Page 2 of The Alpha's Fallen Spell
“The hell is that?”
They all look.
I freeze, caught between trees and flames. Between beasts and men. My body pulses, skin stretched thin over wounds that haven’t stopped bleeding. My arms hang at my sides.
They rise.
One of the men lets out a low whistle. “Well, shit.”
“Looks like the forest just coughed up a treat,” another chuckles.
“She’s bleeding,” one says, sounding almost impressed. “Everywhere.”
“I think she’s naked,” the fourth slurs. “Covered in filth and blood. Kinda like a horror movie, right?”
They laugh. All of them.
My heart pounds.
I don’t know what I expected—maybe shock, maybe someone turning away, maybe even fear. But not this.
Their gazes crawl over me. Not curious. Not concerned. Just greedy. Possessive.
“She can’t be from around here,” one mutters, stepping closer. “You think she’s high? Maybe some freaky cult girl?”
“She’s got holes we can use,” another says with a grin, eyes dark. “That’s all that matters.”
They chuckle again, louder now, like predators who have decided their prey isn’t going anywhere.
“It looks like someone already tore into her,” one murmurs, licking his lips. “But hey, a little mess doesn’t mean it’s broken.”
“She’s not saying a word,” another notes. “You think she’s mute? Or maybe she just knows better.”
That laughter again. Rancid and thick with inuendo.
I take one step back.
They take two steps forward.
“You ain’t going nowhere, sweetheart.”
My throat tightens. My hands tremble. I feel my nails pressing into my palms, sharp and burning.
I don’t know these men. I don’t even know this world.
But I know this moment.
I’ve lived it.
Not here. Not outdoors. In the room with the metal table. The chains. The hands that always came with laughter like this—hot, cruel, entitled.
I remember them. Not just what they did. Who they were.
And I know these men are no different.
The pressure in my chest rises like steam beneath my skin. The pain becomes something else, something deeper.
The one in front grins. “Come on, little wild thing. No need to run. We’ll keep you warm.”
