His Dark Embrace (Rewrite)

Chains

⛓ Aurora's POV ⛓

Sadness carves Eric's face, eyes remaining dry, lips low. He knows if he were to even blink the smallest of tears, let out the softest groan of anguish, it would be enough to terrify the rest. An endless torrent of grief. He had trained many in Ravaeyn and they all knew that, he wasn't allowed to look weak.

Humanities biggest secret...

A lot of sacrifices had been made to keep the training sessions hidden. It was forbidden, but a lot of us thought we had a right to learn about defending ourselves. The greater redemption from such a secret would be our freedom, but that looked a lot less likely. The more wars that got lost, the more afraid humans were to fight. If things carried on how they were, we'd end up giving up.

He moved nothing but his eyes as he glanced at each man, woman and child who sat before him. Chains slithering down their bodies, skin raw, red, suffocating. A teenagers cry was enough to paralysis them all, the youngest one of them down there.

"Be calm." Eric tried to soothe, he wasn't use to dealing with these situations. His eyes shivered in disgust at the fresh cuts on the boys wrists, the marks of the chains.

They were sharp, bulky and vicious.

Most of them looked impassive, their minds far away. The realisation of the fight not yet kicking in.

Dylan pulled me back, blocking my view of the others. They'd added some one way panels which allowed them to look below the stage, no one under there would know. He'd thought that a personal tour of the fighting pit they were setting up would induce the more obedient mate he wanted.

They'd also hidden microphones under the stage, so every single word could be monitored and reported back to the Godessy programme.

"This is your last chance, mate." His voice was low, emotionless.

He pushed me slightly, my body soon encased by unfamiliar gloved hands.

"You will have some freedoms with me once I can trust you, but I can't let you disrespect our bond. Especially not in front of my pack."

Two of his pack members approached. Ignoring the situation in front of them they got to work whilst the guard whom I was now a prisoner to held me still.

Chains clattered around me, prancing on my skin teasingly, the coldness numbed my wrists.

"Just do it." The reply was rough. Simple. The guard manhandling me wasn't even worthy of an insult.

Icy chapped hands pushed my wrists forwards, quickly binding them together. Successfully distracting me from the soft unfocused ripping of cotton.

They'd torn my dress.

"I hope you find the right path soon, Luna." The sudden softness of the guards word echoed in my mind as the final chain was clasped shut.

Guilt. No. Hope. Maybe.

"Werewolves might be scared to be lonely, but humans are living their lives as if they even had a choice."

Heart break is a difficult road that many face, it's cold, harsh, sometimes deceptive. We can soak our hearts with good memories, absorb the laughs, the tears, the stories, but deep down the cracks always remain. Feelings like flames eventually die, but we're left with small ashes which engrain deep within.

A lot were too afraid to love when it could be so easily ripped away.

Many only ventured down that path once they knew they were safe. Free from being a mate. Perhaps a more sensible logic, but it was a terrible price to pay.