MAID FOR THE RUTHLESS ALPHA

CHAPTER 6: PATHETIC ALPHA

My entire body ached as I hung limp, the only thing keeping me upright were the chains that hung from the beam. The bleeding had stopped for a while now, only the dried blood remained, making me believe that it had been a couple of days since the Alpha’s whipping.

If I so much as twitched my fingers, pain shot through my wrist and up my arm. The same thing for the rest of my body. I could feel myself drift in and out of consciousness. Sometimes there was light coming in from the little hole, other times I opened my eyes, it was pitch dark.

My arms were tied together at the wrists and ankles with thick iron cuffs, not allowing me even an inch to bend forward or back, to make myself more comfortable. The coldness that enveloped me made every breath that I took hurt just as much.

Light danced behind my closed eyes, making them sting. The first thing I noticed was the more comfortable position that I was now in when I opened my eyes. My arms no longer felt as sore and the throbbing in my side felt better. Even my wounds felt less painful than before. Opening my eyes slowly, I let the light blind me for a second. My vision became clear after a moment and I looked around, confused by what I saw.

The walls of my cage looked the same as they had before but something about it seemed different to me. Then it struck me. I was no longer hanging by the beam, instead I was laying on the floor with my wrists and ankles bound by zip ties and even as the ties dug into my skin, it still felt a hundred times better than the chains.

A presence at my left side drew my attention. As I turned my head, I frowned at the man that was sitting beside me, looking...concerned? That made me frown even more. Who was this man?

He was tall and muscular, wearing all black and had dark hair pulled back in a high ponytail. His skin was pale and he appeared to be much taller than me even in his sitting position.

As his gaze met mine, I couldn't help but feel intimidated by him; despite the look in his eyes. What caught me off guard, however, was his expression. In addition to concern, he also seemed sad. His eyebrows knitted together and his mouth turned downwards in a frown. Was I dreaming?

“Fiona.” He said in greeting, standing up and moving to pull me into a sitting position.

“Let me see your injuries. I'm going to take a look.”

He moved closer to me and put one hand on my forehead to check if I had a fever. His palms were so warm and at first, I flinched at the sudden touch, causing his hand to freeze where it rested against my face but slowly, once I realized that he wasn’t going to hurt me; my heart rate decreased and my breathing returned to normal. Allowing me to relax against the wall.

“I am Tyler MacPherson.”

He said, staring into my face as if trying to catch my every reaction. I stayed silent though, waiting for him to continue but he didn’t, instead he pulled a bowl of water and a towel from his side. Dipping the towel into the water and gently dabbing at the dried blood that coated my skin. I was naked, but I didn’t have it in me to shy away from him, I just let him clean me.

He worked silently, cleaning the dried blood that clung to me. Dabbing carefully at my cuts. After what felt like hours, he finally finished, pulling the damp cloth away from me.

“I can’t fix these wounds yet, but I promise you will get better.” With those words, he reached into his bag, pulling out a small plastic container.

“I’ll give you these though. They will heal most of your wounds and give your body energy to fight off any infection.”

Taking care to pour the pills into the palm of his hand, he held them out for me to take. I looked up at him and gave him a questioning glance.

Taking the pills, I swallowed the pills dry, not letting my eyes leave his face even for a second. Once done, I looked up at Tyler, unsure of whether he would let me sleep or if he would continue to keep watch over me.

His brows knit together in confusion but then, suddenly, realization flashed across his features as he seemed to remember why he was here in the first place.

Pulling out some stale bread from his bag, he put them in my grasp, watching as I devoured them hungrily before giving me some water to wash them down. I felt better again, more awake and aware. Raising my eyes to his again I asked.

“What are you doing here?” My voice was weak, almost hoarse.

Tyler looked at me as if he was surprised I was talking, then smiled sadly.

“That does not matter. I need you to listen to me, Fiona.” Tyler pleaded. My eyes locked onto his, wanting to understand what he wanted to tell me.

“The Alpha is beyond ruthless. He would stop at nothing to get the information that he wants out of you.” Tyler stood up, checking my hands and ankles, no doubt to confirm that the ties were in place.

“Trying to protect him is not worth your life.” He threw one last look my way before leaving the cell.

A long time had passed with my back against the wall and my head buried on my lap when I heard that footstep. That footstep that had become a part of my memory, unwillingly. It sounded heavy, like it was being dragged on the ground.

The steps came to a stop at the entrance of my cell and I could feel the fumes start to form in my stomach. A familiar scent drifted to my nose and my shoulders tensed at the knowledge that he was squatting just in front of me. My head remained in my lap.

“Raise your head.” The command in that voice was clear but all it did was fuel my anger.

I refused to move though. I hissed in pain as he grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged painfully, forcing my head up.

Looking into his eyes was a mistake. There was no other emotion in those eyes, only coldness, hatred and rage.

His grip tightened on my hair until it hurt, his nails scraping lightly against the surface of my scalp.

“Have you suddenly gone deaf?” His voice came out low, threatening and full of irritation.

For a moment the rational part of my mind seemed to disappear and I spat on his face.

I watched as it splattered against his cheekbone and for a moment, he looked shocked, almost like he wasn’t expecting it and suddenly, a feral growl tore itself from his throat and before I knew what was happening, a fist was punching into my gut sending me flying. I gasped as I hit the wall with my head, hitting it hard enough to knock the wind out of me.

Pain erupted through my body but I laughed mockingly, raising my eyes to his once more.

“How pathetic Alpha, beating down a tied and helpless maiden.”

My words hung suspended in the air between us, mocking him and his weakness. His eyes narrowed into slits and his lips stretched in a snarl, I could see the color of his eyes change between the gold of his wolf and his original dark ones.

He was struggling for control. He launched himself at me faster than I could blink, pinning me to the wall, a knee digging painfully into my ribs and a hand gripping the base of my neck.

“Another word Fiona and I will rip you to shreds.” His voice was much deeper, I knew his wolf was just on the surface, but I couldn’t care less.

“f**k you.” The words were out in a sneer. Flying out before I could control it.

With an enraged roar, he brought his other leg up, slamming it into my lower abdomen causing me to gasp. Letting me fall to the floor once more.

Pulling me by my hair, he dragged my naked form through the cell to the table that sat perched at the end of the room. I watched as he cleared off all the items that sat on it, before hurling me on it, moving to pick the chains that once held me and strap me onto the surface of the table.

He grabbed the straps securing me to the table and secured them on either side of my head making sure they were snugly around my shoulders.

The metal was cold against my bare skin. My arms and legs lay stiffly to the sides as if someone had placed a wooden board on them. He walked around the table, kneeling at the side to work on something I couldn’t see.

And when he resurfaced, it was with two irons, one in each hand. He stared at me for a moment with eyes filled with a sadistic fire and bitterness, and when my lips curled in a sly smile, those eyes darkened even more.

He pressed the iron against my skin and jolts of electricity racked through my frame, making me scream out in pain. The moment he stopped though, the sly smile was back on my face, infuriating him even more.

“Once again, Alpha, Pathetic!” I said through gritted teeth, feeling sweat trickle down the back of my neck.

“You think that your strength matters when your entire existence revolves around your dead mate. You know nothing about power.”

The last I remembered was the iron returning to my skin with force and fire in that golden eyes. I passed out from the overwhelming shock and pain that wracked my body.