Page 54 of Reclaimed

My bottom lip trembles, tears starting to blur my vision as I hesitate. He heaves an irritated sigh, roughly jerking on my leash. I grit my teeth against the pain as he forces me to climb up and puts me on display. He crowds closer, my chest heaving while I scrape together the last shreds of my courage.

“If you insist on embarrassing me in front of my friends and colleagues, you leave me no choice but to show them how I bring my bitches to heel,” he snarls, venom dripping from every word as he jabs a needle into my arm.

My mouth hinges open in shock, wide eyes darting down to the syringe as he depresses the plunger.

“A little something to help make you more compliant,” he drawls, winking.

My stomach churns, a tear carving a path down my cheek as I choke on a gasp and my body relents. My knees wobble beneath me before all my limbs turn to jelly, the world tilting on its axis as I collapse onto the platform. I don’t know if it’s spinning, or I am, but the acrid taste of bile rises in my throat and I start to retch.

What did he give me?

Oh, no, no, no…

Vomit spills from my mouth, and I’m still coughing and sputtering as he rolls me to my back. I shudder a breath as the lights intensify, colors deepening and details sharpening. I reach above me, so badly wanting to touch the soft patch of blue dancing across my vision.

“This one doesn’t have a proper tag of ownership yet,” Harris announces to the crowd.

“Claim the bitch!” a male voice calls, sordid chuckles rising across the room.

“Should I use my cock first, or my blade?” Harris jeers, popping the button on his fly.

Laughter rumbles from all around me, my head lolling to the side as I glance out to see so many eyes watching. Waiting. Morphing. Sharp white teeth sprout from their smug faces, gleaming as they snarl and sneer. Wolves.

No.

This isn’t right.

I shouldn’t be here.

I need to go home.

I shove up on my elbows, my gaze frantically pinging around the room in search of a path, an exit.

“Not so fast.” Harris clicks his tongue, his hand clamping down over my shoulder as he shoves me onto my back again. “You want this, pet. You know you do.”

I stare up at him blankly, the signals in my brain misfiring.

“I do?” I slur.

“You’ve been begging for it all night.”

“I don’t–” the thought flutters away as my body relaxes back against the plush surface.

Harris smiles, slipping a knife from his waistband. He holds it up, light glinting off the blade like diamonds. I’m momentarily mesmerized, eyes fixed on the shiny metal as he slowly lowers it to my belly, right above my pubic bone. The tip pierces my flesh as he presses down, the blade slicing into my skin.

I jerk as pain seizes through me, my hands flying up to clutch his arm.

“No,” he admonishes, shaking his head. “Bad girl.”

He presses down on the blade again, a scream tearing from my throat as he drags it upwards. I try to thrash, but my limbs are heavy, my movements uncoordinated. He lifts the knife, crimson dripping from the blade as he brings it to his mouth, moaning as he licks it clean. Then his face splits with a smile, my blood coating his teeth.

“Delicious.”

Humming softly, he lowers the knife again, and the burn beneath my skin is molten as he resumes carving into me. The drugs have my mind and body at war, alternating from back arching as the blade sinks deeper, then morphing to white hot pain that wrenches me away from it. With a satisfied nod, his lips curl around his teeth.

“Go on,” he coaxes. “Take a look. See how pretty you bleed for me.”

I curl up, eyes landing on the blood smeared across my abdomen. The darkest of it is oozing from a series of three cuts, two vertical and one horizontal. All together, it forms a shape.