Chapter 7 Near Miss

POV: Echo

The jolt of being tossed onto the soft mattress brings me back to my senses, just in time for him to move to the edge of the bed in front of me. Before I can react, he grabs me by my ankles and drags me until my legs hang off the bed and I'm lying on my back in front of him.

I try to control my emotions, try to force my fear back, and replace it with calm. Repeating it on a loop in my head, I tell myself that someone is going to interrupt him. Either his Luna coming home or a mind-linking pack member needing his help.

In spite of my best efforts, even I can smell the waves of complete panic rolling off me the moment he drags a fingertip down my thigh. He sucks in a deep breath, smirking, and I can smell his arousal instantly.

My whole body begins to tremble as he takes my hands and pulls me into a sitting position. Running his hands over my hair, to smooth it down, he slowly moves it to the side so he can access my neck.

Well aware that it would anger him, I couldn't help but cringe away from his touch when he began to kiss and lick his way up my jaw and toward my ear.

He stills, and I can almost taste his anger rippling through the air. Grabbing me by the nape of my neck, squeezing painfully, he moves me back into position, angling my head back to give him even better access.

Sitting rigidly, I press my knees together as tightly as I can. Brady's rough hands make me flinch as he begins to wedge them between my knees, slowly prying them apart just enough to slip one of his legs between mine.

After that, it didn't take much for him to push them open entirely and position himself between them. I know he is enjoying every moment of my despair as he grinds his knee against my groin, making me feel absolutely disgusted.

When he nips my marking spot with his teeth, I whimper and jerk myself backward quickly, breaking his grip on my neck. I launched myself to the center of the massive bed, scrambling to my feet and dashing for the other side of the bed.

Before I make it two steps, he grabs hold of the bed and shoves it forcefully up against the wall, knocking me off my feet.

"Nice try," he growls lowly, watching me from the side of the bed, "But that was very, very naughty, Little Doll.".

Trapped, I start hyperventilating. He has been after me for years, but never like this. This makes the rest of it seem like child's play. His eyes flash dark with his wolf, and I know I've made things so much worse by trying to run.

I drew my knees up, wrapping my arms around them, burying my face in them as though it would make it all disappear.

Shivering, I felt the mattress dip as he made his way across the mattress to me. The only warning before my head is jerked sharply back by my hair is his growl of anticipation directly in front of me.

The force of the movement pulls a whimper from me before he lowers his lips to mine. I press my lips together tightly, and he nips at them warningly, demanding entrance. When I don't open them, he bites down hard, instantly breaking the skin.

My yelp of pain is lost in his mouth, as he jams his tongue into my mouth as soon as it opens. My lips are bleeding profusely, and I can taste my own blood in my mouth as his unyielding tongue explored every inch of my mouth.

Momentarily losing control, I felt Tala take over and begin biting down hard on his tongue, hard enough for us to taste his blood. He immediately jerks away from us, spitting a mouthful of blood on the sheets. Tala retreats, giving me full control again.

The second his hand loosens in my hair, I yank myself free, scrambling away from him. Going toward the edge of the bed, I felt his hand wrap around my arm.

Brady jerks me back towards him on the bed, and his fist meets my face halfway. My head snaps to the side, my face instantly swelling. When he can see that I am still fighting, and not going to give in to his desires in bed, I feel his aura expand with pure rage.

Seizing me by the throat, he drags me from the bed, smashing his fist into my face once more before tossing me to the floor. As I lay crumpled on the floor, he squats beside me, snarling.

"Remember, Little Doll, that your life is at my mercy!" Standing, he kicks me in the stomach and prowls around me. "I can make your life enjoyable, or I can make you wish you were dead!" he hisses as he kicks me in the back.

I swallow my screams, as his kick rips open the wounds on my back. The wounds that labeled me as his property. Unfortunately, nothing could keep the whimpers from escaping though, as he delivered another swift kick to my stomach. Each breath burns, his kicks having broken multiple ribs.

"Get up!" He suddenly shouts, ripping me to my feet by my hair. He drags me to the bathroom and throws me to the ground. "Slaves don't get to rest until their work is done!" He growls before he storms off, slamming the bedroom door in his wake.

Shaking, I watched the chunk of hair he'd ripped out drift toward the floor in a daze. Even knowing just how much danger I am in currently, it takes me a moment before I can crawl up to the massive tub and use it to pull myself up.

If the Luna sees me lying here, she won't hesitate to beat me further. If the Alpha returns, he would do even worse.

Swaying more than a little, I slowly collect all of the hand towels and clothes from around the bathroom and bedroom. Tears snake their way down my face at the mountain of towels taller than me in the corner.

Seven trips to the chute later, I am done stripping their room. I had even made sure to strip the bed of its improper sheets before I left, and each trip full of laundry was agony. While my lips have begun to heal from being bitten, my ribs, face, and back are a different matter altogether.

Focusing on not tumbling down the stairs, I gingerly made my way down to the kitchen. A large, stern-looking woman is standing in front of the stove, stirring a pot simmering at low.

She stiffens as I enter the room and turns towards me with her eyes narrowed. I cleared my throat and tried to introduce myself.

"Hi, my name is Ech..." the words died in my throat as she stalked toward me from across the room.

"No one cares about the name of a slave. I'm in charge of the kitchen now, and you are no longer welcome in here!" She growls, grabbing hold of my upper arm, and dragging me to the basement stairs.

She shoves me ahead of her, and I trip, tumbling down the stairs. The woman doesn't even spare me a second glance as she follows me, opening the lower door and dumping me unceremoniously onto the cement floor.

The door slams shut, and I hear the deadbolt hit home. Normally, I am free to work around the house as needed, and the door is locked only once I've finished dinner cleanup. But normally I'd be working on dinner right now, so obviously, things have changed.

Coughing, I turned my head to the side and spit out a mouthful of blood. I realize, not for the first time, that I hate my life. Hate myself. I have no desire to live, and I lay there wishing I would die from my injuries this time.

I silently curse the Moon Goddess. We wolves believe that she decides the fate of each wolf, right down to choosing their fated mates. My entire existence hurts at this point, and I am exhausted from the day of work and abuse.

I contemplate the Mood Goddess as the darkness creeps in.

'If she exists, and she has chosen to allow anyone to live this life, then she is evil. If nothing else, why won't she just let me die?! I don't want to live lik...'

The darkness pulls me under before I can finish my thoughts.