Ruptured: The Cantati Chronicles (4 page)

Chapter Five

Prison cells at
the Compound were not much different than regular rooms. The only structural differences were the bars across the door and the dirt floor, but other than that, they were rather cozy. The dank walls held the stench of the Thames below, never quite losing that musty, stale scent.

It had been twelve hours since Cade and my father had locked me in here. Twelve hours since I had last spied my squad leaders as they were led away in handcuffs. Twelve hours for the Council to decide my fate, yet again.

Being trapped was worse in my mind than a sentence to the Desert. At least in the Desert, a body withstood a chance, slim as it might be, for survival. In here, locked in, all a person could do was await their fate, instead of fighting to change it.

I licked my parched lips for what must be the hundredth time. They had long since cracked, and in the corner I tasted dried blood. I had bit the inside of my lip during the worst of the electrically induced tremors.

I had had no visitors, no food, no water, no bloody warmth in this hovel since Cade had dumped my body here. One would think that they would at least give a prisoner a blanket or a fire. Although, I think they did that on purpose. This way, when a person went before the Counci, they were willing to agree to anything as long as they did not have to journey back to their cell.

Footsteps stomped against stone, and I knew my time in this place was finished. Where would the Council send me? To Cade or the Desert?

My prison bars swung inward, and Cade’s men surrounded me. No Cade. So the sadistic bastard didn’t have the balls to face me himself. He sent ten armed men to escort me to the Council, I presumed, but couldn’t be bothered with me himself. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy that he thought it would take that many men to keep little me in line. As for Cade, that man would rue today’s transgressions, make no mistake. I would never allow him anywhere near my body, at least not willingly. The Council might disagree on that matter.

Walking to a Council hearing with armed guards was never a good sign. If this was how it would be? Then my actions, regardless that they were made for the greater good of the Compound, had made me an enemy of the Council.

Figures.
Bloody hell, if I survived this one intact it would be a wonder.

“Move.” Rick Sloan nudged me forward at gun point. If my fate didn’t dangle precariously over the edge of no return, I would show this idiot how we did things in my squad. He jabbed me again. Either I moved or the man would put a crater in my back and end my apparent futile rebellion. How the hell had my life barreled so far out of hand? I was not attempting to start a revolution. I just wanted to live on my terms, not the Council’s.

A third, firmer nudge against my already bruised ribs and I picked up my feet.

Better to get the bloody inquisition over with than stoke the Council’s ire even more than I had already. Would they make an example out of me, punish me more fiercely than most to serve as a warning to the rest of what happened when a person resisted their system? I blinked as the light in the hallway battered my gaze. We marched onward through the familiar twists and turns of the underground Compound, past the half-expectant faces of residents who waited with bated breath to see what the general’s disobedient offspring would conspire to do next. I took none of it in. I let their rapt gazes fall upon me like leaves in a stern wind.

The soldiers led me to the Council chambers. The guards standing watch opened the double steel doors at my approach.

“Alana Devereaux, Your Grace.” One of the guards announced me at the threshold of the chamber.

“Come forward,” Amelia demanded the silk of her voice encased in steel.

Head held high, I ambled into the chamber. The door closed with a resounding thud behind me.

“Ah yes, Miss Devereaux, we meet again so soon. Perhaps the last time you were here you misunderstood the Council’s directive.”

“No, ma’am.”

“Ah, so then you intentionally defied the Council and committed more than four acts of treason against your brethren.”

I sucked in a swift breath. Treason. When had defying orders become treason? Would they imprison me for life, using me solely for breeding purposes, or exile me? I wondered why I had spent so much time in a cell when it seemed my fate and my acts had already been judged. This meeting appeared to be more of a formality, a way to assuage the masses the Council presided over to convince them that the stringent dictatorship of laws was just.

“No, not intentionally.” I wanted to scream at them, rail against them for the unfairness of it all.

“So you admit you defied the Council.”
By the goddess
. The Coven Mother clearly wanted to convict me. Why? Because I’d defied their edict?

“Yes.” I hissed and felt the nails being driven into my coffin. I should just go dig my grave in the common yard. It was to be exile for sure. Never mind the hundreds of lives I likely helped save, nor the countless missions I had engaged in that had protected the very laws they held so dear.

“And your majors. Did they commit treason with you?” I felt faint as she threw down a gauntlet I had not expected. Why penalize my men? They had only been following my orders. Granted, I had been removed from command, but that was a tiny technicality. The Council could punish me all they wanted, but my men were off-limits. They evidently did not understand the brevity of the mission we undertook. They lived because of us.

I glanced around the room at the stone faces before me. Yes, I had willfully denied the Council and butted against their system, but never at the cost of my men’s freedom or their lives.

I swallowed my pride and pleaded with the Council. “No. Please don’t punish them. They were following my orders. Do with me what you will, but leave them out of this.”

“Your men will be dealt with,” Amelia stated, as if their sentences had already been decided.

I paled. How could I be so stupid that I put my men at risk?

“I’m sorry. Please, they had nothing to do with this. Send me into exile or imprison me, but reassign them, put them on latrine duty. No one should be banished but me.”

Amelia held up her fine-boned hand, magic pulsing from her palm.

“Silence.”

I could not speak if I tried. The Coven Mother had spelled me with a flick of her wrist.

“The Council has agreed that you are henceforth banned from Cantati Forces. You shall be transported from Council chambers to your room, where Cade McDonnell awaits your presence. That is where you will remain until you’re with child. If, for any reason, you must leave your room, you shall be accompanied by armed guards. Is that understood?”

In all the commotion, I had forgotten one thing: my womb was far too valuable for them to toss me into the Desert. Power. I had it and had failed to use it. Amelia flicked her wrist and removed the charm.

“Yes,” I blurted out but stayed further words. My guys’ lives were far too precious to me to cause them further harm. The Council had me, and by the gleam in the Coven Mother’s eyes, she knew it. Even if she were bluffing, she knew I would never intentionally risk their lives.

“You are dismissed. Guards, take her to her room.”

Four soldiers, supplied to the hilt with weaponry, surrounded me. They were ready to lead me to Cade.

“Oh and Alana,” Amelia purred with an edge of ice belying the sugary coating.

“Yes?” I shivered. She had trumped me in every way possible. What further recourse could she have?

“Any further infractions, and the Council will expel your entire squad into the Desert in your stead.”

Chapter Six

That bitch!

She utilized my
softness for my squad to control me, to force me to submit to their decree that I allow Cade to impregnate me. I hoped the Coven Mother burned in hell for this one and let her know it with my glare.

“Good, I see we understand each other,” Amelia replied.

“We do.” I turned away from her, rattled by the strength of the woman’s hatred for me and fueled by the urge to retaliate. If not for the threat she posed to my men, I would have given in to the urge to punch her until I felt better.

I marched toward the door, and the guards raced to catch up.

“After you.” I let the first two pass as we walked into the hallway. It was not every day that a prisoner galloped to their punishment. Which was why the men at my sides continued glancing my way, as if they expected me to sprout horns and a tail. It was mere self-preservation, for not only myself but my men. Amelia had upped the ante and called my bluff better than any cardsharp. She knew I would not risk the lives of the men who served under me.

The trek to my room was way too brief. Before I could turn the knob on my door, one of my keepers did the deed for me.

Cade stood amidst my meager belongings, dominating them. The rage I had witnessed near the wall was barely contained behind a sheen of civility. No one discerned the menace but me. There would be no aid this night.

“Come in.” He held the door open farther for me. For the rest of the group, he appeared the concerned mate, ready to forgive my crimes. When that could not be further from the truth. The unknown nature of his retribution sent slithers of apprehension through my system. I could handle myself in any situation, any circumstances that I could fight my way through. Except I could not fight him, could not defend myself in any way against him. Otherwise my men paid the price. What’s more, by the glean in his eyes, he knew he had won.

“That will be all this evening. Please don’t disturb us for any reason, regardless of what you hear.” He winked at his men, who masked their chortles with coughs.

My cheeks flamed as I passed across the threshold. He had blatantly told these men exactly what he planned to do with me tonight. I was not virginal by any stretch of the mind, but I had never been free with my body. He had all but smacked my ass and staked his claim in front of them.

Bastard.

I would never be his. My body, yes, but my soul …

Never.

I stopped short at the sight of my bed, the navy covers turned down in anticipation. The door slammed shut with a resounding thud. Metal screeched as he secured a deadbolt and trapped me inside. I did not move, just waited for him to pounce. My breath caught in my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

Fingers dug into my jaw and tilted my head back.

“Look at me.”

I ignored him, keeping my eyes closed.

The rage I had only sensed in him exploded, and I found myself pressed up against the wall with one hand around my throat while the other was clenched like talons around my face.

“Look at me,” He growled, and his hot breath washed over me.

I cracked my eyes open and poured every ounce of my hatred into that one glance.

“You will never pull a stunt like you did yesterday. Do you understand? I wanted to be nice, give you a chance to get used to the idea of our situation, but you have forced my hand. You are to shower and rid your form of dungeon stench. You will return to this room without a single stitch of clothing on and lie on the bed. Tonight and every night from here on out, you will fuck me as if your life depends upon it. From here on out, you will not wear clothes unless I desire it. You will not eat or sleep unless I make it so. And I can promise you this, Alana, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will give you the spanking you so richly deserve and then fuck you anyway.”

He released my body, although I remained up against the wall. Would he really give me a few minutes?

“Go,” he ordered and pointed to the bathroom. “Leave the door open.”

With every ounce of bravado left within my arsenal, I side stepped him and marched to my bathroom. Although, not before I noticed the rather large bulge in his pants. I wanted to vomit.

This was truly happening. Cade would, as he said, fuck me. I did not realize I was shaking until I attempted to unzip my pants. My hands shook so violently the zipper became stuck midway down. Knowing the small bit of time he afforded me was limited, I squeezed myself out of my pants with the zipper only halfway undone.

The shower was lukewarm, but it was more than I had experienced in days. There was something so primal about what a shower did for a body. Slicking off the dirt and grime from the last few days, I decided my hair needed a good washing as well. My teeth chattered from the tepid water but I did not care. Closing my eyes I stood underneath the spray and let the water rinse the last suds from my body.

Resolved at the night to come, I opened my eyes to shut the water off. Cade stood half-dressed on the other side of the shower glass, watching me. There was not an inch of fat on his body. It was all sculpted muscle with whorls of dark hair dusting his chest. His eyes burned in blatant male hunger. His eyes feasted on my naked form and the bulge in his low-slung pants strained against the material.

I should be worshiping his body and thanking my lucky stars to have a man in such fine physical form as to be descended from the gods. I should want him. Any other woman would rejoice and anticipate the night ahead. But not me.

He adjusted his hard flesh.

Repulsed, I twisted the knob, cutting off the water flow. Cade had the shower door open before I could blink. Uncaring of my wet form, he yanked me from the shower. My damp flesh met his heated, rock-hard form and shivered. His eyes smoldered, thinking I anticipated his attentions. It could not have been further from the truth. Hatred boiled in my gullet. If it hadn’t been for the death threat hanging over my men’s heads, I would have ended Cade here and now.

I started to pull away. To do what, I had no idea. All I knew was that I detested his hands on me, wanted to gouge his eyes out and keep them from my naked body.

His powerful hands stalled my backward progression and propelled my body up alongside his. “Remember,” he chewed out, “your life and those of your squad leaders depend upon your performance.”

Hatred burned inside. I would kill him for this violation. I had to perform otherwise my men would be exiled. I sliced off my turbulent emotions at the knees. I lifted my hands to his chest.

“Yes, I remember,” I responded, my voice sounding detached, covering the boiling disgust I felt, like I was a robotic doll.

Cade smiled in apparent victory. He carried me into his bedroom and laid me upon the bed. His mouth descended, claiming my parted lips as his big body followed mine onto the bed. His hands were everywhere, stroking, petting. His fingers cupped my breasts, and he moaned, grinding his hips against me. He reached for the zipper of his pants.

Sirens blared. Furious pounding sounded on my door.

“Fuck! This better be important.” Cade withdrew from my body and the bed.

“Cover yourself,” he growled, marching to the door.

Spurred into action, I yanked the covers up around my form as he opened the door.

“What?” Cade snarled at Quinten and three of Cade’s men.

All four had a direct line of sight of me in bed, and I felt my cheeks heat. It was bad enough for them to know in theory that I was Cade’s bed partner, now they had an eagle’s-eye view.

“Drystan’s armies are moving against the city, sir. General O’Hare requested your presence in the Command Center,” Quinten replied. He handed him a missive, which I assumed was from the general.

Cade crumpled the orders between his Herculean hands.

“Give me five minutes.” And he slammed the door in their faces.

A lesser woman would have cowered against the wall. Everything in my being defied him and rejoiced in his thwarted attempt to claim me. The gods had granted me a reprieve, and I had to bite my lips to keep the smile from my face.

He glanced sharply at me and pointed a finger toward me.

“Don’t think this is over. We will be picking up right where we left off. And I mean exactly where we left off, with my dick about to slide into your tight cunt.” He snarled in apparent sexual frustration. I watched him calculate the general’s ire should he not report immediately and deemed it unworthy of potentially losing his prize.

In under three minutes, he was fully clothed and armed. While I remained with my covers up to my chin.

He stomped over and hauled me up. The blankets slipped from my grasp. He drew me close, and his lips claimed mine.

“Don’t even think of rebutting me or leaving this room,” he ordered gutturally as he withdrew from me on a moan.

He tossed me back on the bed and headed for the door, uncaring of the state of my undress. Bastard would likely parade me naked through the Compound if he could to show off his prize. I scrambled for the covers and yanked them over my breasts as his door swung open.

He glanced back and then at Quinten. “See that she does not leave this room for ANY reason, or I will ensure that you find yourself in the Desert. You three, with me.”

He strode from the room without a backward glance not even bothering to shut the door for he knew I would not leave. Quinten’s kind eyes were more than I could handle.

I shattered like glass in a window-pane.