Maxwell's POV

　　"How far are you wanting to take this?" Chester, the pack enforcer, asked casually. Looking at the dainty figure of the girl handing in front of me, her head lolled forward; her body relaxed with slumber; I shrugged. 

　　"She will break easily." I muttered, hoping I was right. The metal clanking drew my attention to the table beside her, Chester had been setting up all kinds of tools to use on her, a scare tactic, and he and I knew it. He had always relished his job, and I knew he was asking out of self-preservation, not because of care for the girl; he was looking forward to extracting the information from her pretty lips by any means possible.

　　"What about her attachment with your son?" he coaxed, looking over his shoulder at me as he palmed a well-polished double-edged blade. "I don't want this blowing back on me, given their relationship." He stated firmly. 

　　"There will be no blowback because she won't leave this cell until I am satisfied I can control her." I nodded to him, raising my hand to stop him from asking what I knew was on the tip of his tongue. "And if we can't control her, she won't leave this cell- At all." I could see the sick smile seeping onto his lips and was reminded of just how messed up he was and why he was the perfect candidate for this job. He wasn't pretending or forced into this role; he was here because he wanted to be. He was genuinely invested in administering pain to get the answers I wanted. 

　　Sitting back in my chair, I noted the dark and dimly lit space around her with a single lamp hanging from the ceiling above her. It had been explicitly designed to give no natural light to the tortured, meaning they had no sense of time. The smell that had weaved into the mortar was that of decomposing flesh, which, given those in the cells around her, made sense. The only sound besides Chesters and his tools was the faint whimpers and sniffles from the pair in the cell down the hall. 

　　I tried to imagine what was going through her head right now; despite her swagger and conviction, I knew she was scared; I could smell it! Her bravado was her way of throwing me off, and I admit I had let my emotions get the better of me. I wouldn't be making that mistake again. She was self-assured and cocky! But I would break her!

　　But first, I had to wake her!

　　Nodding to Chester, he pulled her pretty head back with a fistful of red curls; while pouring water down her throat, she choked and spluttered before her eyes opened and narrowed on the face of the man who held her life in his hands. I smiled, hearing the hash slap he delivered to her face, one after the other, until her face was swollen and almost as red as her hair. He stepped aside, letting her head go with a shove.

　　"She's awake!" He announced like I didn't have my own fucking eyes. 

　　"Yes, I see that, Chester!" I snorted, our eyes locked on Abigail's stubborn face, hearing the musical sound of her laughter. 

　　"Chester. Your name is Chester?" She continued to laugh. 

　　"What is wrong with my name?" He snarled, attempting to step closer to her, lifting from the chair I was in front of her with two purposeful strides. Needing to know why the name was so funny to her, did she know something I didn't? Had he betrayed me? 

　　"Do you know him, dear?" I asked, tilting her with my thumb and forcing her to look at me, regretting it the second her angry eyes locked on mine; with a smirk, she pursed her lips, arched her neck back and blew spit forcefully from her mouth, spitting straight in my face.

　　"Well, that wasn't very ladylike!" I growled, grabbing the dress that hung from her, pulling on a fabric, ripping it apart at the seams, the sleeve coming off in my hand, using it to wipe the spit off my face before I discarded it on the floor. 

　　"But then, given how I have seen you throw yourself at the Blackwood boy and my son, I don't think you're much of a lady! More of a whore!" I expressed, looking at her with contempt.

　　"Oh, the irony!" She emitted, shaking her head; returning to my seat, I nodded for her to continue. I was expecting her to tell me to get stuffed but was pleasantly surprised by her openness. Maybe extracting the information from her wouldn't take as long as I had expected. 

　　"This time yesterday, I was a virgin!" She laughed, shaking her head as much as she could in the chains that pulled her hands tightly above her head, trapping her in a vulnerable hold. I watched her look up at the restraints as they rattled when she moved, sighing she looked back at me with determination. 

　　"It seems my mother was right: sex complicates things." She mused, clearly working through her demons. 

　　"How so?" I asked, wanting to draw her into a false sense of security; I liked that she was openly talking. She may give me some vital information without meaning to when relaxed. 

　　"Well, I have gone from no love interests and being a virgin to having caught myself between two males who.."

　　"Two males?" I asked, already suspecting I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it from her lips. 

　　"Damien and Jason." There we go; I was right!

　　"And you think you're not a whore?" I laughed, shaking my head. "So you slept with Damien before Jason picked you up?" I asked, arching a brow. "Then you allegedly slept with my son tonight?" I asked plainly. 

　　"I am not alleging anything; why would I make that up?" She growled angrily; it was my turn to push her buttons now. 

　　"Because you have realised how low on the food chain Damien and his father are and want to tie yourself to my son instead, knowing the hatred and history between them. You know he will protect you against that filth out of principle." I declared. 

　　"You're delusional." She laughed, the chains above her head clattering with her movements.

　　"It was what, less than an hour ago?" I asked, checking my watch, bored by the conversation.

　　"What was?" I could hear the panic welling in her throat and knew instantly she was lying about her intentions and the night's events, and she was scared of the truth being revealed. She hadn't bedded my son! He wouldn't disgrace his mate and our pack! He had loved Kayla since they were children! It would take a lot more than this deranged female to turn his head away from his duty! 

　　"Your apparent fuck with my son!" I grinned at her with satisfaction seeing the colour run from her face. "I know my son well enough to know he won't use protection; he will have wanted to claim that shrewd cunt of yours." I could see her face pale; with a smirk at Chester, he stepped toward her rolling his sleeves up. 

　　"So if you are telling the truth, you should be full of son's seed!" 

　　"I.. I..."  She stuttered, "Seriously, I am not having this conversation!" She blurted out, pulling in the chains, trying to get away from Chester, who closed the gap between them.

　　"You're a sick bastard!" She screamed at me, and I grinned slowly. She was right!  

　　"Let's see what secrets your cunt is hiding, shall we!" I laughed, nodding for Chester to pounce. 

　　"Check her."