lightning witch 02 - lightning legacy (6 page)

“Do it, Delaney. Make this so much worse for yourself.” His voice was guttural and I knew he was fighting his beast.

He then ground his pelvis into my lower back and I could feel his straining erection. God, he was getting turned on by this.
What a sick fuck
.

“Did Mark let you out?” His words were so garbled it took me a second to understand what he said. I had two choices. I could tell him the truth and get what could be the only person who might help me, and that was a huge might, killed. Or take whatever this punishment was and lie. My thoughts shifted to the moment Mark mentioned he had a wife. My mind was made up. I wouldn’t be the one who took him away from her. I had no idea why, even after everything, I felt the need to be kind to him, but dammit, it was who I was, deep down buried under all of the rubble.

He ground into me harder and wrenched my hands farther. I could no longer hold in my cries of pain. I screamed.

“No! I got out myself. He did my laundry and had no idea I was even out.”

I nearly screamed the words through clenched teeth. That admission only seemed to enrage him further.

"Oh, Delaney, that's a shame. But I’m happy. Now, we get to go play in my bedroom. And if you're a good girl, I'll lick your wounds when I'm done with you."

I felt a small prick on the side of my neck. The world went hazy. Where had that come from? Maybe he had it up his ass. I giggled. Everything faded to black.

SWIRLING LIGHTS. THE
movement made me feel like I was about to lose my breakfast. The lights stopped swaying, but they were still a bit fuzzy around the edges. Where was I? I blinked, trying to clear my vision. My eyelids were like sandpaper. I tried to rub them, but my arms were strapped down something. And I was cold.

I heard a voice. It was tinny, or maybe far away. I couldn't make out what was being said, but whoever it was, was mad as hell. I felt a slap across my face and, like a light switch, the fog lifted and I saw Mitch. He was taking his white button-down shirt off. I was hanging by my wrists to chains that were fixed to his ceiling. I could stand only on my tip-toes.

"Mitch, please. I won't do it again," I lied.

He smiled at me, all teeth. He walked over to me and I felt my nipples brush his warm chest. I belatedly realized that I was cold because I had no clothes on.
Oh God
. I began to tremble with fear.

"Oh, Delaney. The only way you'll be getting out of this is if you offer yourself to me," he said, a mere inch away from my lips.

“Mitch,” My voice was raspy. “You can go fuck yourself.”

Just because I was in this position wouldn’t mean I would give myself up to him.

Pain exploded from my jaw. My vision went black from the impact. It was only a moment, but holy hell, it hurt. I spat blood out that tasted extremely metallic. I waited for the pain to ebb, but it didn't. It throbbed with each of my frantic heart beats.

"Oh, is the little wolf not healing? That little shot was a mix to knock you out, but I slipped a little silver in there to slow your healing," he said, rubbing his balled fist. "I want you to feel everything that’s about to happen to you now, and I want you to feel it tomorrow."

His words sent a shiver up my spine. I had no idea what he would do to me. But, I had to hold on as long as I could.

His blows rained down on me with the force of a hurricane. One after another. I heard and felt bones breaking. I tried like mad to pull my lightning out and strike back at him, but with my hands bound and the pain I was in, I couldn’t hold onto the power for longer than a moment. After nearly every blow, he would run a rough hand over my body and ask if I was ready to accept him. And each time he asked this, I spat a single word.
Never
. I knew if I pushed him much further he would force himself on me. But I would never give myself to him. Never. Each time I said no it only enraged him more. I passed out countless times. Sometimes, I would come to only to be assaulted once again by his fists or knees. Other times I came to with his mouth on me. At some point I couldn't hold back the tears.

After hours of pain and torture, he took me down from the chains. I couldn't stand on my own. He threw me on his bed, kicked my legs open wide. I yelled and screamed.
No, no this can't be happening.
But I found I had little strength to fight him. I used what little voice I had left. It was all I had. And, as though he finally heard me, he roared in frustration. He walked out of the room. I was in shock.
Maybe, he had a moment of kindness?
The thought was ridiculous. I was far from caring why he stopped, I was just glad I had this small reprieve. I wanted to run, shit I wanted to run. The door opened and I tensed. But, it wasn’t Mitch, I scented Mark? It was so hard to tell from the scent of my own blood.

I felt his hands slip under me. Then another scent hit me. Rage. And it was Mark’s.
God, why is Mark pissed?
He lifted me in his arms and cradled me to his chest.

“God, Delaney. You should have just told him I let you out.” His voice was low and barely a whisper.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my jaw wouldn’t move. My vision was red with my blood.

“Shhh, don’t try to speak. God damn him. He has gone too far this time.” I felt him lay me down on something soft. He smoothed a hand over my bloody forehead.

“Mark!” Mitch’s voice called from the hallway.

Mark left and, for the first time, I felt his absence as a physical and emotional loss. I coughed, trying to clear my damaged lungs.

“I’ll be gone for a few days. But I’ll be back for the new moon. Impress upon her that this is her last chance before I take what I need,” he spat the words.

"Yes, sir." Mark's voice was low.

“And, Mark,” I heard what I thought was Mitch hitting him, and Mark’s breath leave him with a whoosh. “Don’t let something like this happen again. Or it won't be your head, it will be Kate's."

I could no longer fight it. I closed my eyes and let darkness overwhelm me.

TOMORROW NIGHT WAS
the night of the new moon. I could feel my power and strength waning just as the moon began its draining pull. I would be at my weakest, but then so would whoever was guarding me. Tomorrow night was to be the night I would get out of this hell hole. But, I still had no idea how this coin would aid me in my escape. I fully understood that there would be only two guards here if the god was correct. I had never tried to get out, so they had grown complacent. Damn it, even MacGyver had more than a fucking coin to get himself out of a damn bind.

Maybe I just wasn't thinking outside the box. Maybe I could bend the coin in the form of a key and … okay, that was the dumbest thought I may have ever had. A key out of a coin? I paced the length of the cell and tried to think of what to do with the damn coin.

A bribe? The coin appeared to be made of gold. But, with the long lives we had, money meant nothing to some of the older wolves. I flipped the coin up in my hand as I walked. Then I paused to look at it. Maybe there were directions, like shove into eye socket of enemy. No such luck. On one side, there was a wheel of some kind. Not as in a circle, but much like a wagon wheel with spokes. The other side was the head of a wolf.

I rubbed my thumb over the etching and the wolf's depiction disappeared. My eyes widened and I ran my thumb over the carving again. The depiction of the wolf's head was once again on the coin. I flipped the small disk to the side with the wheel and ran my thumb over the surface. Nothing happened. Had I imagined it? I flipped the coin once more and ran my thumb over the top of it. Once again, the wolf head was gone. And when I did it again, the head reappeared.

Just then, I heard the door at the top of the stairs open. I looked at the light spilling through the stairwell. With the amount of light showing, I would guess it was noon. Lunch time. I caught the scent of the wolf coming down the stairs and it made me smile.

Phil wasn't a new wolf to Mitch's pack, but he also was not high up in the pecking order. Phil was a short African American man who was turned when he was just shy of twenty-one or so. He had been turned about fifteen years ago. He had a nearly shaved head and muscular build. I think, before he was changed, he was training as an amateur bodybuilder. He, like most of the pack, worshiped Mitch. The sun rose and set by Mitch according to his pack, but especially Phil. He was also the one I could goad into giving me information just by pissing him off. I still needed some information before I could get the hell out of dodge. Like, where the hell were we? Where was Delaney being held? And why? Why any of this? What was his ultimate goal?

I realized I still held the coin. I walked over to the cot and shoved it under the blanket to try to hide its presence. I looked up to see Phil standing at the entrance to the cell, fumbling with the tray and keys.

"Oh, look, it's Mitch's lap dog," I spat.

He gave a low growl, but wouldn’t speak to me. They were told not to converse with me. Though, this man did, if I could anger him enough to do it.

"Or should I say Mitch's little bitch? Does he mount you like a little …?”

He snarled and yelled, "Shut up!" He continued to fumble with the keys. He was trying to get the key into the slot at this point. I could just rush him, but I would need someone to open the gate at the top of the stairs. I highly doubted that the other guard would let me out even if he saw his pack mate in trouble. I needed to bide my time and wait for tomorrow. The god in my dream told me to leave on the new moon and I would.

“You know, Phil,” I spat his name as though it were a cuss word, “you’re a smart guy, really you are. So, what I don’t get is why you’re in this.”

Phil's mounting frustration boiled over. He dropped my tray with a solid smack. He then shoved the key in the lock. He briskly turned the key, pulled the door open, and kicked the tray in. The tray slid across the cell floor until it smacked into the back wall with a thud. He slammed the cell door and then narrowed his eyes at me.

"Mitch is my alpha and moreover, he's right. We have spent too many years in hiding. Too many years pretending we are humans. We have let the Coven shove us under a rock. It's time that they end and it's time that we start anew. Why can't you see that?" He sounded like a zealot, like he believed every single word that fell from his lips.

“Oh, I don’t know, it could be because your high and mighty leader killed the woman I love. And then he has kept me locked in this cell for nearly four months, barely allowing me to change and run.” At my words, a shiver wracked his body. Not changing into our wolf selves would become painful after a time and if we couldn’t change, the wolf inside us would find a way to claw its way out and we would likely never be able to gain the upper hand again. While I have been able to change, I was not allowed to run or hunt. This was denying the wolf in me part of itself. At least he was not unfeeling about the situation.

He met my eyes and said in a measured tone, “They are necessary losses.”

“Would you sacrifice your female? And give up all you have for this ...” I scoffed, “… cause?”

He walked to the bars and tossed me a scrap of material.

“Put these on. I’m sick of seeing you naked.”

“Jealous?” I said smugly.

He walked to the stairs, and I called to his back, "You never answered me." He never looked back at me. He rapped on the door for the other guard to let him out. His non-answer was answer enough. I heard him pause at the top of the stairs.

“You know Reid, you might want to be a little more pleasant. Mitch promised that after he had Delaney, we all get a turn with the bitch. I think I’ll have my turn recorded for you.” The door shut behind him, cutting off any response I had. I gritted my teeth.

Like fuck you will, asshole. You aren’t going to live that long. And for saying that, I’ll make sure it's painful.

I learned little from him, but I did notice one small detail. The athletic shorts he tossed at me not only smelled of him, but of snow. We weren't in the south anymore. I had a long way to travel to get to her. I
would
get to her, even if all I had to do it with was a coin.