Page 12 of Dark Revolution

“Shhh, little beta. This won’t take long. Be a good girl, and let our High Echelon inspect you. The more you fight, the worse it will be.”

No matter what I do, fight or give in, it’s worse. Like every female, I dreaded the day when I’d be allowed a mate. Not much is said about what happens after the nuptials are complete, but what is talked about isn’t pleasant. And now, I’m being stripped down like it’s the night of my mating by perfect strangers.

Warm fingers slide up my inner thighs, pausing just at the juncture. The world goes white as I hear an audible sniff from in between my legs. “Beta,” the High Echelon murmurs before gripping the band of my undergarments and rending them in half. Even if I survive tonight, even if they do decide that I’m pristine, I’ll have to continue the evening in utter shame. I’ll have no protection as I make my way home.

My body heaves as those same fingers slide along my lower lips as if he’s caressing me. They’re gentle, far more gentle than I expected. Caulder tightens his fingers around my mouth, and my jaw aches from the effort to move against the thick digits. Letting my body go slack, the pain decreases as he lets off on some of the pressure. Perhaps he’s telling the truth. If I don’t fight, maybe they won’t hurt me.

“Spread her legs wider. I need a good angle to see everything.” Looking up, I catch Caulder’s eyes. They mirror the Ferals from earlier, and it takes every bit of willpower not to scream. His pupils are dilated, but what little I can see is dark and filled with rage. He keeps his eyes on me, refusing to look in the High Echelon’s direction.

The hands holding my legs still yank them apart, wrenching them far past the point of discomfort. A strangled scream manages to get past Caulder’s fingers, and his eyes turn murderous. Perhaps he agrees that this treatment of me is beyond what’s acceptable and will come to my aid?

No such luck. As he removes his hand from my mouth, he pins me with his glare. “One sound out of you, and I’ll fuck you right here in front of the High Echelon. Punishment be damned. Remember, you’re just a beta.”

He pulls on the sides of the table, and the sound of chains hitting the floor reaches my ears. I bite down on my lower lip to cage the scream welling up inside me. I have no doubt that even if he doesn’t defile me here, he’ll do it some other way. I’m already in danger of being found out, of ruining not only my life but Karis’ also; I don’t want to trigger this Alpha into doing something even worse.

He takes the chains and attaches them to the cuffs he slides around my ankles and starts to push the wood back in. With each shove, the chains draw back even more, pulling my knees back to my waist and further spreading my legs apart. The muscles in my inner thighs scream as I’m folded nearly in half.

Without my undergarments, I’m exposed to this monster. High Echelon Alpha Varnack’s breath is hot and wet against my folds. From birth, we are taught that no man is allowed to see us like this except the Alpha or beta the High Echelon pairs us with, yet here he is, taking liberties with my body that he himself has ordered against.

What can I do? The one sect of Alphas that is supposed to protect me is the one threatening to defile me in public. Caulder pulls down the sleeve of my uniform, revealing my beta insignia. “Ahh, so that’s where you call home?” Bending down, he laves at the marking, trailing his tongue along each ridge.

Disgust and horror begin to morph into a new sensation as his tongue works over the delicate flesh. “Keep doing that,” the High Echelon Alpha rumbles from between my thighs. “It’s making her wet.”

Wet? I let my mind drift through my body, taking note of all the sensations. Nothing on me feels wet. I don’t understand. Does this mean I’m bleeding? I attempt to thrash around some more, to free myself from my bond, but everything holds firm. Derek doesn’t even have to hold onto me anymore. Instead, he’s unzipping his pants and pulling out his engorged cock.

The knot below his rigid length pulses as he glides his hands up and down. No longer is he an Alpha. Instead, the Ferals from earlier come into view, superimposing themselves onto him. I open my mouth to scream, but Caulder is there again, fingers tight against my lips. Phantom blood, much like that from the Ferals, drips down from Derek’s cock as his hands move faster and faster. I turn my head to look away, but Caulder pins it in place, forcing me to watch as a brothel beta glides into view.

Eyes locked on me, she bends over, wincing as Derek rams himself inside of her. I’m not allowed to watch this. They’re forcing me to break the law in front of the High Echelon Alpha. Frantic, my gaze flits downward, and I catch the eyes of the robed Alpha. He stares at me, his eyes void of judgment. A small smirk tilts up his lips before he goes back in between my thighs.

I look back at the beta in front of me, her eyes screwed shut in agony. This is no better than the Dead Lands. Will he be able to kill her without any recourse? Will they kill me? The hands are back, fluttering up and down my inner thighs, pausing to grip my ass. The sensation is unusual, sending a flip to my stomach. It didn’t feel bad exactly, but nothing about this feels good or right.

The High Echelon Alpha skims his thumbs up my lips, sliding with ease against some fluid, and I still. As a person passing a beta, I’m not supposed to have slick. Oh gods. He continues to run his fingers up and down me but doesn’t say or do anything else. His breath is hot against my skin, and I can only imagine how close he is to me.

How can he be that close and not smell my dynamic? Pulling back, I close my eyes and prepare for punishment, but it never happens. The air is quiet and still. The only sound that I can hear is Derek thrusting into the poor beta. In my mind, his thrusting is in time with the Ferals, and I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be next.

His hands are back on me, but this time, instead of staying on the outside, a finger slips in, just hovering at the entrance. Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods. He pushes in but stops after a moment or two, and an intense pressure blossoms from between my thighs. He pulls back and eases back in, this time, pushing at a different spot. Everywhere he pushes causes that pressure to flare back up.

“She is intact.”

Caulder pulls my head up, and I stare into his confused gaze. “Wait. You’re not….?”

Again, I play dumb and lower my gaze. “I don’t know what you mean, my Lord Alpha. Please. Please let me go. I am pristine.” Arching my neck up, I look down at the High Echelon Alpha, his lips twisted up into a grimace. “Please allow me to leave untouched so that I may find my sacred mate. I don’t know what I did wrong.”

With a nod of his head, Caulder pulls away and works at the chains at my ankles. Soon, they come down, and blood rushes back into the limbs, sending skitters of pinprick pain through me. The Alphas help me back up, and I pull my dress down, turning as if to leave.

“Oh no, little beta. I’m not through with you yet.” Instead of looking at Caulder, I send an imploring glance over the High Echelon Alpha. Shaking his head, he sits back down on the couch and snaps his fingers. The beta that had received the punishing rutting by Derek pulls forward but remains trapped on his knot.

Lowering my gaze, I move to grab the drink, but Caulder steps in, grabbing my arm and pinning me against him. “You dare defy an Alpha?”

“But, the Lord High Eche -.”

“Was not speaking to you. Now, get down on all fours. I have decided to make you my footstool tonight. I can’t fuck you since you’re pristine, but I can still get use out of you yet. Who knows,” he pauses to tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear. “Do a good enough job, and you’ll have more money than you’ll know what to do with.”

I stand rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do. If the beta pulls off Derek’s knot, that will cause her severe injury. Betas aren’t built to withstand the same injustices as omegas, and again, the shame of hiding my dynamic churns in my gut like soured milk. If I made my assignation apparent, perhaps they wouldn’t torture her like that. But then, they would turn their attention to me, and I’d end up just like that dead omega, with no one to protect Karis.

Following Caulder to the couch, I get down on my hands and knees in the spot he points to, hanging my head low so my hair can cover my face. The shame from earlier still burns in my body, and coupled with this new indecency, it’s almost too much for me to bear. The moment I still, Caulder flips my dress up, revealing my naked backside for the club to see.

“Shall we find you a mate then, little beta? I don’t know who could resist an ass like this.” Reaching down, he smacks one cheek, then the other, sending a stinging jolt of pain through my body.