All Chapters of Tainted Loyalties: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

MOSCOW, RUSSIA. —ALZNA The thin ray of sunlight streaming through the crack in the wall was the only way I could tell night from day. My breath was shallow due to starvation, at least the best they could do was…. The iron gate groaned open, interrupting my thoughts. My second-eldest brother, Kirill, stepped in, his polished shoes clicked against the cold floor as he approached. “Alzna,” he drawled, his voice laced with mockery. “You still wear that defiant look, don’t you? Stubborn to the bitter end.” I refused to look at him. My gaze remained fixed on the far wall, but he wasn’t one to be ignored. He crouched in front of me and gripped my jaw tightly as he forced my face toward his. “Don’t look away from me, little sister,” he sneered. I spat in his face, the only act of rebellion left to me. “You think this is the end for me? You’ve murdered innocents and betrayed our blood, and you think you’ll walk away untouched? You’re a fool, Kirill.” His eyes shot daggers and his fac

The soft texture below my skin was a stark contrast to the cold floor in the dungeon. I stirred on it, thinking it was a dream. Then it hit me. The auction. My vision blurred as I tried to adjust my eyes to the lighting of where I was. My head throbbed like someone had hammered nails into my skull and my throat was dry. Whatever they had injected into my body left my body weak and my muscles aching. I rubbed my temples with trembling fingers, hoping the pain would subside. It didn’t. My eyes darted around the room—a bedroom, spotless and minimal, with a neatly separated bathroom and a dim bulb overhead casting my shadow on the walls. On the table was a tray with a covered plate, likely holding food. This was miles apart from the dungeon. But that didn’t matter. None of it mattered. I needed to leave. Now! I spotted a drawn curtain that I could assume was……. A window. My heart quickened. I pushed myself off the bed, my legs trembling as I half-staggered, half-ran toward it

He was going…. No. Not again. Not this time! I moved quickly to the other side of the bed, putting as much distance between us as possible, but the room was small, too small to create a large distance between us. “After what you did to me in that basement, you expect me to spread my legs like some cheap whore? Never! I would rather die than let you touch me! Go fuck yourself, Mashmellow!” His gaze darkened, ruining his amazing features. “And this,” he said softly, “is why you need to learn.” My eyes darted around the room, desperate for anything I could use to protect myself. But he'd thought of everything. Every object that could serve as a weapon had been stripped away. “Looking for something?” His chuckle was dry, humorless. "You're wasting your time." Before I could think of my next move, he was suddenly in front of me, closing the space between us in a flash. His hand clamped around my wrist, yanking me toward him with brutal force. “Let me go!” I screamed, thrashing ag