Chapter 1
I wake up but my eyes stayed closed. I try to sit up but I whimper in pain, because of my head and body. My eyes slowly open and I slowly look around. The room is dark and from the little light that comes on the other side of the iron bars let me see that the area I’m in is like a small cage. It’s like it was made for a medium-sized dog. I can barely sit up when I do my head hits the top of the cage. I hear the sound of footsteps echo outside the iron bars and it sounds like the noise is coming closer. I close my eyes and take a deep breath trying to prepare for what’s about to happen.
“Get up!” I hear a deep voice yell outside the cage. I take another deep breath then open my eyes. On the other side of the bars, I see the face of a man. He has short, brown hair that matches his brown eyes. My eyes lock with his making me notice the red specks in his brown eye. I quickly avert my eyes looking down seeing that I’m only wearing a long torn up t-shirt. I can hear keys rattling then the sound of the keys in a lock, shortly after the iron bars swing open. “Get out now.” His deep voice echoes through the small space, ringing in my ears. My hands go to my ears covering them from the sound and my eyes slam shut. I feel a tight grip on my arm and he drags me to the edge of the cage. “I said get out!” He yells at me as he yanks me the rest of the way out and I end up face down on the floor. I look around the room from the ground seeing many other cages lining two walls of the room.
“W-where am I?” My voice shakes uncontrollably from fear. He doesn’t reply, pulling me off the floor and pushing me toward the back of the room. I try to look into one of the other cages but it’s too dark. “Where am I? What’s happ-” I start to ask but get silenced by a hand coming hard across my face. I’m shocked and my hand goes to my face where he hit me. I blink back the tears that are forming in my eyes not wanting to make myself look weaker than I already do.
“Shut up and don’t ask questions.” He growls at me. My body stiffens in fear from his tone but I keep my mouth shut afraid of angering him more. I follow him to where he was leading me.
He opens a door and pushes me through it. My eyes close as the bright lights of the room hits my eyes. I feel him push me forward and my eyes open but haven’t adjusted to the lighting yet. I catch my balance and in front of me, I see another man. This one is tall, extremely tall making me feel even smaller than I am. He has dark black hair that’s cut short on the sides and is longer on the top. It’s slicked back keeping his hair out of his eyes. His eyes are a dark cherry red color and are staring at me, judging me. He’s wearing a black suit that hugs the muscles on his arms just right. He’s wearing a dark blue shirt underneath with a black tie. He looks older and defiantly someone of importance.
The first man walks over to him and they start talking in hushed voices. I can’t hear what they are saying except for a name and age which I assume is mine. I look around the room still trying to listen but I can’t hear anything else. The room is big, bigger than the first room with all the cages. Shelves are lining both walls and some in the middle too. There’s a counter in the back near where we are standing. I can see objects on all the shelves. It’s some kind of store I realize. Finally, the taller man walks away from the first man and I try keeping my eyes on him but he disappears behind one of the many large shelves in the middle of the room. The next thing I know he is standing next to me which makes me jump in fright. I open my mouth to say something but close it quickly remembering what happened last time and what I was told. He comes even closer to me and slips something around my neck and I hear the sound of metal on metal near the back of my neck. I turn my head and look up at him in fear. He smirks after seeing the fear in my eyes.
“Edlynn.” He says looking me over again. The name sounds familiar, realizing it’s my name after he places a hand on my shoulder, his grip tight. He looks away from me leaving his hand there on my shoulder still. He looks at the man that got me out of the cage. “I’ll take her.” His voice is even deeper than the other man and it sends chills down my spine.
“Take me? What’s happening? Take me where? I’m not some sort of pet!” I yell feeling confused and wanting answers. I don’t belong to anyone other than myself.
“You’ll regret doing that, princess.” The tall man says which makes my body tense up. He hands the first guy money and attaches something to what’s around my neck. I realize it’s a collar and leash, just like a dog wears. I was his slave, his pet, and now I have no control. He pulls hard on the leash causing me to trip and fall catching myself with my hands. Pain shoots up my left wrist which landed first on the ground and I squeal out in pain. He grabs ahold of my long blonde hair and pulls me up using it. Tears fall down my face. He moves close to my ear and whispers. “Don’t do that again.” He growls and pushes me forward to the door.
He leads me out the door and I see a fancy black car there waiting. He opens up the door and pushes me inside. He sits down next to me and the car starts quickly moving. He drops the leash on the ground and fixes the cuffs to his suit. He gives me a look, his eyes cold and harsh. I can tell that he’s telling me not to touch the leash. I look around the car and I see two men in the front seats. One is driving and the other looks at me through the rearview mirror. He has a cold look in his eyes and I turn away quickly, looking at the man sitting next to me. We make eye contact and I look away. He grabs my arm hastily and forcefully. Suddenly I feel a sharp pain causing me to yelp. Shortly after my breathing slows and my vision blurs, then everything around me goes black.
