Page 19 of Wrath

And when I landed, it wasn’t with two feet planted firmly on the ground.

Oh no. That would be too easy.

Something twined around my wrists, holding them together and above my head. I hung suspended from the ceiling, the tips of my toes just barely brushing the ground, as the world came back into focus.

What the fuck?

What the ever-lovingfuck?

Panic pressed in on me from all directions as I took in my surroundings.

I appeared to be in a cell, maybe a room of some sort, though there was no door that I could see. There was nothing but four gray walls that smelled vaguely of blood and mildew. I couldn’t see what was behind me, but directly in front of me sat a metal rolling table with a collection of folded clothes on top of it.

Where the fuck was I?

“Lupe? Ryland? Killian? Bash? Dair? Jax? Dev?” I called, my body wiggling like a damn worm as I tried to free myself from the constraints.

It appeared as if my hands were tied together and looped around a low-hanging beam.

What. The. Fuck?

“Z?” a familiar voice questioned from the opposite side of the wall, directly in front of me.

“Bash?” I struggled again, but my efforts proved futile.

The rope was simply too strong to break through sheer force.

A dry, sardonic chuckle greeted me, slightly muffled. “The one and only.” A pause and then, “Are you tied up too? Trying to decide if this is super kinky or super disturbing.”

I snorted before I could stop myself. Trust Bash to lighten the mood when I was mere seconds from freaking the fuck out.

“I’m tied to the ceiling,” I confirmed. “And…” Something chafed against my neck, and alarm propelled through me. “And I have a collar around my neck.”

There was a beat of silence, then Bash’s dry voice said, “Kinky.”

“This isn’t fucking funny.” The metal of the collar dug into my skin.

I knew that it would leave behind mottled red lines. Maybe even blood.

Motherfucker.

Though maybe I should say fatherfucker, since my mother was the one behind this.

“I know it’s not funny. This is actually really fucking disturbing.” Bash paused, and I imagined he was assessing the situation. “But I can get us out of here. Give me a second.”

I held myself perfectly still as I waited for Bash to use his powers.

And then…pain.

Pain everywhere.

A scream lodged in my throat, and another wave of despair pushed it free. I couldn’t stop the cries that escaped me.

It felt like electricity was being injected straight into my bloodstream. It seemed to be emanating from the collar clampedtight around my throat. It burned. Oh god, it burned. Was my skin on fire? Was I dying?

Tears pricked my eyes as Bash’s frantic voice reached me.

“Z! Z! Answer me, dammit! What the fuck is going on?”

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