it, but instead I have to just... take it.
For now.
"Now, now, Jennings. I thought we'd give her a chance to be good, though I'd rather get this over with without her smart mouth getting in the way. I'm not envious of Draven at all."
Jennings laughs and they move around me, standing behind me so I have no fucking clue what they're doing.
"I dunno, breaking her in sounds like a good time. It's always the ones with a smart mouth that break open so pretty."
Holy fucking shit.
That's it, I'm going to have to use my power and run, there's no fucking way I'm being raped by this guy today. Nope. Never fucking happening.
My hair is lifted off of my neck and the panic really starts to squeeze my chest. My gift swells in my stomach, straining at the restraints I've locked it in, wanting to come out and protect me. I can't freaking think. I can barely breathe. If this isn’t over soon, I won’t be able to hold it back. Like a reflex, once it’s been triggered, there’s no stopping your gift from coming out as protection.
"Can you soften her muscles here a little? I won't be able to get it in if you don't."
My vision starts to white out, I'm definitely hyperventilating.
"I can soften her up a bit."
Then I feel a sharp pain over the back of my neck that snaps me out of the panic. The fucker is slicing me open! He pushes and pulls at my skin, opening the wound and then pushing something inside. What the actual fuck is going on?
Jennings leans forward so I can feel his breath on my neck. "Just a little something so we know where you are at all times, Oleander. If Mr. Draven needs any help with you, I'll be the first to volunteer."
A GPS tracker.
They've put a freaking GPS tracker into my skin. I haven't even met my fucking Bonded yet and already I hate them. I know I ran away but I did it for a reason. Not that I could ever tell them that, not without risking their lives again. They don't even know everything I fucking gave up for them.
Besides, I'm a human being. A Bond. I have my own mind and I'll make my own decisions. They can't force this shit on me!
One of them actually stitches my wound back together, I don't see which of them but I'm hoping it's Noakes, and then they both step back around the table where they're in my view again.
They're both on my list now. The list of people I'll fucking come after some day when using my power isn't too freaking risky. I'm going to hunt them down and make a freaking show of my payback.
"You can step out now, Jennings. I can deal with the rest of the briefing."
His power tightens around me like a vise before he finally lets me go, like he wants to remind me of just how much control he has over me right now. I take a deep, shuddering breath.
At least they didn't actually try to rape me. I'm sure I can get the GPS out if I need to.
"That device can conduct enough volts of electricity to kill you if you attempt to take it out. I could also knock you out with it if I wanted to; your entire existence is in the palm of my hand now, Fallows. Your Bonds will be arriving shortly, but I wanted you to be muzzled before they get here. Draven is a close, personal friend of mine. There isn't much I would consider off-limits when it comes to keeping his Bond close. You would do well to complete the bond with him sooner rather than later. Just lie down and submit."
Okay, maybe not.
Bile creeps up the back of my throat even as the angry tears start.
He smiles and stands again, gesturing to the file he's left for me. "There's all of your rules and guidelines of what we expect of you now. I suggest you memorize them, live by them. The quicker you get into line, the better this will go for you."
And then he leaves.
I'm fucking trapped here.
I don't bother looking at the file for now, mostly because I don’t want to know a thing about the men I’m stuck with and what they can do. Instead, I run my fingers over the stitched wound on the back of my neck, wincing at the sharp, throbbing pain of it. Fucking bastards.
I