size of a bus, his human form all but eradicated. He continued to expand, far surpassing Thale’s stature. However, the process seemed to take longer. Against my will, my hand clasped over my mouth as he now reached an incomprehensible size. Surely, we were now small dots to him, the stone, a mere spec.“How…how will he know where to breathe?” I whispered to Thale, recoiling in horror as the creature’s enormous tail thrashed behind it.Thale pulled me in
“GET UP! The boss wants you outside in 10 minutes!”The booming voice of one of Fallon’s henchmen made us both wake with a start. In seconds, Thale was out of bed, still naked, striding towards the door. He ripped it open, and although I could not see the look he gave the burly bald-man, I could see that it was making the recipient cower. Perhaps he had forgotten that he was waking up a dragon.The man scurried away with his tail between his legs, and Thale shut the door with a slam. He rested his forehead on the wooden panel, trying to take a deep breath.I padded over to him and placed my hand lightly on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s time to get this over with.”We dressed quickly, knowing that it was not wise to keep Fallon waiting. Not when we were about to try and trick him. He had to be as congenial as possible.Just before leaving the room, Thale pulled me in for a final kiss. “Whatever
My whole body ached. My limbs were as heavy as concrete, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get out of the chair without help. My heart hurt too. My physical and emotional energy was all but gone.“Well?” Fallon asked impatiently.I had already decided to tell a half truth. That would be easier to maintain than a full-blown lie. I rested backwards in the chair, using my fingers to rub my temples to relieve my sore head. “My mother, or at least, a part of her, spoke to me in the stone. She was the last guardian. She will act as my guide.”Thale came to my side, kneeling down on the floor so he could look up into my face. “That must have been hard Sophia. Are you okay?”I inclined my head, trying to communicate to him with a look that I finally had a plan. He seemed to understand and stood up to address Fallon.“I think it would be best if Sophia rested before her next session.