The Monster's Protege

Two

A U R O R A

17 years old, past

"I will fight you."

Viktor smiled eerily, taking his leather jacket off and the injured man hobbled towards him quickly to hold it. "That's what I thought."

"This should be fun." Dominic flashed his brother a smile, communicating without words and walked back towards the other corner, propping himself against the dirty, bloodstained wall.

Viktor took a step forward and stood with his hands tucked inside his pockets, exuding confidence that was no match to mine. The sliver of danger glinted brightly in his blue eyes. Pride and arrogance were rippling off him so fiercely that it almost paled me.

What made me so insanely greedy to live a little that I agreed to play right into the hands of a wolf? I thought that's what stupid people called 'hope'. And right now I was stupidly hoping for a miracle.

Drawing in a painfully deep breath, I steeled my nerves and made one last attempt to save my life. The fingers clasped the knife so hard I could bet the knuckles went white. I dashed forward with my arm reared back and lunged at him. He dodged my jab effortlessly and stepped sideways.

Like it was nothing to him.

"Try harder if you want to live," he mocked, pumping up my adrenaline.

Enraged, I flung myself at him once again with every force I could muster, frantically expecting to inflict a scratch so that I could bargain my life. But this time he grabbed my blade with ease, twisted it hard and as a result, it slipped away from my hold. I landed hard on my ass with a thud.

"Nineteen seconds," Dominic announced lazily.

"Nineteen seconds," Viktor echoed looking at me. "That's how long you lasted." A very polite way of saying I failed.

"What...now?" I gritted, panting and wheezing. I wanted to cry, scream and yell at my vulnerability. The uncertainty of the moment whether I would live or die churned out every last bit of bravery I concealed so hard. I wondered how long I would have to fight to remain alive in my goddamned life.

"She said she's hungry," Dominic told his brother, coming beside him.

He said it so casually as if we were having a simple, normal conversation. Like my life wasn't on the line and I couldn't be bothered about being starved. Despite being famished, food was the least of my concerns.

"Get her something to eat then. And some fresh clothes, too," he said waving his hand at me. "And keep her hands tied. Also, if she bothers too much, knock her out."

My eyes widened as true fear crawled in my veins. "If are going to kill me...just do it. Don't..."

"We don't kill little girls," he said as if reading my mind. This man had some sort of intellectual superpower. "Relax, Aurora. Just cooperate with us and do what Dominic tells you to do. You won't be harmed."

A weaker part of my brain wanted to believe him, the logical part didn't agree to it.

"So you will let me go after that?" A girl could hope.

Viktor chuckled and exchanged a knowing look with his brother and then met my gaze. "No."

With that, he simply walked out leaving me alone with Dominic. He came closer, offering his hand. "Get up!" he grouched, and then muttered to himself, "You're becoming a headache every minute."

I looked at his offered hand for a second. I didn't know whether I would live to see the next day or not, but at least I would be alive until the next hour. And in that time frame, I could plan an escape. So playing the obedient captive seemed to be the smartest move—for now.

Dominic sighed irritably. "Look, I don't have time to babysit you all day. GET UP!"

Snickering, I took his hands, only because my legs were frozen and numb, my knees were bruised and exhaustion was making me lightheaded. When I was on my feet, he gripped me by the arm like I was some kind of an errant child and led me through at least three-four iron-clad doors, into a hallway until we entered a small room.

A clean, single bed was placed on the right side of the room with a small beanie bag beside it. I could spot a bathroom too. That's it—no windows or escape route.

"Take a shower," Dominic instructed, pointing to the bathroom. "I will send in some clothes." He turned to leave without waiting for a response but stopped midway. "And yes, you'd remain safe as long as you don't do anything stupid. I think you're smart enough to understand that. Viktor doesn't give second chances, and he isn't a man you want to mess with."

The door closed behind him with a thud, and I plopped myself down on the bed.

'You'd remain safe as long as you don't do anything stupid'.

Threat and safety were so intricately laced in that sentence I didn't know what to make of it. But every thought was obliterated from my mind as my body sank into the softest mattress I had ever felt in years.

I almost forgot how it felt to sleep like a baby at night. I don't even remember the last time I had slept without being anxious about being raped, killed or kidnapped.

Whenever I was home, every night I would wake up to the sound of my father beating my mother. At the detention facility, I dreaded every moment they would push me inside a room and get my body 'checked' by the doctors as if the sleazy guards weren't good enough. After I fled from there, I kept fleeing from one homeless shelter to the other to prevent the risk of being hauled by law enforcement. After all, I was a fugitive.

I pulled in the blanket closer to my chest snuggled to feel some kind of warmth and rested my head against the pillow. It probably would have taken seconds before my eyes closed and I drifted off, the shower long forgotten.