Page 57 of Anathema
“Save some for me, Chad. You don’t get to have all the fun this time.” The other man chuckled from the hall.
This time?I wondered if these two were Adrian’s right hand and were the ones responsible for beating the shit out of Monika. It shouldn’t surprise me that he would have someone else do his dirty work. I bet he’d hate for anything to happen to one of his freshly pressed suits. God, I fucking hated that son of a bitch.
I growled as I looked up at the man who intended to perform unspeakable things on me. It was written all over his face. Therewas no hiding his vile intentions. To him, I was just some weak and pathetic woman trapped in a goddamn cage.
I could hear Derek’s soothing voice in my mind, which fueled me to resist—to fight.
My dark, twisted, toxic viper.
“You’ll have yours after I get mine. And that all depends on how she chooses to behave.” Chad’s voice was hostile as he pulled me away from the wall and into his body by my hair. I clenched my teeth at the pain; he was gripping it tight enough to rip out strands.
“What’s it going to be, little rabbit? Are you going to make this easy?… or hard?” He chuckled darkly as his free hand reached inside his cloak, and I could hear the sound of a buckle and a zipper. The all-too-familiar noise snapped something within me and drove me to the edge of madness. Was this what it felt like when Chyler flipped her switch? Hollow.
“I've always preferred it hard.” I breathed, and without a second to spare, I released my grip on his arm, moving my hands to wrap around the side of his head. I dug my nails deep into his scalp and pulled his face down to meet mine. My lips grazed along the side of his face. “And I am nothing like a fucking rabbit,” I enunciated every single word with a hissed whisper next to his face before I opened my mouth and bit down hard on his ear.
The bite I took was so hard I could feel the cartilage cracking and crunching from the force between my teeth, and his blood began filling my mouth. At that moment, I was every part of the Alexis I knew myself to be: fearless, ruthless, and a fucking savage animal when cornered.
Chad screamed several curses as he punched the side of my head and stomach several times before I finally released his ear from my grasp, spitting a mouthful of his blood on the floor, most of it dripping down and coating my chin, neck, and chest.
Chad’s buddy ran in to see what all the commotion was about, and I leveled him with a sadistic smile, showing him my blood-stained teeth with pride.
“Still want to play hard with me, Chad? I forgot to mention that I bite. Perhaps your friend wants a turn?” I let out a sadistic laugh, kneeing him hard in the balls before taking a swing at his face.
“You stupid cunt.” Chad snapped as he gripped my throat and slammed my body down onto the hard ground. The air left my body from the force of the fall.
He stood and gave me one hard kick to the stomach before coming back down to straddle my hips as I fought against his hand that returned to my throat, gasping for what little air I could get. The fall and kick alone had winded me, draining the last bit of life I was fighting to hold on to. I squirmed under his hold, feeling my lips tingle and grow numb as my eyes rolled toward the back of my head. The tighter his grip became, the more my vision darkened.
“Chad, stop! We’re not supposed to kill her.” Cloaked asshole number two panicked as he saw the light draining from my eyes. “Adrian specifically stated that she was important and he just needed her to be complicit, not dead.”
My will to fight was slowing and becoming weak. I couldn’t breathe. I needed air.
“Son of a—” Chad sighed, releasing my throat.
I gasped and coughed, attempting to suck in as much air as my lungs would hold. I couldn’t think, and yet words fell from my lips like vomit.
“How does it feel… to be Adrian’s…little bitch.” I choked out between exasperated breaths.
I don’t know why I bothered tormenting him even further. Maybe it was because I had nothing left to fear and felt the need to at least have some fun before I died.
“I’ll show you how it feels, little rabbit,” Chad growled before driving his fist so hard into the side of my head that it snapped sideways, and I was thrown back into the dark.
Chapter 25
Alexis
Five Years Ago
Itwasmysenioryear of college, and the parties were already going hard. The streets were packed with drunks staggering from house to house. This was the life, though: freedom from family and simply a means to enjoy life before reality sets in and we all head into the real world with real jobs and careers.
I made sure to take full advantage of my time in college. Being the life of the party wasn’t easy, but it made these past four years fly by, that’s for sure. Driven most days by caffeine, I was able to keep my grades in decent standing as I drank my nights and weekends away at one of the campus frat houses. Delta-something. I never bothered to check its full name.
“Lexi’s here! The night has officially started!” A slurred voice yelled as I crossed the street and approached the front of the Deltafrat house. It had to have been close to midnight, and already, there were a few bodies passed out on the front lawn.
“You got my goodies, Tyler?” I smirked as I stopped at the front entrance and hip-checked him playfully. He lost a little of whatever balance he had remaining and fell off the step laughing.
“Always, pretty girl. I think there’s a few shots left inside the Malibu bottle you left here last time.” He grinned, biting his bottom lip and staring at my ass as I swaggered into the house.
“Wonderful,” I cooed over my shoulder, making a beeline into the kitchen.
