Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sanctuary characters.

Lilith came awake with a start, her body poised for flight. It took her befuddled mind a moment to realize that she was alone. With a gasp of relief, she sat up. The horrendous pain from the night before was gone. Haddock was nowhere to be seen. She was fine with that.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Wrapping the sheet around her, she made her way over to the mirror and sighed. She was once again completely healed. No traces remained of her master's fury. Except the memory of his fists and his rutting away on top of her. And his bite...

Her mind shied away from that particular memory as her belly growled. Tears stung her eyes and she tried to ignore her hunger. Master had made it abundantly clear that food was a thing of the past for her.

Her stomach growled again and she closed her eyes, trying to think of something other than her stomach. Lilith slowed her breathing, concentrating on letting her inner peace soothe her.

Lilith was so immersed in her calm that she failed to sense her visitor. Pain exploded along her cheek and Lilith screamed, her eyes coming open. She had a moment to glimpse who her assailant was, and then another hard slap sent her tumbling to the floor.

She glanced up in fear. Her master stood there, evil intentions shining in his eyes.

"Glad to see you are awake, Pet. Yesterday's fiasco cost me money. Money I'm going to take from your flesh." He flung a paper bag at her. "Get your ass up and dressed."

She stood, clutching the bag in her hands. "I don't understand."

Haddock snarled and backhanded her. She yelped, her hand automatically coming up to her face. "Sorry!" she squeaked and dropped the sheet.

Hastily she dressed and didn't resist when Haddock grabbed her by the hand and dragged her from their tent. They walked to edge of the circus and he shoved her into his truck.

He climbed in, slammed the vehicle into drive and roared out of the back lot. Lilith kept her gaze trained on the view outside her window. She blinked and felt a coldness wash over her as they drove out the gates. Standing by the entrance was Mama Buntah.

Lilith could feel the heat of the old woman's gaze and she briefly wandered if something bad would befall them. That thought produced instant fear and she fought for a calmness she didn't feel.

The silence in the truck was unbearable, but she kept quiet and even dozed for a short while. She was jostled awake by the abrupt change of the road.

She sat up and saw the forest surrounding them. Fear prompted her to speak.

"Master, where are?"

She cried out when Haddock slammed on the brakes and coughed hard from the seat-belt choking her.

He opened his door and got out. Lilith, confused, unfastened her seat-belt. Her door was jerked open and without a word, she was yanked out of the truck. She fell face first and hastily pushed herself to all fours, her gaze on her master.

"Pet, did I say you could talk?"

Lilith's mouth went dry and her eyes widened. Haddock slid his large miner's belt from his waist and snapped it once.

This couldn't be happening! She had asked a simple question, yet her master was going to punish her for it. The universe really did hate her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the first crack of the belt connecting with her butt.

Lilith yelped and unconsciously rolled away. She didn't get far because Haddock stomped on her calf, sending her sprawling. He stepped on her right leg, keeping her pinned and rained blows down on her body.

Despite her attempts to shield herself, Haddock continued to beat her until she howled for mercy. He brought the belt down one more time, catching her along her right shoulder. She screamed but choked down the noise when her master kicked her.

"Pets are to be seen, not heard. If you open your mouth again, I'll make you bleed. And, if you still feel the need to express yourself, there are several circus members who can fill your mouth and keep you occupied for a week. Understood?"

Lilith whimpered her fear and frantically shook her head yes. She flinched when he moved his foot off her leg and needle-like pain ran up it as her blood began circulating again.

"Get up. We're going to go fix your mess."

Her mess? What did her master mean by that? She didn't understand but that didn't matter. Slowly she stood and, with the heat of her master's glare on her, limped to the truck and got in. Her entire body was screaming its agony but she didn't say a word. Once master uttered a threat, he always followed through on it.

Haddock got back in the truck and the rest of the ride was silent. Lilith didn't know what was ahead but, deep in her heart, she feared it wasn't going to be good.