My stomach dropped when Zac got up from his seat. My lungs constricted at the cruel smirk plastered on his face. Zac sauntered over and stopped in front of me. His eyes hungrily looked me over from head to toe. Zac was the worst out of all the recruits I had come across here. The vile bastard had no boundaries. He was usually behind my worst degradation. Zac walked around me slowly and plucked the sandwich wrapper from my fingers while I remained unmoving.
“Stand up straight,” he ordered, and I gritted my teeth. My forced body did as commanded as Zac’s cold magic caressed over me. A violent shudder ran through me in repulsion as I tried to fight against the command, but it was pointless. I was a puppet on strings, and he was the puppet master at this moment.
“Nothing to say, Aleera?” he chuckled, and the entire room erupted with laughter. Except for my mates that watched from the back with expressionless faces.
“Nothing I say will stop you. Did you want me to beg? Beg for you not to do whatever vile thing you intend to do?” I spat at him, knowing I would probably lose my voice for speaking.
Being trapped in this place, I learned quickly not to beg. It just made the torment worse when I did. They didn’t care that I was female; they didn’t care I was powerless. All they cared about was the control they had over me.
“You’re right. It wouldn’t stop me. The guys and I want you to put on a show for us,” Zac said in an amused tone. I glanced around the room to find the men were all leaning forward eagerly; one even winked at me while another licked his lips.
My eyes darted to the table where my mates sat. Not a scrap of emotion was shown on their faces for what I was about to endure. They would not help me, not that I expected them to. They never did. If they just told them who I was to them, if their soldiers only knew. I wouldn’t have to deal with this shit daily. However, I knew they would deny it if I spoke up. Darius had threatened to kill me if I told anyone here who I was to them. So, I had kept my mouth shut. They hated me, and the feeling was mutual. Yet, I couldn’t bear to see them hurt, so how could they watch my humiliation with no expression at all?
My eyes went back to Zac, who looked me up and down. Was he going to make me dance? What did he mean by a show? I was already on display. How much worse could it get?
“You could always say no?” Zac teased before he scoffed. “Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Poor helpless Aleera, always so easily influenced, so easily overpowered. Must truly suck being the weakest form of fae,” he mocked.
His demonic eyes ran the length of me in a sleazy, obscene way. His gaze stopped at my breasts, and I felt my stomach drop somewhere deep and cold within me. I knew what he was going to say. I prayed I was mistaken, but his words confirmed my thoughts.
“Strip, Aleera,” Zac said, his voice coming out like a purr.
I blinked at him, tried to fight his compulsion with everything in me, even though I knew it was pointless. My eyes burned as tears threatened to spill, and my hands shook as I tried to resist doing what he’d asked.
“All of it. I want to see you completely bare.”
My fingers forcibly undid the buttons on my black blouse. My breathing became harsher as I tried to resist his compulsion. A sob tore from my lips that sounded more like a whimper. My vision blurred as my top fell open and revealed my black bra. Zac gripped my shirt and yanked it, my shirt tearing painfully from my body under the force he’d used. My scars were on display for everyone to see. The worst was the burn that went from my shoulder to my hip.
The men watching hollered and whistled, and some even poked fun at my burned, scar-ravaged skin.Was this high school? Were they truly this immature?They were fully grown men, all subjecting me to this. Worst of all, my mates just watched. Although, I noticed Kalen looked away when my eyes fell on him. He almost seemed guilty, like he wanted to step in and stop it. My fingers were still working to undo the buttons and zip on my black slacks. My eyes stung from the tears that brimmed and spilled over as I bent over to remove my pants.
“Please, stop,” I choked out as I stood upright.How could they all be so cruel?
“All of it,” Zac commanded again.
My entire body shook at his command. My cheeks burned with the humiliation, tears ran down my cheeks and dripped off my chin, and I could hear them all talking and laughing.
My bottom lip trembled as my hands reached behind my back and fumbled with the clasp of my bra. A hiccupped sob left me as it unclipped. I couldn’t handle it, so I clenched my eyes shut, so I didn’t see their faces watching me. I hoped it was stuck, but of course, it would come undone easily and expose me more.
Zac’s hand ran down my arm from my shoulder to my elbow as he pulled the strap of my bra down. My eyes flew open at his touch. His other hand moved to my hip, and I felt the bile rise in my throat. The feel of his hands on me disgusted me. I wondered how far he would take this. Looking over at my mates, Kalen got up and walked out along with Lycus. Darius and Tobias, however, were enjoying my torment.
“Hurry, Aleera, take it off, take it all off,” Zac purred as he tugged my bra strap off my other shoulder.
I stared at Darius.Was this what he wanted? Was this still not humiliating enough?His eyes darkened when Zac ran his hand up my side before grabbing my breast roughly. He twisted my nipple painfully, making me cry out, and I felt more tears spill over as my bra fell away. The room erupted with whistles and vulgar taunts.
Darius and Tobias could stop this, and I pleaded with my eyes for them to step in, just this once, and not subject me to this. My hands shook violently as they reached for my panties. It was the last article of clothing I had left, the one place left untouched.
My fingers gripped them, and I closed my eyes and went to tug them down when something wet splattered on my face and skin. The sound was so sickening it made my eyes fly open to see blood drops on the floor before more blood pooled around my feet. Zac’s command was suddenly gone, and I felt its weight lift when a pair of arms wrapped around me, crushing me against a warm chest.
My entire body shook, and the place fell silent. Tobias’s scent wafted to my nose, and a choked sob left me. I hated them, fucking hated them, but his body was the only thing shielding me from the watchful eyes of everyone else. The thunderous growl that echoed around the room made me whimper.
Suddenly, all the windows exploded with Darius’s rage; the blast sent shards of glass everywhere before I heard more sickening tearing sounds. Blood washed over my toes, and I heard popping sounds followed by screams. Blood spatter hit me from everywhere, coating me in blood, and Tobias was murmuring something, but I couldn’t understand anything until Darius’s voice boomed through the room. His words left no room for debate or argument, and I shook as he publicly claimed me.
“Nobody touches our fucking mate,” he snarled.
The collective gasp from those present was audible. My toes squelched in the blood, and I looked down and could see Zac’s body by my feet. The room cleared quickly; the screech of chairs was loud as everyone took off and ran out.
“Get her back to her room while I clean this up,” Darius snapped at Tobias, who turned to steer me toward the portal Darius had opened.
Bile rose in my throat when I saw blood covering the walls and ceiling. There was blood everywhere, along with limbs. Zac and his entire group of friends were dead; the man who licked his lips at me was also dead. A few I recognized that had catcalled and whistled were also blown to shreds, their limbs lying everywhere like they had suddenly exploded. Zac’s hands had been removed from his body, his head was almost severed off completely, hanging beside his body, and a hole lay in the center of his chest. Tobias pushed me through the portal, which led to my room. The moment I was in my room, I smacked him.