"Come on, Chipmunk. We have to go." Jasmine says, snapping me from the dark tunnel of my mind.
She puts her arms around my shoulders and try to lift me up. I wince as I get to my feet. Suddenly, a strong, delicious smell hits me and I look down to see blood dripping from an injury on my shoulder.
Jasmine probably smells the blood, too, because she looks down at my shoulder at the same time. Her eyes meet mine, slightly widening with fear.
"You're bleeding, chipmunk. I hope they're no vampires around. If not, we're cooked."
My stomach tightens with fear.
I'm half-witch, so the smell of my blood would undoubtedly be stronger and even tastier than that of a normal werewolf. If I step outside and a passing vampire catches a whiff of it, I could be mauled to death.
I look up and blink in surprise. The club is empty, save for Hector, Zayn and the bartender.
"Everyone's gone, Jasmine. We need to hurry home."
We only take one heavy limp towards the door when Hector's booming voice has us freezing in our tracks.
"Stop there, both of you. Where the hell do you think you're going?"
Because I'm not in the mental space to trade words with him at the moment, I let Jasmine handle it.
"I'm taking her home. As you can see, she's hurt."
His golden eyes flicker between both of us and his next words almost make me shaky in the knees.
"I'm not letting you take my woman anywhere with all that blood. You will stay here until I'm done with this bastard and I can give her medical attention. Do you understand?"
Whilst I'm still struggling to process my shock at that statement, Jasmine, God bless her, is already in defensive mode.
"And who the fuck do you think you are to keep us here? We're gonna leave and you won't stop us. Otherwise, I'll call the owner of this place to throw you out himself."
Hector does not seem scared. Infact, he shrugs and turns away. That can never be good.
"Call him, then." He says, his tone filled with an underlying challenge.
Jasmine is visibly shaking with rage at this point.
"Do you really think I'm not gonna do it?" She turns to the bartender. "Get your manager on the phone, immediately!"
The bartender looks slightly uneasy.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that will not be possible."
"Why not?" I whisper angrily.
His eyes dart to mine. "Because the manager has no power against the owner of this club, ma'am. There's nothing he can do for you."
I press my fingers against my eyes. I'm exhausted.
"You all must be batshit crazy around here. You stood there and watched that man molested me. Why didn't you help me?"
"I sincerely apologise, ma'am, but my boss, the owner of this club, ordered that I let him handle Mr. Zayn on his own." The bartender replies solemnly.
Jasmine and I exchange glances of shock. My eyes narrow in suspicion.
"Hold on. Is it this same owner that paid for our drinks?"
The bartender's lips stretch in a wide smile.
"Yes, ma'am."
Okay. Why does my wolf literally growl with suspicion?
"Who is he? This owner of yours." Jasmine asks.
My greatest fear is confirmed when he nods at someone behind us.
"He's over there. Alpha Hector Kensington."
***
Jasmine and I have barely registered our shock when a guttural howl of psin slices the air.
Stunned, we turn around and a gasp of horror slips past my lips at the sight that greets me.
Hector currently stands a few feet away from us, his legs slightly apart, his suit nowhere to be seen, his hands lifted above his head and his fingers spread wide, while my attacker is pressed high up against the wall by an invisible force.
Zayn seems to be choking from the power of the invisible force because his neck and face are slowly becoming purple and his eyes are rolled back into his head.
Hector can only do that by channelling his inner power of telepathy. Only one in every one thousand alpha males in the world possess this power. It's scary as hell and thrilling to watch at the same time.
"Chipmunk, did you know that Hector had the power of telepathy?" Jasmine asks, her voice laced with shock.
I shake my head slowly, my mouth slightly open in amazement.
"I had no bloody idea."
Now that I think about it, what did I really know about this man? I was so head-over-heels in love three years ago that I couldn't even think of anything else.
"Please, let me go. Please…!" Zayn chokes. "I didn't know she was yours because you haven't marked her. I'm sorry. Please…!"
"It's very easy to beg like a dog now, isn't it?" Hector growls. "Even if she wasn't mine, it doesn't excuse your disgusting behaviour.
I can't let you off the hook that easily. I'll leave a mark so next time, you'll know not to touch her."
He keeps calling me "his." And my stomach clenches in awareness every single time.
Suddenly, Hector turns to me and mutters;
"What do you want to do with him, princess?"
I blink in surprise. "Me?"
"Of course. I'll give you the chance to punish him yourself."
I only mull over it for three seconds. Any other woman would have shied away and chosen to show him compassion. Definitely not me.
Images of how powerless I felt underneath his grip assail me and I slip out of Jasmine's grip with a raised chin and an angry heart.
"Make him suffer, Chipmunk." She cheers me on.
Recently, I've been discovering that as a witch, I possess more powers than I ever thought I did. More powers than I can even comprehend. And I've been practising some of them lately.
It's high time I made good use of it.
I pause beside Hector, close my eyes and start to chant without further ado.
"Wh-what is she doing?" Zayn cries fearfully. "Don't let that crazy bitch do anything to me, please. Get her away from meee!!!" He shouts.
I ignore him and the entire world falls away as I continue my chants. I raise both my hands in the air and whisper;
"Sacred goddesses of the silver ball, from my hands bring forth a great loss. The ability to see his future, withhold. Sacred goddesses take his sight!"
"What is she doing to me? What has she done?!!!" Zayn screams over and over again.
I honestly thought the spell would not work, but once I speak the last word, a mighty gust of energy charges through me, almost sending me to my knees.
The tips of my fingers tingle with electricity and my hair whips around my face from the sudden gust of wind that sweeps the room.
"I can't see!" Zayn screams. "What has she done to me? I can't see anything!"
My heart is thudding wildly as I open my eyes to see him still pressed high up against the wall. His eyes are wide open, but a thick white film has covered up where his eyeballs should've been.
I feel week. Suddenly, I can no longer hold myself up and end up collapsing to the ground.
"Chipmunk! Oh my goddess, she's still breathing. We need first aid immediately."
I'm almost slipping away but just then, I hear Hector's voice loud and clear.
"You should be grateful that she chose an easy punishment for you. I would've cut off your limbs one by one. But still, I have to leave my mark."
He lifts one finger and a horrible, horrible "crack!" sound rents the air.
"Arrgggghhhh!!! It hurts. Please, it hurts!!" Zayn screams louder.
"You should be grateful that I only broke your legs. Don't worry. You'll heal." Then he drops his hands and Zayn falls to the ground in a crying heap.
The moment he's done, Hector arrives at my side in a heartbeat.
"Step away, Jasmine." He orders my best friend.
He doesn't even give her the time to react. In a swift second, he steps past her and hefts me into his powerful arms.
"Wait! Where the hell are you going with her? What are you gonna do to her?!" Jasmine screams.
I'm too exhausted to fight, so I bury my face in his chest and shut my eyes.
"Samuel, make sure doesn't follow us." Hector says to bodyguard as we walk past another doorway
"Yes, sir."
Seconds later, I can hear Jasmine screaming to be let in. Then suddenly, her voice abruptly disappears.
I only snap back to my senses when Hector drops me on what I believe is a table. My eyes fly open and I'm immediately sucked in by his dark grey orbs.
"Where am I? Why did you bring me here? I want to leave." I blurt, trying to get off the table.
Hector comes closer and places his hands on either side of the table, effectively caging me in.
"You're losing blood, my princess. Stay still. I'll give you first aid."
The rich timbre of his voice does destructive things to my insides.
No, Athena. Be strong, I tell myself.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't need your help. If you'd just…"
"I asked you to stay still." He orders in a tone that is sharp but not loud.
My head snaps upwards and I glare at him.
"You don't have any right to talk to me in that manner, understood? You don't have the right to order me around either. You lost both those rights three years ago. If you don't let go right now, I'll scream this place down."
Hector does not seem the least bit fazed by my threats. He comes closer until his chest is almost pressed against mine, effectively stealing my breath.
"Wh-what are you doing?" I stutter.
"Go on. Scream." He whispers. "But before you waste your time, I need you to understand that this room is fortified with titanium. It is both sound proof and attack-proof. No one will come to your rescue no matter how loud you scream."
My blood is literally boiling at this point. Trying to escape will be a waste of time. This man is ten times stronger than me even with my powers… but I still try my luck anyways.
When Hector reaches behind him to pick the first aid box, I slip through the tiny opening underneath his left arm with lightning speed and immediately sprint towards the door.
I look over my shoulder and give him a middle finger the moment I place my fingers on the doorknob.
It should trouble me that Hector does not attempt to run after me. He just leans against his table with his hands deep in the pockets of his slacks. But I dismiss the thought and pull the knob… over and over again.
"Open up!" I whisper to myself. "Please, open up."
The smirk on Hector's face has completely disappeared and his expression is as hard as granite.
"I warned you, didn't I? Now, if you're done with your dramatics, it's time to fix your wound."
I keep pulling the door frantically until Hector leaves his perch against the table and starts stalking towards me.
"Stay back!" I scream. "Stay away from me, Hector. Stay away!"
Despite my screaming, he covers the distance between us and hefts me into his arms once again with one smooth swipe.
Then he places his hot lips against my ear and whispers;
"You can never imagine the insane things you do to me when you call my name, princess."
I struggle against him all the way to the table;
"Let me go, you bastard! Let gooo!!!"
I hit and kick him over and over but he still refuses to release me.
"If you don't stop struggling, I'll tie you up. Trust me, it'll make my work easier." He growls.
I'm breathing heavily and my hair is all over my face. I'm furious.
"You wouldn't fucking dare."
His eyes darken with challenge.
"Try me."
Stoked with the need to prove that I'm no longer that cowardly female from three years ago, I tighten my fingers into fists and give him a powerful sucker punch in the stomach.
The only indication that Hector feels the slightest bit of pain from that punch is the slight parting of his lips.
Then he straightens and pins me with a gaze that has my insides screaming in terror.
"Nice try."
I watch with dreadful curiosity as he strolls to one of the glass bookshelves and inputs a code. Without uttering a single word, he brings out a bright red "thingy" from the safe and walks back towards me.
I have no idea what it is until Hector releases it from his grip and it flows to floor. My eyes widen in horror. It's a rope.
"Wait… are you seriously going to tie me up?" I ask quickly. "You can't do that!"
"I told you not to test my patience, princess." He mutters. "Now, you're just gonna have to bear the punishment of your disobedience…"