Stray Echo

Playing With Knives

POV: Echo

Atlas gently pecks my lips, and I can’t help but whine at his tease of a kiss, making him smirk at just how affected I am by him already.

“I know, Little Warrior, but we have already been down here long enough. We will need to head upstairs soon,” he explains.

I nod, knowing he’s right. I know I am looking forward to leaving this place even more, although I feel slightly conflicted about how much I enjoy physical contact with Atlas. Even though he had explained it would feel good if I consented, and even better because he was my mate, I was still slightly embarrassed about how much I craved it, and about how forward Tala and I had been already.

Blushing, I look at the stuff on my shelf, and suddenly I don’t want it anymore. None of it is usable, anyway. Just as I am about to tell him as much, there is a resounding crashing noise from the main floor, followed by the sounds of multiple wolves fighting. Eyes wide, I stare at him, hoping he knows what’s happened.

“Bloody idiots!” He curses, “One of the Red Stone warriors made a… colourful comment about you and set off some of the more hot-blooded members of my team. Travis is outside getting things ready to go, and Blaze is one of the blood idiots fighting. Dammit! You can’t come up there with me. There’s no telling what I’m going to be dealing with.”

I can feel his stress as he paces, trying to think of how to deal with the fight upstairs and keep me safe at the same time. When he goes to grip his hair, I move in front of him and pull down on his elbows until he brings them back down to where I can grip them.

“I will be safe right here. Anyone who wants to come this way will have to come through the dining room, anyway.” Keeping my tone even to soothe him, I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles this time. I can tell he is not pleased with this idea, but I nudged him in the door’s direction. “I’ll leave the door open so I can yell if I need anything.”

“Go!” I tell him after an even larger crash shakes the ceiling and we hear more wolves join the fray upstairs. He looks torn before he nods.

“You yell if there is anything, and I mean anything, that seems out of sorts down here.” He tells me, waiting for my nod before he pecks my cheek and takes off up the stairs.

I looked around nervously. I won’t lie. Being here alone again gives me chills. Looking at my clothes on the shelf, I decided to at least pull on a pair of underwear under Atlas’s shirt. The rest isn’t even worth wearing, it’s so thread-bare and translucent.

‘Leave it all, mate, he will take care of us. He will get us new clothes.’ Tala states, saddened by the sight of everything we own. While I wait, I wander around, looking at the space I’ve called mine for the last ten years. It is truly my own personal hell.

Making my way to the bathroom, I shudder. Nothing good has ever happened to me down here. I can hear Atlas giving his men s**t, and then putting any Red Stone warrior who dares challenge him in their place. I am reminded of just how powerful he is, and just how weak I am. Such an odd pairing from the Mood Goddess.

Suddenly, I hear the wolves upstairs break out into what sounds like an even larger fight than before, and shake my head, smiling. I have no doubt that the wolves of Red Stone are too stupid to know when to shut up, and it seems like the wolves of Blood Moon are too proud to let things go easily.

I stood in front of my shelf, wishing I had something worth keeping. As I stare at it, I remember the pocketknife I’d stashed between the shelf and the wall and stare in its direction, uncertain if I should bother taking it.

So engrossed in my internal debate as to if it’s even worth taking, I notice nothing amiss until Tala forces a growl from us. I stiffen, the scent of vanilla and cedar choking me as I realized my surroundings.

There is no way he could be down here. I whipped around, looking at the door, and realized it was closed now. I frowned, distinctly remembering having left it open so that Atlas could hear me if I needed him. My stomach drops as I see my nightmare out of the corner of my eye, moving silently toward me.

“Now, my Little Doll, what could you possibly be thinking about so hard that you didn’t notice me coming in?” He sneers, making my blood run cold.

Eyes wide, I simply stared at him in shock. With the door closed, no amount of screaming will be heard by anyone outside this room because it was soundproofed years ago. Brady’s face darkens as I meet his eyes.

“Someone has forgotten her place!” He snarls, lunging forward and backhanding me, sending me flying onto my shelf. I whimper, my bad ankle having been jolted by the force. He’s on me in seconds, lifting me by my throat and slamming me against the wall above the shelf.

“I warned you that you had disappointed me. Now you dare to look me in the eye!” He screamed in my face, spitting with rage.

I clawed at his arm desperately, gouging his skin as he tossed me to the side. I bounced off the wall beside the bed with a sickening thud, landing near the corner, dazed and gasping for breath. ‘The knife! Get the pocketknife!’ Tala urges me, already planning our survival.

Turning toward the corner, I screamed once as he kicked me in the ribs. Curling into a ball, I remain silent as he hurls profanities at me with each kick, hoping it will be over soon. Eventually, he tires, not having gotten the reaction he was seeking. I am in so much pain, but I try to focus on the task at hand, the pocketknife.

“Get up!” he snarls, and I pretend to be using the remains of the shelf to stand up, scooping up the pocketknife, and tucking it into my armpit, having nowhere else to put it.

As soon as I’m standing and turn toward him, his body slams into mine, pressing me against the wall and pinning my hands between us. He can smell the desired effect as it takes hold. I knew where he was going with this, as he ran his nose along my jaw, inhaling the scent of my fear greedily.

“Mmm, there it is!” He exclaims. “You are mine, Little Doll, and now I am going to make sure of it! Your Alpha ‘mate’ will have a hard time claiming you if I mate and mark you right now!”

His lips smashed against mine, and I pressed them together tightly. He reaches up with his hand and squeezes my cheeks painfully inward, forcing my lips to part and gaining the access he demands.

Nausea rolls through my stomach as he shoves his tongue into my mouth, keeping his painfully tight grip on my face so I can’t bite him this time. His other hand roams my body, shredding the front of my shirt as he paws at my chest.

Tala and I can’t help but whimper in pain and fear as he shoves his tongue all around our mouth and roughly squeezes our breasts. Brady pulls back, just enough that I’m able to free my hands while he unbuttons his pants. Realizing I wouldn’t get another chance, I pull the pocketknife out of my armpit and flip open the blade before he realizes what I’ve done. He growls out a laugh when he sees it,

“How did you get that, Little Doll? You shouldn’t play with knives, you’ll get cut!” I flinch as his voice promises I’ll pay the price for pulling a knife on him.

It means I cannot fail. Taking both of us by surprise, I swung the knife directly at his face, slicing deep into the skin, exposing the white bone of his jaw beneath. He stepped back, howling in a pained fury as he clutches at the wound on his face.

No longer pinned to the wall, I quickly stumble away from him, limping heavily and holding the knife up in a shaking hand. There is no way I can let him go through with his sick plans. If he mates and marks me, I will never leave this place.