She found herself kneeling before his chair. Her hands were cuffed to the floor and her body stripped of clothing. This move was meant to break her, to make her submit. He would stroke her form like some sort of pet, trying to humiliate her. Yet he couldn?t break her spirit, not like this.

Her rage grew as she was made to watch him force himself on the younger females in the group. She was chained with silver, enduring the pain of it against her skin. The hated metal seared her flesh, burning her skin as if it had been heated in the furnace. She did not beg, she fought to hide the pain.

Then came the time when his enforcer had tried to rescue one of the younger girls. He beat them mercilessly, compelling her to watch. She watched the red-haired enforcer bear the pain stoically. She fought against the pain of the chains, something deep inside of her railed at the suffering he faced.

?The girl wants to protect you.? He thought it amusing, ?Prove your loyalty, and tame the little hellcat. Or I will do it myself.?

She remembered the agony in his eyes, the look of hatred for the creature that held their lives so cheaply. She remembered the whispered plea from the redhead begging her to forgive him.

She woke with a start, jade eyes looking around wildly as she felt arms holding her close. Her first instinct was to claw her way free. Then her sleep-clouded mind registered his scent and she calmed. Her mate, her love?

She turned her gaze to the red-haired man that meant to world to her even to this day.

?(vqw) I forgive you, my love.?

Somehow, saying those words eased the pain and the fear she had felt in the remembering.