Four

(Hallucination)

…Whisper screamed when one of the men by the doorway brought out a silver knife. Another lunged at her, back handing her across the face and putting a hand over her mouth. She struggled beneath him trying to claw his arms and face – anything she could get to.

"Where's the rope?" he growled at one of his companions. The one off the floor pulled some out from his pocket, handing it to the other guy while he got up. Guy #2 grabbed her hands and tied them together, then tied them to the headboard. Guy #3 who was holding her down, found a scarf she threw to the ground earlier that day and grabbed it, replacing it with his hand and tying it behind her head. "The quieter you are, brat, the less we'll do!"

She cried as Guy #1 walked over and held up a whip. "Boys, don't tell the girl lies. She's going to get what we offer no matter if she's quiet or not!"

Guy #3 let out a rough growl that was meant to be a laugh and stood up. His companion #2 ripped off her shirt in one tug, then slapped her stomach with all the force he had. The breath whooshed out of her and for a moment, she couldn't breathe. Whisper didn't have time to try because Guy #1 lashed the whip, inducing a silent scream only she could hear in her head.

"Pathetic little brat!" Guy #3 hissed. "Girls like you are out becoming strong women. You can't even fight back!"

Whisper didn't know any other girls. She had never met another girl the same age of eight years as her. She had a distinct feeling that if she did meet one, they'd bully her akin to what these men did now.

"Stop whipping her!" Guy #2 ordered and came forward, running a finger over one bleeding whiplash. The bed was ruined in blood now and Whisper knew they wouldn't care. "We need to get to her back…" his voice trailed off and he gazed at her with disgust.

"Bring her to the Pole!" Guy #1 hissed and stormed out of the room. Untying her hands, Guy #2 picked her up and carried her outside, the remaining male following. When they were outside, the headed into the forest for a mile or two, where no one would hear them…

(End of hallucination)

"Whisper!"

Whisper curled in on herself, not wanting to see the men again. She didn't want to be whipped at the Pole. It hurt. It was like no other pain she had ever known, except the silver knife. She didn't want to be hurt again.

"Whisper, can you hear me?" she heard a male voice, unlike the three she just saw. Maybe they brought a friend this time? "Whisper, talk to me. Come on, Kitten. Talk to me."

Whisper blinked and she saw a pair of blue eyes and a bright white room. Her shaking began anew and she screamed. "Get away! Please!"

"Whisper!" the male hissed. She saw him come closer, saw his eyes become angry, saw the way it looked like he was about to hit her.

"No!" She kicked out and caught him in the stomach. He groaned and Whisper lashed out again, not caring for the pain in her foot. This time, she heard a crack as she broke his nose.

I got to get out of here! She stood and ran around the man towards the door. Locked!

'No! No! No!'

Arms wrapped around her and she screamed again. If the room wasn't sound proof, the whole neighborhood would have heard it. "Whisper, calm down and look about. Whatever is going on in your head, it's over!"

It wasn't his words that made her go quiet, but the sudden pleasurable feeling she got from where his skin touched hers. All thoughts of what she had just seen went out the door, and she slumped. "Where am I?" she said in a daze.

Setting her on her feet, the male spun her around to face him. "In the hospital, in your room."

Whisper glanced at the room and recognized it. Her eyes fell on the male and it took her a moment to find the name that fit the face. "Zane?"

His blue eyes locked on hers and he nodded. "It's alright, Whisper. You're not going to be hurt, I promise."

It was the blood smeared on his face that made her jump away. "You're hurt!" Now Whisper really was terrified of him. "I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I mean – I didn't mean it!"

Zane cupped her face with both hands. "I'm unhurt," he said softly. "Don't be scared of me."

"But you're hurt! I hurt a guest!" she cried.

"You didn't know it was me," he said in a soothing voice. "I do not blame you."

"But—"

"Shush, Whisper," he commanded. "Listen to me, okay?" Shakily, she nodded and began to slump against the wall behind her. "I have some papers to fill out and I need your help with some of the questions. Afterwards, we're going somewhere for a while."

"Where?"

"The forest."

Immediately, Whisper started crying. "I'm sorry! Please, not there!"

"Whisper!" he said over her. She blinked up at him. He hesitated then asked, "Were you beat as a child? Did someone hit you?"

This question…this question was not one she wanted to answer for just anyone. The doctor had asked it, and concluded she would be fine with the stick. What would happen if she told Zane the truth, too?

"Whisper, it's okay to tell me."

"No it isn't," she whispered. "It's not fine to tell you anything."

"Why not?" She didn't answer. Zane moved closer to her. "Whisper, does the nurse hit you with the stick she had?"

Whisper started to tremble again. "It's nothing bad."

"if you're in pain, can you tell me if the severity of it is between one and ten, one being no pain at all and ten being the worst. Tell me the truth, Whisper. I will continue to ask if I see you're lying to me."

Horrified, Whisper tried to move away, but he held her in place gently but firmly. "No!" she cried. "No, please!"

Zane ignored her struggle and carefully brought her into his arms and against his chest. He trapped her hands between them and held her head to his shoulder. Her struggling stopped once again at the feel of pleasurable sensations. Slowly, she relaxed into him, curled her fingers into his shirt, and closed her eyes. "Everything is alright, Whisper. I'm not like those you have met. I do not want to cause you pain. I'm here to help you out of here, to help you with whatever people are blaming you for. I'm here to take you home and feed you, let you sleep peacefully, buy you anything you could possibly want or need, and protect you against anyone who dares to try and harm you."

Her body pressed closer to his and a tear slipped out from an eye. Inside her head, her wolf howled. 'It's Zane, Whisper. The one who offered to bring games and paint, remember? He's the one who won't hurt you, the one who can free you.'

Whisper remembered his question about pain level and let her wolf's words give her courage. "It's a six. My pain is a six."

She felt him take a deep breath. "Not any higher?"

"No." When she tried to pull away to look at his face, he tightened his hand on the back of her head. "Zane—"

"Shush. I'm just hugging you."

Whisper relaxed again, grateful for the safety his arms brought, for the comfort and warmth of another body. She was grateful for the reassurance Zane gave her every time he spoke. Whisper didn't want to move away anymore. She didn't want him to move away or even leave her alone in this dreadful place. She wanted to be in his arms forever.

"If not the forest, then where would you like to go?" he asked softly.

Whisper thought for a moment. "Anywhere with food."

"What do they give you here?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "It doesn't have any taste."

After a long moment, Zane pulled back, but did not release her. She looked up into his eyes and did not flinch away this time. "Come sit with me for a minute, I need to call someone."

She nodded and let him pull her to the bed where she sat beside him while he got out a little device and watched him punch the screen with his thumb. Putting it up to his ear, he was silent. "Who are you calling?" she asked softly.

He looked down at her. "Nico, the man from last time." Whisper nodded again and saw Zane straighten. "I'm fine. I need you to bring one of Kiera's shirts and a pair of pants. Try to make sure they have color. Also, have Anton make an appointment with court to sue a certain company. Thank you. See you soon."

When he was off the device, Whisper leaned her head on his shoulder. "Is Anton a lawyer?"

"No, he's just really good at getting in touch with important people." Zane held Whisper to him tightly, though not enough to hurt her. But the girl trusted him once more. She didn't even realize her arms had slipped around him as if he was her life saver.