Luna Isabella

IX. The Collar

Isabella’s POV:

Ian jolted up, hands placed halfway in the air. “Damien, let’s be rational about this,” he said in a calm voice.

Damien’s eyes shot right at me as his nostrils flared uncontrollably, heavy breathing jerking into the air. Ian took a mini-step to the side to cover me but backed away when Damien growled viciously.

The sweet surrendering scent was no longer present, tingling my lungs. The wind swayed against the dampen air resulting in the leaves in the tall tree scattered around us. I swallowed heavily as the dark shadows of the full trees cover us, the sun hiding behind the puffy clouds. Heavy water echoed behind me, shrouding all sounds surrounding us.

“I told you not to meet Ian,” Damien said harshly towards me.

Ian placed a hand in the air, “She wasn’t-”

“I wasn’t speaking to you, Gamma Ian,” he states. With Damien’s vicious glare, Ian hesitantly takes a step back.

I never understood the werewolves’ hierarchy.

“Isabella,” he called for me while I stared at the ground. “Come here,” he commands.

I bit my lower lips, feeling the strongest urge to throw up the food I consumed earlier. Digging my nails into the moist dirt, I shake my head.

“That wasn’t a request. You either come, or I’ll drag you.”

My eyes skim towards Damien then the waterfall, wondering what my chances of survival would be if I jump. Tracing my sight upward, I notice Ian’s stare. Steadily, he shakes his head to reject my foolishness.

“Isabella!” His voice was hoarse like a fragmented rock, grinding against each other somehow compliments his ruddy complexion and popping veins.

I placed a hand on my chest, feeling the squeezing sensation. After some moments of calming down, I inhaled a hazy breath. “No.”

There’s a long pause in the hair as the wind rushed towards my boney features. My eyes rolled towards Damien, who had the deepest shade of red. He chuckles humorlessly, “No?”

I smile, feeling my dry lips crack, “No.”

Instantly, I stand up and rush toward the ragged edge. With a single leap, I jump off the cliff.

“Luna!” Ian shouts, but his voice quickly fades.

The moment my feet leave the ground, my eyes see nothing but piles of water, colored blue. Pure adrenaline pumped through every vein of my body as my hair danced in the air. At that moment, I wonder if I made a huge mistake.

While I fell through the seemingly endless sky, my lungs began inhaling the fresh air relentlessly as if someone was choking me. The air dashes across my skin as my eyes pin towards the crashing water. I shut it, getting ready for the slamming sensation. Washing deep into the darkness, bubbles formed in front of me. My body felt heavier each second, lung deprived of air.

There’s a large splashed above me, and I tried to make clear of the body. A warm hand grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of the darkness. I gasp loudly, reaching the surface of the water...not hearing or feeling anything.

Closing my eyes a few times, eventually, my eyes start to adjust, and my mind will figure out that I am not on solid ground. While my senses began to wake up, I felt the cold water enveloping my body, causing my teeth to chatter. Before my eyes completely focused, my ears began to register sound.

I can hear the crashing of the water.

I can hear someone yelling at me.

Why am I always getting yelled at?

I don’t want to be yelled at.

Taking a few hard blinks, Damien was in front of me. He had his arms firmly attached around my waist as his feet kicked back and forth, unintentionally kicking me as it floated in the pool of water. My mouth gape open, tasting the salty water, as I observed his features.

The water slithers down his tanned skin, dripping down his sharp jaw. His blazing brown eyes were locked onto mine as my chest scrunched up against his, leaving no space between us. I let out a shaky breath, feeling his hands gripping my wet clothes as his eyes lowered towards my chest. He ground his teeth, and turned around, then swam us towards the surface.

Gently, Damien held my body, pulling me towards land. Feeling the grass against my flesh, clothes dampening, I began coughing out water from my mouth. My limbs feel heavy as if an extensive set of weights replaced it, and I crashed onto the grass.

Damien was on the other side, gasping for air. “f**k,” he grumbled, throwing his body on the ground. Water soaks every inch of his body as the sun beamed onto him. I bit my tongue as he slicked his hair back, revealing his dark orbs.

I turn around, squatting on my bottom as my hand clenches on my chest. “You should have let me die.”

His eyes darted at me, and he stood up. He marched towards my direction and grabbed my wrist, forcibly pulling me onto my bare feet. “You don’t die unless I say so.”

“Are you guys okay?!” Ian screams, rushing towards us.

Damien breathes ragged, hot air blowing onto my cold cheeks. “Gamma Ian, get ready for your punishment,” he said severely, not once sparing Ian a glance.

Ian opens his mouth but shuts it. He nods and bows his head, “I understand Alpha Damien,” he clenches his fist firmly, “But, I do not regret what I did.” his eyes began flickering black as he stood straight.

Damien ignored his comment and began dragging me back towards the Pack House. “Isabella isn’t her,” Ian said, and Damien stopped walking, body flinching slightly at his statement.

His grip tightened around my wrist, and I groaned slightly as he continued his pace. The soles of my feet were aching with pain, rocks and branches pinching through every inch of my flesh. My dampened clothes began to dry, but a heaving headache emerged.

“I hate you,” I mumbled.

He stays quiet.

“I’ll never forget what you did.”

He clenched his jaw but continued to stay quiet.

“I wish I never met you,” I mumbled.

Damien stopped walking and turned around. There was a deep sketch of pain rushing through his eyes as he looked down at me. I chewed on the moisten lips, feeling the immense heat radiating off his body.

“You will be punished for what you did.”

“And what is it that I did?”

“I told you not to meet Ian, and you disobeyed me.”

“You have no right to tell me what to and what not to do,” I shout, taking a step towards him, face meeting with his heaving chest. “I can meet anyone I want and if you don’t have my friends in prison. I would leave you in the blink of an eye.”

His stoned eyes glared into mine as his grips tighten more than ever. He didn’t respond merely, throwing me over his shoulder and quicken his pace towards the Pack House. Upon entering, I noticed there wasn’t a single sound inside the house. I began hitting his back and kicking his stomach. He didn’t say a single thing, muddy feet slamming against the wooden floor. So, I opened my mouth and bit his shoulder, causing him to flinch, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

Damien threw open the door and threw me inside the bedroom. I fell to the cold ground and instantly shot a dirty glare at him. Dark hair flew all over my features, covering up the tears. He slammed the door shut, grabbed my wrist, and pushed me down on the bed. “No one disobeys me,” he growls.

He shuffled through the nightstand cabinet, and my eyes widened when he pulled out a collar. He grabs a fist full of my hair, forcing me to look at him. Automatically, I grasp my head and squeal slightly. “You’re my property, remember that.”

Damien inches closer to me, grabbed my wrists, pinning me onto the bed. I began shoulder and hitting him, but it was useless as he overpowered me. My nails scratch his cheek, and he hisses slightly but refuses to release me. He grabs the collar and wraps it around my neck.

Pulling on the medal chain, my body lifts. “I told you to stop running, or else I’ll put you on a leash.”

“I am not an animal!” I shriek.

He grabbed the collar and pulled it up, forcibly cutting off the air from my throat. “I warned you.”

“I hate you!” I scream.

“I hate you!”

“I hat-”

He pressed his lips against mine, and I pounded my fists into his bare chest. Our mouths broke apart, “Hate me all you want. You’re still mine,” he said in a low, hushed tone as he pressed our lips together once more.

When he opened his mouth, I bit his bottom lip, causing him to retract himself slightly. He wiped his thumb across his blood and chuckled. Damien rushed his fingers through his hair and pinned me farther down. The beating inside my chest was raging as I clenched onto the sheets. He tilted his head and slammed our mouth together, then bit my upper lip, hard.

I placed my hands on his chest to push him back, but he gripped my wrists, pinning it over my head. My legs kicked as he laid his waist between them. His tongue ran across my teeth, forcing his way to enter my mouth. I shuffled around, feeling his length grounding against my beating core. I muffled unintelligent words into his mouth as he created a tiny distance between it. Low, heavy pants escaped our lungs. He rushes his tongue across my wet lips, saliva dripping down my cheek.

A single hand dipped down, grazing against my forearm towards my neck. I whimpered, feeling Damien’s hand squeezing my breast as it lowers farther towards my throbbing core. His hand laid on my stomach, but stopped.

He removed it, and my eyes widened, hearing a zipper being pulled down.

My breathing increased, feeling a wet tip grazing against my thigh. Damien’s eyes wandered up, meeting mine as his waist pressed firmly onto me. He bit his lower lips and swallowed excruciatingly hard, as if he couldn’t.

Slowly, he released the grip on my wrists and placed both hands on both sides of my head. He shut his eyes, gripping tightly to the sheet, causing it to be ripe slightly. Steadily, he rested his head on my shoulder and pressed his body on top of mine.

He didn’t do anything, merely laid on top of me.

His arms motion as a hazy breath left his throat. My eyes widened, tears dripping down as he wrapped his arms around my waist. He inhaled deeply, head drugged into my neck. The beating inside his chest overpowered mine, as my body refused to calm.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

There was knocking on the door, capturing both of our attention. Damien leaped up, eyes refusing to meet mine as he grabbed the cover and threw it on top of me.

“What?” Damien hissed, going back to his usual threatening, over-controlling confusing self.

The door creaked open, and a werewolf stepped inside with his head hung low. “A-Alpha Damien.”

Damien glared right into his shocked soul as the werewolf’s eyes met mine. I noticed the pity lurking inside as his sight roamed down towards my partially torn clothes. I clench onto the sheets tighter as I bite my bloody lips. Damien took a step aside, covering me up from the guy. “There better be a good f*****g reason for you to disturb me,” he growls, tone heightening.

The guy cleared his throat and reverted to Damien. “Alpha Damien, there seems to be an intruder on SilverStone’s land, and she refuses to cooperate.” His voice was much clearer now.

“Change your clothes and follow me,” Damien demands.

I glared at him.

“Unless you want me to carry you downstairs, looking like that.”

I looked down, feeling my lips scrunching upward into a satisfied grin. “Go ahead. It’s not like you haven’t been doing that.”

Steadily, his body turns towards me, muscular arm folded across his bare chest. The guy behind him takes a step back and turns his body.

“Would you like me to change you, piece by piece?” There’s an undertone of threat lingering inside his words.

I swallowed, then wiped the tears from my eyes. Standing up, I stomped toward the closet, feeling my legs tremble. I pushed the door close, then grabbed a fresh set of clothes, and began changing.

The door creaked open as I pulled on a shirt, noticing Damien was standing there. He walked towards me, and I backed away until the hanging clothes covered the upper half of my body. Damien stood in front of me and stretched out an arm to reach for a blue knitted sweater. He shoves it in front of my face, “Wear this,” he commands.

I yanked the sweater from his hand and pulled it on, no longer feeling exposed. I gasped and turned around when he took off his pants. The heavy material slammed against the floor as the door started to creak—his hot body radiated behind me as he leaned closer, grabbing a pair of jeans. I stared at the colorful clothes in front of me as I heard the material shuffling hitting against his skin.

My left eye flinches as his hand reaches for me and turns me around. Damien pulls up the turtleneck and covers up the collar, allowing only my eyes to be revealed. I took a few blinks as he silently walked out of the closet. He stops and grabs a pair of pink bunny slippers then throws it at me.

I closed my eyes when I felt the bunny slipper hit my face as he walked out of the room. Slipping on the slippers, I want to hit him in the head with it. Slowly, I drag myself out of the closet and pacing behind him. I pushed my fingers inside the collar to remove it “Don’t bother, only the code can remove it,” his tone was scuffed as he took one step after another.

Another wolf came up and presented a wrinkled shirt for Damien. He nods, grabs the shirt, and puts it on. When we reached the staircase, Damien stopped walking. “Stay up here,” he said, turning towards the two wolves behind me. “Watch her,” he commanded, and they nodded in compliance.

Damien jogs downstairs as I poke my head out to see the event. My brows furrowed, noticing a girl I had never met. Then again, I barely step foot out of this place, so I haven’t met a lot of werewolves.

She stood there, in the middle of a few members, large muddy eyes analyzing every single item inside the room. Narrowing my eyes, I noticed there was an unnoticeable smile behind her innocent-looking facade. Long lashes gently fluttered in the artificial lighting. There’s pout on her face.

“Alpha Damien, we found this girl in the woods, and she doesn’t speak English,” a wolf informed him.

Ian walked in, and I inhaled, noticing it was a bowl full of chicken. My stomach growled and I cursed my hunger.

Damien walked over to her and presented his natural death glare. She stood there, crossed her arms, and matched his glare, almost mockingly.

“Name and reason why you’re here,” Damien growls.

She bit her lower lips slightly and then smirks, “La tua casa di confezioni è piccola rispetto a quella a cui sono usato,” she said, releasing a snicker.

Italian?

The facility was filled with creatures that spoke many languages. I don’t know how to talk to them, but I can identify each one. I had a lot of time when I’m not fighting for my life.

Damien flinches slightly, “What?”

Her eyes scanned the room once more. “Scommetto che anche il tuo cazzo è piccolo,” she said then burst out laughing.

Quickly, Damien growls. He slams her into the wall, releasing another menacing growl, showing off his status. Her breath was heavy as she attempted to breathe. A smile etched itself across her features; then, she kneed him between the legs.

I covered my mouth to hold back the laugh as he groaned in pain. “You b***h!” he screamed and raised his hand. She ducks and kicks him again at the same spot. He fell on the floor, crouching and cursing.

“Take this b***h to the dungeon!” he screams while I stifle another round of laughter.

They drag the girl away as the members help Damien stand up. I snorted slightly, seeing Damien resting on the couch with his hand hung on his palm. Ian walks in front of him, shaking his head as he shoves a chicken leg inside his mouth.

One by one, the members disappeared, “Luna, we should go back to your bedroom,” one of the wolves behind me said.

I looked up and pouted my cut lips, causing them to glance at each other hesitantly. They sighed, and took a step back, and I smiled, knowing I have some power.

Damien inhaled a deep breath, then stepped back towards the staircase while the wolves around him began disbanding.

Ian blocks Damien’s pathway. “Move, Gamma Ian,” he said, while Ian set the bucket of chicken down.

He crossed his arms, eyes glaring into Damien.“We need to talk.”

Damien growled, “Be grateful I didn’t throw you in the dungeon for disobeying my orders.”

Ian grounded his teeth. “Luna Isabella is not Stacey."