Aislinn scented him before she heard him.
Goddess was he really still wearing that same awful cologne? So tacky. Like seriously man get with the times. The sh*t reeked.
It also dominated her nightmares.
It had taken weeks before it had completely dispelled from her nostrils and senses the first time she had escaped from this place. When she was finally able to breath without remembering its overbearing scent she had vowed to never inhale its cheap pungent aroma ever again.
Seems like that promise was about to go right out the window. Of course she could always just hold her breath and die of suffocation.
Tempting.
She seriously considered it for a few beats. It came close.
She REALLY hated that cologne.
But as par for the course in her life, revenge was to take precedence over stupid things like vows, promises ... mates.
Ouch. That one hurt.
Ah! And there was the accompanying tell-tale sound of his size thirteen loafers slapping against the wet cement. What a joyful sound. Perhaps it should be her funeral march.
At least she hadn't lost her morbid touch after all this time. Not that that's particular difficult to do seeing as she's currently residing once again in the epitome of the sought-after medieval designer torture chamber, with accompanying ensuite dungeon.
She let out a low sigh. This is going to suck. Big time. Like majorly totally wholly suck.
Right but she just needed to keep focusing on why she was here. Just like how she had survived the first time. She just needed to keep her eye on the long game.
'It doesn't matter.' She chanted the words over and over in her head. 'Whatever happens now doesn't matter. It. Doesn't. Matter.'
"Ciao Bella." [Hello beautiful.]
She fought back the wave of nausea. The nostalgia. The shiver of disgust.
'What they cannot control they cannot break. What they cannot break they cannot control. Lose control and you will fail. Fail and you will fail them. Lose control and YOU. WILL. FAIL. THEM'
"Tis ono mancato?" [Did you miss me?]
How she detested this man.
His breath fanned over her face. Warm and moist, with a hint of booze and cigar smoke mixed with his signature cologne assaulting her senses, as he leaned down bringing his face until it was close to hers.
"Non far finta di non volere il mio tocco. Non far finta di non volermi. Non è quello che volevi sentire?" [Do not pretend you do not want my touch. Do not pretend you do not want me. Is that not what you wanted to hear?]
His voice was low and slimy. Each word rolling out of his mouth like oil. But it was the words themselves that she truly hated. The words that he would say to her over and over as she had fought and begged. Goddess. Had it really only been two weeks ago she had said those same words to him? It felt like a lifetime ago. Like a dream.
"Quanto odio vederti andare via. Eri sempre la mia preferita." [How I hate to see you go. You were always my favourite.]
She didn't let herself react when she felt his hand brush over her cheek and down her neck almost tenderly. She wanted to gag. Honestly she'd rather he punched her then caress her so ... intimately. Loathing engulfed her as she fought to remain absolutely still, to endure his touch.
Thankfully it ended there this time. She was never any fun for him when she was unconscious. Annoyed he turned his sights to the crumpled form of his daughter. Aislinn had to grit her teeth as she was forced to listen to that madman approach her.
"Ah and here we have my treasured flower. My little girl." He laughed as he spoke, but the sound was hollow and made your skin crawl.
"Look how you have fallen. And breaking your mother's heart. Tsk tsk. Choosing the enemy over family, you're as bad as your brother! I shouldn't be surprised, you always did follow him around like a lost puppy."
"I hope I'm like my brother. I hope I'm only like Kaiden and nothing like you ... you sick pig!" Apparently the jab at her brother was enough to stir her from whatever had come over her.
The sound of flesh on flesh was unmistakable. As was the accompanying sound of a body crumbling awkwardly to the floor. The sound of his fist hitting her face, followed by the crunching of bone and the snapping of her head was repulsive. Aislinn felt her anger flare, she knew the power of that particular punch and it wasn't something she would wish upon anyone.
"You little brat! How dare you speak to me like that?!" He roared.
"How dare you hit me!? I'm your daughter!" The girl had balls she'd give her that. Not many brains but still it was impressive.
Another round of his disturbing laughter. And then there was the sound of a foot connecting painfully and forcefully into soft flesh. Accompanied by a sharp cry of pain.
It was bone-chilling just how heartless he really was. Nothing mattered to him. Nothing was sacred, not even family. The only thing he cared about was power.
How do they find these people?
"Now you two little flowers are in for a real treat. It's only a shame that one won't be awake to experience it." He sighed dramatically, as if he was truly disappointed for her sake.
"What are you going to do to her?" Ciera asked her voice shaking with fear.
"Oh not me my precious daughter. No, no. This particular honor will befall an old friend of ours. How excited he is to see our girl here again."
Aislinn felt herself internally smirk. On the outside she was still dead to the world but on the inside she was soaring. Smiling and cackling a blood curdling sound, one that matched the equally twisted expression.
Oh if he only knew just how right his words were.
She sighed in ecstasy, it had been worth it. All of it. It would be worth it.
HE was coming.
Alpha Sergio left a few minutes later. Apparently the relentless sobs of his daughter were not entertainment enough for him. Probably left to poison puppies, or pluck the wings off insects.
It was quiet except for the soft sound of sniffling.
"Ciera are you okay?"
Aislinn got worried when the girl didn't answer her right away. From the little interaction she had had with her this seemed abnormal. The girl was always talking. Hell Aislinn could barely get her to shut up.
"Ciera?" She wasn't used to the sound of concern that was coating her words. It was strange and foreign to her ears.
"Yeah I'm okay."
Except she did not sound okay. Not at all. And Aislinn didn't know the first thing to do about it. She didn't even know the girl, and anyway it's not like she cared. Right?
She let out a sigh, as she tried to think back to the times Kaiden had talked to her. Pulling up all the memories of what he had done to make her feel better. She smiled at that. She hadn't even realized what he had been doing at the time.
"It's going to be okay Ciera, I promise. I'm going to get us out of here and I'll get you to your brother."
"You will?" There was so much pain, fear and hope in those two little words that if Aislinn hadn't been restrained with silver razorblades she might have actually contemplated pulling the girl into her arms.
"I promise. I'll get you safely to your brother. Okay? You just need to hold on a bit longer."
"Okay." Her voice was a bit stronger this time, closer to the high-pitched tone that was oddly becoming familiar and comforting. "Okay I can do that. And then we'll be with Kaiden and he'll know what to do."
Aislinn didn't correct her. It wasn't important right now.
"Exactly."
"So what exactly is the plan? I mean you have a plan right?"
Aislinn scoffed at that and then proceeded to roll her eyes.
She really needed to get that particular habit under control, it was getting out of hand.
Did she have a plan? Of course.
Okay so it was more of an idea of a plan but still...
"You don't have a plan do you?" Ciera asked her voice filled with doubt. Apparently her silence was less then reassuring. "Oh my goddess! You don't have a plan! We're gonna die. Fantastic! Wonderful! I'm gonna die an un-kissed virgin. Just kill me now!"
"Will you calm down, I'm trying to think."
"Oh well, now see I didn't know that. You're right, that's more reassuring 'you're thinking' please note my skepticism."
Aislinn was getting an eye twitch. She had only just reentered the land of feelings and emotions and this girl was beyond her meager beginner level skill set. The girl was operating at full out ninja black-belt levels and Aislinn's measly experiences were not equipped to handle them. She was not ready for teenage girl. Hell she WAS a teenage girl and couldn't deal with Ciera's moods.
"Do you at least have an idea of a plan? A wisp? A hunch?"
Add persistent to her list of annoying characteristics.
"I'm just going to have to pull my hand out." Aislinn finally said her voice monotone and emotionless. It was the only solution, she needed out of the restraints and off the IVs ... pronto.
"What!? That is not a plan! Hell that's not even a bad plan. That is like the stupidest non-plan I have ever heard, like ever!"
"Do you have any better ideas?" She deadpanned.
"Anything is better than that! You understand that those are knives. Like sharp silver knives, right?"
"You don't say and here I thought they were diamond bracelets."
"You don't need to get all sarcastic."
"Look who's talking."
"Aw that's so cute! You're learning from me! Kaiden's gonna be so jealous when we get back and we're all bonded and sh*t!" She squealed while clapping.
She actually clapped her hands.
Aislinn rolled her eyes. "Yeah bonded, sure."
If it was going to happen it had to happen soon. She'd need time to try and heal as best as she could before the next rounds by the guards came by. Which if she hadn't lost her touch, they could expect in exactly 3 hours and 42 minutes.
"Are you wearing a shirt?"
"Wow can you seriously not see that bad?"
"Oh I'm sorry would you like to get on the metal table with the silver knives and wolfsbane and show me how to use my wolf's night vision properly?"
"Jeeze chill woman! It was just a d*mn question! No need to get all worked up."
If Aislinn could growl she would have, hell if her hands had been free she might've strangled the girl.
"Ciera." She finally gritted out.
"Sorry sorry! Man you are in a terrible mood. Yes I am wearing a shirt."
"Okay so a want you to rip a couple long strips from it."
After a few more useless sarcastic remarks insulting her intellect and some nervous babble which Aislinn tuned out, Ciera had finally managed to tie one of the strips of cloth tightly around her forearm in a tourniquet. She had the others laid out and ready to use as makeshift bandages.
"Ready?" She asked. She couldn't see her face but she knew the girl was terrified.
"No."
"There's going to be a lot of blood."
"I can't do this."
"I'll try to stay conscious but if I pass out you grab my arm and get it free then you cover it with whatever tissue is left and you bind it as tightly as you can. Understand?"
"This is ... this is insane. I'm not doing this."
"Once I get the first one out we need to move quickly to get the second free and the IV's out or I'm not going to survive the blood loss."
"There has to be another way!"
"There isn't. So we are doing this and you are going to do exactly what I told you. Got it."
No response.
"Ciera?"
"Shit! Yeah I got it. Okay let's get this over with."
Aislinn didn't know how she managed to not scream. Hell she didn't know how she managed to stay alive let alone, conscious, awake and rationale. The pain was. Well it went beyond the capabilities of the English language to describe. Eventually she went numb, that helped.
Still the pressure of the tissue being torn and ripped. Mingling with the scent of burning meat and the sound of the bone scraping against the knives was enough of a scarring experience without having to feel it.
A positive was that the silver and wolfsbane managed to work together to cauterize the wounds somewhat so that the blood loss was minimized. At least to some extent.
It was a long and hideous five minutes. And there was a point when the knives began to tear the flesh from her hand that she seriously doubted her ability to not only live but to actually get her hand out. Then she manned up and broke her thumb bone and finished the job. At which point Ciera proceeded to throw up again although by then it was nothing but dry heaves.
One down. One to go.
And so with her right wrist and hand crudely bound, her torn flesh pieced together they moved to the left.
She blacked out twice. But managed to get her left hand out in about ten minutes. It would have gone faster but Ciera refused to rip her hand out.
Apparently their new found friendship did not extend to as she put it 'de-limbing'.
Next came the IV's.
First two steps complete. She was alive, even if seriously injured. Taking a minute to rest she examined her bound appendages. Who knows if she'd ever be able to actually use her fingers ever again, there were limits to even her healing capabilities and this was extreme even for her. But at least she was half free. Besides it's not like she really needed her fingers to kill.
Finally, all that was left were her ankles. The same type of set up was used as for her wrists expect there was also added thick silver cuffs that were bolted to the table. Thankfully though unlike with her wrists the blades were only used on the top portion of her ankles. It still wasn't great but at least her Achilles tendon hadn't been severed like she had originally feared. That would have seriously put a kink in her plans.
She'd never be able to get her feet out the same way she had her wrists. Or at least not if she planned on ever actually walking again. She eyed the restraints critically. Thankfully with the wolfsbane and the rest of the concoction not being pumped into her body in a constant stream, her senses were beginning to return. Albeit slowly. It was still a flipping relief to be able to see, even if it was just a few feet in front of her face.
"What now?" Ciera's voice came out of the darkness from somewhere over her left shoulder.
"Now we get my feet free. Then we get out of here." Of course she was leaving out a few key steps in between but with how weak and strained her cellmate's voice was sounding Aislinn decided not to go into too much detail at the moment.
"How?"
Wow one word? No sarcasm? No babbling? That was alarming, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Focusing her on tasks would help. Or at least she hoped it would.
"I'm going to bend the silver blades up. My strength is coming back now that the IV's are out. Hopefully it'll be enough. Then I'll break the cuffs. All in all it should give me enough space to get my foot through. If not, I'm going to have to break my ankles."
The next twenty minutes were self-explanatory.
Blood. Pain. Swearing. The usual.
And then she was out.
Thankfully it wasn't necessary to break her ankles but she did pull a couple muscles forcing her feet through and the cuts were healing unsettling slowly. Taking stock Aislinn grudgingly admitted it could have been a lot worse.
A deep exhale had her looking up and away from her multitude of injuries and into the pale, taut terrified and tear streaked face of her mate's sister. "Okay. What now?"