God, I fucking hate Clara so much. This was planned, and not at all a random occurrence. Greig and Jake were told in advance about where we were going, and Jake used his insider knowledge to fuck us over.
I hate that I don’t know why, but at the same time, what does it really change? Every piece of information simply solidifies how fucked we really are.
Neither of us have seen anyone while we sat here, naked, wondering what’s going to happen next. The sides of the cages are electrified, and Cassidy has been doing her best to keep ittogether, yet I see the tears shimmering in her gorgeous green eyes.
“This is going to be so bad,” I whisper. “Bell is bleeding everywhere. I think he’s out of the water now.”
“Why do that to him?” Cassidy wonders. “Punishment?”
“Madam Clara always has a reason for the things she does,” I say cryptically. “We’re definitely going to be punished for no longer being at The Hug Project.”
Whatever Bellamy knows about this, he hasn’t had a chance to tell me as he fights for his life. He’s being hunted, and the advantage lies on the hunter’s side.
“You couldn’t stay there,” she hisses at me.
“I know that, but that’s not how Madam Clara’s brain works,” I mutter.
The sound of footsteps, one of them being the click-clack of high heels gets my attention, and I press my finger to my lips. Cassidy hears what I do as well, and her body stiffens with worry.
I know in my soul that no one can help us here. We’re on Madam Clara’s turf, which means the rules will always change to suit her, and we won’t ever be able to beat her.
I can feel the threads of my bond inside of me, but the emotions are too muted due to distance. We were just finding happiness, I don’t know how to grieve its loss quite yet. I suppose it’s enough to know I have the bonds, and that they may find us again at some point if we’re all still alive.
Maybe that’s the romantic inside me. I know that hope can be weaponized, which is why I refuse to call it that. Instead, I’ll let the spark of whatever this is inside of me burn until it’s extinguished by force for as long as I can. Nameless though it may be.
Bellamy’s body is dragged in by his arms, and I recognize Jake as one of the people pulling him. He purposely refusesto make eye contact, though he flinches visibly when he hears Cassidy’s growl.
“Look, we’re all together again,” Madam Clara says gleefully as she looks around. “I see you know my newest employee, Jake. I don’t pay him, and yet he’s a model minion. Maybe ‘slave’ is a better name? It may not be due to circumstances he likes or wants, but holding a loved one’s life in the palm of my hand has a certainjene sais quoi. Don’t you think so?”
“Is that why you betrayed us?” Cassidy asks, her voice low and guttural. She’s fucking pissed, while I’m emotionally rung out. “We could have helped you.”
Bellamy is passed out on the ground, probably from exhaustion. There’s blood dripping from multiple wounds across his pale skin, and if I couldn't feel him inside of me, I’d worry he was dead.
“They have my mom,” Jake says under his breath.
“I’ve met your fucking mother, Jake! She would die from the embarrassment of having you as a son if she knew about this,” Cassidy snarls, making me wince.
“That’s enough,” Avery sighs, waving her hand in the air as if to dispel the tension. “I have work to do. Shall we, Clara?”
“Proceed,” she says, smirking. “If we’re going to break their scent matched bonds before the auction, it needs to be done soon.”
“Break?” Cassidy asks, blinking at Madam Clara in confusion.
Avery bows in water splashed clothes without care, her crop top and pants too sparse for the cool building. My heart pounds steadily, scared to death of what she’s going to say.
I can’t even worry about how cold I am, or the fact that my ass is numb from sitting in the same position for too long as dread fills my veins.
This is going to suck.
“I can break any bond between omegas and alphas,” Avery announces. “It just has to be done when the omega is vulnerable. Now, Clara. Do you have any employees who have been very good boys?”
“I do, but I rarely allow them to fuck the inventory,” she drawls. “Why, what are you planning?”
“The alpha is too strong for anyone to want her,” Avery says with a shrug. “I don’t want to kill her yet, but I think she’ll be useful. Why don’t we give your employees a sweet treat to break her? What are your plans for her at the auction?”
“Live snuff porn,” Madam Clara sniffs.
I’m well aware of her cruelty, and I can’t stop shaking as I listen to her. This is worse than death, knowing Cassidy’s history. I sneak a glance at my alpha, but her face is impassive and her eyes are dead.
