Page 86 of Shades of Scars

Kate’s jaw flexes. “I had a few sips earlier. You need the fluids more than me.” The strap on the lingerie piece she still wears slips from her shoulder, and I reach up to adjust it before it can go too far.

I hate to ask, but need to know. “How many days has it been?”

Kate smooths hair back from my face, lifting the tin cup back up so I can finish the water. I don’t fight her. “At least two days. Maybe closer to three. They had me under too when we were transported.”

I nod, and she lowers my head back to the floor. I’m just thankful I’m not still strapped to Harlan’s favorite metal table. “He’ll return soon. He’ll sense I am conscious.” I warn just before the doors swing open. It would appear that my senses aren’t as well off as they should be.

Harlan’s shiny black loafers click against the hardwood floor at his approach, but Kate remains where she is on her knees beside me. When his hideous face comes into view, he smiles down at me like a snake. If he had a forked tongue, I’m sure it would be flickering away in the air to taste the scent of my broken hope.

Levi is with him, but Jacob is suspiciously missing.

“Perfect timing,pet. I’m in the mood for a song.” He snaps his fingers, and then that jackass appears, pushing a smaller piano through the large doorway, making me wish I hadn’t wondered where he was.

Kate bares her teeth at Harlan when Levi moves to haul me up off the floor. I block everything out at the feel of his hands grasping onto my naked breasts. I’ve long since been stripped of all barriers so that Harlan could have every inch of my skin at his disposal.

Blocking it out is the only way I can survive.

Thankfully, she doesn’t say a word as I am deposited onto the bench Jacob pushes in front of the piano. My leg starts to throb, breaking through the numb barrier in my mind, but I grit my teeth through it. I know the drill. Hopefully, I can pull off this next performance, and then the three of them will leave us in peace for a while so I can rest.

It’s hard, but I manage to dance my bloody, nail-less fingers over the keys, striking the first chords of Harlan’s favorite song. However, I only get through the first verse before the asshole is slamming his fist down on the top of my right hand.

I scream, body folding inward and I barely stop myself from lashing out with the hand he doesn’t have pinned to the keys. If I hit him right now, it’ll be game over. “You sound atrocious,pet.” He snarls. “Start over. This time, it better be smoother.”

I do as I am told, fighting through the pain when he lifts his fist to allow me to start over. My fingers take a moment to start moving again, but just as I am about to open my mouth to sing again, a loud, urgent knock sounds at the door, tripping me up.

Thankfully, Harlan is distracted by the interruption. He growls, taking a step forward before he flicks his wrist to Levi. I try not to look over to where Jacob is standing way too close to Kate, but I fail. I miss Levi opening the door when my eyes zero in on the hand stroking over my best friend’s dark curls.

I grit my teeth, about to open my mouth to say something, but the look Kate shoots me gives me pause. Then, Harlan’s barked curse cuts through our stare down, drawing my focus to what I’d missed before.

“Impossible! They never should have been able to uncover the tracks.” He snaps to the man standing in the doorway. To Levi and Jacob, he barks, “Grab the omegas and head up to the chopper. I’ll deal with the clean up.”

Jacob’s hand knots in Kate’s hair, dragging her up to her feet. She curses a blue streak while Levi grabs me underneath my arms. He tosses me over his shoulder like I am a sack of potatoes, and I can do nothing when his palm slaps against my bare ass cheek in the process. My ribs ache in this new position, but my body is so broken that I can’t do much about it.

My heart starts to pound as reality sets in. Levi follows Jacob out of the room, leaving behind the torture chamber that has been our entire existence for the last two days. Fragile hope begins to bloom in my chest at the thought that maybe, our alphas have found us. Harlan had certainly made it sound like something was going on. Otherwise, why would he have us moved to a chopper for easy take off.

I lift my head slightly, trying to get a good look at my surroundings, but there isn’t much to go off of. The hallway we walk down is bare of everything except the occasional painting of generic photos framed along the walls on either side. The three doors we pass by are all closed.

A minute later, we are ascending a set of steps that are dimly lit with beautifully intricate wall sconces in the shapes of partially folded angel’s wings. We are only in the stairwell for about twenty seconds or so before we emerge outside beneath a brilliant sky painted in the soft pinks, oranges, and golds of a setting sun.

It’s obvious we are on a rooftop. Off in the distance, I spot an endless, glittering ocean when I lift my head. In this moment, it doesn’t even matter that I am gloriously naked and slung over the shoulder of a sadistic alpha intent on keeping me chained to his pack lead. I see the ocean, and I immediately begin to weep.

“Crying isn’t going to work on me, omega.” Levi hums under his breath when he senses my current state, but I’m not crying for the reasons he probably thinks.

I’m crying because I never thought I’d see the sun and sea ever again.

And I soak it in, just in case this is the last time I do.

Before I know it, I am being deposited against a cushioned seat beside Kate. My friend curls her lip at the two alphas. “Can we get a fucking blanket? Her skin won’t survive the wind when we take off.”

Jacob just smirks at her. “Thepetknows how this goes. No coverage. Pack lead’s orders.” He says, then he slips off the chopper, most likely to check in with said pack lead. Levi stays, staring at me in a way I really don’t care for.

“You know, the harder they look, the angrier it’s going to make Harlan. He’s not going to hold back eliminating just one of them. One by one, they are going to die because you couldn’t follow the rules.” My chest pangs with unbearable loss at the reminder of Apollo’s demise, but I quickly push it out of my mind.

I cannot afford to be distracted right now. Not if an escape opportunity is about to present itself with this hiccup they hadn’t expected.

“I think you know as well as I do that one cannot ignore a scent match bond.” I retort, knowing I’m going to regret it.

Levi narrows his eyes. “Scent match, eh? Regardless of what you think fate has in store for you, that doesn’t negate the factthat you are bound to our pack lead. We own you, omega. They tried to take what did not belong to them.”

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