Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 41: Why

*Trigger Warning: This chapter deals with elements of s****l assault, and reader discretion is advised. While it is not directly stated, nor is it described at length, I don't want anyone to stumble upon it and end up triggering themselves. Through the rest of the book, it will not be explicitly described, but the characters will be dealing with the realization of what happened and the aftermath. Unfortunately, it is necessary for the development of some of the characters, so I cannot remove it at this time. Please, be careful reading this, especially if you are likely to be triggered. I myself have dealt with the subject personally, and I do not wish for anyone to be hurt by my inclusion of the topic, but I feel it is a subject that needs to be out there, in order for people to realize how common it is, and for us as a society to do what we can to be rid of it. I apologize to anyone affected negatively by this.*

Layla POV

When she woke, she immediately winced as pain coursed through her head when she tried to open her eyes. She waited until the throbbing calmed a little before opening her eyes the tiniest bit. Looking around, she immediately realized she wasn't in her room. Just from what little she could see, it wasn't even a room she recognized. Suddenly, her eyes landed on the two males that were watching her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she gasped out, "Isaiah? Z-Zach? What the hell?" When both just stood there, staring at her, she sat up, wincing when the abrupt change of position came with a shooting pain through her eyes and head. She held her head in her hands as she asked, "What the f**k is going on? The last thing I remember was…" She trailed off as the memories flowed through her brain.

She'd been at the Blue Moon when Zach had shown up. He'd offered to buy her a drink, and had explained he just wanted to talk to her and apologize for his behavior when she'd hesitated. She'd accepted then, and they'd talked for a few moments before she'd started feeling woozy. Zach had offered to help her get home, and as he'd walked her out to the car, it had all only gotten worse. He'd buckled her in, and that was the last thing she could recall. She slowly raised her head to glare at him. "You drugged my drink?!" she exclaimed, half in disbelief, half in anger.

"Careful, Layla, don't overdo it. You've been out a few days," Isaiah cautioned from where he stood.

"A few DAYS?!!" she yelled, glaring harder at Zach as she started trying to get up. Isaiah quickly ran over to keep her seated, which prompted her to look at him in question. "And you, what the hell do you have to do with this?"

"He's the reason you're here," Zach offered as he walked towards her.

"No, you stay the hell back," she growled. It was then that she noticed a band on her wrist. She looked at it blankly as it slowly dawned on her. She looked between her two captors as her strained voice asked, "Why in the f**k do I have a S.I.C. on my wrist?" A S.I.C. was a steel band with a core of iron and silver. It was the stuff of nightmares, as it not only trapped a shifter's inner animal, but sapped their strength, effectively making them little more than a weak human. Most of the time, they were only used for extreme cases, where, otherwise, the shifter could not be controlled and would cause devastation everywhere and anywhere they could get to. To place one on a shifter that was perfectly in control of themselves was criminal, as it was cruel and unusual punishment.

"It's not just a S.I.C., we had it magically enhanced so you couldn't leave a specific area unless we told you to," Zach replied with a manic expression. "When we get the all-clear, we'll be taking you to Isaiah's fun little friends, where you'll help them figure out your special little technique."

"You're…you've kidnapped and drugged me, taken me to this place, and you're going to sell me to…and Isaiah is part of all this?" She stumbled over the words, her disbelief evident even as the feelings of anxiety and helplessness bloomed in her gut, making her slightly dizzy. She lowered her head into both hands, staring at the sheet that had covered her until she had sat up as she attempted to process everything. All the years she'd trained, all the danger she'd faced, fights she'd won, and she hadn't seen this coming. She'd fallen into their trap, foolishly believing in them. Even though Zach had started acting weird after Drake arrived, and Isaiah being a rogue she knew nothing about, this was the last thing she'd have expected from either of them. Despair and anger began to fight within her, but anger won out, for the time being. She burned with it, her breathing shortening, her heart pounding as her wolf strained to get out, but couldn't. A loud growl erupted from her.

Suddenly, she jumped up, wincing at the pain in her head, neck and, strangely, between her legs, but she paid it little attention. Instead, she launched herself at her supposed mate, but he simply caught her and held her away even as she tried desperately to punch, kick, and claw him.

"Oh, honey, why would you want to hurt your mate?" he asked with a crazed smile.

"You aren't my mate!" she growled fiercely.

"My mark on you says differently," he laughed, as if she had just told a joke.

His words had her freezing in place, stunned. He let go of her hands, and she raised one to her right shoulder to feel the skin there. He'd really done it, she realized as she felt the telltale scarring there. He'd-he'd marked and mated her without her consent. It wasn't complete, as she hadn't marked him, but right now, that didn't matter. What mattered is he'd done the worst thing a mate could do.

Her legs gave out, and she crumpled to her knees as every part of her seemed to shut down. Why? That was the question swirling in her brain, sounding repetitively. "Why?" came a small, hurt voice. She vaguely realized it was her own voice, that she'd been the one to ask.

He looked down at her, insanity bleeding through his eyes. "Because you are mine. Don't worry, dear, you'll accept it soon enough."

She fell into a fugue state, no longer registering anything around her. She couldn't hear it when Isaiah started yelling at Zach, nor when Zach yelled back. Everything seemed to turn gray, as if what he had done had stolen all the color, the vibrancy, the very life from her world. She stared into the nothingness, numb, and yet, so horribly broken. And why? Why? Why? It hadn't mattered that he'd answered, her mind still repeated the question on a never-ending loop.

Isaiah was now in front of her, having gotten on his knees to look her in the eyes, but she couldn't see him. He was talking, but she couldn't hear him. Soon enough, darkness descended, wrapping her in it's soft fingers, taking her away from it all.

The only thing she saw before everything went away, was Drake's smile.