Beast (The Submissively Ever After Series Book 1) (9 page)

His fist cleaved the air. The blow caught me on the cheek. Pain tore through my face, flaring to dull roar inside my head. I tried to breathe, but the air spread like poisoned fingers around my heart.

Something cracked underneath me and I fell to the floor, amongst a pile of rubble. Shattered. My thoughts were gone. I reached for my cheek and with my other hand, cradled my head.

The second blow was a dull thud. I felt nothing. Grey seeped into my world and snatched away the light. I clawed the tenuous thread of consciousness, holding on tight to the fraying strands, but they were slipping. I sagged, weightless, the thud of footsteps echoed from somewhere below.

"I
knew I’d find you come morning." Mark muttered. "This house can’t hide you forever. I told you not to listen to it. Did you, Belle? Did you listen to these damn walls?"

I closed my eyes while those tendrils of pain grew talons and shredded everything inside my head. Each lurch and sway made the bile rise in the back of my throat. Step after agonizing step Mark carried me, and together, we left the light behind.

"You’re the first one to take me by surprise like that. The first and the last. I’ve been awake all night, dreaming up things to do to you. I have the shackles ready and waiting. A few days with the beast and you’ll be screaming for me to take you, and take you I will. I’ll not give you another chance to run."

His muscular arms tensed, lifting me higher. I could feel his breath against my ear, his lips cold and slick against my cheek. His tongue was hungry, searching for that last trace of my sanity.
Fight
. A tiny voice screamed inside as he straightened and his steps slowed.

The snap of a lock made me flinch. I cracked one eye open, fighting the agony in my head as my captor heaved the heavy door ajar. Night lingered in here. The cold nipped the skin on my feet. What little warmth there was in my body fled as we descended into hell. His boots clacked, the sharp retort rebounding off the walls. His heaving breaths blew my hair against my face. Down, down, down he carried me. Even when he stopped moving, I still felt the motion.

He pushed me against the stone wall, balancing my weight on his leg. A scream tore through the air, followed by another. I tensed, then realized the shrill sound came from metal on metal. The clunk of a bolt slammed, followed by another, then another.

I opened my eyes. The yellow light above fought a battle with the dark, illuminating just enough for me to see the door. A growl vibrated through the darkness. The sound echoed from the walls. I jerked my head to the left, whimpering at the sudden flare of agony inside my head.

My heart battered the cage of my chest and my lungs were nothing but stone as one horrific thought bubbled to the surface. Mark wasn’t just dragging me into the cellar.

He was throwing me to the beast.

The howl of the hinge had me scrambling. I clawed Mark’s chest. Fabric tore as he dropped my legs. My feet hit the icy floor and I was shoved forward. That sound echoed, growing louder and louder, until it filled the room. I skidded and shoved my spine against the wall. The rocks jabbed my back, sharp edges gnawing my flesh until an icy ache spread along my spine. 

The click of a switch rang like a gunshot from my left. The weak yellow hue of a dusty light bulb reached as far as it could, clawing for a hold on the filthy cellar floor. The deep rattle of chains came from somewhere in the dark half of the room. The dull roar of something metallic—and heavy—being dragged across the stone wrenched a whimper from my chest. My legs trembled, threatening to take me down. I gripped the stone wall behind me and held on. 

"I bought you someone to play with. I know how lonely you get down here." Mark snickered. "She’s feisty, this one. I think you two will get along just fine."

The growl kicked up an octave, standing the hairs on my arms. My legs wobbled. My icy fingers slipped and I dropped to the ground.

"I’d be careful where you sleep tonight, for I doubt you’ll last very long. I’ll even leave the light on, so you can see the beast coming for you." Mark turned to leave. "Oh, and one thing to remember. He has wickedly long claws."

Black spots marred my vision as I lunged, gripping the edge of the door before he wrenched it closed. "Please, don’t leave me down here. I’m begging you... I’m begging you!"

His boot caught me in the chest, shoving me back into the room. I yanked my legs underneath my body, rolling myself into a tight ball as he knelt. "This room is the last thing you’re ever gonna see. But, if by some miracle you last the next three days, I’ll let you go, how does that sound?"

Three days. I wasn’t going to last three days and he knew it.

I’d become familiar with that cruel glint in his eye. "I’ll have Belle check on you later, bring you food and water, or a body bag, for whatever’s left."

His boots scraped against the ground and the heavy sound of metal sealed my fate.
Three days.
I tightened my body against the door. The deep pant filled the room behind me. I could feel the air buffeting my back. The sheer size of whatever drew breath made my insides weak.

Three days. I wasn’t going to last three minutes.

"Please, don’t eat me," I whispered. I cradled the cold steel and waited for the pain.

The heavy breath buffeted my body. The heavy clink of shackles dragged along the ground, edging closer. I closed my eyes. I couldn’t face death, not now—maybe not ever. I could feel him, dangerous, powerful, drawing in my scent and I expected each second that passed would be my last.

A snort blew strands of hair into my eyes. I didn’t move, didn’t breathe. A feral snarl tore through the air, heavy steps followed, dragging the chain backward, away from me. The muscles of my arms knotted and burned. The door was all I had to hold on to. That cold steel warmed under my hands and my breath.

"I. Need." The harsh voice came from somewhere in the shadows.

I flinched at the sound. Holding my breath, I risked a shift of my head. I licked my lips, keeping my voice calm and low. "Lord Bête. Are you down here?"

I waited for an answer, but there was only the heavy breath of the animal behind me. My mind was playing tricks, giving me hope when there was none. Mark was right, three days down here, waiting for this beast to kill me, I’d either be killed, or go insane.

The dark room upstairs haunted me. I could still smell the decay. The stench crawled under my skin and seeped into my brain. I stared into the crevice of the door and inhaled the cold musty stench of this room. All those women. How many women had Mark dragged into this hell, only to murder them once they were here?

Which was the real beast?

The cold floor was hard on my side. I gripped the door and tensed my body, sliding my hip to ease the ache and waited for the reaction behind me. There was no clang of chains, no snarl ripped through the room—only silence.

I seized my lip under my teeth and shifted again, listening for movement. The pain in my hip surged. I had no choice and so I moved again, twisting my body so I faced the center of the room. The bulb flickered, filling the room with darkness, if only for a second.

In those seconds, my heart clawed its way into my throat, fighting for a way out.

But there was no way out. I stared at the naked bulb until my eyes burned and spots danced in the shadows.
Please, please don’t let me die down here.
The beast was quiet. Only the heavy sound of his breaths told me I wasn’t alone. I slid my spine along the wall, taking one slow step.
Easy.

I forced my feet to move, edging toward a bundled shape in the far corner which grew from the shadows. At first, the outline looked like boxes. Maybe packaged food, old stuff hidden away—just like the beast. But the closer I came I realized that the shadow wasn’t boxes at all. It was a bed.

The pallets reminded me of a derelict squat. I slapped my hand over my mouth, gagging at the stench of piss that wafted from the filthy blankets. This was all there was. I kicked the blankets from the makeshift bed, holding my hand tight over my mouth.

I’m going to die here.

I dropped to the wooden slats and pinned my shoulders against the hard wall. I was going to die in this room and no one would ever know. My eyes burned, but there were no tears left. I’d cried all I could in this fucking hell.

I stared into the shadows and my mind wandered. Desperation drove the old man to meet with the beast and beg Lord Bête to marry his daughter. But it was the beast he met with, and the beast knew everything about this place. Did the beast work for the Lord? Where was the master of this house now?

These questions plagued me, in a revolving circle of hopelessness and greed. I pulled my feet higher onto the slats and crossed my legs and stared into nothing. Time became warped and strange. Each breath seemed to take forever to complete. I concentrated on the sound and the frigid air in my lungs, waiting for the night in the room to shift and for this hallucination to end.

The loud snap of the bolt made me jump. A warning growl tore through the room as the door opened.

"It’s okay, it’s just me." Belle whispered.

The vibration didn’t stop, then I realized the growl hadn’t come from the beast in the room. It’d come from me. I swallowed the sound, catching the ting of metal and the scrape of her foot.

"Wait." My voice was a croak. I cleared my aching throat and tried again. "Please, wait."

The splinters from the pallets dug into my fingers. My grip gave out under the pain. Still, I scrambled forward, clutching the wall as I shuffled to the door. "Please, let me out of here."

Belle bent, placing the tin bucket on the ground, along with a folded blanket, then straightened. In the twilight, I could barely make out her face. I grabbed her arm and caught her wince. "Please."

"I can’t. He’s watching."

I shook my head. "I can make it. All you have to do is turn the other way. I can hit you, if you want?"

"Belle, come out now." Mark’s impatient growl rang down the stairs.

I glanced to the opened door. How far could I get? Belle shifted her glance from my face to the room. "Please don’t. He’ll kill us all."

My grip softened. To risk my life was one thing. To risk the lives of everyone in the house.... The fight seemed to leak from my spine.

Belle kept her voice low. "Sometimes the escape we so desperately need is right in front of our eyes, but we don't realize it until it’s too late. I can’t come back until tomorrow, so make the water last."

Then she was gone, leaving me alone with the clang of the door echoing behind her.

I bent to the pail. My hands shook as I took greedy gulps, drinking my fill. The water tasted earthy and fresh. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stared at the pail.

"I’m not sure how this works. You need water and I need to stay alive. So, I’m gonna take another drink of this and push the bucket close to you. Please don’t bite me."

I bent and drank until my belly was an icy balloon, then dropped to my knee and eased the pail closer to that dividing line between light and dark. I couldn’t help but cower as the pail scraped along the ground. The water splashed against the sides, wetting my hand as it disappeared into the gloom.

That’s far enough. I yanked back my hand, licking the droplets from my fingers, and shuffled toward the doorway, then made my way back to the corner and crawled up on the bed. My belly was hard, but at least my thirst was quenched. Hunger had become a constant companion. I felt the ache as my body warmed the water.

What wouldn’t I give for a burger right now, or a steak with the works? Maybe tomorrow Belle would bring food. I closed my eyes and prayed for sleep, listening to the pail drag along the ground. Or, maybe the beast would end me as I slept. I pondered that thought as my breathing deepened. This time the thought didn’t shock me.

I woke with a scream resounding in my ears. My throat was on fire and I felt the burn all the way into my chest. I still felt Mark’s hands around my throat, the feeling lingered as I opened my eyes. There was no rising of the sun, not even a glimmer of light. I lost all sense of time huddled on the crate. The cold air seeped through the blanket, smothering me with an icy chill. My teeth gnashed, chattering so hard my jaw ached. I tried to hold my face to stop the pain, but there was nothing I could do.

The hard timber slats were cruel on my ass. I tried to move to find some relief, but no matter which way I shifted the ache drifted into my hips and back, forcing me to my feet. My mouth was dry. The water I drank seemed like days ago.

The heavy breaths of the beast were like the ticking of the clock and the soft snores rose and fell like waves at sea. I scanned the darkness and used the sound to keep track of his movements as I shuffled toward the end of the room. My fingers traced the cold steel of the door.

I reached with my right hand and touched the metal handle of the bucket. I snagged the end, dragging the pail closer. The grating sound of metal on dirt tore through the room. I held my breath, careful not to spill the contents and wrenched the bucket toward me.