Bite A Little Harder

Chapter One: Prisoner

Chapter One: PrisonerAbigail can hear everything going on in the other room. That's the way the room is designed. There are hidden microphones all through the dungeons so that she is never taken by surprise. Elias is nothing if not dedicated to keeping her safe. He doesn't have to do this, doesn't have to make sure she doesn't get surprise visits, but he's sweet like that even though he likes to pretend differently, with all his posturing like an angry bear all the time. He's actually a big marshmallow inside.

Abigail has been waiting her entire life for this. Elias reminds her all the time that he's raising her for this exact purpose and she's going to do wonderfully. There's no room for failure, not when Elias has trained her to be exactly what the werewolf wants. Yet... she finds herself worrying. What if the werewolf she's meeting doesn't like her? What if he looks at her and decides he can do better. He can probably do better.

She's only human. He could probably find someone prettier to be with.

But then, he if decides that she's not good enough, he'll leave and then- and then maybe she can be with Elias.

She shakes he head and chases that thought from her mind. Elias has already made himself clear that he doesn't want her like that. She sighs and tugs at the ropes holding her still.

She's grateful that she doesn't have the full control of her body. She would be pacing holes into the floor otherwise. Elias had tied her up so that she can't even move. She had asked for the gag because she's not sure what she would say given the freedom to speak her mind. She tugs at the b*****e holding her still and tries her best to relax into them. She's so new to all this. The way the silk bindings dig into her skin and hold her so tightly is relaxing, however, and she finds herself breathing easier when she realizes there's no way out.

Elias had thrown a fit when he found out the name of the suitor who had won her. He broke a lot of furniture that day, right after throwing the computer screen against the wall.

His temper tantrum frightens her even though she knows from experience that even at his worst, he would never hurt her.

He comes to himself after throwing the chair into the bookcase, the loud crash eliciting a shocked shriek that she doesn't manage to muffle in her palm. She's sobbing in soft, quiet puffs, drawing air through lungs that aren't working as well as they should. He's so terrifying like this, half-man, half-bear, his form looming over her like a terrifying demon of white.

"Baby," he growls, still more bear than human as he goes to his knees and crawls up to her, trying his best to be as small as possible so that he doesn't scare her even more. She's sitting at the edge of the couch, curled up and afraid. "Baby, come 'ere, I'm not mad at you."

She whimpers and curls up tighter. Hair falls over her eyes when she shakes her head. Her heart is beating wildly in her chest and she's too scared to look up.

"Come here," he says, the low growl in his tone disappearing as he shifts more human than beast. "Look at me," he demands, not one for patience.

She looks up and blinks. He's broken their lighting system and it's too dark to see clearly. Normally, she would be embarrassed by his state of undress, but she can barely see him. She jerks back when she feels his hands on her shoulders.

"Come here, baby," he says, and then, in a lower growl, "I'm not going to ask again."

She peeks up at him through long lashes that are glistening with tears. "I'm sorry."

"It's not you, baby," he whispers. "Come 'ere," he pulls her into his lap, skin rippling and bones rearranging as he shifts back until he's fully human. "It's alright," he says, cradling her to his chest.

It's rare that he's this gentle with her. He hasn't held her like this ever since she's started growing breasts. It makes her sad that he's stopped holding her so closely, but he says it's to keep her pure for her future mate. He holds her now, gently guiding her to fold her legs up so that he can pull her to his lap completely and cage her between his legs. She can feel his arms around her torso, the warmth of his naked chest against her skin. He rubs up and down her back in a repetitive motion that seems to be soothing himself instead of her as her rocks her over and over, hushing her even though she's not making a noise.

Being in his arms is comforting. She focuses on his voice and his warmth, letting him block out the rest of the world. She doesn't know why he's upset and she doesn't dare to ask because she's not quite ready for him to let her go yet. She closes her eyes and listens to his heartbeat. It's soothing.

"I know who's going to take you home," he growls into her hair when she has almost gone to sleep.

"Hmm?"

"His name is Nicholas. I knew him in college," he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "You're too good for him, baby," he whispers heatedly, his fingers shaking as he grasps the back of her neck. "He's going to break you."

"I won't break."

She feels him shaking his head. "You're so- you're so sheltered, baby," he growls. "And he's- he's into a lot of things... why is he even looking for someone like you?" He snarls at the end and even though the words aren't meant for her, her pulse quickens. He is gripping the back of her neck so tightly that it is hurting her.

She whimpers and tries to pry his fingers away.

"Shh..." he hushes her and drags his grip up her hair, twisting his fingers to press her face close to his chest.

Her nose feels mushed. She tries to shimmy a little and look up at him, wanting to see his face. His grasp on the back of her head tightens even more.

"Be good, darling. Stay still, okay?"

She nods and focuses on the sound of his heartbeat again.

"Good girl. You're such a good girl... I'm going to just hold you until I'm ready to talk, so just- just stay still until then. Is that okay with you, baby girl?"

She gets that nice, warm feeling inside her stomach every time he calls her that. "Okay, daddy," she whispers and thinks she hear his heart skip a beat, but that's probably just her imagination.

It isn't until much, much later that he finally calms down. He carries her to the bed and deposits her there so he can raid the drawers for something to wear. Her eyes have adjusted to the dark enough that she can see him pulling on a pair of black slacks. She's disappointed he's not joining her on the bed, but he pulls a chair to the side of the bed and sits close enough for her to reach out and touch him if she wants. She wants, but doesn't do it. He won't be happy with her if she does.

"What's wrong?" she asks, breaking the awkward silence between them.

He draws a deep, shuddering inhale. "The man who's going to be bringing you home... he's into a lot of different things."

She c***s her head, "How do you know he's going to win?"

He growls. "Nicholas always gets what he wants."

She shakes her head. "Nobody gets what they want all the time, daddy," she says softly. He tells her that himself.

"Nicholas does," he sounds amused and something in her brain sets off a blaring alarm. "Remember when I told you about the people you had to meet when you were sixteen? That you can't do anything to piss them off and you had to keep your head down and stay close to me?"

She nods. She doesn't like thinking about that. Elias had tried to deny their request to meet with her for months before finally having his hands forced. The men were very touchy with her, pulling her this way and that even when it's clear that she doesn't like it. Elias had snarled at more than a few of the werewolves there, baring his teeth and letting his bear show in order to get them off, but even then, his hands were tied. They were powerful men. One false move could mean having her taken away permanently, so he could only stand aside and glare as they teased and asked her rude questions.

"Things... in bed?" She furrows her eyebrows stops feels the pinch between them. It's not proper to frown. She's aware that she's pouting a little too, but there's nothing she can do about that.

He looks up at her in shock, like he's surprised she knows about s*x.

"We had a whole class about it. I know what s*x is," she says, rolling her eyes. She's blushing a little though. The class had embarrassed her. She didn't know that men and women were so different, or that different animals had different biology too. "Did you know werewolves have knots when they have s*x?" she whispers and then cringes. They spent a lot of time learning about werewolf biology since most of her classmates are werewolves.

"I know, baby," he sighs with amusement in his tone. He pat the top of her head lightly.

"Is Nicholas a werewolf?" When he nods, she asks in a smaller tone, "Is that what you're worried about?" Some of the girls in her class had mated already and even as werewolves, they told her that knots can hurt quite a bit.

"It's just- the things he's into might not be the same things you'll be into and it worries me."

It more than worries him. He had destroyed a fair section of her living room when he read the candidates fighting for the chance to mate with her.

She's not too upset about that. He'll have everything replaced as soon as he can. She rests her chin on her knees and licks her lips. "Are you going to teach me, daddy?" She's only just turned eighteen and he's supposed to hire a teacher for her so that when she's mated, she's not going to be completely ignorant when it comes to s*x.

Elias's pupils are blown when he turns to her, but he keeps his hands on his lap and doesn't move at all. "Would you like me to?"

She nods eagerly, her heart beating rapidly in her chest. "Yes, please."

It feels like no time has passed at all between then and now.

"Do you trust me, baby girl?" he asks her with the silk ropes in his hands. He's talked to her about this over and over again, but she's always a little afraid.

"Yes, daddy," she says because it's true.

"Take off the towel and lay down for me, alright?"

She nods again, her movement slightly jerky due to her nervousness, but she's eager to do things right. She had bathed in the rose water he had prepared for her and dried herself with a soft towel earlier, so she knows she smells nice. Still, she can't help but be self conscious about being naked. She lets the towel pool at her feet and climbs up onto bed on all fours. She hears his breath hitch behind her and turns around. "Am I doing something wrong, daddy?" she asks.

He shakes his head. "No, baby, you're doing good," he promises. "On your back. Come on. That's a good girl."

She shivers at his tone. He's being so gentle with her. It's unnerving.

"Relax, baby."

She jerks her head down again and lays down on the bed. "You're staring," she says, feeling heat on her cheeks. She tries to cover herself with an arm over her chest, but it's no use. She's completely bare to him. It's not like he hasn't seen her naked before, but this is different Someone's going to come and take her virginity today.

"Hands over your head, darling," he says and begins tying her up, keeping his gaze away from her even though she continues to stare at his face.

The noise from outside her room draws her attention back to what's happening and she scolds herself from daydreaming and missing part of their conversation.

"-logize for the delay. Thank you for agreeing to come today," Elias tells the man as he leads the stranger through the underground dungeon, guiding her closer and closer to where she is.

She makes a choked noise as she hears Elias's voice. If she didn't know any better, she would've been convinced that he doesn't care. He does care. He's said so himself. They just can't be together.

For a short while, there is nothing but the sound of Elias unlocking another door, pushing the heavy stone wall out of the way so that their guest can enter. It's just one of many doors and she knows they're nowhere close to reaching her just yet. It doesn't make her any less nervous, though.

"It's a little dull down here, isn't it?" the stranger comments.

She huffs but understands the sentiment. To an outsider, it gives off a heavy impression of entering a maximum security prison cell. To her, it's home.

"It's to keep her safe," Elias answers. "I trust you have something arranged in your own residence?" he asks.

Her future mate has a deep voice, one that goes straight to her loins and makes the butterflies in her stomach do flips. "I have a pack. There will be a werewolf assigned to guard her at all times," he reassures Elias.

"And the security?" Elias doesn't sound impressed.

"Only an i***t would attack a werewolf's den, Elias."

"Idiots have attack my den all the time when they find out that I'm harboring a human, Nicholas, and I am not known for my benevolence." Elias is growling now, unhappy with the man's response.

Nicholas snarls at him with complete disregard of his own life. A werewolf can't possibly take down a were-bear. Not without his pack.

She flinches when she hears the sound of someone being slammed against the wall.

"You seem to have forgotten how ruthless I can be, Elias. Don't underestimate my capabilities of keeping what's mine safe."

For a moment, the only thing she hears are low, rumbling growls. And then, Elias breaks the silence. "I apologize. I am... protective of the girl."

"No need for apologies. I should have made myself clearer. I am not going into this blind, my friend. Arrangements have been made to ensure that she is well cared for. No harm is going to come to her once she is in my pack."

Silence. And then, "Thank you."

"I should be the one to thank you, Elias. It is an honor," he confesses. "It has been a lifetime since I have found someone to spike my interest. This Abigail... has she been with you long?"

"Yes. Her whole life," Elias says, as though he had not raised her specifically for this purpose. "Most humans are promised to wed since they're young, but I want to make sure she has as normal a childhood as possible."

She makes a sound through the gag that is close to a sob. She's only found out recently how much he has had to sacrifice in order to ensure that normal childhood.

"Must be hard," Nicholas comments. "I've never heard you speak of her before..."

He snorts. "I didn't want my friends to suddenly have hidden agendas, Nicholas. I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. I suppose you have been getting suitors for her even though she's not supposed to choose until she is eighteen?"

He huffs. "You could say that."

He had been fending off all potential suitors since she was eight. The only reason why he's agreed to this is because his hands are tied. He has put it off for as long as he can, but she's eighteen now, and he is no longer allowed to be her caretaker.

The thought still sends a stab of pain through her gut. She ignores it and forgets that she is tied up again, remembering only when she tries to sit up and ends up tugging the ropes instead.

"How old is she?"

"Turned eighteen a month ago," he says. "I've been training her ever since."

A month. It's hard to believe that a month ago, she had been willfully ignorant about her future. She thought she was-

She shakes her head, stopping herself from going down that path. Just thinking about all the things they've tried the past month is enough to make her blush a healthy shade of red all the way down to her breasts. She grows wetter just recalling the look on the older man's face when she first take her clothes off in front of him.

Abigail shifts in her restraints. It is not the most comfortable position for her to be in, but it's one that allows her werewolf to see her better later when he enters the room.

"You're going to make a beautiful bride, baby," Elias says hoarsely when he is finished with his ropes. He leans down and kisses the top of her head. "I'm so proud of you," he says, cradling her face in his large palm.

In another lifetime, she would have married him instead. If she had more say in her own future, she would have him in this lifetime. She bites her tongue to keep herself from saying the words. Her eyes fill with treacherous tears. She tries to blink it away and is only successful in making it trickle down the sides of her face.

He growls, like the sight of her is hurting him physically. "You're going to be alright. I'll be right here," he says, mistaking her heartbreak for fear.

"Promise?" she whispers.

"Promise," he says. "Now, open your mouth."

She parts her lips and lets him push the round gag into her mouth. He lifts her head gently and ties it up around her head.

The request to have her tied up had arrived just that morning. Elias had almost destroyed the second computer in a month, but manages to stop himself.

"You won the auction fair and square," Elias continues. "And also at the fighting arena. The other werewolves are not really a match for you, Nicholas."

"Please, you know me better than that, Elias."

"You always get what you want, don't you?" Elias chuckles, but there is no mirth in his laugh. "I have to admit, I never pegged you for one of those people who're interested in taking a human as a mate."

"What's odd about that? My mother was human, as was my grandmother," he says, sounding a touch defensive. "The other werewolves choose to sully their bloodline by mixing too close to the source while our family has been carrying the strongest progeny by marrying someone completely unrelated."

She cringes. Inbreeding. It's something they've been warned against in school. There's an entire subject in her classes that's an hour a week for an entire year! With exams! The government has been trying it's best to curb the practice by educating everyone.

"But someone human? Why not a werewolf?" Elias is deliberate in letting the derision show in his tone. He's trying to rile him up. She knows he's doing this for her sake. Elias wants to make sure he's not giving her away to some human-hating activist.

"Why choose a human as a mate, you mean? If you're trying to say something, say it."

He sounds a little too defensive about what he's saying, but Abigail has a feeling he has had to defend himself a lot in the past. She kind of gets it. In school, humans are treated as a lesser species because they're so easy to injure. They can't join any co-curricular activities in case the other shifters forget that they don't have the enhanced healing powers and a broken arm would stay broken for weeks instead of mere hours. She more than makes up for it in her other classes, however.

Abigail is smart, graduating top of her class. She's been accepted into the best universities in the world. The best of what little is left, anyways.

She feels a cold tendril of fear in her veins as she thinks about her life. Would the man let her continue with her education? From the sounds of it, he's from a powerful family. Maybe he is the type to keep her like a breeding stock. Would he chain her by his bed and f**k her until she is too full and too sore to do anything else?

"Did you want her because of she's easier to hurt?"

She sucks in a breath.

"No."

He doesn't sound like he's lying. Or maybe he's just a seasoned liar.

"I won't do anything she doesn't want to."

He sounds sincere.

"What if she's not into what you're into?" Elias insists.

She blushes a little. Now, Elias is just trying to get on his nerves. He knows fully well how much she enjoyed the last bit of their training. It's true that the man's kinks had worried them both in the beginning, but the more she reads about b*****e, b**m, and all the s****l games he enjoys doing with his previous bed partners, the more intrigued she is by it. She wants to try everything.

Her curiosity has always been one of her best qualities. She's pretty sure she's driving Elias up the wall with how much she's enjoying her lessons. She likes the thrill and the spike of fear followed by the rush of adrenaline through her veins and she loves it when he tells her what to do. It makes her feel alive. It's also been giving Elias the worst case of blue balls. She giggles, and then is instantly saddened by the thought.

She won't be seeing Elias for much longer. Once Nicholas brings her back to his home, she won't have a reason to see Elias at all. When she focuses on the conversation again, she realizes that they're talking about something else.

Nicholas's answer must have pleased Elias because he sounds a lot more relaxed now. "You'll like Abigail. She's a smart one, the girl, smartest of her school. I have the papers to prove it," Elias says. "You would be interested in her bloodline, I believe. Both her parents are werewolves..."

At that, the footsteps stop and Abigail wonders if Elias has said something wrong and put his interest off.

When he speaks again, his tone is disbelieving. "The werewolf gene is dominant."

"Yes, but when you have two wolves with recessive human genes, then you may end up with a human," he says with no amount of smugness. It's not something that happens often, given how most werewolves don't marry humans. "Her family was ecstatic. They are not a particularly well-off couple and did not know how to deal with a human child, so they handed her training to me. I've been paying for most of her education, you see, and overseeing a lot of her decisions as she grew older. It is a shame to have to let her go."

That's another lie. Her parents are far from ecstatic. They were disgraced. They thought they had given birth to a monster. The irony of the insult coming from actual werewolves isn't lost on her. They couldn't wait to get rid of her. Elias took her in when she was three and it became obvious that her parents weren't going to wait until she's eighteen before giving her away to the highest bidder.

"Especially since you're the one who trained her, yes?" There is a hidden danger in the question and if she can tell, then there's no doubt that Elias has picked up on it too.

"I train humans ready for marriage all the time," he says dismissively.

Liar, she thinks with a soft smile.

.