Page 101 of Aine
Have Damien and I ever kissed? I struggle to remember as Owen grabs my hips and slides them toward him.
The action has me pulling away with a loud cry, my shoulders burning at the stretch.
“That was really nice,” Owen admits, releasing me. “Did you like that, too?”
I scramble back until my butt touches the pole and my arms can relax. What’s wrong with me?
Will Damien reject me when he finds out I’ve kissed another man? Am I too dirty now for him to want me? I don’t care if he kills humans or my family. I just don’t want to hurt anymore.
Owen’s hand slamming my head against the pole draws my focus back to the present. My lips part as I try to blink away the pain.
“You stupid fucking bitch.” He spits in my face. “Nobody will ever love you.”
I shake my head, refusing to believe what he’s saying. Damien might not love me, but that doesn’t mean nobody will. Alex and Jenna, and maybe even Olivia, love me. They’re my friends. They don’t care how I look or if I’m a little hurt inside.
“Say it,” he orders.
“Nobody will ever love me,” I whisper, desperate to appease him.
Owen slams me against the pole once more. It’s softer this time but still makes my skull ache. My shoulders tug as I instinctively try to bring my hands up to protect my head, but the rope prevents me from making it far.
“Say it again.”
I pull my knees to my chest as Owen grabs the scissors off the ground and brings them to my shins.
“Nobody will ever love me.”
My words are barely audible as I try to speak through the pain of him cutting my legs open. The skin slices easily for him. It always does.
“Again,” he orders.
I drop my head onto my chest as I repeat the words.
“Again.”
Owen continues to cut and force me to repeat the painful words until the sky grows dark and my voice is raw. He leaves with the promise to be back tomorrow, and I smile in joy knowing that I won’t be left alone for too long.
The topic of clothing is brought back up, but I shake my head in refusal. I don’t deserve clothing, and he shouldn’t waste any of his garments on somebody like me.
Owen smiles at my decision before bending to place his lips on mine. I sigh as his hands stroke my arms and he slides his tongue into my mouth.
I am so grateful for him.
Chapter Twenty-Six
DAMIEN
My beast howlsas another group of men return with no update. I don’t understand how Owen managed to take her so far in such a short period of time. The large mammal he traveled with covers their scent, and it seems he had a number of his beasts come out and run around the area to disperse what was left.
We’ve ended up having to follow the trail of blood Aine left behind, but even that has come to a stop. This forest is huge, and we’ve been searching in every direction from where her last blood was spilled, but that’s leading to nothing but dead ends. We could travel for days in each direction before reaching any sort of civilization.
I know the general direction of Owen’s pack, but that isn’t much to go off of.
Shifting into my skin form, I listen to my men give their update before sending out a fresh pair to continue their search. All we need is blood or hint of Aine’s scent to continue the trail. The men shift into their fur before approaching the pile of her clothing we brought. They sift through it, taking large inhales of her scent before taking off into the forest.
I watch, flinching as another one of Aine’s injuries makes its way through our bond.
Owen’s invited me to his pack many times, and I regret nothing more than ignoring all of them. His people are known to be backward and, up until now, I never had any desire to witness the monstrosity firsthand.