Page 16 of The Labyrinth

I wasn’t listening, already heaping my plate higher than I could ever hope to eat. A flicker of guilt crossed my heart, knowing my family wouldn’t eat half this good this morning. Or, ever. But I would expect them to make the most of it if they had the opportunity, so I should do the same. I was so busy grabbing food, I nearly missed Clara’s sharp intake of breath.

“Rissa,” she muttered.

I ignored her. I took a step, wanting to grab some of the strawberries, and immediately walked into a stone wall. Except, there hadn’t been a wall there a minute ago. I realized as I looked up it wasn’t a wall at all. It was the hulking stone man who had been watching over the women. The way he stared at me made me want to curl into a ball.

“You’re new,” he rasped. His voice sounded exactly like I would expect it, low, rough, and gravelly.

I couldn’t respond. It was as if the entire room had fallen silent, watching our interaction. It terrified me more than the monster himself. What about him made the other girls so afraid?

“You’re coming with me,” he commanded.

“What?” I squeaked out. “But—”

He reached out. I winced as he grabbed my wrist with a snap. I dropped my plate, bacon and eggs spilling everywhere. “I said, you’re coming with me. Best you learn your place here now, girl. What we say, goes.”

My heart was hammering through my chest, but his grip on my wrist told me there was no getting away. The women remained silent as the stone man dragged me down the aisle of tables, out the door into the now-silent hallway. They weren’t stupid. They all knew what was happening. But in a place like this, you had to protect yourself first. I understood that.

I twisted in the stone man’s grip, but it was useless. I punched at his arm with my free hand, and he looked down at me with a sneer. “I like it better when they fight.”

Not like this. Please not like this.Something in my head had convinced me my first time would be on my terms, as much as they could be. Maintaining some of my dignity. This wasn’t dignified at all. He was pulling me toward an empty cell, where he pushed me inside, slamming the gate shut behind us.

“I like the pretty, new ones. Before they’re wrecked by my brothers.” He was reaching into his pants, tugging out a cock I was terrified to see. I couldn’t look. This was happening, but it didn’t mean I had to watch it. “Bend over the bed.”

“N…no,” I stuttered.Maintain some dignity.

He shoved me so my stomach hit the edge of the mattress, knocking the wind out of me. “Bend over the fucking bed, bitch.”

One of his hands landed on my neck, holding me in place, while his other tore at my clothes, shredding what was left of my home from my body. But I wouldn’t beg. I couldn’t beg. I needed to stay strong, for myself if nothing else. If he wanted to rape me, fine. But I wasn’t going to let him know how scared I was.

His cock pressed between my legs. This was it. It would be over quickly, and then I could mourn. But I wouldn’t crack in front of this asshole. “Scream for me, bitch.”

I took a deep breath, and clung to the bedding for dear life. “In your fucking dreams.”

Now I had done it. He squeezed my neck harder, until I was certain it would be bruised for weeks. But when I expected the pain to tear into me, it never came. There was nothing, but a hesitation between us.

“Get thefuckaway from her.” One vicious snarl and my attacker froze, his cock an inch away from me. “Now.”

He didn’t move.

“I said,now!” the voice roared, shaking the bed I was sprawled across. My legs trembled with the tone. But my attacker moved off of me.

I turned around, shocked to see Ten’s furious face as he stood in the cell with us. Why the hell was he here? And why did the stone monster listen to him?

The stone monster fumbled with his pants. “It’s just some dumb human bitch, Ten. I was breaking her in for you.”

“Leave now, if you don’t want me to breakyou,” was Ten’s cool response.

My attacker composed himself and hurried out of the room. “You’ll pay for this, whore. Believe me.”

And then he was gone. I closed my eyes for a moment and just breathed in and out. I was safe. I was safe because of Ten. What the hell had just happened? I was terrified and grateful. Horrified and relieved.

I looked up and glared at Ten, his eyes pitch black pools of nothingness. What was going through his head? I tried to pretend like my sudden nudity didn’t bother me, when really it was all I could think about. I had almost been raped, and now I was basically naked in front of Ten. My heart pounded, thudding a rhythm through my chest. I didn’t know what was going to come out of my mouth until I spoke. “You just put my ass on the chopping block. You really think he’s going to forget that?”So not what I was expecting to say…

“I don’t give a shit,” Ten thundered. He was furious, and I wondered if his anger was what made his eyes look like there was no light in them. He stepped closer until there was no space between us. We could’ve shared a breath. Stolen a heartbeat. None of that mattered because what he said next made my heart stop. The air left my lungs.

“You’re mine.”

Chapter8

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