*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’
It was either nothing, or blurriness. Darkness was most prevalent, but every so often I became aware of shapes or sounds. I didn’t like those times. It meant the hurt returned. I kept clawing my way back to the blackness, although I sensed something else was pulling me in the opposite direction. I wasn’t sure if the shapes and sounds were real, or if they were dreams. None of them made sense, so it was difficult to tell. Sometime later, I became aware of something or someone touching me. I didn’t like it. The more conscious I was, the more pain I felt. Time didn’t really mean anything anymore, and so I had no idea how long I was going in and out of this half-awake state.Eventually though, I came to realise I couldn’t be dead. I began to interpret the shapes and sounds as people, or machines beeping. Then, without warning, a room came into focus. My eyes must be working. I could now tell that I had been propped up with pil