Moon Born

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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Danika huddled down on her cell. Empty cold cell.

She has been here for one week. She craves outside....anywhere. Anywhere at all that's not this cold barren space. Only one bonk bed occupied the side of the room.

She hasn't seen her captor in the past one week and that was the time he walked up to her, staring at her with the coldest eyes she has ever seen as he reached around her neck and collared her.

His slave. His property. He'd called her.

A chill went down Danika's arms. She has never seem a hatred more raw before, in anybody's eyes.

King Lucien hated her. So much.

Danika knows the reason more than anybody. Oh, does she know this.

One week ago, she was Princess Danika. Daughter of King Cone of Mombana. She was feared and respected.

No one dare look at her twice. You dare not look her in the eyes. You dare no walk the part she walks unless you have no value for your life. Her father saw to this.

Today, her father has been killed, their kingdom taken over by the ruthless King Lucien. He has also taken her over as his slave.

The sound of footsteps and chains rattling drew Danika's attention towards the door of the cell. The door opened and a bodyguard entered.

He carried a tray of food and Danika's stomach rumbled, hunger shoving through her and reminding her that this is her first meal since morning and it suspiciously looks like evening now.

"Here's your food, Priiiincess." The stretched the syllable in disgust. Everyone here hates her, Danika knows that much.

She raised her chin defiantly, saying nothing.

"The king will be here in a few hours. Be ready to receive him." He announced before walking away.

Fear slid through her. She isn't ready to face her captor yet. But it's been one week, and Danika knows it's inevitable.

🍄🍄🍄Two Hours Later🍄🍄🍄

The sun is almost down when Danika heard footsteps. Followed by, "THE KING HAS ARR---"

"Do not announce me, Chad." Came the curt reply that sent chill down Danika's arms. In all her twenty-one years of life, she hasn't heard a voice so cold.

"I apologize, my king." Chad quickly said.

Sounds of chains....and then, the door threw open.

Only the king entered because Danika heard just one almost-unheard footstep. The door closed behind him.

Suddenly, her cold barren cell was no longer so...barren. She raised her eyes and stared at him with her own hatred for him in her eyes.

He's so big like a warrior but he has the bearing of a king. Danika knows he's thirty-five years old...and larger than life itself.

Even when he was in slavery for her father, that regality was almost present around him. No matter how much he's beaten...how much he's tortured.

They stared at each other, the malice between them apparent. Evident.

Only, King Lucien's wasn't just hate...it was loathe. Full raw hatred and rage. There is no warmth in his eyes.

His face would have been so handsome, but a thick scar ran over one cheek, giving him a savage look.

He stalked closer to her, bent down and ran his hand through her blond...almost white long hair.

He grabbed it tight and yanked hard, forcing her head back and forcing her to stare into the ocean that is his eyes. Pain seared her.

"When I come in here, you'll address me. You don't just sit down like a coward staring st me or I'll punish you for it." His eyes flashed red, "I would love nothing more than to punish you."

Danika found herself nodding. Yes, she hated this man her captor, but she really has a deep aversion to pain. She doesn't like pain at all and she would do anything to avoid it....if she can.

"Yes....my king." She groaned.

Disgust flashed in his eyes. His hand lowered and rested on her barely-covered breast.

He circled her nipple through her clothing and then, he pinched her so hard Danika cried out as a thick wave of pain reverberated through her.

He still held the nub tight as he looked her in the eyes. "I am not your king and I will never be your king. I am a king to my people and you're not my people. You're my slave, Danika. My property."

Danika nodded quickly, wishing he'd let go of her hurting n'pple.

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