Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 35
Aria’s POV
His weight crushed me into the carpet.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The drug burned through my veins like liquid fire while my mind screamed in horror.
"Stop—" The word came out broken. Desperate. "Finn, please—"
"Please?" He laughed. The sound made my skin crawl. "Now you’re begging? Where was this attitude when you were parading around with Blood Crown?"
His grip on my wrists tightened. I felt the bones grinding together. Pain shot up my arms.
I twisted. Bucked. Tried to throw him off.
Nothing worked.
He was too heavy. Too strong. And I was too weak. The drug had stolen everything—my strength, my coordination, my ability to fight back.
Artemis howled in my mind. Furious. Terrified. But she was just as helpless as I was.
*Fight!* she screamed. *We have to fight!*
I was trying. God, I was trying.
"Get off me!" I thrashed harder. My legs kicked against the floor. My body arched. "GET OFF!"
"Shh." Finn’s voice dropped. Sickly sweet. "Stop fighting it, Aria. Your body wants this. I can feel how hot you are. How desperate."
Tears blurred my vision. He was right. The drug made my body betray me at every turn. Made it crave touch even as my soul recoiled in disgust.
But I would rather die than let him touch me again.
"I will never—" I spat the words in his face. "—want you."
Something ugly flickered in his eyes.
His hand released one of my wrists. For a split second, I thought—maybe—
CRACK.
The slap snapped my head to the side. Pain exploded across my cheek. Stars danced in my vision.
"You think you’re better than me now?" His voice was a snarl. "You think because some Alpha looked at you twice, you’re suddenly worth something?"
I tasted blood. My lip had split against my teeth.
"I was always worth something," I managed. My voice shook. But I forced the words out anyway. "You just never saw it."
His face twisted.
CRACK.
The second slap was harder. My ear rang. The room spun. For a moment, everything went dark around the edges.
"You’re nothing." Finn grabbed both my wrists again. Slammed them back above my head. "You were nothing before me. You’ll be nothing without me."
I blinked. Tried to focus. Blood dripped from the corner of my mouth.
But I didn’t stop fighting.
I couldn’t stop fighting.
Because somewhere out there—somewhere in this city—was Kael. And even if he never came for me. Even if he didn’t know where I was. Even if I died in this room tonight—
I would not give Finn the satisfaction of breaking me.
"The bed," Finn muttered. More to himself than to me. "This would be easier on the bed."
No.
No, no, no.
He started dragging me across the floor. My back scraped against the carpet. Burns. More burns. I kicked. Screamed. Clawed at anything I could reach.
"Stop—STOP—"
"Keep screaming." His voice was cold. Amused. "No one can hear you. Celestia took Lilith to her parents’ house. The staff has been dismissed. It’s just us, Aria. Just like old times."
Just like old times.
The words made me want to vomit.
All those nights. All those years. Lying beneath him while he used my body like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.
I’d told myself it was duty. Obligation. What mates did for each other.
But it was never that.
It was always this.
Control. Ownership. Violence dressed up as love.
We reached the bed. Finn hauled me up. Threw me onto the mattress.
I immediately tried to roll off the other side.
He caught my ankle. Yanked me back.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
I kicked at his face. My heel connected with his chin.
He grunted. His grip loosened.
I scrambled backward. Hit the headboard. Nowhere else to go.
Finn climbed onto the bed after me. His eyes were dark. Predatory. The amber had been swallowed by something inhuman.
"I was going to be gentle." He cracked his neck. "I was going to make this good for you. Remind you why you married me in the first place."
"I never wanted to marry you!"
The confession burst out of me. Raw. True. Words I’d never dared say before.
Finn froze.
"Your grandfather forced it." My voice cracked. Tears streamed down my face. "The mate bond—I was young—I didn’t know I could refuse—"
"Shut up."
"You never loved me. You never even liked me. I was just—"
"I said SHUT UP!"
He lunged.
His body slammed into mine. Pinned me against the headboard. One hand grabbed my throat. Squeezed.
I couldn’t breathe.
"You don’t get to rewrite history." His face was inches from mine. Spit flew from his lips. "You were grateful. GRATEFUL. A Shadow Moon whore who somehow caught an Alpha’s attention. You should have spent every day on your knees thanking me for the privilege."
Black spots danced in my vision. My lungs screamed for air.
His other hand moved to my dress.
The sound of ripping fabric cut through the roar in my ears.
No.
Please.
No.
"This dress." He tore at the emerald silk. "Where did you get this? Did he buy it for you? Did you wear it to seduce him?"
The strap gave way. Cold air hit my shoulder. My chest.
Shame burned through me. Hotter than the drug. Hotter than anything.
"Answer me!" His hand tightened on my throat. "DID YOU FUCK HIM?"
"N-no—" The word was barely a wheeze. "We never—"
"Liar!" He released my throat just enough for me to gasp. "You’re all liars. Your whole family. Trash. Poison."
His hand found the other strap. Tore it too.
The dress fell to my waist.
I was exposed. Vulnerable. Pinned beneath a monster who’d once promised to protect me.
"Please—" I hated how small my voice sounded. How broken. "Finn, please don’t do this—"
"Don’t do what?" He laughed. Cruel. Mocking. "Don’t touch what’s mine? Don’t take what I’m owed?"
His mouth descended on my neck. Teeth scraped against my skin.
Right where a mate mark would go.
Horror exploded through me.
He was going to mark me.
Going to force the bond back.
Going to trap me in this nightmare forever.
"NO!"
Strength I didn’t know I had surged through my limbs. The drug still burned in my veins. My muscles still felt like jelly. But desperation was its own kind of power.
I slammed my forehead into his face.
Pain. Blinding pain. But worth it.
Finn reared back. Blood gushed from his nose—again.
I shoved. Rolled. Hit the floor hard.
Run. I needed to run.
I scrambled on hands and knees. Toward the door. The stupid, useless door that wouldn’t save me because no one was coming.
No one knew I was here.
No one—
A hand grabbed my hair.
My scalp screamed as Finn yanked me backward. I crashed against his chest. His arm wrapped around my throat. Choking. Trapping.
"You keep fighting." His voice was almost conversational. "I admire that. I really do. But we both know how this ends."
He dragged me back toward the bed.
"You’ll give me what I want. You’ll give me another child. And this time—" his teeth grazed my ear "—I’ll make sure you never forget who you belong to."
I grabbed his arm. Clawed at it. Drew blood.
He didn’t even flinch.
"The more you fight—" he threw me onto the mattress "—the more I enjoy it."
He was on me again. Straddling my hips. His hands found my torn dress. Yanked it lower.
The fabric pooled at my waist. I was left in nothing but my underwear. Exposed. Humiliated.
"So beautiful." His voice was a mockery of tenderness. "You always were beautiful, Aria. I just forgot how much."
His hands skimmed up my sides. I shuddered. Not from desire. From revulsion.
I screamed.
Every ounce of air left in my lungs. Every drop of desperation. Every prayer to gods I didn’t believe in.
The sound tore from my throat. Raw. Primal. A banshee wail that seemed to shake the walls.
"HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE—"
Finn’s hand clamped over my mouth.
"Shut UP—"
I bit down. Hard.
He yelped. Released me.
I crashed to the floor. Gasping. Choking on air.
"HELP!" I screamed again. "PLEASE—ANYONE—"
Finn kicked me. His foot connected with my ribs.
Pain exploded through my side. I curled into a ball. Tried to protect my head.
"No one’s coming!" He kicked again. Again. "No one cares about you! No one has ever cared about you!"
I couldn’t scream anymore. Could barely breathe. Each inhale was agony. Each exhale was a sob.
This was it.
This was really it.
And then—
CRASH.
The door exploded inward.
