The room swayed in front of me. I looked down at the fading sting in my arm and tried to hold on to my senses. Rows of us stood there waiting.
OBEY.
CONTROL.
DAUGHTER.
The words resounded inside my head until I was the blazing neon white words. I was obey. I was control. I was Daughter. Sharp cries inside the room disappeared, like they’d never been there at all. Maybe they hadn’t? Maybe this was all just a dream?
It felt like a dream.
The catch of a breath invaded the daze in my head. A choked whimper drew my attention. Slow, steady breaths filled me. I focused on that and forced my gaze to the Daughter two rows in front of me.
Fight.
I clung to that need as the fading room around me sharpened. The Daughter in front of me sank to the floor in front of him…the man I knew somehow. Kane. His name resounded and as it filled me, he glanced my way. I held onto that stare, finding a flicker of desperation before it was gone and he turned his attention back to the Daughter at his feet. She turned over, closed her eyes and pressed her cheek to the floor, her ass and pussy on display.
“Spread yourself.” The Teacher demanded. “Show him what could be his.”
What could be his? A flare of agony tore through my chest. With the pain came a blazing moment of clarity. Hold on…hold on, trouble.
But it wasn’t Kane’s voice that rippled through me. My gaze moved to the edge of the room where he stood. The man whose dark, unflinching stare was magnetic.
Don’t fight it.
His voice resounded.
You don’t want to tear this beautiful cunt apart now, do you?
My breaths deepened, my pulse sped. It was him…him who transfixed me with his presence…until goosebumps raced along my arms and stood the hair at the nape of my neck. Until another man drew my focus.
I slowly turned my head, tearing my gaze from the man known as The Principal to another just as dangerous.
A man who didn’t fill me with the excitement The Principal did…no, it was the opposite. The warmth drained out of me, leaving me to shiver.
“You couldn’t afford it.” Kane muttered, heading across the room toward the man who watched me intently. “But you can.”
The deadly male just held his stare before his lips curled into a chilling smile. He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. My shoulders curled as he directed that focus my way.
He didn’t say a thing, just pushed past Kane and headed toward me.
My breath caught.
My stomach clenched.
The entire room came alive as he stepped between the rows of Daughters.
Riven was a dark blur, hot on his heels as they both headed my way.
Move!
MOVE!
Fear gripped me. The overwhelming urge to stumble backwards before I turned and ran made my knees shake. But I couldn’t move. I was fixed to the spot, riveted as the dangerous man Riven hated stopped in front of me.
Coulter.
That was his name.
“No.” He murmured, searching my eyes. “But I’ll take her.”
A fragile, wounded sound ripped free as he reached up and cupped my breast, before he pinched my nipple until agony bloomed.
“No.” Riven lunged, grabbing Coulter’s wrist as he lowered his hand between my legs.
Coulter never looked at him. Just pinned me to the spot as he muttered. “Don’t tell me…the programming.”
Riven said nothing. Still, I saw the flex of his arm as he clenched Coulter’s wrist, before the savage male yanked his hand away, breaking the hold.
Tension crackled as Coulter turned and strode away. Riven followed, but not before he glanced my way, his stare desperate. The air turned heavy, so heavy each breath was an effort. Master, the word hummed inside me as I held his stare before he looked away.
“Rise.” Kane commanded the Daughter still kneeling splayed out on the floor in front of him.
She did, pushing up to stand back in line, naked.
“You must learn to be obedient.” Kane glanced around the room, his gaze skimming past me. “You will enjoy any attention your Master gives you. His requests are to be obeyed at all times. Any type of disobedience will bring consequences.”
His voice turned dark, and savage as he scanned the room, then started walking, moving between us. “Your body will react. The air will leave your lungs and won’t return. An ache will fill your entire body, one so constricting you won’t be able to move, giving you no choice but to comply with his demands.” I felt the weight of that stare as he moved past me. “Do you feel it now? That darkness, that waiting hunger?”
I closed my eyes as that tremble of fear grew inside me. I knew now without a doubt something terrible was going to happen to me with the whisper of one word no.
Obey.
Control.
Release.
“Yes.” I whispered and all the Daughters repeated around me.
He sauntered. The soft brush of his fingers came against my hand. “That is why you will always obey.” He murmured.
“Obey.” We repeated.
The morning seemed to blur. Countless times Kane walked amongst us, feeding that same fear inside us before he reinforced our obedience. Every time he passed, he touched me. A slight brush of my hand. His palm gently pressed against the small of my back. The touch drew me away from those murky thoughts inside my head, giving me something to hold on to.
We’re here, Trouble. Riven’s voice echoed. We’re right here. We were a vessel. Something for our Master’s entertainment. The word no wasn’t the word we would use with our Master’s needs.
We were owned.
We were controlled.
We were Daughter.
“That’s enough for today.” He finally said, slowly walking amongst us. “You’ll be escorted to the bathroom, then the cafeteria. Sleep well. Tomorrow, we push harder.”
I winced at the words push harder. My thoughts were already scrambled, even with the careful brush of Kane’s touch. Movement came from the edge of the room as one of Walker’s guards strode forward and handed Kane a red lace playsuit like the ones we wore.
Kane grabbed it and handed it to the still naked Daughter. “Get dressed.”
She obeyed instantly, pulled it on, and eased the straps into place.
“Walker.” Kane murmured. “They’re all yours.”
We drifted. My feet ached from standing in the one spot for so long. But as soon as the ache rose, it was swallowed with that foggy feeling in my head. My movements were slow as I followed the others out of the training room and into the hall.
Murmurs from the guards and the soft thud of our bare feet were the only sounds as we shuffled into the bathroom, each one of us using a stall. The moment I pushed the playsuit down and sat on the cold seat, I closed my eyes.
I shouldn’t be here.
I winced and wrapped my arms around my middle.
I shouldn’t be anywhere near here. I need to get out. I need to—
Ryth.
Vivienne.
Their names stopped me cold and the memory of their faces surfaced. They were the reason I was here. The reason for it all. Remember your mission. Remember Hale. I clung to them as I wiped and rose, flushing the toilet. Careful glances came my way from the guard as I stepped out and headed for the sink.
They escorted us to the cafeteria in silence. Marched like soldiers to take a seat at the rows of tables. Staff neared, pouring a plastic cup of juice for each of us before sliding on. As dry as my mouth was, I didn’t reach for the fluid. Instead, I lifted my gaze to the doorway as more guards filed in.
Only they weren’t the regular ones.
No.
These men were larger, more muscled, and carried brand new guns. I scanned their weapons and somewhere in the back of my head, a sense of familiarity rose. My fingers twitched, aching to feel the grip of the cold steel in my grasp.
I met the guards’ stares instead as they fixed their gazes on Walker and his men.
Something was happening here.
Something that made me scared.
As the other Daughters drank and ate all around me, I found myself riveted to the play of power in front of me and prayed Riven and Kane would indeed look out for me.
Because without them…
I was vulnerable.
