Crown of Blood

5 | bleeding out

so I bear my skin

and I count my sins

and I close my eyes

and I take it in

and I'm bleeding out

I trailed after Alpha James with burning contempt.

Judging by his stiff posture, he was not happy about being woken up in the middle of the night to deal with the likes of me. I had a feeling that was only going to make the entire ordeal even worse for me.

We walked down the dimly lit hall, the floorboards creaking in protest as we came at a stop in front of the door I had unfortunately become well acquainted with over the past few years. Alpha James opened the door to the basement and turned to face me, motioning with his thumb for me to go down first. I walked forward, shooting him a cold glare as I made my way past him.

I looked down at the staircase that wound its way down into my own personal hell. Against my will, my heartbeat began to pick up. Despite my best efforts to control my emotions, my body always seemed to fight against my thoughts whenever I came here.

Settle down you stupid body pump, I mentally growled. You can handle pain.

Unconsciously, my hand reached up to tug at my ear as I descended down the steep steps into the darkness that lay beneath the pack house. The foul stench of mold and blood invaded my nostrils while the damp air washed over me. Silence filled the atmosphere, save for the light drip of water leaking from an old pipe somewhere.

I came to a stop at the bottom of the steps and waited for Alpha James, who was taking his annoying time.

The light flickered on from somewhere behind me and I blinked, adjusting to the brightness. The area we were standing in had many shelves lining the wall, filled with boxes of old files and useless items. To my right was a hallway that led to the cells where prisoners were sometimes kept, and to my left was another corridor with a very special place located at the end.

"I must say Reya, I really thought you'd have learned by now," spoke Alpha James, shaking his head. "My pack and I try our best to teach you the rules and yet you keep disobeying."

I eyed him carefully as he paced about, my shoulders tense. He always did this, trying to make it seem like he was simply a good man forced to do something terrible for the good of the pack. For the good of me. It was all a bunch of lies. But something about his behaviour today was weirder than usual.

"I really hate doing this you know," he paused, looking at me, "but it's for your own good."

My jaw clenched as I ground my teeth together at his statement.

My own good?

There was so much bullshit coming from his mouth that I was sure his anus was jealous.

Perhaps he digests in reverse, I mused to myself. The Austraila of the human digestive system!

"If you were just more considerate with your actions, none of this would have to happen," he clicked his tongue.

I bit back a laugh as I imagined him eating food with his butt.

He was talking more than normal; most times he just went straight to the punishment.

"Do you have anything you want to say for yourself?" he pressed, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I continued standing there in silent defiance. Once upon a time I had begged and pleaded for him to show me mercy, but I stopped when I realized it only gave him more satisfaction.