My cries fall on deaf ears, and I watch helplessly, the cold of the metal bars seeping into my fingertips as Jett slams his fist into Rowan’s face one more time.
I’m pretty sure I hear the faint crack of Rowan’s head hitting the floor behind him.
My entire body racks with huge, heaving sobs as I catch sight of Rowan’s limp body before Jett slams the trailer door closed.
“Shut the fuck up, your cryin’s getting annoying,” Jett snarls, slamming his fist on top of the cage, making the walls rattle.
I flinch away from the walls, tugging my legs up to my body and trying to hold myself together. It’s a struggle to bite back the hiccuping sobs that want to escape my chest, but when the ATV roars to life, it drowns out any of the sounds I’m making.
As Jett drives me through the farm, it feels like the chilly wind is whipping at my skin. Most of the farm is dark, with the only light coming from the headlights of the ATV or the occasional floodlight, running off a noisy generator.
I don’t bother asking where I’m being taken.
It doesn’t matter anymore. It’s not like my knowing would change anything.
I just have to stay alive. I’m not ready to die. There’s so much life I haven’t had the chance to live yet.
Jett cuts the ATV’s engine off as we pull up outside another barn. In the dark, it looks eerie and menacing. It makes me want to run screaming in the opposite direction.
I want to run back to Rowan’s trailer. I want him to wrap his arms around me again and tell me everything is going to be okay.
The cage door opens with a slam.
“Get out,” Jett orders.
I hurry to comply, scooting myself forward until my legs are hanging off the edge of the cage.
“Did you—did you kill him?” I whisper.
Jett grips my face in his meaty hand, squeezing my cheeks and making my lips pucker outwards. I try to hide the wince of pain.
“I think you should be more concerned about whetheryou’regoing to live through the night,omega,” he growls. Bile rises at the back of my throat, the lasagna Rowan and I shared threatening to make its way back up. “Playthings are supposed to be fun to fuck with, and you’re starting to be a lot more trouble than you’re worth.”
“I don’t—I don’t understand what you mean,” I whimper.
He shoves my face away like it disgusts him.
“It’s not your place to understand. Just know that I don’t give a shit whether you live or die anymore. If you survive the next twelve hours, then maybe you’ve got some use, but my brother’s been coddling you too much.”
If I survive the next twelve hours.
What does that mean?
I don’t dare ask him.
“My shitstain of a brother isn’t dead, though. Unfortunately, killing him isn’t allowed, but it’ll be awhile before he’s ready to fucking rescue you.” A maniacal grin appears on his face. “Which means I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
He grips my arm and drags me towards the barn. I wince as I put pressure on some of the earlier cuts and scrapes I got from being dragged along the dirt and gravel, but I don’t make the same mistake of not matching his pace.
When he slams open the door, it’s like all my senses are assaulted.
I have to blink my eyes quickly to adjust. There are two floodlights onopposite ends of the barn, illuminating the entire room in light that’s so bright it’s almost painful compared to the darkness outside.
As I’m dragged to the center of the room, it’s like I’m punched in the gut by the scent filling the space.
That charred sage.
Except right now, it’s so overwhelmingly burnt that I have to stifle back a cough.
