Ava’s POV
The ropes cut into my wrists, my skin burned from struggling against them, but no matter how hard I pulled, there was no escape. There never had been.
I could feel the cool air of the room on my skin, but I was burning inside, my chest heavy with the irritation of my emotions, anger, disgust, and humiliation. I tried to look away, to turn my head, but I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me. Landon had made sure I could see everything. Bastard fellow that he is.
Just feet away from where I sat tied to the chair, Helena, my sister, knelt before him. She was moaning, her lips wrapped around him, taking him deep into her throat. I watched as her hand gripped his thigh for support, her body arching with every thrust he made into her mouth.
I tried not to care. I tried so hard. But it was impossible.
Landon’s eyes met mine across the room, cold and unfeeling. He enjoyed this, my pain, my humiliation. It was like a game to him, watching me break while he fucked my sister right in front of me. Twisted fellow.
My stomach dropped, and I bit down on the inside of my cheek, hard enough to taste blood, but I refused to cry. I wouldn’t give him that. Not again.
His voice broke through the silence, low and taunting. "Do you see this, Ava? This could have been you."
I felt the bile rise in my throat, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. It was supposed to be me. I was his mate. The one chosen for him by the Moon Goddess. The one who was supposed to stand beside him as his Luna.
But Landon didn’t see me that way anymore. Maybe never did. I was nothing to him.
I watched as he pushed Helena’s head down harder, his hand tangled in her hair, forcing her to take him deeper. Her moans grew louder, and I could hear the obscene sounds of her sucking him, every wet, sloppy noise hitting me like a slap.
"If only you were not too weak. I would have enjoyed fucking those plump lips of yours," Landon continued, his voice cold and excited at the same time. "But not her. She knows her place and serves me well." In other words, I don't.
The knot in my stomach tightened, and I could feel the burn of tears threatening to fall, but I blinked them away. I couldn’t cry. Not in front of him. Not in front of her.
Helena looked up at him, her lips curling into a smirk as she continued to work him with her mouth. She knew I was watching. She wanted me to watch.
The worst part wasn’t the physical pain. It was the way my body reacted to him. Every word he said, every look he gave, made my skin crawl, but I couldn’t stop the way my stupid body responded.
He was the Alpha. His command was law. My body obeyed him, even when my mind screamed for it to stop.
I hated him. I hated him so much. I can not describe the vastness of my hatred for him.
But the bond, the stupid bond kept me tied to him. I couldn’t escape.
I watched as he dragged Helena up to her feet, turning her around and bending her over the bed. He didn’t even bother to look at me as he shoved himself into her from behind, his thrusts rough and unrelenting. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, and I had to bite down harder on my cheek to keep myself from sobbing.
The pain, I felt each time he drove inside her was worse than a thousand stabs and because I was near him, I could feel it more. I beat down on my inner cheek harder than I was supposed to, stopping myself from screaming because of the mate bond. I wish I could hurt him the same way, he hurt me. The moon goddess is just so unfair.
This was what I had been reduced to, a spectator in my nightmare.
Helena moaned louder, her voice echoing off the walls as Landon pounded into her. I could see the pleasure on her face, the way she revelled in his attention, in my pain.
"Does this hurt, Ava?" Landon asked, his voice dark and mocking. "Watching me fuck your sister while you sit there, helpless? Must suck right?"
I didn’t answer. What could I say?
His grip tightened on Helena’s hips, and I watched as he drove into her harder, faster, her moans turning into screams of pleasure. I felt the tears finally slip down my cheeks, but I stayed silent, choking back the sobs that threatened to escape.
My body slumped in resignation. What was the use? Even though my skin bleed from the ropes binding me, the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional torment I was enduring. This was worse than anything else he could have done to me.
I lost track of how long it went on, how long I was forced to watch as he used her. To me time stopped, and all I could focus on was the sharp, unbearable pain in my chest.
Finally, with a groan, Landon pulled out of her, his hand fisting her hair as he made her kneel before him again. He stroked himself, his eyes never leaving mine, and I watched as he came on her face, her lips parted in satisfaction.
It was over.
A momentarily relief.
Helena stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she glanced at me, her eyes filled with triumph. "You’ll never be enough, Ava," she said softly, just loud enough for me to hear. "You’ll always be beneath me."
Her words cut deep, but I didn’t respond. I had nothing left to say.
Landon moved toward me, his eyes dark and full of something dangerous. My heart pounded in my chest as he knelt in front of me, his hand reaching out to tilt my chin up, forcing me to look at him. I wanted to wipe where he had touched.
"You think this is the worst of it?" he asked, his voice low and threatening. "You’re mine, Ava. You’ll always be mine. You will always stay here to watch me every day and every night as I fuck your sister. You will watch as she carries my pups. I will never reject you, you will forever be nothing as this will be your everyday life now." To think, I loved this man once.
His fingers brushed against my cheek, his touch deceptively gentle. But I knew better. I knew the kind of man he was.
I wanted to pull away, to scream at him, to fight back, but I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t listen to me. It responded to him and obeyed him because he was the Alpha.
And I was nothing. Completely nothing.
"Why won’t you reject me?" I whispered, my voice cracking under the weight of my pain. "Why won’t you just let me go?"
His smile was cruel as he leaned closer, his breath hot against my skin. "Because I don’t want to, Ava. It is exciting seeing you like this."
I felt the sob rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down. There was no point in crying. There was no point in fighting. I was trapped. He would never let me go. It was all a waste.
