Cruel Beauty

Chapter 5

“Absolutely not.” I could hear them arguing from inside the car with Riley.

“At least allow Mica to look at her.” Esmeralda tried again, but the man who they referred to as Alpha Kian wasn’t having any of it.

He lets out a long sigh, his gaze suddenly shifting toward the car. Our eyes met, and my breath hitched in my throat. As if on cue, my heart started beating erratically in my chest. Squinting, he takes a step toward the car. “Who is she?” His head tilts from side to side watching me.

“She was a prisoner in Beta Daniel’s pack.” Esmeralda answered his question.

“That’s strange.” He continues to stare at me in wonder.

“What is it?” She looked between him and the car.

“Nothing. I’ll have Mica take a look at her.” Then he disappears inside a tower the car was parked in front of. Not a minute later, I saw another man bolting outside, barreling towards the car.

He flings the door open and lifts me into his arms as if I weighed nothing. He wastes no time getting me out of the car and inside the creepy-looking tower. Once inside, I was awestruck, but I didn’t have the time or energy to take in my surroundings.

The man deposits me on what looked like a dining table and immediately gets to work. He used a pair of scissors to cut my gown open, while I lay there writhing in pain.

“She should be healing by now. Why isn’t she healing?” He looked around the small group of people that had joined us—Esmeralda, Riley, and the man that was driving the car. “How old are you?” This time the question was directed to me.

“Seventeen.” I managed to wheeze out just as he began cleaning my wounds. The water stung against my wounds, leaving a burning sensation in its wake.

“Well, that explains it. You haven’t turned yet.” He mumbles to himself as he gets to work on fixing me up. “I’ll have to sew her up. I want each of you to grab a limb and hold her down.” My eyes widen to the size of saucers, panic creeping into my bones.

I shake my head violently at him, but he presses on. They hold me down, and he slips a cloth into my mouth for me to bite down on. “This is going to hurt.” He smiles sadly.

Then I felt it. The familiar burning sensation in my wounds, only this time it was ten times words. The cloth muffles my screams. Tears rolled down the side of my face, as I screamed so hard that I could have sworn I saw stars.

It did hurt. It hurt a lot, like a thousand tiny needles piercing my skin. At some point, I must have passed out, because the next time I opened my eyes, I was alone. I felt something soft on my bed, like floating on a cloud.

I shot up into a sitting position, which turned out to be a huge mistake. I groan in pain while putting a hand over my chest. I felt something soft there, so I looked down, only to find that I was wearing a shirt. I push the covers down to reveal sweatpants. I was fully clothed.

I caught a whiff of a strange scent that made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I sniffed the air to see if I could find the origin of the scent when I realized that it was coming from me—more specifically, the clothes I was wearing.

I bring the hem of the shirt up to my nose and breathe in deeply, enjoying how calm it makes me feel. I couldn’t place the scent. All I knew was that it was addicting, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

“You’re awake.” I didn’t even realize that someone had entered the room. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling, thanks to you.” To get the words out, I had to clear my throat a few times. I removed the shirt from my nose.

“Here.” Riley hands me a glass of water, and I eagerly gulp down the clear crystal liquid in a matter of seconds.

“Thanks.” I smiled, using the back of my hand to wipe the excess water from the corners of my mouth.

“How are you feeling?” She moves closer to the bed to place the back of her hand on my forehead. Nodding to herself as if pleased by the result, she took one step back with her hands behind her back and her eyes cast downward to the floor.

Guilt radiated off her in waves. I know that she feels back for what happened to me and that she also blames herself.

“Riley…” My voice came out in a whisper, cracking at the end. “Thank you.”

I meant it. She had no idea just how grateful I am to her. I was forever in her dept. I don’t think there was anything that I could do to ever pay her back for what she did for me.

“You saved my life,” My lips stretched to form a small smile, but she still wasn’t looking at me. From where I sat, I could hear sniffles coming from her. She was crying.

“I’m so sorry.” She threw her arms around my neck in a hug.

It hurt. It hurt like hell, but I set the pain aside to curl my arms around her, rubbing her back in a soothing motion. A wince escaped me when she squeezed me closer to her body.

“Oh s**t. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” She rambles on, while she fusses over my body.

“I’m okay.” I gasped, clearly anything but okay.

“Here.” She helps me lie down. “How could I be so stupid?” She slaps her forehead, pacing the length of my bed.

“I’m fine,” I assured her, even though the pain was starting to spread throughout my body again.

“No, you’re not.” She stops right at the head of the bed to stare at me. “Don’t give me that look.”

“What look?”

We’re interrupted by a knock on the door followed by a head peeking in. The person steps into the room to reveal themselves. It was the guy who treated my wounds. He walks over to the bed with a bag in one hand.

“Sorry for interrupting, but—”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait outside.” Riley cuts him off before he can finish, excusing herself from the room.

“May I?” He gestured to my chest.

I nodded in response and he got to work. He worked in silence, examining and treating my wounds. I was topless the whole time, with a blanket draped over my breasts. He was a gentleman though, his eyes never strayed from my wounds.

When he was done, he bandaged me up and left. That was it.

I was alone again.