When the Dark Wins

by Addison Cain

  “Don’t. Be a good girl and come back this way. I’ll even go easy on you,” Mykael says, a hint of worry in his voice.

  Backing away from the him, I slip, falling into the icy water. I can’t see in the darkness. The cold pierces my skin through my clothes. Rough hands grab me, Mykael is pulling me out of the creek. Tossing me over his shoulder, he begins walking towards the tree line. Placing me on the ground, he disappears, only to come back with shelter and blankets, I feel like an idiot. Of course, they would have tents along the creek for when they chase others like they did me. Mykael puts up the tent with expertise and then turning to me, he lifts me and places me inside, wrapped in the soft blanket.

  I’m sitting here waiting for what comes next when I hear the voices of Nadine and Danielle. Trying to listen, I creep forward.

  “She isn’t worth all of this Mykael… We should just kill her and be done… We can give you…”

  “Enough. This is my choice, and I’ve made it,” Mykael breaks in, ending the conversation.

  The tent opening pulls me back to reality. I didn’t make it. Mykael found me. He crawls into the small tent with me, the already small space filling with his scent and taking over my senses.

  Chapter 9

  Fresh tears begin to fall down my cheeks, I don’t want to be here.

  “There, there now. I won’t bite. Actually, that’s a lie,” Mykael laughs out, coming towards me.

  I’m terrified. Pleading wouldn’t work, that I know. Mykael has come to claim his spoils from the hunt. Pushing back the blanket, he trails his fingers down my breast to the hem of my soaking wet shirt. Lifting it, the material clings to my body, the cold air causing me to shiver.

  “Stand up and take those pants off,” he commands, pulling his shirt over his head.

  I can’t unbutton the pants. My fingers are shaking too badly. Mykael is impatient. Pulling out a knife, he inserts the blade between my hip and the jeans cutting them off of me. He grabs my ass bringing me closer to him. His face is eye level with my pussy when he picks up my leg and places it on his shoulder. Unsteady, I grab his head to remain standing. I don’t have time to ask what he is doing before I feel his tongue plunging into me. This is like nothing I have ever experienced. I don’t know what to do.

  I gasp, crying out in pain. Looking down, I see the blood trickling down my thigh, his teeth marks on my skin. Lifting me off my feet, Mykael lays me down, not even giving me time to adjust before he drives his hips forward. Screaming, I let the world know the pain I am in. There is no romance, no pleasure like I expected, it isn’t Ethan and me making love for the first time. This is painful, brutal, and pure fucking the way animals go — feral and uncontrolled.

  Bringing the scalpel I had hidden to my chest, he continues driving in and out as he carves into my chest. The pain brings my fears to new heights. Screaming, pleading for him to stop only cause him to drive into me harder. Reaching his orgasm, I watch his face in awe of the beauty of this monster. Mykael wraps his free hand around my throat, cutting off my airway. Clawing and thrashing do nothing as the world fades, my vision going black.

  When I wake I’m not in the tent anymore, the warmth and soft sheets under me let me know that I’m back in Mykael’s home. I feel used, weak, and as if I will lose myself here. The door creaking pulls me from my thoughts. Nadine is walking into the room, looking out of the door apprehensively before she closes it tells me he didn’t send her. Sitting up, I reach for the blanket that has fallen uncovering my chest for her.

  Eyes wide, she looks at the carving above my right breast, “You little bitch!”

  Gasping in horror, I dive out of her reach as she tries to grab me. I don’t understand her sudden need to hurt me, I haven’t done anything since the other night, and that wasn’t intentional. The pain of my hair being ripped from my head causes me to stop. Trying to break her hold, I grab the lamp next to me. Swinging around, I hit her with the metal stand as hard as I can. The door slams open with Chloe and Mykael rushing inside. I look at Nadine lying on the floor, at her blood puddling like a halo around her head. Her chest isn’t rising. The sight causes me to rush towards the open bathroom.

  Vomiting, I pray she isn’t dead, just unconscious, but I know better. Rinsing my mouth, I look at myself in the mirror to see what caused her to act that way. The carving has nearly healed, which doesn’t make any sense. There, on my chest, is the single word. The word is already scabbing.

  MINE.

  Chapter 10

  Chloe is the one to find me. I take her in as she sits next to me against the wall. She does look pregnant, more than she should from the last time I saw her. I don’t understand it at all since it was just yesterday.

  Rubbing her stomach, she smiles at me. “Want to feel?”

  Before I can respond, she reaches out placing my hand on her stomach. The baby is kicking. I can’t make sense of it all.

  “How? And how long have I been asleep?” I question, pulling my hand back.

  Sighing, Chloe starts by saying, “I’m thirty-eight days. We don’t have normal pregnancies. Did you ever question how we move quickly and quietly?”

  Shaking my head in response, she continues, “Mykael is a werewolf. Well, we all are, but he is our alpha, our leader. You’ve been unconscious for three days... we weren’t sure if you would make it.”

  I scramble away in fear as the words register with what I do know. Run little girl, don’t let the big bad wolf catch you. There, there now. I won’t bite. Actually, that’s a lie. Rubbing the inside of my thigh, I think of the bite and the carved flesh on my chest.

  “But… no, it can’t be true!” I cry out in disbelief.

  My stomach picks that moment to rumble. Standing, Chloe offers me her hand, pulling me to my feet. I immediately turn to where I left Nadine lying on the floor, but she’s gone. Chloe notices where my gaze has landed yet she doesn’t explain what happened to her. Leaving me to get dressed, she walks out of the room.

  Sitting at the table, I look around the room noticing the wolf figures.

  “What about the Park Ranger?” I ask as she places a sandwich in front of me.

  “Jackson? Oh, he’s a friend of Mykael’s. He watches the cabin for us,” Chloe replies, not at all fazed by my questions.

  “Nadine? Is she dead? Where is she?” I whisper, worried I have just committed murder.

  Before she can answer, a wolf walks into the room from outside, but she doesn’t seem scared.

  “I got rid of her body. She’s dead.” Mykael answers from where the wolf was just standing.

  Screaming, I flee the house, running into the snow.

  Chapter 11

  I’m running.

  Running towards the creek I saw on the map days ago. I needed some time to think, so I came out to the cabin my family uses to take vacations. My best friend Gary came out here with me, but he’s dead now. I saw his body in the living room of the cabin. No one’s body should be contorted that way.

  The snow is coming down heavy now, and the cold is settling in my bones. I don’t know who the people are, but someone has been following me, chasing me for over a day now. I saw the beams from their flashlights earlier. I can hear the creek close to where I am. Turning towards the sound, I make my way towards the stream of water. In my rush to get away, I didn’t grab anything, not even my phone.

  Rushing out into the clearing by the creek, I’m surprised to see a woman sitting by the fire alone, she doesn’t seem dangerous, but I know better than to trust people.

  “Hi there. Are you alright? Please have a seat and get warm,” the woman directs, pointing to the single log beside the fire when she sees me.

  Sitting on the edge of the small piece of wood cautiously, I smile. “Hi, I’m Melissa. I’m fine, I just got separated from my friends.”

  “I understand.” The woman extends her hand giving me a cup. “Well Melissa, I’m Lily.”

  I notice that Lily is pregnant, at least eight months along, judging by the size.
Looking into the cup, I see that it’s only water. I take a sip, and not long after I begin to feel queasy, sleepy and like I’m underwater. Laughing draws my attention to Lily. I drop the cup to stand, but my legs feel weak.

  The End… for now.

  Playlist

  Waking The Demon - Bullet For My Valentine

  Hand of Blood - Bullet For My Valentine

  Temper Temper - Bullet For My Valentine

  Bring Me To Life - Evanescence

  Hail To The King - Avenged Sevenfold

  Afterlife - Avenged Sevenfold

  Two Weeks - All That Remains

  My Distorted Reflection - Upon A Burning Body

  Whore - In This Moment

  The Dark of You - Breaking Benjamin

  Blood - In This Moment

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to my husband, you are the most important man in my life and your support has been my lifeline through this journey.

  Thank you readers. I couldn’t do this without you.

  Thank you to the ladies in this box set for asking me to be a part of this fantastic collection. I still can’t figure out why.

  To my betas on this project, Tania, Alicia, and Geynar; thank you for not running screaming and for reading this story over and over again.

  To Bre, you know why.

  To Dani, Natalie, Kiranda, Yolanda, Bridgett, Isobel, Niki, Nicole and Renee; you ladies have had my back on everything and I don’t know what I would have done without you.

  To my editor, no one would even want to read this without her magic. Seriously, it’s bad until she fixes things.

  To Murphy, my sprint buddy, this book wouldn’t have been wrote without you pushing me.

  To Jennifer, I have no other words except thank you. A year ago we didn’t know each other, but now you are one of my best friends. I don’t know what I would do without you.

  About Michelle Brown

  Michelle Brown has always been an avid reader and music lover. She lives in a small town located in North Carolina. Blah, blah, blah... she likes Oreos, and pizza rolls when writing. Lover of GIFs and dark books, she spends way too much time stalking her favorite authors.

  Be sure to follow her on any social media site:

  Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichellelbrown

  Author Page: http://bit.ly/2oycQaS

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellebrownauthor/

  Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2ERUb0g

  Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2ovQwit

  BookBub: http://bit.ly/2oKlXq4

  Email: contact@authormichellebrown.com

  Books by Michelle Brown

  La Asesina Bonita

  Pretty Killer, Book One

  The Reaper, Book Two

  Coming Soon

  DIAMOND B!TCH

  Need a little therapy after this anthology?

  Join our ‘Group Therapy’ room on Facebook to chat with others recovering after ‘When the Dark Wins’. We’d love to hear what you thought, and pour you a proverbial drink to aid with the group therapy.

  Request to join

  Group Therapy

  We’re proud of you for finishing this dark and disturbing anthology. If you enjoyed this one, we may do another in the future. Even darker, even more twisted.