Page 13 of Dark Revolution

“Enough.” The High Echelon Alpha grumbles. “You are close to crossing a line, and I’d hate to see you punished.”

With a grunt, Caulder plops down onto the couch and slams his booted feet onto my back. I nearly buckle from the weight but stand firm as best I can. Tears drop down onto the floor below, and this time, I don’t try to stop them. No one can see through my curtain of hair. Turning to the side, I watch through my thick strands as the beta continues to struggle against the knot to fulfill her duty.

Her tears match my own as they stream down, but no one stops them. No one even pretends to care about the horrid scene that’s playing out. After straining for several minutes, she pops free. The sound of her pained scream searing itself into my brain. Blood and sacred seed spill to the floor before she collapses onto the ground. Pained, wheezing breaths move her body up and down, but other than that, she’s motionless.

Again, that dreaded snap reverberates close to my ear. On shaky limbs, she crawls across the floor, Derek following behind, cock already engorged again. I bring my gaze back down to the floor, unable to handle any more violence. I’ve reached my fill. Minutes drag on for an eternity, the time only punctuated by harsh growls, pained screams, and slaps against my ass.

I can’t tell time from where I’m at, but I count in between each smack of his hand against my flesh. Every ten minutes, he strikes me, making this close to two hours. My arms quiver as I struggle to hold up his heavy legs. To Caulder’s credit, he moves very little, not adding to the strain, but as time goes by, it becomes almost impossible not to crumble.

No more tears fall. For the first time, I’m sure there are none left in me. Exhaustion fills my every fiber, but I still hold on. If not for me, for Karis. I cannot even fathom the idea of her in a place like this, being used up to the point of defilement but still not crossing that line. A whisper of sound draws my attention back to the floor, where a wad of credits slides into view.

“Good job, little beta. I’m through with you. For now. Come and see me next time you have a shift. I’d love to turn you into a table.”

Unable to speak, I remain motionless as he removes his feet and stands. What would I even say? My body quakes as the excess adrenaline pours out of me, leaving me a shivering, sweating mess. All Alphas start to leave, a few of them pausing to run their fingers over my upturned bottom. The heat from their hands collides with the burn from the marks that are sure to litter my ass from the several times he smacked me, his hand unerringly finding the same spot over and over again.

A hiss escapes my clenched teeth as so many hands, strange hands, Alpha hands, take liberties with me, adding to the shame and rage filling my core. If only I were stronger. If only there were good Alphas that stood up for injustices like this. The last Alpha, the High Echelon Alpha, stops in front of my prostrate form, his cloak swirling about his ankles as he studies me from up high.

“You do smell good for a beta,” he murmurs, sliding his hand along my spine, stopping just at the crest of my ass. I tense, waiting for him to add to the pain throbbing under the skin, but he doesn’t.

Instead, he slides his fingers around, cupping me, slipping once more through the strange liquid spilling from my core. For a brief second, his fingers cross a part of me that sings in pleasure, shooting tendrils of the most amazing feelings through me until I’m unable to catch my breath. The pain dulls for a moment, and everything feels light, joyous, and then it’s gone.

He pulls his fingers away, leaving me aching in a way that I can’t define. I’ve never felt such a sensation before in my life. Stepping back in front, he hunches down to squat in front of me. His strong fingers lift my chin, forcing my head up until I can look at him. “You taste good too.” Smirking, he slides his fingers into his mouth and closes his eyes as if he’s savoring the richest dessert.

It does odd things to my stomach as I’m forced to watch him slide his tongue over the shiny digits until every last bit of sheen is gone. He lets my head fall back down until I’m staring once again at the floor and walks away, his boots echoing in my brain long after he’s gone. I know I’m allowed to move, but nothing in my body works right.

I’m rigid in place, fearful of moving in case my body bows up and I’m no longer able to leave. Besides, what’s to keep Caulder or Derek from grabbing me once I’m outside these doors? A soft skitter of steps pricks my ears, and I scream at myself to get moving, but I can’t. I’m too fatigued, too worn out...too broken.

“Oh, Annora. I heard what happened.”

“My Lady -.”

“Stop right now. I will not stand on ceremony with you. Not after what happened.”

“They - they didn’t do anything to me.” The lie stutters from my lips as my body finally buckles, collapsing under the safety of knowing the brothel madame is here. Sharp pains shoot through my body as I curl into myself, needing the shelter away from prying eyes and sympathetic smiles.

The High Echelon Alpha himself did this to me. No one can say he’s at fault. To decry the High Echelon is to be found treacherous. Even being a brothel omega is better than that torture. Gathering me into her arms, Lady Marlana rocks us back and forth, as a mother would for a child. The dam I’ve been holding back breaks, and I sob in her arms, barely registering the soothing pats and nonsensical words.

We lay there for a while until my body feels strong enough to move. I’m sore from head to toe, but it’s nothing a hot shower and day in bed won’t fix. Gathering the money, I thumb through it, assessing how much I give to the house. Caulder wasn’t wrong; this is definitely more money than I’ve ever had in a lifetime. With this, I can afford supplements for a few more months. Hell, I could save a chunk of it and put it towards Karis’ reassignment.

My hand trembles as I pull out several bills and hand them to Lady Marlana. A soft smile crosses her lips as she pushes it back to me. “No. Every bit of that is yours.” Raising her hand, she motions for someone, and I shrink back as one of her guard Alphas comes lumbering up to us. I pull my dress down even further, though I’m pretty sure he’s already seen everything. Everyone that was in the club tonight got a free show.

“Langston will walk you home tonight and any night you decide to work with us. If you never come back, I’ll understand. If you do, you will never go near this quadrant again.” With a decisive nod, she stands and brushes off her skirt. There’s really nothing more she can say without making a direct statement against the High Echelon. Even though she’s an Alpha, she’s not immune to how difficult they can make life.

I make a move to stand, but Langston scoops me into his arms and clutches me close to his chest. The sudden movement makes me shake, but he ignores it as he takes me to the elevator. Out of all the Alphas tonight, Langston is for sure the biggest and scariest, but right now, I’ve never felt safer.

He doesn’t give off the same raging vibes as the other Alphas. He’s more neutral, like a deep stream with still waters. Giving in, I collapse against his chest, noting the odd vibrations pouring out of him. This must be the fabled Alpha purr. That or, I’m finally cracking under the pressure. My eyelids drift for a moment as everything in me feels boneless and languid.

Nothing hurts anymore. Instead, I’m floating on a soft cloud, or as soft as Langston's chest can be. As we leave the club and go out into the street, all three suns have set, marking the time of True Night. His dark skin disappears into the shadows, taking me with him into the darkness, swallowing me up in a safety I didn’t even realize I could have.

We make our way through the district, taking the longer route to the elevators, keeping us in the shelter of darkness as long as he can. Since I’ve worked at Hungry Desires, my housing information is common knowledge to key staff, so I don’t even have to move to tell him where I live. I can just lay here in the comforting heat of his arms as he does everything I need.

The walkway to our house comes way too soon, and an unnamable fear grips me. I clutch at Langston’s shirt, pleading with him with my eyes not to make me go in alone. I don’t dare speak. I don’t dare break the silence and alert the others to where I am. Smiling, he sets me down at the door and watches as I open the lock and slip inside. Once the door is secure behind me, I put every safeguard in place that I can.

No way someone is getting through without me knowing. Groaning, I drag myself to the shower and hit the button, peeling off my uniform with slow, painstaking movements. Now that I’m back to reality, the pain of tonight hits me with full force. My breath stutters as I force the dress over my head, stretching out muscles that were cramped for far too long.

Once naked, I look at myself in the mirror, needing to see the evidence of what was done to me. Maybe then my brain will accept it as reality and not just a nightmare. Turning, a gasp barks out into the quiet room as I stare at the mottled skin of my ass. Smatterings of purples and blue cover the top part where he focused all his attention.

My knees are red and raw, as are my hands. Was it really worth it for all those credits? Stepping into the shower, I hiss as the hot water hits my raw skin, but I force myself all the way in. Nothing will get better by standing outside. I have to push past the pain to the healing process. Leaning my head against the warm tile, I let the water pound into my back, working through the tight spasms clenching my spine.

Lowering my chest, I stick my butt out, letting the water sluice over the inflamed skin to clean the area below. I was taught never to touch where the High Echelon Alpha touched me. To do so was a crime against my future mate and Master Alpha. I never questioned it until now.

Even as the water drips down, I can’t bring myself to touch where he touched. Instead, I let the water wash away any taint his hands left on me. Though I want to cry, I can’t. There’s nothing left. I’m a numb shell, devoid of feelings. When I poke at them, try to access them, they pull in deeper, leaving me even more hollow.

After a while, I turn off the shower and stand over the dryer for the few moments it takes to wick all the water away. Pain suppressants and rest. By the time I have to go back for more heat suppressants, I should be good as new. Deep in my soul, I know part of me will never be the same, but I can’t let that keep me from taking care of Karis. With the money I made tonight, I can miss some work shifts and be perfectly fine.

All I need is a good night’s sleep, and everything will be reset. If I can just convince myself that this was all just a nightmare, even better. Walking over to the mirror, I take out my contacts and drip a soothing salve into my eyes. Neither Karis nor I usually get hurt, but I do have an emergency kit stashed away just in case.

Filling a glass with water, I swallow a few pills before pulling out a tube of cream that promises to draw out every ounce of pain. I’m not sure if I believe it, but at this point, anything is better than nothing. Biting down on my lower lip, I rub the cream over the marks on my ass, wincing every so often. A cool, tingling sensation fills the area, distracting my mind from the achy pain. Tonight will definitely be a night where I sleep on my stomach.