~Daliah's POV~
My sobs wracked my entire being, causing my frail body to tremble as I lay on the cold damp floors of my cell.
My body shook violently from the cold but that was nothing compared to the cold that clawed at my heart… tore at me and made it impossible for me to breathe. The floors smelled of grime, sweat and urine but I was fast getting accustomed to the smell, especially as the smell of my own blood seemed to override it all.
I know it's only been a few hours since I have been locked in here— that is after being degraded and paraded shortly after I lost consciousness— but somehow it feels like an eternity. It felt as though I've been here… locked up and forgotten for ages, and I couldn't help but worry about Amara.
What was her reaction to all of these?
And most of all, does she even know about this at all?
An image of Beta Orion gazing down at me with nothing but emptiness in his eyes fleeted across my mind and I wondered if he had done just the same to Amara too. If he'd cast her out of his house… and into the streets.
She was the daughter of a thief after all.
The thought made my stomach churn and panic like no other gripped at me. I needed to see her. I had to be assured that she was fine.
Just then, the sound of footsteps thundering in my direction snapped me out of my trance and I glanced up just in time to see a massive soldier strolling over. He looked to be about 7ft tall and had the most ugly scar-face I've ever seen in my entire life with a mop of curly dark hair framing his head.
Fear clawed at me when I stared into his eyes, only to he met with a bottomless pit. Dark and cold. I shuddered.
As if noticing my fear, he stalked even closer and when he arrived by my cell door, he stopped to bare his teeth at me. Instinctively, I scurried backward.
"Hey there," he greeted, his voice cold and malicious.
I couldn't help but notice how his eyes roved my body in the most intensely dirty manner I've ever witnessed in my entire life—save for the auction house months back— When those large dark orbs stopped at my bosoms which were now on full display because the neckline of my dress had been torn through by Ms Jennifer, he stopped and licked his lips.
"Beyond all the blood and smears of dirt on your pale flesh, you're such a pretty one… an eye candy, and even if I hadn't been paid such a mouthwatering sum just to destroy your holes, I'd have done it all the same."
I could barely listen to him… could barely hear his words but a few things stood out to me;
Paid.
Mouthwatering sum.
To destroy all your— my— holes.
My heart plummeted. It fell so hard that I could swear I felt it fall out of my body. A shiver coursed through my spine and again, I scurried backward as the realisation dawned on me. He'd been paid to molest me… to rape me.
But why?
Were my punishments not enough?
Was it not enough that I had been flogged, degraded and punished for a crime I didn't commit?
It is not enough that I had been tossed to the side? Ignored and abandoned like a pesky insect?
Isn't it enough that now I'd forever be known as a thief?
Despite the pain wracking through my entire body as my still sore injuries strained under friction and lack of care, I forced myself to back away, pushing my body deeper into the dark cell and whimpering as more pain shattered my entire being.
I cried out.
As if relishing in my struggles, the big burly man laughed. The sound was scary; he sounded… dead. It scared me to my bones and filled me with panic so deep and so intense that my teeth clattered. "I'd advise you not to fight it, pretty one. I'll make it worth your time."
I shook my head as tears poured down my face. "No… no. I do not want it to be worth my time. I do not want it at all."
The thought of fighting him off sounded quite appealing to me but just as it came, I instantly shut it off. This man was large. Extremely large with impressive muscles and height that almost doubled mine. And I was nothing but an omega. Weak and powerless.
Even on a normal day with my full strength, he would still beat me to a pulp, not to talk about now. Now that I was in pain and struggling. Now that even living felt like a lot of work.
I was snapped out of my reverie when I felt his large calloused hands brush away the matted hair from my face and then he grabbed my chin in his hands, forcing me to look up at him.
"Try to be as still as possible, okay? Or it'll hurt… and it'll hurt so bad." He said but before I could make out words, the sound of my dress being ripped apart tore through the still air, momentarily deafening me, causing me to freeze in realisation.
It was happening.
It was indeed happening.
Tears poured down my face in torrents, and in one last desperate attempt, I looked up at him and whimpered; "please…"
"That's just how I'd make you beg for more."
"Please… I beg you. Don't do this… don't touch me. I feel too weak. My body's broken. I might die."
"And that's why I asked you to stay still… you'll hardly feel me ramming into you… after all, I was told you're the pack's whore and that your pussy is large enough to accommodate anything, even the horses."
I flinched at the prude words slipping through his lips but at the moment, that was the least of my concerns. I was concerned about my now tainted reputation; but worst of all, I was bothered about what he would do to me.
As if on cue, he leaned away and rose to his feet from his crouching position, and in panic, my eyes followed… trailing his movements. Watching his next line of action.
He winked as he loosened the ropes on his trousers and I gasped when his pants fell to the floor, exposing an imposing dick. He looked to be about 12 inches there and a chortled gasp slipped past my lips when it bounced daringly, as if it had a life of its own.
Desperation shot through me and I pushed myself to my knees, crying; "Please, I'll do anything… anything at all. Just don't do this, I beg you. You can tell whoever must've sent you that you've done it. There is tons of blood on my body, smear a part of yourself with it… just please."
Silence.
"I beg you."
More silence.
My sobs grew louder. "I'm on my knees."
"But I want to." His voice suddenly came, making a chill run up my spine. "Even if I hadn't been paid, I'd still have wanted to have a taste of you."
"I am the Alpha's slave… his plaything." I rushed out in desperation. "If you touch me, he'll know. And he'll be mad; I assure you."
If that was meant to make him back off, I lost because then he chuckled darkly, his eyes dancing in amusement as he regarded me. "Who do you think paid me to rip you in half if not the Alpha himself?"
My jaw dropped. "That's impossible!"
"Well, nothing's impossible, whore." He countered and with that fisted his hands into my hair, forcing me to my feet.
A shrill cry tore through the back of my throat as an excruciating pain quickly spread across my scalp and I thrashed desperately as the pain continued to spread, clouding my senses.
"Please… please.." I begged but truthfully, I didn't know what I was begging for.
I wanted him to leave… to leave me alone. I wanted his filthy hands off my body, and most of all, I wanted him to not touch me.
As I struggled against the burly man with tears slipping past my eyes, I couldn't help but feel the rage bubbling up within my chest, burning at my heart. The thought that all of these had been inflicted upon me by my mate… my someone who was meant to protect me made me mad. And somewhere deep down, I felt my love for him contort into something else… something stronger—darker.
Hate.
My hatred for him grew and I let it fester, and as if being mocked by the moon goddess, I suddenly caught a whiff of his scent. It wafted through the air, into my nostrils, and my assaulter probably sniffed it too because then he froze.
"The Alpha is here…" I barely heard him mumble before he aggressively let go of my hair, causing me to fall roughly to the floor.
Tears brimmed my eyes and slipped out when my body hit the concrete floor and I cried out as one of my injuries broke, causing blood to seep out from the now-open cut.
"Bastard!" I winced but the burly man ignored me, focusing on fixing his pants instead.
He had just successfully fixed it and stepped out of my cell when I noticed an imposing figure approaching and my breath hitched in my chest when I saw who it was.
Alpha Zarek.
My mate.
My heart twisted as I watched him strut even closer, and when I caught sight of his magnificent regalia, exuding his usual confidence, something akin to rage twisted in my heart.
Rage and hate.
I hated him. And that was strange because only hours ago, I could swear that I loved him… even more than life itself.