Page 9 of Claiming Charlotte

I felt rough hands on me again, holding me tightly as Lacey pinched and rolled my nipples in her fingers. “I want to hear you scream this time, nice and loud for me,” she said, walking around to my legs.

I kept my eyes closed; I didn’t want to see her smug smile as she continued to assault me.

As I waited for the gentle touch I expected, I felt a burning sensation on my inner thigh, and before I knew it I was screaming in such an inhuman way that I didn’t even realize the guttural sound was coming from deep within me.

I arched against the pain as far as my restraints allowed, and when I opened my eyes, I saw Lacey staring down at me with a triumphant look. I glanced at what she held in her hand and had pressed roughly against my thigh; it was a long metal rod with some sort of symbol on the end.

The pain was unbearable, and I could feel my skin melting at the contact. It burned, and fire spread along my leg.

I just wanted her to stop, but she held it there. “This is the family crest, Charlotte. I’m putting this here, so Rowan knows exactly who you belong to,” she said smugly.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene unfolding in front of me as redness faded slowly to black, my breaths were sharp, and a choked sob left me every time I tried to exhale. When she finally decided to remove it, a chunk of dead skin peeled off with it, and as I stared at the bloody, gaping hole in my leg, I slipped beneath the surface.

5

ROWAN

“Alright, Jace. He’s had enough; don't kill him now,” Walker ordered, waving him away.

Jason removed the mask from my face and returned it to the table. My whole body shuddered at the sudden allowance of available air and sweat ran down my body. I can’t take much more, but I have to try. I’d been tortured by Jason before, and based on my past experiences, all I needed to do was disassociate from myself when he was hurting me. It worked before, and it could work again.

Walker stood in front of me, this time keeping his distance. Smart man.

“I can’t believe you were stupid enough to fall for the Bennett girl. You had to have known this was coming,” he said.

I hung my head, exhausted and dizzy from having the air ripped from my lungs repeatedly. I closed my eyes and tried hard to focus on my breathing instead of his words when I felt a presence behind me. Quickly trying to turn my head, I heard the whirr of electricity as a familiar piece of equipment came to life.

Walker continued talking. “You know very well that women are meant to submit to men and nothing more. And yet, you choose the woman who is about to defy all men, including her own father, by taking his place as head of the Bennett Family. You’re setting yourself up for disaster, and all I’m doing is saving your skin.”

I smirked. If only he knew I dropped to my knees and crawled to her. I couldn’t believe the bastard was trying to justify his actions against me, against Charlotte, and against every woman he hurt and sold to other men to be forced into compliance. The shock came quickly to me and left a burning sensation in my back.

All those women I couldn’t save.

Shock.

The ones I was forced to give to Walker in order to save my own life.

Shock.

I was so disgusted with myself, and I had to remind myself that Charlotte made everything okay. She couldn’t take away the pain of the past, but she had been so encouraging and uplifting. When I told her everything, it reminded me that I was not the monster I thought I was, and I’d tried so hard not to become what Walker wanted. I wanted to atone for what I’d done.

Shock.

“F-fuc-king stooop!”? I pleaded with Jason.

“You spent a lot of your time trying to convince me that what I do is wrong, but all I’m trying to do is teach these women their place,” Walker said.

I looked at him, disgust hanging plainly on my face. “No, Richard. You can’t force people to bend to your will. The only thing you do is rape, murder, and destroy lives. And then you sell them to be further humiliated and scarred. You’re not a saint, and I’m not going to treat you like one,” I spat.

This time, I flinched waiting for the shock, but I was given rest for now.

Walker laughed, and I was about to throw an insult directed toward him, when I heard the most animalistic, pained scream I’ve ever heard, and I knew that it was Charlotte.

My eyes widened in realization.

Shock.

They are trying to recondition me.

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