The Alpha’s Slave

(CONT’D FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTER)

BRIANNA’S POV

Despite everything that happened, I still couldn’t bring myself to dance for him. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t picture myself swaying, twisting, and wriggling my body just to impress him and make his cock rise. It seemed absurd to me.

I could feel his glare burning through me. I could feel his anger spreading like a pandemic across the room, threatening to wreck it apart. But I was adamant. I will give anything to leave his disturbing presence. Anything! Anything but dance.

The song finished playing and in an instant, he rose, his devilish gaze already melting me to ashes. Sheer black fright swept through me. What was he planning on doing to me this time? In this state, I could barely survive another round of his defilement and ill-treatment.

“I warned you, Brianna,” he threw his words at me like stones. “I made it all clear to you but you still stayed stubborn. Now you’ll suffer the consequences of your action.”

I watched as he approached his dresser with heavy steps. His hand reached for the knob, and with a twist, the drawer creaked open.

Digging his fingers inside, he rummaged through, furiously searching for something. I didn’t know what he was searching for. But from the way he was searching for it, I knew it wasn’t something good. I knew it was something dangerous.

My eyes instinctively travelled around the room. Since there were no means of escape, at least I could find a weapon I could hold on to for defence.

My gaze finally settled on a nearby jug that sat on the table by the far end of the room. It was the only thing reasonable I could find. My breathing was quick as I rushed to it. I grabbed it and held it close, picturing myself smacking it across the back of Hermes’s head. But something held me back. What if I failed? What if it didn’t work out? Only the heavens knew what he’ll do to me then.

On turning, my heart skipped a beat in shock and the jug fell off my hand. Hermes was standing right in front of me, his Viking figure overshadowing me.

“What were you thinking of doing with that jug?” He gritted, his nostrils flaring.

I looked at the jug that was on the floor beside me. I thought of picking it up but it was of no use. It won’t be a smart move. I had failed. Like I had imagined. And I had no other choice but to accept my fate now.

“Please… I’m sorry,” I pleaded, my gaze returning to him. “I wasn’t thinking of doing anything with it. I swear—”

My words paused in my mouth the moment my nose caught the raw, musky scent of leather in the air around me. My gaze involuntarily fell to his hand. In his tightly curled fingers was a leather whip with its strands hanging down freely. My eyes were focused on his cold, angry face, I hadn’t seen the whip earlier.

Fear, stark and vivid glittered in my eyes as I momentarily looked at the whip and him. What was he planning on doing? Using that thing on me? The belt he had used on me the other day left a painful, permanent scar on my back. I was yet to recover from the trauma. And yet, here he was, trying to use a whip. Not just any whip. A leather whip with strands ferocious enough to tear the skin open. My initial fear.

“I warned you, Brianna,” he took a step forward and I took two steps back. “You should have just obeyed and danced. How hard could it be?! Other girls did it.”

Other girls? Hearing that made my eardrums slam in shock. That was when I learnt Hermes had been with other girls before me. I wasn’t the only victim of his brutality. I wasn’t his only sex slave. There were other girls too. And it sent shivers down my spine to know they went through the same shit I’m going through with him. But it’s been weeks since I arrived at his hellhole of a castle and I haven’t seen any other female apart from his sister.

I tried to make a run for it even though there was nowhere to run. But before I could move, his fingers circled my wrists and he dragged me violently.

“No!! No!!!” I screamed at the top of my voice, trying to break free to no avail.

“Come here! Where the hell do you think you’re running to?” He dragged me back to the centre of the room where I was before and threw me down. “There is nowhere to run. You are trapped in here with me. Scream all you want, no one is coming for you. And that’ll only earn you an increase in the number of strokes,” he brought the whip close to his chest, smirking as he caressed the strands.

On hearing about the increase in strokes, my mouth instinctively pressed shut. I wasn’t sure if I’ll survive a stroke, talk more of an increase in strokes.

“Please Hermes,” I wobbled to my knees, pleading and blurting out every word I could think of. “Please don’t use that thing on me. I… I’m ready to dance for you. I’m ready… I’m ready to impress you.”

“I’ve told you severally it’s ‘master’… or ‘my love’,” his lips puckered with annoyance before spreading to a devilish grin.

“Yes, master… My love,” my lips quivered uncontrollably as I pleaded some more. “I’m ready to dance for you.”

I was desperate. But I still wasn’t ready to dance for him. I just kept uttering anything I could think of to change his mind and make him not use that whip on me.

“It’s too late, princess,” he replied, that grin still on his face. “I’m not in the mood for your dance anymore. Right now, I’m only in the mood for punishing you,” he held out the whip, ready to fling. “Now be a good girl and spread out your hands. If you disobey me again, there will be consequences more severe than this one.”

I swallowed a lump and felt it thud down my stomach. I didn’t know what to do. But one thing was for sure, I didn’t want another punishment more severe than this one. I will certainly not survive it. I wasn’t even sure if I’ll survive this one.

“You’re wasting my precious time,” he ripped out his words impatiently. “Spread out those hands, let me get this thing over with. I have a meeting at dawn.”

Slowly, I spread out my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, ready for the inevitable. The next thing I heard was a crack through the air and a sharp snap as it landed on the skin of my side.

My eyes burst open in response and I cradled my side immediately. It was already reddened and inflamed, with a raised welt forming in the shape of the whip’s impact.

“No, no, no, princess,” he shook his head. “Continue being a good girl and leave those hands in the air.”

Tears flowed freely as I looked at his cold, emotionless eyes. He showed no sign of empathy. No sign of remorse. No sign of stopping. Heart-wrenching sobs resonated from my throat, filling the atmosphere of the room. I spread out my arms again and pressed my eyes shut, wishing the floor would open and swallow me in to bring an end to this madness.

He made two more strikes at that same time and a painful sting echoed across the room. I plonked on the floor, not sure of what happened next. By the time I woke up, I saw myself on the hospital bed. I survived.

****

“I’m sorry, Sebastian,” I plugged out the earbuds from my ear and handed them back to him. “Thank you. But I don’t like the song.”Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Confusion scarred his vibrant features as he took the earbuds, staring blankly at me. I found it hard to believe he liked that song. That dark song carried dark memories with it.

Tears slowly found their way down my cheek and I took a few steps away from him, hiding my face. I didn’t want him to see me like that. All broken and shattered again. But it was late. He already saw it.

“Are you okay,” he settled in from of me and held my shoulder, his voice as soft as his gaze. “I’m so sorry about what happened yesterday. I’m sorry if I did anything to hurt you.”

He thought it was his fault. He thought it was because of what happened at the cocktail party. He didn’t know it wasn’t because of any of that. I thought of telling him of everything I’ve been through but erased the idea as soon as I thought of it. It was better if he didn’t.

“No,” I muttered, dabbing my stained cheeks with my fingers. “It’s not your fault. Can I go now?”

“I want to show you something else. But if you insist on going back to the castle, I can’t stop you.”