CHAPTER 4

Hazel’s POV

I had no idea how long was I locked in that cell. It could have been hours. It could have been days. I lost the track of time and I simply didn’t know how long was I in there.

All I knew was pain. Soul-wrenching, gut-twisting, heart-breaking pain. It never ended and it never lessened. It was getting worse and I was praying to the Goddess to take me.

I was done living. I wanted to die.

“Hazel,” a soft voice called my name.

I recognized it. He was here a couple of times and he tried to get me to drink and eat. I didn’t want to. I would die faster if I didn’t eat or drink.

He sighed and I heard the cell door open.

“You have to eat, Hazel,” he said as he walked closer to me. “You have to drink. You can’t go on like this.”

That was the whole point.

I opened my eyes and saw him kneeling next to me. He reached out and caressed my cheek.

“Fuck,” he mumbled. “You are burning.”

Good. I was dying. That was the best news I heard in a while.

“Please, Hazel,” he said softly. “Just one sip of water and a small piece of bread.”

I tried to shake my head, but I couldn't move. I just closed my eyes and tried to ignore him.

“Fuck,” he mumbled. “I have to get them down here. You are going to leave us if I don’t.”

That was the plan. I was leaving. I was abandoning the pain. I was abandoning the sorrow. I was abandoning my tortured body and my broken heart.

“Hazel,” he called me after a few moments. “Open your eyes, please.”

The pain in his voice made my heart hurt. I listened to him and I opened my eyes. He smiled a little.

“I am trying to find someone who would tell them the truth,” he said. “I know that Jessica lied. I know that members of your pack know the truth. You weren’t a whore, were you?”

I wasn’t. No one ever touched me. Peter tried to, but I somehow managed to fight him off every time. I was a virgin.

But that didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. I was going to die soon.

“They will come to their senses, Hazel,” he said as he caressed my cheek. “They are hurt and broken, but they will see the mistake they made. I promise, Hazel. They will let you out and they will embrace you as theirs. They will keep you safe and love you. You will be at peace soon, Hazel.”

I closed my eyes again. It would never happen. I would find peace only in death.

“What the fuck do you want?” an angry voice made my heart skip a beat.

One of them was here.

“Aiden,” the man sighed worriedly. “She is burning up. She is refusing to eat and drink. She is dying.”

I could hear him growl quietly.

“Where is Elijah?” the man next to me asked.

“He isn’t in the mood to watch the whore die,” my mate said. “He is with Jessica.”

Just at that moment, a jolt of pain made me flinch and groan. It felt like someone stabbed a million knives into my chest. He was with her again.

“Fuck,” the man next to me mumbled and cupped my cheeks. “Breathe, Hazel. It’s okay. It will pass.”

It would pass when I was dead.

I groaned again and my eyes shot open. The jolt of pain that hit me left me breathless.

“Fuck, Aiden, what the hell is wrong with you?!” the man screamed. “She is in pain! She is hurting! She is your mate!”

My mate growled. “I don’t fucking care. She deserved it. Get the fuck out of there, Ian.”

The man who was holding me looked down at me. My eyes were wide and I was trying to find a way to breathe through the pain. It was getting worse by the second.

“Just get in here and help her, Aiden,” the man said, keeping his eyes on me. “She needs to get through this. She needs to eat and drink.”

“Ian…,” my mate spoke, but the man interrupted him.

“She is dying!” he screamed as he looked at my mate. “She is fucking dying, Aiden!”

My mate was silent. The man was staring at him with a pissed-off look on his face. I groaned when another wave of pain washed over me.

My mate sighed and I heard the cell door open. His presence helped. The pain lessened the moment he came closer to me. I didn’t like it, though. I didn’t want it. I wanted to die. I wanted the pain to kill me.

“Move,” my mate said and the man moved his hands from my face immediately.

I was breathing heavily and trying to figure a way out of this. I didn’t want him to help me. I wanted to die. I wanted to leave this place.

He leaned over me and my eyes landed on his angry face.

“Give me the glass,” he said, clenching his fists.

My whole body shivered when he grabbed me and pulled me up. He made me sit and lean against the wall. I saw his jaw clench repeatedly.

“Drink,” he said as he brought the glass closer to my lips.

I turned my head around. I didn’t want to drink. I didn’t want anything.

“Hazel,” he growled as he grabbed my chin with his fingers and turned my head back around.

His touch did things to my body. It lessened the pain. It made me shiver. It made me feel safe. I didn’t want it. I wanted him to stop touching me.

“Open your mouth and drink,” he ordered, narrowing his eyes at me.

He used his thumb to pry my mouth open and I could feel water filling up my mouth. He closed my mouth and tightened his jaw.

“Swallow,” he ordered and I shook my head.

“Hazel, please,” the other man said. “Just drink.”

My mate growled and his hold on my chin tightened.

“Swallow,” he ordered again and the anger in his voice made me do it.

I didn’t want to, but I had no other choice.

“Again,” he said as he opened my mouth.

I felt the coldness of water on my tongue and my mate closed my mouth. He ordered me to swallow again and I did.

“Oh, thank you, Goddess,” the man sighed quietly.

My mate kept pouring water into my mouth until he was satisfied with the amount I drank.

“Do we have to do the same fucking thing with food or are you going to do it by yourself?” he asked angrily.

I shook my head.

“Words, Hazel,” he growled in my face.

“I will do it by myself,” I somehow managed to mumble.

“Good,” he said as he let me go and stood up.

The pain intensified, but it wasn’t as bad as before. My other mate was done with Jessica. I breathed out in relief and closed my eyes.

“Don’t ask me to do this again,” my mate said and I heard him walking out of the cell.

My heart clenched and I regretted every sip of water I took. I closed my eyes and let the fatigue take over my body. The man in my cell tried to wake me up, but I was too tired to even try to open my eyes.

I kept falling in and out of consciousness. I managed to open my eyes for a few seconds only and I would fall back asleep again.

But even in my unconscious state, I was aware of someone watching me. I was aware of his presence. I was aware of his scent and I was aware of his quiet growls.