Claimed by the Primals

Chapter Ten

I was rudely awoken by ice-cold water being blasted onto me. I gasped, inhaling a mouthful of water while I was at it, and scrambled back until my back hit a wall. The stream of icy water cut out a second later. I doubled over, coughing and heaving, trying to get the water out of my lungs.

Footsteps approached me, and I stood up frantically. Chains clinked together, and I blinked rapidly to clear my vision and really look at the wide metal cuffs around my wrists. What the fuck? No, seriously, what the fuck?!

A hand that felt hot against my wet skin cupped my cheek and I instinctively flinched. A second hand brushed the hair out of my eyes and then I was looking into a pale, handsome face with deep green eyes. I tried to pull away again, but he held me firm and shook his head. "It's okay," he cooed in a low voice. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to get a good look at you."

I'm not so much of an idiot to not see the precariousness of my situation, so I forced myself to stand still. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matthias and Anthony standing next to the door of the—and I'm not kidding—completely stone cell I was in. It looked like something out of a horror movie. Tucked under Matthias's arm was a towel. On a small stand next to Anthony was a tray with a steaming bowl.

The third man smiled down at me. "My name is Eckhart. I'm Matthias and Anthony's mate. Yours too, soon enough."

"Where am I?" I asked through chattering teeth and tried to look around.

"No," Eckhart said sharply and twisted my face back around to meet his eyes again. "You don't ask questions, little one. It doesn't matter where you are. Only that you're safe with us. If you behave, then you won't have to spend any more time down here than necessary."

"H-how long is that?"

Oops.

Eckhart's expression went blank. Without a word from any of them, Anthony lifted one side of the tray until the bowl slid to the floor and shattered, spilling what smelled like chicken soup all over the wet stone floor. "Now, what do we do when we make mistakes?"

Eckhart's voice was patronizing, and it ground against that stubborn streak in me. But my shivering was getting worse, and I had my eyes on that towel in Matthias's arms. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

He smiled again and nodded. "Rewards come with hard work. I will not punish you needlessly. Matthias tells me that you are sexually submissive. That is good. You already know how to submit. That will make things easier for you."

Well, I wasn't cold anymore, I'll tell you that.

"You will submit to us in all facets of your life. We will protect you, love you, and give you children to raise. You will want for nothing."

Nope. I reached the end of my rope and went flying off the cliff. "Fuck you," I spat and shoved him away from me. "Let me go!"

Eckhart took one stumbling step back before gathering himself. His face was blank again. Matthias pulled the towel from under his arm and dropped it. Before I could lunge for it, he opened the hose and soaked it. Again, without a word, the three of them then left the room and slammed the heavy door behind them. The only source of light was from a dull orange lamp through a tiny, three-inch window in the door. I heard creak of another door, and I was alone.

Fuck.

To keep myself warm, I explored my surroundings as best I could with my wrists chained together and to the wall. It wasn't far. I, maybe, had four feet of chain. Not enough to reach the soaking wet towel or the door. Not enough even to pick up a fragment of bowl from the mess on the floor. The only thing in reach was a paper-thin mattress that looked to have seen better days and was also pretty wet from my initial soaking.