For The Love of An Alpha

Broken

A/N- Thank you for your thoughts so far on this journey, I always enjoy hearing from you as the chapters progress. Brace yourselves as we see how Jhera is faring.  
Please do not stop voting and commenting, I want to hear from you!

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Water dripped in the distance, the resonating sound of it's contact with cold stone filled the small space. It was dark, no moon light and no shadows. Her hair heavy and dark from water, hung in clumps about her face. She tried to lift her head, but the pain that ran through her chest was too much. She hung limp in the tension of the night. Iron chains burned her flesh, as they kept her partially suspended. Her shoulders slumped in a deformed mass, her elbows twisted out of joint and behind her. The pain of torture wasn't that bad. The breaking of her bones for the shift had been worse, but she grew comfortable with it, this pain was harder to manage. With each move her heart would race, as adrenaline pulsed through her system, the pain racking her body.

It was a submission technique, long sense out of practice. Rules and laws of war prevented this perverted method, but she wasn't dealing with another wolf. This was a coven of a size she'd never seen before. Twenty eight, the number of faces she was able to count before succumbing to the pain and passing out. She'd been locked up for nearly a week, though her brain couldn't tell her for sure if it'd been five days or five minutes. The sound of the dripping water was her only count of time, yet there were times it would increase and the drip would send her off track.

It was hard to say when the wall went up, day three or day four probably. Right before she passed out, she felt the numbness overtake her soul. Her heart calmed itself and she felt the pain subside. It was nearly manageable under this strange defense. Her captor had just left, coming in to re-break bones that her body was healing. Although the process had slowed, her wolf was still trying to mend their body.

Stop, let it be. She pleaded with her wolf, knowing that for every bone she mended they would come and break two.

We need to heal, we need to escape. Her wolf argued with her, not seeing the logic in the system they were creating.

Save our strength. We will heal when we have the chance. She took a ragged breath. When they think they have broken us, we will mend.

She felt the painful pop from her right femur, as her wolf stopped the mending on the bone. If there had been light, she would have seen the black bruises that riddled her body. There wasn't a part of her not covered in the tender flesh. Several bones stuck out from her legs, compound fractures, that's what the pack doctor would have called them. Blood pooled at her knees, slowly increasing in depth. Her body was weary and weak, all she wanted was sleep. Yet the pain of her disjointed arms kept her in a fitful place between reality and rest.

The large door cracked open, the sounds of clamoring and dismay filled her senses.

"It's time." A gruff voice yelled into the dark space.

The space through the door was dimly lit, burning at her eyes. She closed them firmly, trying her best to cover her tender pupils from the harsh light. Her naked body hung limp from the chains as rough hands grabbed at her flesh. She held back the whimper as he lifted her, examining the breaks in her bones. A tear mixed with the blood that slowly spilled from a gash on her head, hiding the truth in the pain she was in.

"Good." The gruff voice spoke out once more. "You're nearly ready to meet him." He lifted her chin to meet his gaze, her eyes clouding over and looking through him. "He'll be happy to see you submissive, dog." His grip firm on her chin, "You'll do well to remember that."