Chapter 228: Little bird
Author’s note: A small reminder that we are now entering Damian’s story, so from this point on, the plot will evolve mainly around him and Amelie.
***
My breath fractured, shattering into harsh, jagged rasps. Loud, throat-scratching sobs tore from my chest instead of normal exhales, but I was completely powerless to stop them.
I had no luxury of stopping, not even for a fraction of a second—no time to press my forehead against the cold stone, close my eyes, and catch my breath. The air in this cursed packhouse felt suffocatingly thick, heavy as though laced with pulverized glass that ruthlessly shredded my lungs from the inside out with every agonizing inhalation.
"Where the hell is she, Tray?!"
The furious roar echoed at the far end of the dark corridor, sending a phantom, searing jolt of pain straight through my thigh.
Michael. The man of this nightmare. A lethal predator whose very voice made my soul cower and my blood turn to ice.
"I—I just let her out to use the restroom and waited right by the door..." Tray stammered, his voice trembling as he scrambled to justify himself. "How was I supposed to know the little wildcat would slam the door in my face and bolt?! I told you we should’ve just broken her leg and been done with it! But no, you had to stick to your rigid rules... Ah—stop hitting me!"
A deafening crack of a gunshot echoed down the hall. Instantly, a wave of wild panic crawled up my spine, closely followed by the high-pitched, distressed whine of Tray—who seemed to have finally pushed Michael past his absolute breaking point.
"She is valuable merchandise, you idiot! Do you have any idea how many wealthy wolves and high-ranking bidders are salivating over her?" Michael snarled, his voice vibrating with predatory fury. "You already bruised her leg; she needs to remain pristine! If she so much as gets a single scratch, the next bullet goes right between your eyes!"
I pressed myself flat against the freezing wall, clamping both hands over my mouth so tightly my nails bit into my skin. I prayed my ragged, whistling breath wouldn’t betray me. Cold sweat poured down my spine in sheets, soaking through the thin fabric of my shirt, while the glacial draft of the dark corridor chilled me to the bone.
It was impossible to tell anymore whether the violent, uncontrollable tremors racking my body were born from the bone-deep cold or the terrifying pull of the monster hunting me. I was utterly terrified, freezing, and entirely alone.
Running right now was completely out of the question. This place had been engineered like a labyrinth, and only the devil Michael knew every twisting turn of these cursed corridors. If I bolted now, there was zero guarantee he wouldn’t catch me. And if he did catch me... dying right here sounded like a mercy.
I began to slowly retreat backward, cautiously stepping with my bare feet over the filthy carpeting. Step. Another step.
And suddenly, my spine collided with something hard. Not a wall. Something alive. A spasm surged through my entire core, and I would have screamed, but a massive, leather-gloved palm instantly and forcefully clamped over my mouth. Another arm wrapped around my waist, squeezing me with such monstrous strength that my ribs gave a pitiful crack. All the remaining air was instantly driven from my lungs, but I couldn’t even manage a cry—only a pathetic, whistling hiss against the stranger’s gloved hand.
"Shh, little bird. Keep quiet and you’ll stay in one piece," a raspy, low whisper rasped directly above my ear, a dark rumble that felt as though it tore right through my heart. The voice was completely unfamiliar, yet its deep, gravelly timbre practically crawled like hellfire down my vertebrae, sending shivers straight to my bones. "Want your freedom? Keep quiet. Nod if yes."
I nodded. Rapidly, convulsively. I froze within the stranger’s grip, straining with every fiber of my being to suppress a violent tremor. I was shaking as though I had stepped barefoot onto a live wire in a puddle of water.
"Good. I’m taking my hand away now, and you aren’t going to scream. Step out of line—and I’ll snap your neck. Understand? Nod if yes."
At that moment, I became so utterly terrified that I nodded several times in a row, purely for emphasis. The desire to stay alive burned impossibly strong within me. And freedom after a month in this nightmare had begun to feel like some distant, utterly impossible fantasy.
"What’s your name?" He slowly lifted his palm from my face, but his fingers imperiously slid downward, coming to rest heavily against my throat. I was still tense to the breaking point, bracing for a blow. Yet the man’s body behind my back radiated an intense, feral heat like a massive furnace, and strangely enough, the tremors racking my body began to ease just a fraction under his fierce hold.
"Amelie," I breathed my name in a mere whisper, moving only my lips, and instantly felt the massive figure behind my back shudder faintly.
I had no time to ask or say anything else. As it turned out, we were not alone in this gloom.
"Damian, the building is surrounded; it’s time to go. Drop the girl, we’ll come back for her later," a sharp voice rang out from the darkness close by.
The man behind my back instantly loosened his grip. Without his heavy hold, I immediately grew cold.
"Stay in this room. I’ll come back for you. Understood?" he shoved me roughly, though without any desire to maim, into a narrow utility closet.
𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
When I stumbled and turned back, I managed to catch only a glimpse of his massive, broad back clad in black fabric. I wasn’t mistaken; he truly was enormous and terrifying, looking less like a human and more like some mythical monster.
"Yes... understood," my voice sounded more like a pitiful mouse squeak.
I pulled the flimsy door shut myself and slid down it limply, my back against the wood. He told me to wait for him. But... I was risking my life and losing my mind with terror, not so that I could obediently pass from the hands of one monster into the hands of another.