Forbidden

DAMON

I walked out of the cell and down the hall. Her screams and cries flooded my ears as I took each step.

I tensed up, clenching my fists at my side, fighting the urge to turn around and run back to her, capturing her in my arms. Instead, I decided against it, causing my wolf to growl at me.

I reached my office finally, opening the door and entering, motioning for Luca to enter and close the door behind him.

I sat in my chair and faced Luca. “The execution is off. She is to remain in that cell until I’ve decided what to do with her. Is that clear?” I stated firmly.

He raised a brow. “Yes, Alpha. But why is the execution off? What if she is a hunter? What if there are others with her? She could be a great threat to us and should be dealt with as soon as possible,” he stated.

I sat up straight in my chair, glaring at him. “Amelia is a mere human and poses no threat to us. She is not to be harmed in any way; do I make myself clear?” I said in a deep Alpha tone.

He squinted his eyes at me, unsure of my decisions, but nodded in agreement, knowing he couldn’t go against me or fight me.

I leaned back in my chair, breathing heavily and gripping my hair in frustration. I growled loudly and threw everything from my desk. That beautiful human is my fucking mate!

My wolf was pacing circles in my head, howling to be with her. As much as I wanted to be with her, too, we couldn’t. Humans and wolves didn’t mate together, ever! It was one of our most precious and abided-by laws.

What the fuck am I going to do with her now? My wolf would die if I killed her, and he would never allow me to let her go, and I didn’t want to either. I was screwed!

AMELIA

I woke up hours later, after crying myself to sleep on the cold, hard floor. My wrists throbbed from the chains, my body ached from lying on the floor, and my head was pounding.

I had hoped to wake up and realize that this was all just a horrible, horrible nightmare. But, to my dismay, I was still chained up in a cold and smelly cell. It was a nightmare.

I looked around for something, anything to help me break free from the chains. I could see what looked like an old rusty nail; that would work!

I reached out for it, but my chains restricted me. I removed my boots and stretched my body out as far as possible, trying to reach the nail with my foot.

I was so close; my big toe was almost able to get it. I stretched out just a bit more, groaning from the pain. Just as my toes touched the nail, I heard the thumping of boots nearing my cell.

I quickly sat back up and fixed myself, making it appear as if I was doing nothing.

A man approached my cell. He wasn’t as tall as the others or as muscular. He had bright orange hair, dull green eyes, and scars on his face. He smiled at me, revealing his chipped and discolored teeth.

His eyes locked with mine. “Well, well, what do we have here?” He licked his lips.

I scrunched my face up in distaste.

He grinned deviously. “You look delicious enough to eat.”

I just sat there, staring daggers at him and remaining silent.

His hands clasped the metal bars of the cell, and he brought his face closer. “Ever been with the big bad wolf, gorgeous?”

I didn’t reply but found his words to be an exciting choice and strange.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or should I say wolf?” He laughed at his joke. What does he mean by wolf?

He sniffed the air around him, and his eyes widened.

“Oh, you’re a human.” He smiled wickedly. Why did he refer to me as a human? He is human, too, right?

He pulled a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and entered the cell, closing the door behind him. I backed myself into the wall even more. The look on his face had me fearing for my life now.

He slowly stalked toward me with a menacing grin plastered across his face. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ll be gentle.”

Gentle? What was he going to do?

“Get out, now,” I boomed, trying to remain calm.

He reached for his belt and began to unbuckle it. My eyes widened in horror as I realized what was about to happen. I was frozen in my spot for a beat, shock and horror consuming my mind and body.

He smirked. “I can’t promise you’ll enjoy this, but I definitely will.”

He grabbed hold of my hair, forcing me onto my knees. I clawed at his hands, attempting to get him to release me, but he just laughed at my efforts. Next, he tore my shirt from my body, leaving me in my bra.

The grotesque man then bent down and kissed me roughly. I took this opportunity and bit down on his lip, hard. He stumbled back and growled as he wiped a small amount of blood from his lip.

He slapped me hard, causing me to fall face-first onto the floor. “You bitch! You’re going to pay for that.” He snarled at me.

He unbuckled my pants and flipped me over onto my stomach. He began to pull down my pants, and I fought with him to keep them up.

“No, please don’t do this. I’m begging you.,” I pleaded, tears now pouring down my face.

He gripped my pants tightly and, in one swift movement, ripped them from my skin, leaving me in my underwear.

I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what was to come next. I was shaking uncontrollably. This can’t be happening! Please, someone, save me!

I felt his hands roam up my thighs and clutch both sides of my underwear. Then, just as he was about to pull them down, a loud, dangerous growl flooded the air within the cell, and someone tore the man from me.

I lay there, unable to move, as shock and fear consumed my body. I wanted to see who had saved me, but I couldn’t bring myself to move or to look.

Growls and snarls echoed throughout the room. I heard blood-curdling screams coming from someone as wetness splashed my body. I whimpered and flinched with each horrific scream.

I covered my ears with my hands, but that did little to drown out the disturbing sounds. Finally, however, the cries ceased just as quickly, and the room fell silent.

I slowly began to pick myself up off the floor, but large hands gripped my arms and carefully lifted me up and onto my shaky feet. I cringed in terror and tried to pull away, but the person was too strong.

“Stop! You’re going to hurt yourself.” A deep yet soft male’s voice rang in my ears.

I peeked around my shoulder to get a glimpse of who the voice belonged to, and it was the same man from earlier who had come to my cell, the man who made my mouth water with sexual desire.

However, he was also the same man who had put his hands on me and hurt me. I instinctively covered myself and shielded my body from him, not wanting the man to see me like this.

Even though I had done nothing wrong, I felt ashamed and disgusted with myself.

His hold became soft yet firm. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” he said in a soothing tone, and as much as I didn’t want to, I believed he was being honest.

He turned me around to face him and inspected my body. I looked up at him, noticing that regret and sympathy were covering his features.

His hand came up and caressed my face where the other man had slapped me. His upper lip twitched, and he released a slight growl. Wait! The other man, where did he go?

I glanced around the room, looking for him. I peered around the man’s large frame and noticed the other man’s body lying lifeless in a pool of blood.

My eyes widened in horror as fear’s icy grip took hold of me. I looked up at the man still gripping my arm. His neutral face expressed no emotions.

I wiggled in his grasp and tried to back away from him, but his grip tightened.

“Stop, now! I assure you, he is still alive, just badly injured. I do not condone that behavior. It is strictly forbidden, and he deserved what he got,” he said through gritted teeth.

I stilled for a moment and glanced back at the man lying on the floor. I focused on his chest and noticed faint, ragged breaths slipping from him, and I was relieved, oddly enough.

However, I did agree with him; the piece of shit deserved what he got. As I glanced down at the floor, I noticed my shredded clothing and then at my near-naked body.

Noticing my actions, he glanced around at the shredded clothing, then removed his shirt and placed it around me.

“I imagine you are feeling exposed and uncomfortable; you may wear this for the time being.” He was sweet and kind.

“Thank you,” I said with a smile.

He released my arms and walked over to the cell door, swinging it open, before glancing back at me. “Follow me,” he said in a commanding tone.

I was hesitant to follow this god-like man. He instilled fear within me as I’ve never experienced before. But there was something about him, something I trusted.

He noticed that I hadn’t moved and raised an eyebrow. “Would you prefer to stay here?” he asked.

My eyes locked with his. “No!” I quickly replied. Remaining in the cell was the last thing I wanted to do.

His eyes narrowed in on me. “Then, let’s go.” His tone sounded clipped with annoyance.

I reluctantly followed him out of the cell. He closed the cell door and locked it behind us, then gestured with his hand for me to walk.

As we walked through the hallway, I peered into the other cells. The walls were stained with blood, and there was fur everywhere. What had they been keeping down here, wild animals?

The smell around me made my stomach churn. I tried to keep my eyes ahead of me and focus on something else, but that was a difficult task.

We ascended a set of concrete stairs until we reached a large metal door. I stood in front of the door, eyeing it curiously, wondering if someone would let us out.

“Excuse me,” the man said casually, and I flinched slightly, not expecting him to say anything.

I looked back at him. “Sorry?” I asked, a little confused.

He sighed. “I need to unlock the door.” He nodded toward the door that I was blocking.

I looked back to the door, only now noticing the lock. I turned back around and moved away from the door. “Oh, sorry,” I said quietly, feeling foolish.

He walked past me, brushing his body against mine and causing tingles to explode within my body from the contact.

He unlocked the door, opened it, and motioned for me to walk through. The man then closed the door behind us and locked it again.

We were outside, and the first thing that crossed my mind was to run as far and as fast as possible.

I stared off into the trees, seriously considering bolting, when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that he was now facing me, with a stern look plastered on his face.

He stepped closer to me and towered over me. “Don’t even think about it. I would catch you before you even reached the tree lines and”—he bent down so he was at eye level with me—“believe me, you don’t want that.”

He grinned. This man was the definition of intimidating.

I shrank into myself a bit as my eyes darted between him and my escape. Would he be able to catch me?

I ran track throughout high school and did well at it. I’d always remained active, but this man was built and strong. What would he do to me if he caught me?

The sun was shining brightly, illuminating his perfectly sculpted abs, highlighting every inch of him. Thoughts of him ravishing me entered my mind. Him between my legs, kissing every inch of my body.

I shook my head and quickly cleared those thoughts. Knowing now wasn’t the right time to escape, I gave up and admitted defeat, at least for now.

He nodded his head at me and gestured toward the sizable stony house that stood behind me. The place was a mansion, hiding from the world.

How had no one ever discovered this place before? Or did they and hadn’t lived to tell anyone about it?

He came up behind me, placing his hand on the small of my back, causing me to flinch and my body to freeze from the sudden and unexpected interaction.

He pushed me forward, up the steps, and through the front door. I didn’t get the chance to look around at anything, as we were moving too quickly. However, I did see a few people staring at us with perplexed expressions.

He guided me up a set of stairs and led me down the hallway until we reached a large white door near the end of the corridor.

He pulled a key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and pushed it open to reveal a massive bedroom that someone had beautifully decorated.

I wasn’t expecting him to bring me somewhere like this. I honestly thought he would take me to another run-down cell, but instead, he brought me to a more comfortable dungeon.

He pushed me inside the room. “You will stay here for now. My room is next door, so if you try anything, I will know,” he said in a harsh tone.

I swallowed hard. “I won’t,” I lied. “Thank you,” I said with a smile.

He stared at me intensely for a moment, then walked out, closing and locking the door behind him. I walked over to the plush bed and collapsed, allowing the tears to escape finally.