"Grace" Kellans voice whispered in my ear. The darkness around me shifted but my eyes wouldn't open it was as if they had been sealed shut. I could feel could metal biting into the skin of my wrists and ankles. I wanted to cry but I held back the pressure that was building in my chest.

Fingers brushed the hair back away from my face making me cringe and turn away. A deep chuckle vibrated the still air around me, "Oh Grace—aren't you tired of this game yet?" Kellan asks me with amusement. I feel a sting of pain as he digs his claws into my arm but I hold back the sounds—he loves it when I cry—when I scream.

"You know you could be something great, it's in your genes. All you have to do is give yourself to me." His lips were pressed to my ear and his hot breath on my skin make me want to crawl inside myself. My wolf was scratching at the back of my mind but I couldn't reach her not with all the wolf bane pumping through my veins. He loved it when I was defenseless and completely at his mercy.

I could feel his other hand sliding up my stomach and over my ribs. I winced when he touched the spot that was still healing from the last beating he'd let some of his lackey's give me after I had tried to bite him.

"Open your eyes and look at me." He growls. I didn't want to see him, looking at him made me desperate and angry. It was better to be calm and in control because Kellan was worse when he got a rise out of me.

"LOOK AT ME!" He bellowed and my eyes snapped open. My wolf responded to his rage like a fisherman to a siren. I opened my mouth as my canines descended and I pulled at my bonds, snapping my teeth at him viciously. He hovered just out of reach with a twisted grin on his face, "You're so beautiful when you're so full of hate. I can't wait to make you mine, pet."

"I will never be your pet!" I snarled at him as I fell back against the metal table they had bound me to.

"I wouldn't say never—but perhaps you need more time in your holding cell to see things my way." He shrugged his shoulders as if he couldn't care less. He leaned in closer to me his red eyes shimmering brightly in the dimly lit space, "You're still so weak and pathetic. You don't even understand what you could be capable of—" His hands reached up quickly and wrapped around my throat, squeezing hard. I struggled in against his hold my eyes wide and my heart hammering against my chest. He smiled at my attempts to free myself, lowering his face closer to mine.

My eyes water and tears slipped from them, sliding down the sides of my face. I wanted to die. I wanted the torture to end. What had I done to deserve this? I had already lost everything that mattered to me. Why couldn't the moon goddess just give me peace already?

Kellans grip on my throat loosened slightly to show me that I had once again be deprived my release, which only made me was to scream out in rage. I could feel his hot breath mingling with my own he was so close to me, "Don't cry my pet—I will rid you of this weakness and build you into something stronger." He wanted to turn me into a rogue—though I wasn't quite sure why. What would he gain from me siding with him? I would never side with him, that would happen over my dead cold body.

I narrowed my eyes, "I hate you." I say through clenched teeth.

"Good—maybe there is hope for you yet."

I woke up gasping for air and my head throbbing like I had the worst hangover of my life. My mind registered the hard and damp concrete underneath me which had me reeling back. I pushed myself up off the ground stumbling a bit as I regained control of my limbs. My eyes scanned the area frantically as I realized I was in some type of enclosure. I felt a familiar panic begin to build in my chest as I moved forward not wanting to believe that I was awake. I hoped I was still trapped in my nightmare—almost wanted to beg for that to be true.

There was an opening to the small room I was in. A door made of bars like the ones you'd see in a prison. I inched myself closer and closer to the opening my mind swirling frantically with memories and thoughts of the past. I licked my lips nervously before lifting one of my hands towards the bars. When my skin came in contact with the metal I immediately yanked it back with a hiss of pain. I looked down ago see a red burn across the palm of my hand.

It was real—the pain was real. A shuddered breath left my lungs.

I was in a cage, again.

I sank to the ground and pulled my legs up close to my chest. I felt like the world around me was shifting and sliding in every direction. I could hear Kellan in the back of my mind laughing. I could see his sinister grin as he was right in front of me. My body shuddered as my wolf scratched underneath my skin, filling me with the burning sensation of needing to shift.

I started rocking back and forth, "Kellan is dead—you killed him Grace. He's dead—He's dead..."

LOOK AT ME! His voice echoed through my head and I squeezed my eyes shut. My hands clenched on tightly to my legs, "You're not real. You're not real..." I whispered to myself trying to block out everything around me.

Pathetic. Weak. His laugh sent a chill through me that went bone deep. My eyes snapped opened and I began to look around my cell expecting to see him standing there watching me but it was completely empty. A tiny sob bubbled passed my lips, "No. No. No. No...please—" I pulled at my hair.

"Something is wrong with the prisoner." I heard a male voice faintly calling out but I was too far lost in the darkness of my mind. Every time I blinked I could see Kellans red eyed stare and apathetic smirk. He was going to take me back to the dark room again—I didn't want to go there again. It hurt too much. My body shook, "Please—I don't want to. Not again..."

You'll never get away from me Grace. You are mine, pet. I whimpered and my wolf thrashed blindly at the walls of my mind which were growing weaker by the moment. I pressed my fingers to my temples, "Go away! Go away! GO AWAY!" I screamed fiercely.

The loud sound of metal scraping on concrete made me cringe and I turned my attention toward the door to see two men filing in quickly. I scurried back away from them, tripping over my limbs as I moved. I looked between the two of them frantically, "Stay away from me—" I wouldn't let them take me back to that room. I was never going back to that place, ever!

One of the men held up his hands in a surrendered position, "You need to calm down. You are disturbing the other prisoners." He suggested in a low voice. His partner shifted forward and I noticed that he had something in his hand that looked like a needle. My lip pulled back in a sneer as I pushed myself against the cold damp wall. I had to get out of this room, no matter the cost.

I darted forward in an attempt to take them by surprise. I was caught by the lead attacker but my momentum caused us both to fall to the hard ground. I scrambled to get out from under him, throwing my elbow back and catching him in the nose. He let out a harsh growl, "Stick the crazy bitch!"

"NO!" I clawed at the ground in a frantic attempt to get free. My face was wet as tears of desperation streamed down my cheeks. I felt a sharp sting at the nape of my neck as the other male jabbed the needle into my skin. I continued to thrash under the male who was swearing but holding onto me with all his might. I felt the substance they injected me with begin to take it's toll and everything began to become sluggish. I focused my attention on the open door to my cell—my freedom was so close. As the darkness crept into my mind I could hear Kellan laughing. You belong to me Grace. You'll never be free.

Something wet and cold splash washed over me, pulling me out of the darkness. I could hear someone talking in a harsh tone but my eyes felt like they had been glued shut and my body was stiff as a board. A sharp sting of a slap to my face had my eyes fluttering open. It took me a second to realize I was kneeling near the back wall in my cell with my arms shackled together over my head. I groaned as my mind was still clouded from whatever drug they had pumped into me. Though I was happily numb and the past was lost in the cloud unable to reach me.

My eyes focus on the large male that is towering over me with an angry scowl, "Woman—are you listening to me?"

I frown, "I didn't realize you were speaking..." Another harsh slap makes it's way across my face forcing my head to turn to the side. I can taste blood in my mouth and I spit it out before I turn my eyes back to my attacker, "You've got my attention."

"You have been summoned to face the Royal family for your crimes." He recites to me looking rather disgusted to be in my presence. I peer around him as I watch to larger males enter looking like they are going to lead me straight into an execution. I focus on the pain of my face to center my clouded mind, "I didn't realize trespassing was such a huge offense. Is this normal protocol or Am I just privileged?"

The male lets out a growl before giving me another slap, "You will learn how to address those above you properly or you may find yourself without a tongue." My wolf stirs in me at his threat and I let out a chuckle, "And you should really learn how to address women properly. Didn't your mother teach you anything?"

I watch his slap happy hand twitch slightly, "You probably want to rethink hitting me again..." I meet his gaze head on, "I'm not someone you want as an enemy. I've got a list and every time you hit me I move you up higher on that list." I watch his jaw muscles tick in annoyance but he takes a step back away from me, "Grab her and escort her to the main theater room! Everyone is already waiting--" He spins on his heels and marches from the room without another word.

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Song: Freak on a Leash--Korn Ft. Amy Lee