Page 148 of A Whisper in the Dark

Eight hours. It’d felt like eighty. Hell, at times it’d felt like eight days even.

“He tortured me.” That’s all those beatings could be called, where he’d order his men to stop just so Hunter could get in a breath and pray it was over.

Then Isa would tell them to start right back up again, harder than the last round.

His eyes traveled over his arms, visible since the hospital gown he was wearing had short sleeves. There was almost no sign of the ordeal he’d been through. When he reached to touch his head and his nose, those things felt fine as well. They weren’t even tender to the touch.

“He had the best doctors working on you for over a week,” Wren explained even though Hunter didn’t ask. “He even spent five hundred till coin to have new treatments flown in from a neighboring planet.”

Considering how infrequently others traveled to Sanctum, since their threat level was considered too high, that was a big deal.

“You’re still not one hundred percent,” he warned, “but you should be able to move on your own. You’ll be weak though, since you’ve been out for over half a month.”

He frowned. “It’s been that long?”

“Yes.”

“And,” he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat, “where is he?”

“Odin?” Wren guessed. “He’s been handling the Frost Brumal, at least, what’s left of it. Even though we’d hoped to avoid an all-out war, Isa’s taking you was too far. It got worse after he found you—”

Hunter waited for him to continue, but Wren merely cleared his throat and glanced away. It was rare to see the other man embarrassed, and that only had Hunter’s chest clinching tightly all over again, though this time for a different reason.

“Does everyone know?” his voice sounded meek, too quiet in the already silent room, and he squeezed his eyes shut afterward. He didn’t want to be this person, the type who cowered from the truth, even if it was cold and hard and terrible, but the thought of them all knowing what Isa had been about to do to him in that room…He hated it. It made him feel helpless and pathetic all over again.

“Only me, Vetle, and the twins,” Wren reassured him. “No one else was privy to that kind of information, Thorn, don’t worry. All anyone knows is you were in a really bad state by the time Odin found you. That was enough to get all of them fighting extra hard against the Frost family, more so when it was announced that you’re a Whisper mated to their boss.”

They were mated, but that didn’t mean Odin was forced to stick around. What if he was disgusted now after what he’d seen? After the insinuation?

“You aren’t going to ask me any questions?” Hunter said.

“I figured you wouldn’t want to answer any,” he told him honestly. “I’m not the one you have to tell things to anyway. Now that everyone knows who and what you are, you don’t have to answer to anyone except Odin directly. No one wants to mess with a mated Whisper and risk pissing off his Shout. Look what happened to the last guy who tried it?”

At Hunter’s serious look, he shrugged.

“Sorry, bad joke.” Wren sighed. “What are you worried about, Thorn? If anything, you look even more anxious now than you did a moment ago.”

Since it was going to come out anyway, Hunter figured it was stupid to try and hide what he was thinking. It wouldn’t benefit him in the long run, and hadn’t he already decided his pride wasn’t the most important thing here anymore?

“Why isn’t he here?” he blurted finally. “Tell me the truth. Is it because…” He paused and inhaled a shaky breath before trying again. “Is it because he’s disgusted by me now?”

Wren frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend. You said you knew. About what Isa was doing to me when—”

Wren shot up from his seat, only stilling when that had Hunter jerking back to press himself against the headboard of the bed. “I’m sorry,” he held up his hands a second time, “Sorry. It’s just…The doctor told us you hadn’t been raped. Is that…Were you?”

“No.” He shook his head, but before Wren could look relieved, added, “But he did touch me. It was brief, fortunately, but it happened. What if…What if Odin doesn’t want me now? Isa said I would be spoiled goods.”

“Fuck Frost,” Wren snapped with so much venom it was a wonder Hunter’s heart didn’t leap straight out of his chest.

He seriously couldn’t wait for his body to return to normal so he could go back to being comfortable around the Dominus. He’d rather enjoyed their talks before now, and didn’t want to lose out on that thanks to Isa.

He didn’t want to lose anything because of that asshole.

“He thought you’d maybe passed out before seeing, but that pretty much answers that,” Wren said then. “You missed a great show—I did too, sadly. Frost chose the worst place to keep you holed up, it was basically just a cement box with two exits, and once Odin had those blocked off, there was nowhere for Frost to run to when he attacked. He burned him pretty badly, would have killed him if he hadn’t needed to check on you at the last second. The smoke fumes were blocking your airwaves. He turned his back and that bastard leaped out of a three-story window.”

“Isa didn’t fight back?” That didn’t sound right.

---