Mera looked at her bruised and bare arms as she tried to figure out if she had imagined feeling the sparks she had been missing for too long already.
A shiver ran down her back as she felt the cold wind go through her torn and barely there dress—the dress she had been wearing for the past three months.
The skirt had been torn to shreds and barely covered her legs. The corset was nowhere to be found; one sleeve had been torn off, and the other was almost completely shredded.
Mera was sure it would only be another month, and she would have no fabric left to shield her from the cold winter air.
She pulled her legs up and leaned her head on her knees as she held her chained hands against her chest.
Three months of torture—that’s what she’d endured already.
In that time, they had raped her five times and beaten her on countless occasions.
All because Zachary had grown impatient with her, so he made sure that the pain he inflicted was worse every time he came to see her.
Yet, she never allowed herself to give in to her pain and let him break her.
Even though everything inside her screamed to do otherwise.
She never forgot why she was feeling the pain, and she always held on to that little spark inside her that made her who she was.
Because, no matter how strong she appeared to be, she had never felt weaker on the inside.
Over the past three months, she had started to pray that he would just kill her so she would be free of the pain she had to endure, but he never did.
He always stopped when she was barely holding on to her life and left her on the cold ground.
It was selfish of her to pray for death, as she still had people who cared for her, but she knew that with her gone, they would find peace as well.
But no matter how much she wished for her death, she knew it wouldn’t come—all because she couldn’t let go of her life…
A tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes and thought about everyone back at the pack.
She’d heard Killian three months ago, and just hearing his voice was enough for her to keep hope that she would get out of there.
How she had been able to hear him was still a mystery to her, but she had.
She wasn’t going to question it as it was all that gave her some hope, but what happened just now was something she did question.
She had felt the same sparks she always felt when Killian’s skin touched hers. She’d just felt them on her forehead.
She was sure that she had, but she had no idea how that was actually possible.
Mera sighed again and opened her mind to find the trace of the connection she had made with the only person she could trust.
She heard the word in her head, and almost instantly, she felt herself fall away before she immediately woke up and looked at Reidar, who walked toward her from the door.
He had a worried look on his face as he sat down next to her and gasped as he felt how cold she was.
“Fucking hell, Mera, you’re freezing!” he said as he immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
He wrapped his other arm around her as well, hoping to warm her up a little.
More tears rolled down her cheeks as she felt Reidar’s embrace, and she found herself wishing it was Killian who was holding her.
“I can’t do this much longer, Rei,” she whispered through her tears. “My entire body aches, and I have never felt as weak as I do now. I just can’t…”
She stopped talking as she choked up even more.
Reidar sighed as he gently rubbed her back—his heart ached for her.
After all this time, it was finally clear to him why Zachary was using all of these methods, especially the raping method.
Reidar rested his head against the wall as he sighed.
He’d known about this for over two months now, but he just couldn’t bear to tell her. It would kill her if she knew Zachary was breaking Killian along with her.
Over the past months, his respect for the strength she had had grown.
He’d never known a female who was able to withstand the Hunter’s torture for this long, neither human nor werewolf.
She was holding on to the last part of her life, and she just needed to hold on a little longer.
“I know, Mera,” Reidar said softly. “But you can’t give up yet.”
Mera wiped her tears away with her arms. “I will never give up, but I know I won’t survive another two months of this,” she said as she looked at him.
“Maybe you don’t have to,” Reidar said, which caused Mera to move a little out of his arms and look at him in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“It isn’t just me who is a friend in this compound anymore,” he said with a small smile.
“Who else would care to become a friend in this fucking gods-forsaken place?” Her voice was filled with hate as she spoke.
“Three guys who don’t come from this fucking gods-forsaken place,” Reidar said with a wink.
“I’m too tired for riddles and games, Rei,” Mera said as she sighed and slumped against the wall.
“I know, Mera,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her again to keep her warm.
“Edvin, Lars, and Sven already told me you’re not to be messed with when you don’t feel well,” he added.
Mera hummed and smiled a little as she heard his words.
Mera’s smile fell. She immediately looked up at him and saw him looking down at her with a smile.
“What?” she asked, scared she’d heard it wrong.
“Edvin, Lars, and Sven told me not to mess with you,” he said.
“And I don’t plan to get my ass kicked when I meet with them again tonight, so I will not disobey them.”
Her heart literally stopped as she listened to his words.
“T-tonight?” she asked in a shaky voice. “They… They’re here?” Tears started to well up in her eyes again.
“I told you it wasn’t just me who is your friend at the compound anymore, didn’t I?” he said. “Oh wait, I see where I went wrong. Edvin isn’t your friend! He is your brother by heart.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, but for the first time since she’d been captured, it wasn’t because of sadness or pain.
They were tears of relief and hope.
“They are truly here?” she asked to make sure that he wasn’t playing a game with her.
Reidar chuckled. “They are truly here, and we are going to get you out of here, Mera.”
