Chapter 12-At Their Mercy

Chapter 12: 12-At Their Mercy Clementine: The feeling of being controlled was what had pushed me into rebellion in the first place, and now, just when I thought I could finally be free, these sick-in-the-head alphas started messing with me? I stormed into the room, tears still streaming down my cheeks, and to my surprise, the assholes were asleep. I looked around and checked my bed. It was wet. I couldn’t be sure if it was pee, there was no smell, but the sheets and pillow were definitely damp. "You assholes like wetting things, don’t you?" I muttered, shaking my head. I rushed into the bathroom and filled a bucket with cold water. I placed it silently near Haiden’s bed, then went back for two more. Once all three buckets were ready, I grabbed the first and stood between Haiden and Troy. Without hesitation, I tossed the freezing water on them. "What the fuck?!" both of them yelled as they jolted awake, dripping and confused. Before they could even react, I had already thrown the second bucket onto Yorick and was moving toward Ian with the third. But all the yelling and chaos had already woken him up. Just as I raised the bucket over him, he rolled and sat up, and grabbed my wrist and yanked it down, tipping the freezing water onto me instead. "Ahhh!" I screamed, soaked and shivering. But Ian wasn’t finished. Through the mess, he caught my arm and twisted, spinning me until his back was towards me. Then, in one sudden motion, he pulled me over his shoulder. My feet left the ground. I flew through the air and landed flat on my back with a loud thud—on his fucking bed. And then he came on top of me, pinning me in place. "What the fuck," I grunted, feeling my heartbeat rise in my chest. I didn’t expect him to fight back so hard. In my mind, I thought I would throw water on them and that would be it, we’d be even. But I forgot that people like them don’t believe anyone will ever fight back. "Hold her down, she wants to get people wet? She’ll learn how it feels to be wet," Yorick shouted, slamming the door shut and locking it. In the next few seconds, I realized: I was stuck under Ian, and I couldn’t move. "You all wet my stuff. You peed on my bag," I managed to say, but I couldn’t stop staring at Ian. He was tall and broad, his body strong. He held me down so easily. "Get off me," I tried to say, but my voice was weak. His face was close to mine, and his gray eyes were so bright it felt like I was looking into a light. But it wasn’t just his eyes, his scent made me feel uneasy. Something about it wasn’t right. There was something strange and intoxicating about his scent. It felt like I was falling into a deep, endless pit. My body was reacting in a strange way. He was lying on top of me. His strong, masculine hands had grabbed my delicate wrists and pinned them to the bed. I couldn’t move. My chest was pressed tightly against his. It felt strange, like something was about to happen between us. Lying with him in his bed like that, feeling his body over mine, and the way he held my hands down, it was driving me crazy. And I didn’t like this feeling at all. I had spent my whole life staying away from men, always careful not to let myself get close or attached to anyone. So why him? Why was I feeling this way about someone who used to bully me? I was angry at myself for feeling anything at all. "Don’t let her go. She needs to pay for her disrespect," Haiden hissed, digging through something in his closet. "She ruined our sleep. This bitch will get to rest till morning while we’re out there taking the trial test, remember?" Troy complained, as if they weren’t the ones who started it. "She’s always a problem," Yorick added. "As if you didn’t all wet my stuff. You’re disgusting. What are you, a dog?" I shouted, but when Yorick made a fist from across the room, I went quiet. I realized the more I spoke, the worse it got for me. "I’ll scream for help if you don’t let me go," I warned Ian. He raised one thick eyebrow, his eyes dropping to my lips. Then he leaned in, not to kiss me, but moved toward my ear. His voice was deep and soft, almost like velvet. "You’re going to scream anyway," he whispered. My skin broke out in goosebumps. But before I could react, Ian moved off me. He wasn’t letting me go, though. I froze as I saw Haiden coming toward me. He shoved something into my mouth, then pressed duct tape over my lips. While I struggled, I heard something Troy said. "Guys, be careful. Don’t be too rough. Don’t leave bruises on her." His voice sounded more worried than angry. I’d known him since we were kids, I could tell when he cared about someone, and when he was just scared for himself. This time, it felt like he was worried about me. But I couldn’t trust him. Not anymore. I saw it in his eyes, he was still going to follow their orders. "Mmmph!" I screamed through the tape and kicked hard, but Yorick grabbed my legs and pinned them to the bed. Ian had stepped back. He stood near the wall, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. The room was so dark that the glow from the cigarette was the only light. I could see the smoke curling in the air as he exhaled. "Now, Troy," Haiden ordered. Troy came over and pulled me up from the bed, just enough to tie my hands tightly behind my back. I kept struggling, twisting and trying to fight them off. But once they tied my legs together too, I realized it was over. I was trapped. Completely at their mercy.