This one goes out to Laurazuleta18 for being the best beta EVER! :D *hugs and twirls*
Also, thanks very much to Stealth Liberal for her plot hunting with me. ^-^
WARNING: This chapter contains some dark material such as near rape and violence. If nudity of any kind makes you uncomfortable, do not read.
Enjoy!
Two Winters and a Summer: Chapter Seven
Shannon paced.
Her room was once again locked. Her visitors only tight-lipped, imprinted wolves who handed her a meal and left. She would be escorted to the bathroom with complete silence stretching throughout the house then immediately be shoved back inside. There was absolutely nothing for her to occupy herself with, so she took to counting the floorboards. Then she began to estimate the perimeter and area of the room based on her own height and the number of strides she was able to walk.
Once that wore on her and she'd checked the math several hundred times, Shannon used a dull pencil to draw a hopscotch game on the floor and used a wadded sock to play. She knew she needed to get exercise, she'd probably put on a good twenty pounds since being locked up. All the wolves did was feed her after all.
She went several days without seeing Collin and, discouragingly, she found herself thinking of him during those hours. She wondered if he was okay, if he was eating, if he was mad at her, or if he would never see her again… Several times Shannon had to remind herself that she didn't want that monster of a man to come back. She hated him, she… Well, she thought she hated him. He had big ears, but his smile was rather nice and white. And his abs…damn, did he have some nice abs!
She struggled with herself constantly. Most of her was still very much in love with Embry and wanted nothing to do with the man who'd kept her prisoner, but there was something else that was slowly dragging her to Collin regardless of her own opinion or wants. It gnawed on her day in and day out, begging for her to give in and take the one she was 'meant to be with'.
Some days she would lay in bed sweating and shaking, praying for the imprint side of her to go away. It wanted to be near Collin, but she didn't goddamn it! She hated him so much and it wasn't fair that a force outside of her will was brainwashing her into believing he cared for her. Once, she began to gag and finally threw up. Eventually she fell asleep, turned away from the vomit so as to not inhale the stink of it.
When she woke the mess was cleaned up with nobody in sight. Her mouth was dry and tasted like shit. A thick, crusty substance covered her teeth. Trying to pick it off with her finger, she dejectedly sat up and pulled the blankets over her body. Teeth chattering, she curled up and tried to think of anything but Collin, which seemed nearly impossible.
She continued to lie in bed, depressed and exhausted for no reason at all, until she heard someone coming down the hall to her room. She expected it to be another bathroom break, perhaps a snack or meal, but to her shock Collin stepped through the door.
He looked gray and haphazard, deep lines under his eyes. Faded cuts appeared over his face, chest, and arms. The cold, drained feeling inside of her immediately warmed to a content lull. It was instant and sudden and the change was almost too much for her. Lip trembling, Shannon rose to her feet.
Collin's eyes darkened and then he was crushing her to his chest, pressing his mouth to the top of her head like it was the only way he could save his life. His limbs tightened around her and he breathed her scent deeply. She held herself still, unable to move. Chaotic thoughts raced through her lead like wildfire. Her arms almost mechanically threaded around his back, but she didn't want to do that… No, she did, Collin was her soul mate, wasn't he?
Embry. She loved Embry. She hadn't seen him in so long…and she didn't need to. She had Collin now, didn't she? But she didn't want him. He was being forced on her! She had the right to fall in love with someone on her own terms!
"Stop!" she gasped hurriedly, pushing away from his chest. Collin made a hurt, angry noise in the back of his throat. She stumbled away from him and into the wall, terrified whimpers escaping her mouth. Collin hunched his shoulders and took a step towards her, dark eyes glinting dangerously.
"I don't understand why you're afraid of me, Shannon. I love you. I've loved you even before knowing you…you are my imprint. I was built to accommodate you," he murmured pleadingly. Shannon's fists clenched.
"To accommodate, not love!" she spat. Collin flinched back from her words then took two more steps towards her, effectively trapping her against the wall. Her breath became ragged when he moved in closer, their thighs brushing. He brushed his lips across her cheek and Shannon again tried to shove him away. This time, he didn't budge.
"Get away from me," she demanded. Collin growled and pulled in closer. His mouth was positioned near her nose, and she could smell his breath, a distinct beef jerky scent that she detested. He pressed his lips against hers and she held still for a moment, not responding. And then she was thrashing and screaming as loud as she could, peeling her mouth away from his.
Collin furiously grabbed her arm and slammed it against the wall. She cried out in pain, but he didn't seem to notice this time. Their eyes met and for once, Shannon truly sensed the monster inside of this poor boy. He could have had a normal life, a happy one. Instead he had turned into an animal.
And then his hand struck the back of her cheek. She saw stars for a long time. Shannon didn't even know it when she slumped against the wall, or as Collin carried her to the bed swiftly. She wasn't aware of him undressing her or Collin undressing himself. Everything was blurry and undefined and confusing.
Only when he lowered his body over hers, hard dick pressing into her stomach, did she realize what was going on. Terrified, Shannon held still. He had hit her. He had hit her. He had hit her.
He had hit her. She was supposed to be his imprint, his 'true love', and he had hurt her. She started to sit up and he pushed her back down roughly. She tried to slip away but he always pulled her back. Finally Shannon fought. She kicked and hit him but this seemed to egg him on even further. When she tried to bite him, she practically broke her teeth.
Crying out in pain, she wiggled as much as she could. Irritated, Collin pushed his hand against her chest and held her in one place. No matter how hard she tried to move, she couldn't. She was trapped.
He had her at his total disposal. He could kill her. He could…he could do what he was doing now. Oh, fuck. Oh dear lord, no, please stop! Choked sobs escaped her mouth as she pleaded for him to leave her alone.
His hands tugged and pulled on his penis as he watched her, mouth slightly agape. Her moving about and pleads for him to stop made him moan in pleasure. He gave one final tug and then he exploded on her stomach, leaving her shaking with embarrassment.
She hadn't ever wanted to see that. And now he was lowering himself and…no. Nononononono. She couldn't…stop him! She couldn't move, no, she couldn't move, and she couldn't escape…he was going to go inside her. She didn't want him inside her. That was Embry's place. That was never his place, no God oh please no…
"STOP!" she cried, jerking herself to the side so hard his hand was knocked out of the way. He fell to the side and quickly Shannon scrambled away, shaking and screeching. Collin leapt from the bed angrily and stalked over to her.
For a moment, he leaned over her predatorily and she cowered against the wall, praying for it all to go away. And then he yelped in a strangled sort of way before throwing her a longing, sad glance, snatching his clothes and fleeing from the room.
He even forgot to shut the door.
Shannon huddled against the door for so long her stomach started to growl and her bladder pulsed with pain. She supposed she was in shock. Her mind couldn't quite comprehend what had almost just happened… no, too much too soon, she couldn't think couldn't think about it, not yet not yet no…
Her mind reeled and she gasped softly, retreating further into that deep, blank piece of her mind.
Her arms wound around her knees as she stared at the nothingness…darkness swallowed her eyes and her brain. She tried to leave her body before realizing it wasn't possible. She needed to leave this place, this room; she could never come back…
Her dark thoughts trapped her again and again for hours.
And then Collin returned. She cried. That's all she could do for a long time. He simply sat across from her, not laying a hand on her, not meeting her eyes.
And then, he spoke, in a voice so quiet she could barely hear it. "Shannon. I'm so sorry…I shouldn't have…" his voice broke. His eyes closed, almost painfully, and finally their eyes met. She trembled and shoved herself against the wall further. He cleared his throat and continued, "I want to show you… show you Jared and Kim." The names were unfamiliar.
"Jared and Kim loved each other very much. They still do, I suppose. But, well," Collin took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing, "They're both insane; crazy. They'd be in mental institutions if they weren't an imprint and a wolf. She is the reason we found out how safe we had to keep you imprints, for the safety of not only us but the whole community. Kim went to Port Angeles one day with her mother. Without a wolf." His voice turned flat, cold and distant. Shannon's heart thudded quickly, fearing the worst.
What had happened to this Kim girl to make the Pack react so…strongly? Turn all of them completely insane? Her stomach twisted.
"She was cornered. She was raped. She wasn't exactly a strong person, Shannon. Her mind left her body pretty damn quickly and soon she was nothing but an empty shell. And that destroyed Jared, too. He turned into what she needed… an uncomplicated animal built to protect her. And that was it. He doesn't talk and the only thing that prevents him from hunting for her is that we can give her human food ourselves," Collin said bitterly.
Then he looked up abruptly, desperately. "Shannon, we had to put the imprints away after that! We could no longer risk their safety as though it was nothing!" He sighed, opened his mouth and then closed it.
Finally, he stood and stepped up to her. Shannon didn't move, didn't cringe… didn't do anything at all. She wasn't sure what to think. She didn't even protest when he lifted her into his arms and carried her out into the hallway. Her insides were frozen.
Then he turned a corner and faced a door, a door she had never even been aware of before, stood before them. She had trouble focusing her eyes on it, but when she finally did Collin whispered in a low voice to not make a sound. Just look quietly.
And then he opened the door. Inside was horrible.
Inside was something Shannon never wanted to see. A man, a man who looked remarkably like Embry, stood there, staring at them with a ferocious glint in his otherwise dead eyes on an expressionless face. Behind him was a simple bed, much like Shannon's, and on it sat a plain girl with dirty skin and hair. She was also blank faced as well as emitting a foul odor.
Shannon gasped and then the door was shut, Collin gripping her arms and shoving her against the wall.
"Do you see, Shannon? Do you understand why we're doing this now?" She was so confused, so awfully confused…
She burst into tears.