Welcome to Hell

Tessa

The dark, suffocating plastic bag is yanked upward, the rough material scraping against my bruised cheeks and tangled hair as it is pulled off my head. Harsh, unforgiving light from the massive compound instantly blinds me. I blink rapidly, my eyes watering against the sudden, abrasive brightness. The metallic taste of blood lingers heavily on my tongue. As my blurry vision slowly clears, my wide eyes lock onto the towering, imposing figure standing just a few feet in front of me.

My breath hitches in my throat. Bone-chilling horror paralyzes my lungs, making it impossible to draw in a steady breath. It is the heavily tattooed man. I recognize the dark, intricate ink snaking up his thick neck and disappearing beneath his crisp shirt. He is the exact same monster from the club that night. The very same ruthless man who mercilessly held a loaded gun to my head and forced his cock into my virgin body.

He stares down at my bound, trembling form seated on the hard concrete. His broad chest rises and falls with a steady, intimidating rhythm. His icy blue eyes narrow dangerously, zeroing in on the dried blood seeping from the fresh wound on my temple.

"Why is she hurt?" his deep, commanding voice demands, echoing off the high walls of the compound.

My father, Silas, shifts nervously on his feet beside me. He immediately begins to stammer, desperate to excuse his brutal actions against his own flesh and blood. "Er, boss... she put up a fierce resistance. It was quite hard trying to get her to—"

A sickening, incredibly loud crunch cuts his cowardly words short.

Bright red blood spatters the hard ground in an instant. Silas groans in profound agony, his hands flying up to clutch his now shattered, broken nose. He stumbles backward, the sound of his pain grating against my ears.

"And you hurt her?" the heavily tattooed man bellows.

The sheer volume and ferocity of his voice make me flinch in my binds. I shrink back against the cold floor, too terrified to even lift my heavy head again. My shoulders hike up to my ears in pure instinctual fear.

"I'm... I'm..." Silas stammers through his bloody hands, his voice muffled and pathetic.

"Fuck off," the man’s cold, smooth voice interrupts, laced with pure venom. "She no longer exists to you and your pathetic family."

My heart sinks like a heavy stone dropping into a bottomless ocean. Panic clogs my throat as I listen to the frantic, retreating footsteps echo away into the dark night. My own father just abandoned me. He successfully sold me off to a monster to save his own miserable skin, leaving me behind without a single backward glance or ounce of regret.

Tears spill over my lashes, hot and fast. Sobs wrack my chest as I cry over my doomed, inescapable fate.

"Lift her," the cold voice orders from above.

Two massive armed guards step forward from the shadows. Their rough, calloused hands grab my arms, hauling my weak, tied-up body back onto my trembling feet. My legs feel like useless jelly beneath me. I just want the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

"We meet again," his smooth voice hums in the tense air.

He steps right into my personal space, the scent of expensive cologne and danger washing over me. He raises a large, heavily ringed hand. His rough thumb gently, almost mockingly, brushes against my soft cheek, wiping away a single hot tear that escapes my eye.

"Lift your face; look at me."

Furious and terrified, I stubbornly keep my chin tucked against my chest. I stare intensely at the dusty floorboards, refusing to meet his piercing gaze.

His tone shifts. It turns instantly and lethally deadly, promising severe consequences. "I. Said. Look. At. Me."

Trembling from head to toe, I force my aching neck to move. I slowly lift my head, my breath catching as I directly meet his mesmerizing, deeply ruthless blue eyes. He looks just as handsome and terrifying as I remembered.

"This is your new home, Tessa," he declares firmly, leaving zero room for negotiation. My name rolls off his tongue with a dark, claiming edge that makes my stomach twist.

"No, no," I shake my head in rapid denial. Helpless tears flow freely down my bruised face. "Please don't do this."

He remains unbudging, his posture rigid as a carved stone statue. "You still have a lot to learn. Come with me."

He turns his broad back to leave, clearly expecting me to follow him like a well-trained dog. The other guards growl low in their throats, their hands resting on their holstered weapons. Pure terror roots my feet to the ground. I freeze in place, unable to take a single step forward.

He stops mid-stride. He slowly turns his head over his broad shoulder, pinning me with a chilling, deadpan stare that promises pain.

"Rule number one, Tessa: you don't defy me."

The sheer malice in his voice scares the living shit out of me. I frantically force my heavily aching, bruised body to physically move forward. Pain shoots through my stiff limbs with every hesitant step I take.

"Just kill me already," I sob shakily. My voice cracks, sounding broken and defeated. I know he hears me.

He fully turns back around. A distinctly wicked, amused smirk plays on his handsome lips. "Why kill you when the fun is just getting started?"

Hot, acidic bile rushes up my throat at the horrifying implication. Panic overrides my common sense. I drop my pride, desperate to save whatever is left of my broken dignity.

"I don't want to be passed among men," I cry out, shaking my head repeatedly. "Please don't let them have me. I'm sorry if I offended you, but please just let me go. Don't pass me around like a piece of cheap meat."

"And why will I pass you around?" he asks no one in particular. His sharp jaw works as he looks down at my trembling frame.

"That's how it is around here. That's what you guys do," I stammer, my lower lip trembling uncontrollably.

"I won't pass you around, Dove," he replies, his voice dropping a dangerous octave. "You're mine to use. I bought you, and I'll use you. When I'm done with you, I can send you back to your worthless father."

With that final, wicked smirk, he turns on his heel. He begins casually ascending the grand, sweeping staircase of the massive, opulent house.

I stand frozen for a split second, my blood running cold. If I stay down here, I will be left alone with his heavily armed, leering guards. The thought sends a fresh spike of dread through my veins. I force myself to drag my exhausted body up the marble stairs, following closely after his broad, inked shoulders.

*Mine to use.*

*When I'm done with you.*

The brutal, doomed reality of my inescapable situation sinks deep into my brain. Whether he shares me or keeps me for himself, the nightmare remains the exact same. I am nothing but a purchased toy. A body for him to break and discard.

A sudden wave of severe nausea hits me out of nowhere. The sour taste of stomach acid burns the back of my throat. I try to swallow it down, but the urge to vomit is far too strong. I frantically scan the unfamiliar, lavish hallway. I spot the very first open bedroom door and bolt inside without a second thought, desperate for privacy.

I aggressively push open the attached bathroom door. Falling heavily to my knees, I bend over the pristine toilet bowl. I empty the entire contents of my stomach, retching painfully as my body forcefully rejects the sheer stress and horror of the night.

After a few agonizing minutes, the harsh heaving finally stops. I weakly reach up with a trembling hand and flush the toilet. I lean against the cool porcelain, a deep, concerned frown marring my features. I hardly ever get sick like this. Panic flares in my chest, hot and suffocating. There is no way in hell I can actually be pregnant from that single encounter. It is impossible. It has to be impossible.

Weakly standing up on trembling legs, I drag myself over to the expensive marble sink. I turn on the golden faucet, cupping the cold water in my hands to furiously rinse the sour, disgusting taste from my mouth. I splash the icy water over my flushed, tear-stained face, trying to ground myself in reality.

My heart hammers against my ribs like a trapped bird. Where is he? Did the monster even notice that I had slipped away from him in the massive hallway?

I finish drying my face with a soft hand towel and take a deep, shaky breath to steady my nerves. I turn around to quickly leave the bathroom, hoping to slip back out unnoticed before he sends his men looking for me.

A loud gasp rips from my throat. My heart leaps straight into my mouth, nearly stopping altogether.

Standing perfectly still in the doorway, blocking my only exit, is the monster. A pair of icy, blue metallic eyes stares directly at me, watching my every move.