Sam leads me up to the club. Tonight is the first time I’m scheduled to dance, and I’m nervous. I’m scared of what’s going to happen if I mess up. “All you do is close yourself off. Just listen to the music, don’t let anything they say get to you,” he hisses beneath his breath.

“Yes, Sam.” My voice is laden with fear. As soon as we step into the vast open space I’m jolted with shock. It’s not a seedy, run down club like I had envisioned. It’s elegant, dark colors accentuated by metal and glass. The dim lighting makes it seem less scary.

“That’s your podium.” Sam points at the small round stage in the one corner of the club which is surrounded by about ten tables all filled with men in black masks.

“Do I just dance?” I glance up, and for the first time in over a month I feel like that innocent eighteen year old girl who woke up in a strange bed, not a woman who fell in love with her captor.

Sam nods before escorting me to the stage, his fingers lingering on my lower back almost protectively, and I want to hide in his arms. “Good luck, I’ll be here,” he murmurs in my ear before leaving me at the steps that lead up to the platform.

Tentatively, I make my way into the limelight and the men cheer and whistle causing my heart to deafen me with its thud in my ears. A song starts, “Skin” by Rihanna, and I shut my eyes, ignoring the voices. Picturing Wolfe, I move slowly at first. My knees are wobbly and I know I must find my strength somewhere.

Rooted in my soul, I grasp onto the last smidgen of me there is. I gyrate and spin with unsure steps. The jeers for me to strip echo through my armor, cracking through the wall. Filthy words are thrown at me like rocks. Breaking me. Piece by piece. When I open my eyes, I focus on blue eyes that pin me to the stage. The corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk, and a slight nod of his head gives me a small ounce of confidence I need to force myself to get through this.

I’ve done ballet all my life. I’ve danced before. Focusing on the thing I love, dancing, I do it. I make them whistle, I taunt them to beg for more and in that I find strength. I find my power and I’m reborn in that moment.

* * *

Two days ago, I danced for the first time. Samael comes to my room, he escorts me to ‘work’ then brings me back after my shift. He’s good to me in an odd way. He never mentions Wolfe, even though I want to ask. I don’t because I know the pain will only slice me wide open again.

I haven’t been in the back rooms yet, but Sam has been training me every day. The harsher he is, the less my heart aches. The broken pieces of me fall away and all that’s left is a shell.

Used, abandoned, and bruised.

Each day the pain becomes easier to handle. Pushing off my bed, I stand on shaky legs and make my way into the bathroom. In the dim light, I take in my appearance. The scars from the blade sit on my ribs and travel down to my hip, a reminder that I’m nothing in here. Just a pet.

“You look tired.” A deep rumble comes from the doorway, and I startle, spinning to find Sam watching me. His gaze trained on my half-naked body. Blue pools pierce the scar on my side, as if he can will it away with just a look. But he can’t. No one can.

“I am.” My response is croaky at best, and I turn to regard myself again.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

“What?” Turning to face him fully, I cross my arms in front of my chest and he smirks when his eyes fall to my breasts. “Don’t be an asshole.” I retort, knowing I shouldn’t talk to him like that, but instead of darkness taking over his features, he offers me a smile.

“Come on, Firebird. Let’s sit in the room. Put some goddamn clothes on.” Padding into my bedroom, I pull on a robe and settle on the bed, watching him intently.

“So?” I question slowly.

“Before he left, he asked me to look after you. I’ve tried my best. But now I need you to trust me. I’m about to do something I don’t think anyone will see coming. Dax and I have come up with a way to get you out.” He sounds so confident, but I don’t let myself feel excitement. I can’t get my hopes up when I don’t know if this plan of theirs will work.

“How? I thought the only way to get out is if I’m dead.” He nods in agreement, knowing that I’m right.

“I’ll tell you soon, but I need to confess something else. Over the years, I always wanted him to get out of this place. But, with the family business in our blood, he was forced into this life. He is a good person, and it wasn’t his choice to become a trainer. He wasn’t supposed to get involved with you past the training either, but then you screwed that all up.” He chuckles wryly. “My father threatened to kill you if he ever came back,” he says matter-of-factly.

So many questions cross my mind. “My father knew, didn’t he? It was his doing. The night in the study. Was it you? Did you drug me?” He stares at me for a while. Almost painfully. I can see the guilt in his gaze, but he schools his expression. He hides it so well. Sam doesn’t need a mask because he’s got the steel look down to a T.

“Our fathers came to an agreement. There was a contract long before you were born. I’ve seen it. Your father agreed to give Harlan his first-born daughter in exchange for the status of senator and to keep his real estate empire running smoothly. Do you know your father’s been reelected every two years because of my father’s influence? His first six year term my dad got him the seat. And each reelection was all Harlan Wolfe’s doing. Madden Estates, your father’s global conglomerate, is only successful because of Wolfe Enterprises. Did you know any of this?”

I shake my head as shock seeps through me, and I can’t find the words to respond. I always suspected my father was involved in underhanded business dealings, but this is a new low. The man who raised me, who I trusted and loved, is as evil as the men who now hold me captive. “I spent my life being groomed to take over Madden Estates. Told I’d be next in line to run the company. And all this time, I was nothing to him.” The words fall from my lips as the realization hits me full force, and I feel the tears burn my eyes.

Samael is quiet for a long moment. When he speaks again, his tone is hesitant. “You meant something to my brother. Everything perhaps. He loved you.”

“I thought I was in love with him too, once. Have you ever been in love?” My gaze darts up, and I meet those cobalt eyes. He shakes his head and rises from the bed. In two long strides, he’s at my dresser. When he presses the button for my little iPod docking station, the song “The After You” by Miakoda that streams through the speakers rips my heart from my chest.

“All I know about love is that it’s a stupid emotion that only gets you hurt. Or killed. The life I live is a dark path. My brother saw it, my father knows it.” His words drip with venom. Once again, his shield comes up closing himself off. Sam’s confession is so fierce it slams into me painfully. “And now, my brother’s fallen in love and he’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.” The words fall from my mouth easily because I am. “You’re right; it is my fau—”

“No, it wasn’t.” He turns to regard me then. “He’s not made for this life. I am. Being the man who can withstand women’s tears and still do the same thing to them day in and day out is not what my brother wants. He wants a life of solitude. A family.”

Closing the distance between us, he sits beside me. The heat of his body, radiating tension, warms me. I shouldn’t feel safe with a man like him, but I do. The man I love has a brother, a father, family. “Do you know where he is?” I ask, but he shakes his head.

“I’m going to get you out of here. I just need you to trust me.” The look he pins me with then is stern, with a promise, a vow. Without a second thought, I nod.

“I do.”

“Good girl.” He stands and fastens the button of his suit jacket before making his way to the door. With a hand on the knob, he stops and drops his gaze to the floor. “Be ready in an hour. You’ve been requested for a party.” And then he’s gone.

* * *

My body is shaking with cold fear. Sam walked with me to the normal room five that I’ve become accustomed to, but once he left, another one of the men came to collect me and brought me to an area of the mansion I’ve never seen. It’s almost an exact replica of the club, but on a smaller scale. A private wing, I’d guess.

“You’ll fucking obey me, toy.” The voice booms in the small room. I’d hoped I’d get a reprieve from him today, but sadly, I’m not that lucky. I drop to my knees on the black carpet and keep my eyes trained on the floor. The metal leash he always carries gets clipped to the collar around my neck. “Come.” On all fours, I follow him, crawling like the pet I am. I thought it would be Harlan that requested me, but this is the stranger who raped me when I was bound in the dungeon. He and Harlan made me bleed that day.

As we weave our way through the mansion, I know where we’re headed. The music from the party room echoes down the hallway, and as we near it, I can hear the men’s voices over the deep thumping bass.

It’s my first time doing this and I have a feeling tonight I’ll be used until I pass out, maybe even after. Because that’s what they did to me in the dungeon.

“Well, what do we have here?” A deep rumble cuts through my thoughts and a hand, rough and calloused, reaches for my chin, tugging it up harshly. “She’s a pretty one,” he says to the man holding my leash, but stares at me.

“She’s well trained,” the old man says proudly, and I shiver. His voice is slurred, and I realize he’s drunk already. “Come on, pet. Up on the table.” He tugs the leash, pulling me toward the low mahogany table in the center of the room. I climb up with ease and sit back on my heels, waiting for my next command. The stranger who called me pretty crouches beside the table and meets my gaze. He’s got kind blue eyes. I say kind, but what I really mean is that he’s not scary. Not like the vile man who violated me.

“Do you like to play, little toy?” he asks, his tone laced with lust. I know their nicknames for the girls, pet, toy, Sam told me not to retort, just obey. So I do.

“Yes, Sir,” I mumble. He reaches out and tugs at the clasp of my bra, unhooking it with one hand. The straps fall to my front, and when the material drops from my body, I hear the loud hiss from the others. I don’t know how many there are, but I would guess six.

“So polite. Let’s see how much that mouth can take.” He rises, leaving me with a view of his shoes. They’re shiny and black and remind me of the ones my father used to wear to work. The clink of a belt buckle alerts me that I’m about to be taken, and it won’t be nice. “Eyes up.” Lifting my gaze, I watch as he unzips his expensive slacks and drops them to his knees.

The thick ridge of his erection protrudes in my face, and I realize he wasn’t wearing underwear. His big hand fists his shaft, taking the tip and running it over my lips. “Open your pretty little mouth, kitten.” I obey, like I was taught to do, and he slips the crown of his dick in my inviting mouth. “Fuck,” he grunts in satisfaction. “Suck it like you do those lollipops you girls like so much.” My cheeks cave in as I swallow him, sucking harder. His groan is evidence that I’ve been trained well.

He grips my head, fisting my long, red hair in thick fingers, and plunges himself deep down my throat. My gag reflex kicks in, and I choke on the tip as it hits me painfully. Spit drips from my chin and my eyes tear up. “Eyes up.” Dragging my watery eyes up to him, I find a dark smirk on his lips.

As he continues fucking my face, I feel hands on me, ripping my panties from my frame and groping my flesh. The man before me grunts and his body locks before jets of release fill my mouth. When he finally pulls himself from my swollen lips, I’m dragged to the floor, directed to straddle a man with a mask on his face. I’m impaled on a thick cock and his hips rock up toward me as he fucks me bareback.

Just when I think I can’t take anymore, another man nudges my tight, puckered entrance. Teasing it. I hear and feel the spit on my ass, and before the pain sears me, I retreat into my mind. The darkness I hold on to envelops me as I fight to keep myself sane. As I try to grasp my soul and shield it from the filth and darkness, I pray for escape, beg for mercy, and plead for a reprieve.

“Just a toy, that’s all you’re good for. All you’ll ever be.”

* * *

“Tonight is the night.” Samael barges into my room. The look on his face is fierce, and I realize what he means. I’m leaving tonight. “Get up. The bag I told you to pack, grab it and follow me.” Without another word, he strides to the corner of the room and settles on the dresser as he always does.

Swiftly, I move to the closet and pull out the backpack I’ve had ready of some clothes I can wear while I figure out what’s going to happen to me because there’s one place I won’t be returning to and that’s my childhood home. “Where am I going?” I ask as we head down the hallway.

“You’re going to leave with Dax and Theia. They’ll be able to keep you safe. Axel is waiting at the club where he’ll be able to take you to the apartment we have set up. You’ll have a job and a place to stay. The rest is up to you.”

“And…” I want to question him about his brother. If he knows where he is, but my words taper off.

“Listen to me, Firebird.” Gripping my shoulders, he levels his gaze on mine. “I don’t know where he is. We’ve not spoken in months. But I need you safe. If there’s one thing I can do for my brother, it’s to make sure the woman he loves has a life worth living, and even if he never knows what I’ve done, at least I know I’ve done one thing right and gotten you out. It’s what he wanted. Be safe, Paige. I know you will. You’re strong. Don’t let assholes take advantage of you,” he bites out. And just like that, he releases me and steps back. Those are the last words he says to me as we reach the door at the end of the long corridor.

It swings open and I’m met by Dax. My first impression from one glance is that this man is scary. If I walked into him on the street, I’d run the other way. He is easily taller than six feet with a full beard and tattoos covering his arms and neck reminding me of a dangerous biker or gang leader. But when he smiles, it’s genuine. “Hello, little red. Let’s get you outta here.” He reaches for my bag, turns on his heel, and stalks to the waiting car.

With a last glance at Samael, I simply nod. “Thank you.” One small smile is all he offers, and then he’s gone. The car is waiting on the driveway, and when I slip into the backseat, there’s a pixie of a girl sitting there. She regards me with affection, as if I’m her best friend and she’s trying to soothe my ache. Perhaps she is, or she will.

“Hello, Red.” Her sweet voice is like a salve to my agony, and I smile.

“Hi, I’m Paige.” We shake hands when she tells me her name is Theia. Something about her is familiar, and when the light from outside slides across her face, I recognize it immediately. She looks exactly like her brother. Samael. Which makes me wonder what their other brother looks like. He was different, dark brown eyes, tanned, whereas Theia is fair-skinned. My mind tries to create a mental picture of him, from what I have seen of his smile, but I can’t and frustration has me sighing.

“You’ll need a new name for your new life. Do you have one in mind?” She glances at me with curiosity. When Sam told me he’d be able to free me, that I had one chance to get out of hell, I sat back and reinvented myself. That night, I went through a list of names, and one that struck me as unique was Skyla. The meaning of it being scholar, or shield, and I knew right then, that’s who I’d be. A scholar of life, learning to live in the real world, but a shield for all the pain and agony I’ve endured.

It’s time to move on, and even if I must do it on my own, I’ll find my strength. “Skyla,” I murmur and glance at my new friend. Her sweet smile calms me. Her aura is like a healing mist, and I want to bask in it.

“I like it. Well, Skyla, welcome to your new life,” she says happily as the car weaves its way to my new home. The destination unknown, but I know somewhere in the maelstrom I’ll find my happiness.

And one day. Somehow. I’ll find my Wolfe.