As soon as it no longer hurt to do so, she lifted her chin and glowered at her approaching jailers as they stopped on the other side of the bars. These three were different from the ones who brought her here.
How many people are involved in this? And how can something like this exist?
She knew there was a lot of evil in the world. She didn’t live under a rock, she saw the news and heard the horror stories, but she chose to believe there was more good than bad in the world. Obviously, she was a naïve idiot.
She had no hope any good would come out of this mess. People didn’t kidnap you and take you underground so they could surprise you with balloons and a giant check.
Though she was determined not to show any fear, she stepped away from the man who approached the gate. The key rattled in the lock before the door swung open. The callous smile the man gave her, and the malicious gleam in his eyes, made her blood run cold.
When he grasped her elbow, she jerked at it, but his hand clamped down with so much force that his fingers dug into her bone, and it felt as if she’d hit her elbow on a rock. She almost cried out.
Instead, she bit her bottom lip and scowled at the man who ignored her. She opened her mouth to scream at him that she was a human being, but she doubted he considered her such. She was less than the dirt beneath his feet.
How can someone be so broken as to have no empathy for another?
She didn’t know the answer, and she didn’t care what made this man into the monster standing before her. She didn’t care if he’d been beaten, neglected, or tossed to the wolves as a child; nothing could justify his actions here.
None of their captors spoke as they entered the small prison. Another one unlocked the gate on the other end, and the others shoved them out of their cell and into what she could only describe as an underground arena.
Callie staggered forward when the man shoved her before releasing her arm. Realizing this was her last chance at freedom, she turned and ran. She barely made it three feet before the man snatched her hair and yanked her back.
She couldn’t stop herself from crying out as the man threw her to the ground. Kicking out with her feet, she tried to connect with the man, but he slapped her foot away.
Before she could recover, he was already walking away. Breathless and uncertain of what just happened, Callie watched as they closed the gate behind them. That man had moved so fast, or maybe she was too slow after everything she endured.
Pushing herself to her feet, she lifted her head to take in her surroundings and blinked against the torchlights spilling down from above. When her vision cleared enough, she spotted the people looking down on them.
Standing behind the torches set into the rocky ledge above them, she couldn’t make out any of their features, but their eagerness was palpable on the air. Her mind flashed back to her ancient history textbooks to the Coliseum and gladiator fights.
Was that why they were here? Were they supposed to battle each other to the death? Because if that was the case, they were going to be extremely disappointed. She wouldn’t allow these freaks to turn her into a monster for their entertainment.
But what if one of these women attacked her? She’d have no choice but to defend herself then. She didn’t want to be what these people were trying to turn her into, but she wouldn’t let them kill her without a fight either.
The hair on her nape rose as she became aware of another presence in the arena. Her mouth went dry, and a primal fear, unlike any she’d ever known, crept through her.
She became fully aware of what the term fight or flight meant as adrenaline spiked her heart rate. A cold sweat broke out on her body as she lowered her gaze from the spectators and turned her attention to the other side of the pit.
She instantly recognized her mistake.Theyweren’t the predators; they were theprey.
On the other side of the pit stood a man so covered in filth and dried blood on his arms and shoulders that she couldn’t tell what color his hair was or see any clean spots on his flesh. A scruffy, dirt-choked mustache and beard covered his face. His broad shoulders spoke of strength, but his visible rib bones and protruding collarbone belied that image.
The jeans hanging low on his waist revealed the sharp edge of his hip bones. She suspected they once fit perfectly, but now a tug would pull them free. Multiple punctures marred his shoulders and upper arms. Fresh blood trickled from some of the wounds, while dried blood caked around a few others.
No chains bound his ankles, but manacles encased his wrists. The chain between the manacles gave him at least a foot of space to move his hands as he flexed and unflexed them into fists.
However, it was not the man’s chains or his battered and filthy countenance that caused a scream to lodge in her throat. It was not even the way his shoulders heaved, his nostrils flared, or the murderous look on his face that gave her pause.
No, it was the burning red of his eyes that made the world lurch and her sanity come into question.
She suddenly no longer wanted to know why they’d taken her. Not having an answer seemed far preferable than the one staring at her. It wasn’t an answer staring her in the face; it was death.
Death was locked into this pit with her, and it would not stop until it destroyed every last piece of her.
There was nowhere to go, but everything in her screamed to run and never look back. She was about to turn and flee when the man burst into motion and flew across the pit.
Chapter Three
Lucien experienceda moment of lucid thinking as he took in his surroundings. Then they shoved five women into the pit with him, and all sense of reason vanished. They were fivehumanwomen who all had delicious, life-saving blood pumping through them.
