Alpha Loren novel Chapter 92

December 20th

Hestia's point of view

"3...2....1....and the 48 hours is up," the formidable man in front of me said as the devious smirk he'd worn for hours refused to move, "But Achilles is nowhere to be seen. How heart-wrenching it is to see such a young and pretty life wasted," he added with a pout.

"Do you find this entertaining?" I asked as a tear ran down my cheek.

He looked down at me and let out a short laugh.

"Sweetheart, going to the movies is entertaining," he said taking his back off the wall and slowly approaching me. "This is exhilarating."

"You're a repulsive man," I spat trying again to break free from the tight ropes around my wrists.

He crouched down to my level and placed his harsh hands on my cheek.

"The other man warned you not to touch me," I hissed turning my face away from him.

 In retaliation, he grabbed my neck in his huge hand and jolted it painfully back so that I could once again feel his warm breath on my skin.

It was clear that the other man, Leonardo, was the one in charge between the two of them and although neither of them really had any form of emotion, Leonardo at least realised my innocence in this and took some kind of pity on me. He had kept Luciano away from me for the past two days and had left with orders for him to continue not to touch me.

"Leonardo isn't here right now so I don't think we will worry too much about him..." 

He slowly trailed his fingertips from my cheek to my neck and then down to my shoulder before pausing. My heartbeat rose with every passing second as he continued to glare at me. I refused to be the first to break eye contact despite the spine-chilling darkness swirling around like some kind of evil potion in his irises. Eventually, his lips curled into that terrifyingly malevolent smirk, transforming his stony emotionless expression into something straight out of a nightmare.

"Please stop touching me," I said which seemed only to amuse him more.

"And why would I want to do that?" he questioned before suddenly moving his hand down to my chest and using the other hand to toy at the buttons of my shirt. 

I squirmed in the chair he had tied me to and put all of my energy into getting away from this monster. 

He held my shirt tightly and as I used the little freedom I had to turn my torso 90 degrees to the left, it tore leaving an 8-inch rip across the front.

"You bitch," he growled grabbing my neck tightly.

The tear was blindingly obvious. If Leonardo were to come back, he'd see it immediately.

"He was going to find out anyway," I said, struggling to breathe.

"Well, I guess now that I have nothing to lose there is nothing holding me back."

He reached forward and delved his hand through the rip inside my shirt.

"You're fearful of him aren't you?" I asked, hoping if I could get him to stop and think twice, he would dare do this, "Leonardo was clear about the consequences of you touching me."

But I was now fighting for air. My vision was clouding and my head spinning.

"You're lucky you're pretty," he said finally releasing my windpipe from his grip. "Because I would love only one thing more than to cut your throat out right now and that is to make you forget that you ever even had a husband."

He yanked the rope off my wrists before bringing my hand forward, ripping off my wedding ring and flinging it across the cell.

"So shut the fuck up about Leonardo and stop making this harder for yourself. He's not gonna save you now."

"Luciano please-" I began as he pulled me off the chair and tightly held my waist in his hand.

"So now you try the begging for mercy approach? Not so brave anymore, are you?" 

His hands reached my shorts and started tugging at the waistband.

"Luciano-" I protested again as I tried to prize his hand off me.

At that, he roughly slapped his hand over my mouth and spun me around so that my back was on his chest and his mouth was by my ear.

"I said shut the fuck up and stop making this harder for yourself," he snarled in an inhumanely deep voice as he gripped my wrist so tightly that I thought it had broken. "You are nothing but an inconsequential human girl. The Alpha is hundreds of miles away occupied by the only person he actually cares for in this world: his mate. He doesn't give a shit about you. And you are far too weak and small to beat me alone. So this pointless struggle is really getting on my nerves and believe me when I say this: you don't want to see me pissed off."

His words sent a shiver through my entire body and I found myself paralyzed in his arms. I whimpered as more tears dripped from my eyes. His hands on me were agony but he was right, there was nothing I or anyone could do.

"Before we proceed we ought to keep your husband up to date," he said withdrawing his phone from his pocket. He held it in front of me and I watched as he found Achilles' contact.

"Where are you?" Luciano asked as soon as he picked up.

"I'll be there in no more than an hour," my husband's voice replied.

"You know that we have your bitch don't you?" Luciano said before roughly pulling my hair. I couldn't help but let out a gasp of pain.

"Do not touch her," Achilles demanded. 

"Five minutes too late for that," Luciano replied coldly before hanging up and shoving his phone back in my pocket. One of my tears landed on his hand as he delved it into the front of my shorts. 

Forty minutes later, when Luciano had finally left me alone. I hugged my knees close to my chest and slowly rocked backwards and forwards. I had run out of tears to cry and I was feeling too weak to even move across the room to wear my wedding ring still lay, discarded amongst the dirt and dust of the cell.

"Where is she?!" I heard a voice say only minutes later. I immediately stopped my rocking and wiped my tears. It was Achilles, I knew it. "Where is my wife?!"

"I'm afraid that you're 44 minutes and 36 seconds late," Luciano stated. "You can't have her."

"But I have the information," he argued. 

"Go on then. Spill," he ordered.

"Not until Hestia is safely by my side, unharmed and untouched," Achilles announced.

"Too late for that. She's already been touched," Luciano replied before a long pause. 

I could imagine the smirk on Luciano's face and the torn-apart devasted look on my husband's. 

It brought physical pain to my chest so instead, I focussed on a dream. A dream of being back at home in my cosy bed with Achilles and my kids by my side. He would make me my favourite soup and a hot cup of cocoa. The warmth would soothe my aches both physically and emotionally and take all the pain away.

"Where is your Alpha?" he asked eventually and I was dragged back into reality.

"Not here."

"Can I at least have a minute with her?" he questioned after another pause.

"You have 60 seconds," he replied before the cell door opened and light poured in. 

Before coming to me my husband hurried to the corner of the cell and picked up my ring. 

"I'm so sorry, Hestia," he said carefully putting it back on my finger before embracing me. "What has he done to you?" he asked looking at my bruised wrists and cut lip. 

"He..." I began in a wobbly voice before more tears flooded my eyes. 

"You don't have to explain," he said hugging me again. "I'm going to get us both out of here, okay?"

I nodded although not entirely convinced.

"And then I'll explain everything. I promise." he continued. "I love you, Hestia."

"I love you too," I replied choking on my tears.

"And I feel sick," Luciano said from the doorway. "Times up. Are you going to tell me the information that the Alpha wants or do I need to give him a call?"

"If I do, will you let us both go?"

"No."

"Then I won't."

"So we are going to choose the hard way then," Luciano concluded taking out his phone. "This is not going to end well for either of you," he warned before he brought the phone to his ear.

A minute or so later the Alpha had hung up.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" Luciano asked us with a devious smile.

"Good," I replied desperately in need of something positive.

"The Alpha's Luna has given birth to a healthy little boy," Luciano said in a far too lighthearted tone. "The bad news: he said that until you have given up the information I have his permission to torture you," he added turning to Achilles.

"No Luciano-" I began.

"Relax babe," Luciano interjected. "You don't have to watch."

Luciano seized my husband by his shirt and dragged him away from me and towards the door. Somehow Achilles managed to remain calm, maybe he was used to this or maybe he was thankful that Luciano was no longer targetting me. How was I to know? I felt as though I hardly knew the man I had been married to for seven years and had three kids with. He gave me a reassuring smile and a nod of his head before the door slammed behind them and I was alone in the dark again.