Under His Rule (His 1)

She’ll give up soon enough. Whether it’s now or hours from now, there’s no way she’ll continue fighting. She might be a tough one, but we know how to deal with those here.

This isn’t our first capturing, and it probably won’t be the last either.

All it takes is time. Time. Time will undo any rebellion, any resistance, any defense a potential mate will have. She will have no choice but to submit. Because they all do.

One way or another, after enough of their sanity has been chipped away, they all give in.

“Get a helper to fix the cameras. Make sure there are guards. Drug them if you have to. Do not let them escape,” I say. “And for everyone’s sake, don’t let this happen again.”

“Yes, Patriarch,” they both say in sync, and I get up from the chair and leave the room.

Back to my books. Back to the waiting game. Sooner or later, they all crack. Not one potential mate has ever survived the initiation without breaking.

Not a single one.

She might be special to me, but she’s still human.

She will break.

And when she does, I will be there to pick up the pieces and put her back together again … just the way I like it.

Chapter 4

Natalie

After hours and hours of picking at the lock, it suddenly makes a noise.

I look up.

“What was that?” the girl says after not having spoken a word in as many hours.

“The door,” I whisper. “C’mon.”

I shove it open and make a run for it.

Again.

I don’t care what happened last time, I’m not going in the same direction this time, and I know I’m much more alert now than I was before.

My feet take me through the grass, naked and barefooted, but the cold won’t affect me now. I’m already used to the lack of clothing. The prickling of the wind against my skin only spurs me on. I don’t look behind me, not even to see if the girl is following me. All I care about is getting away from here.

However, two guards stand right in front of me, so I veer sideways, straight for the fence in the distance. There are a lot of trees and stumps in the way, but I zigzag through the forest like a deer running for the headlights.

The guards chase after me while I run like hell across fallen leaves and rocks, barely managing to stay upright. By the time they catch up, I’m already crawling my way up the fence. There’s barbed wire on top, but I don’t care. I’ve already lost my mind.

“Stop!” they yell, and one of them latches on to my foot.

“Let go of me!” I squeal.

There’s that electrical current forcing its way through my body again. My muscles contract so hard that I release the fence and fall to the ground in one go. My lungs expel all oxygen as I spasm in the dirt. Two men lean over my body and look at me with dirty smiles on their faces while I can’t fucking breathe.

“Again, eh? This one just won’t give up,” one of them says, and he kicks me in the side.

I groan in agony from the electricity and the painful jab.

“What do you say we teach her a lesson?” he says, unbuckling his belt.

Oh, no. No, no. This can’t happen.

“Wait, what if they find out?”

“They won’t if you won’t tell them,” the guy says.

Tears roll down my cheeks as I shake my head in shock.

“But you know it’s against the rules,” the guy says.

“Fuck the rules,” the guy with the unbuckled belt says, and he spits on the floor right next to my head. “This captured needs to learn her place.”

He zips down his pants right in front of me. I shudder and try to move, but my arms and legs are still numb from the Taser. I can’t fight them off; all I can do is close my eyes and pray it’s over soon.

Suddenly, he shakes and falls to the ground, right next to me.

My body shakes vigorously, my eyes wide open as the man groans and heaves. The same pin that electrified me is now stuck in his back.

“How dare you.” I look up to see where the voice is coming from. It’s that same woman from before who’s been taunting me and pushing me to my limits. Now she’s come to my rescue? This doesn’t make any sense.

“Fuck, what the fuck? You fucking—”

She zaps him again, and he rolls around on the floor in pain while I smirk in delight.

“What the fuck! How fucking dare you!” the guy swears after a while.

“I am well within my rights as an elder’s wife. Know your place,” she barks.

He gets up, and I crawl away from him on my elbows.

“You should know better than to try to defile the body of a captured,” she spits at him. “They are sacred. Unlike you.” She throws him a look that reminds me of a bulldog with the bite to match.