Page 36 of Red's Beast

Once I ignore him for a few seconds, he stomps off and probably leaves me a trail of mud to clean when I get to the hardwood floors.

Hours pass, and it is now close to dusk when I sit down the last bucket. My legs wobble from cleaning the house in its entirety. It’s spotless and beautiful.

Hopefully, Nigel won’t come out of one of the rooms and inspect too closely, like he has been doing off and on. Sometimes he asked me to redo it and I have without saying a word.

But even with all I have had to do, I don’t regret what I did to Corbin. Not in the slightest.

The alpha’s footsteps approach, so I turn around and hide the smirk that had been blooming across my face.

He looks around the room, but then he smiles. “Well, I guess you are done. Now you can go to your cell for the night.”

Part of me hoped that he wasn’t serious about it. I’ve heard terrible rumors about the cells under the house, but never thought for an instant that I’d stay in one.

He stands there for a moment, perhaps expecting that I will plead with him, but I remain standing there with a solemn expression on my face. As soon as he realizes he will not receive the response he wants, he rolls his eyes. "Follow me this way."

I follow him down the hallway, past the bathroom to a door he’s told me to never open. Of course, it would be behind the door I was told to never open.

He swings it open, and a narrow staircase is revealed. As he starts down the steps, he stops to look at me. "Come, or do I need to make you?"

Without saying a word, I walk toward the doorway and quietly follow him down into the basement. The dim light makes it hard to see, but it seems like the walls are covered in shackles. Well, except where the staircase is and the wall it is against.

As my eyes adjust to my surroundings, he reaches out, grabs my arm, and jerks me towards the nearest one. "This should do."

He slaps the cuff around my wrist, and I gasp as it scalds my skin.

"Silver!" I scream as he grabs my other arm and puts the other cuff on. I let out another moan as it burns deeper into my skin.

"Did you think the cells would contain luxurious items? Enjoy your night."

I watch him as he walks toward the stairs and disappears upstairs. Tears roll down my cheeks as the cuffs burn into my skin. I try to move, but it's pointless because each time I shift positions in an attempt to make myself more comfortable, the shackles come into contact with more skin. Then I just burn all over again.

I look up, only to find a red ring around each wrist. “This sucks.”

I sit there as still as possible, hoping that the night will pass quickly and not be painful. It seems like hours tick by before I hear a distant howl.

Lily.

His voice brings me comfort, even though I can’t see him.

Hi, beasty.

Why have you not gone to your grandmother’s house? You never miss more than one night.

His tone is a curious one, which surprises me. I lean my head to the side against the concrete wall and let out a deep sigh.

A memory of his teeth scraping down the back of my neck causes me to shudder. I gasp as the shackles find new skin to burn.

Slowly, I place them on my skirt and hope that I won’t move them further.

You're in pain. Who did this to you?

I chuckle out loud before I think about it. It’s probably best to keep quiet for now and keep our conversation in my mind.

It's nothing, beasty. I just embarrassed the alpha's son and now I'm paying for it.

A low growl echoes through my mind.I asked you a question, Lily. Who did this to you?

Our alpha.

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