That morning as they were heading to the farm, Emma decided to pick a fight with Kylie.
“Why are you always after my left overs?” she asked the blonde woman. “First it was Tommy, and now it’s Richard.”
“You’re even more delusional than I thought,” Alison said. “You and Richard didn’t have anything going on. Stop trying to claim a man who has no interest in you.”
“Do you know the reason for that? It’s because I didn’t want him. If I wanted him, he’d be mine by now. You’re the last resort, an option.”
Alison immediately turned and charged at her. They began fighting as Andrea and the others approached from behind.
“Stop it, you idiots.” Andrea called out.
The fight did not stop. Emma was losing but she didn’t care. Alison stood up and left her on the ground.
“Why are you two fighting?”
“She started it,” Emma said, pointing an accusing figure at Alison.
Alison gasped. “You started it.”
“Whatever,” Andrea said. “Emma, you’re going back to solitary confinement. No food, no water. For thirty two hours. Last time you were lucky to get out before the time elapsed but this time you won’t get so lucky.”
“No, no,” Emma said, throwing herself at Andrea’s feet. “Don’t do this to me, please. I will do anything. I’ll even cleaned the barn, collect the animal waste. Anything. I can’t be in that small room.”
“Guard,” Andrea called out to one of the four guards with her. “Take her to the solitary confinement cell.”
Emma cried and struggled against the guard but he was stronger than her. When Andrea and the others turned to continue, Emma smiled. She had got exactly what she wanted. My acting skills have improved, she thought, as she was led back to the pack. She had wanted to be in solitary. She hoped that Ken would be assigned to her again. Her plans would have been for nought if she wasn’t.
The day was extremely boring for Emma. No one came to her for hours, not even Ken. At around 6 pm, Andrea came in with a whip and another guard. She pulled Emma out of the small room and the guard tied her to a chair.
“You’re a very stubborn girl, but that will have changed by the time we’re done with you,” Andrea said. “You are going to learn that being a slave does not involve disobeying your masters because the consequences will be dire.”
This time, Emma didn’t have anything to say. She winced when the whip hit her back. Andrea started off slow, hitting her slightly but she soon gained momentum and started hitting Emma like a mad woman. The lashes were becoming more painful as time went by. Andrea was relentless. She beat the young woman until she passed out.
Emma woke up when the cage was dark. The wounds created by the whip had already healed. The floor was extremely cold that evening so she opted to sit down. Even the wall was cold. Her body shivered so she pulled her bent knees closer, hugging them and staying in that position until the door was opened. A flashlight spread light into the room and she used her hand to shield her eyes.
“Hey.”
Emma’s heart flipped. It was Ken, the person she had done all this drama for. He was wearing a white shirt and brown cargo pants. He also had on a large coat and a cap. Although it was dim, Emma could see his pale handsome face clearly. She felt her body warm up as he got closer to her and closed the door.
“What are you doing here?” she asked while he sat next to her on the floor. The man was perfect, and Emma found herself wishing she had been mated to him instead of that slave driver Axel.
“Andrea went out to capture more rogues and it’s raining so they won’t be back for a while,” he said. “I brought you something to eat.”
She didn’t know what to say. This was going to be easier than she thought. Clearly, she didn’t have to seduce him for him to care for her. He reached into his large coat pocket and pulled out a sandwich. “It’s not much but-
“No, this will be enough.” Emma said, unwrapping the sandwich. “This is more than enough. Thank you so much for this. Words can’t express how grateful I am that you decided to bring me food.”
“It’s alright. I felt bad for you. This place is really cold and I don’t know how I’d survive here.”
Emma quickly wolfed down the sandwich and Ken took back the wrapping paper and put it in his pocket.
“If Andrea finds out that you helped me, you’ll be in trouble.”
“I know but Andrea is in charge of the slaves,” Ken said. “She is a former rogue and isn’t above me in terms of hierarchy. She has some guards assigned to do her bidding, but they only do it when it’s reasonable. Anyway, I’m not one of them.”
“Does Axel know that Andrea was a rogue?”
Ken nodded. “Yeah, he does. But she wanted to join a pack so he let her. He needed someone to be in charge of rogues and thought an ex rogue would do the job very well. And well, she’s doing it well enough.”
“Do you have a mate?” Emma asked Ken. She felt his body stiffen.
Ken shook his head. “I haven’t yet met her.”
“Okay,” Emma said, shaking her arm around his waist. She felt him stiffen, and saw the blush on his cheeks. She could hear his breathing getting faster and smiled. “How old are you?”
“I’m 22,” he said. “But, I never leave the pack. My father says that I’ll have to start getting out sooner if I’m to find my mate. I prefer to wait for destiny to bring her to me.”
“Don’t you like moving out?” Emma said, now caressing his side slowly.
“No,” he said.
“Don’t you want to see the world out there? There are a lot of interesting things out there.”
“I…I-
Emma used her other hand to gently turn his head. Tilting hers, she brought her lips to his.