The Library

Lilith

T he days blur together in a haze of pain and terror. I can’t remember when they first took me, or how long I’ve been trapped in this dark, freezing room. My mind feels foggy, heavy from exhaustion and the relentless ache that’s settled into every muscle, every bone. They keep the lights off most of the time, only letting me have light whenever one of them comes in to taunt or torment me. It makes it harder to keep track of time. Has it been one day? Seven? I can’t tell anymore. My body is bruised, weakened from the lack of food and water, and the beatings have taken their toll.

I feel the raw sting of the cuts on my skin, the bruises that have darkened my ribs, my arms, my face. They didn’t hold back. They wanted me broken.

My throat is so dry I can barely swallow, the air thick with dust, choking me every time I try to breathe. My voice is hoarse from screaming for help, from screaming for Sebastian, hoping somehow he would hear me. But no one comes. It’s just me. Alone.

The silence in this place is maddening. Except for him. That man. The one who comes in every day. I don’t know his name. I never asked, and he never offered. He doesn’t need to. He’s the one who relishes in my pain, the one who enjoys watching me suffer. He’s always there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for something. Maybe waiting for me to break, maybe waiting for Sebastian to make a move. I don’t know.

But he taunts me endlessly, threatening me, hurting me in ways that make me wish for death just to escape. Every day is a new form of cruelty. A new way to remind me of how trapped I am, how powerless.

I press my hand to my stomach, feeling the faintest flutter of life. The nausea had started a few days before they took me, and I knew. I was pregnant. But I hadn’t told Sebastian. I hadn’t even fully processed it myself before the chaos of this nightmare began. It feels like some cruel twist of fate now. I had been on birth control for years, even when I was a virgin, but after everything with Sebastian, the world spun out of control, and I forgot about the pills.

Now, as I sit here in the darkness, that tiny fluttering life is the only thing keeping me tethered to reality. The only thing that’s keeping me from giving up completely. I have to survive. Not just for me, but for him. For us.

The door creaks open again, and I can’t even flinch. My body is beyond exhaustion, beyond fear. My muscles won’t obey me anymore, too tired, too broken. He steps inside, his footsteps heavy against the cold cement floor. I hate that sound. The echo of his boots scraping against the ground sends shivers through me every time.

“You look worse today, ,” he sneers, his voice slicing through the silence. I fucking hate that he calls me that. Only Sebastian calls me . It feels wrong coming from his mouth, like he’s desecrating something sacred between me and Sebastian.

I don’t respond. I don’t have the energy to fight him with words anymore.

“How long do you think your husband will take to find you, huh?” His voice drips with cruelty, every syllable like poison. “Or maybe he’s forgotten all about you.”

I know that’s a lie. Sebastian would never forget me. He’s coming for me—I know he is. But the longer I’m here, the harder it is to push back the fear creeping in. They cut out my tracking device that Sebastian put in the back of my neck when they took me. I don’t even know how they knew I had one… but they did. What if he can’t find me? What if this time, I’m too far gone, swallowed by the darkness before he can reach me?

The man moves closer, crouching in front of me. His breath reeks of cigarettes and something bitter, something that makes my stomach turn. His hands are rough as they grab my chin, forcing me to look at him. His touch burns, like acid against my skin, and I want to pull away, but I can’t. All I can do is glare at him, my mind clinging to the image of Sebastian. His hands, his touch, his voice promising me forever.

But forever feels so far away.

“You know what’s going to happen today?” His voice is low, almost a whisper, but it’s full of malice. I don’t answer, don’t move. My chest tightens, dread curling deep in my gut.

“I’m going to fuck you, . I’m going to make sure you remember exactly who had you before I send your body back to your fucking piece of shit husband.”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My heart stops, my mind freezing in terror as the reality of his threat sinks in. He lets out a cruel laugh, a sound that reverberates in the hollow space of my chest, setting off alarms in every part of me.

Panic floods my veins, cold and paralyzing. If he touches me—if he rapes me—I’ll be ruined. Tainted. I’ll be… dirty.

Sebastian will never want me again. The thought hits me like a freight train, a fresh wave of terror flooding my senses. Sebastian. I can’t breathe. If this man rapes me, I’ll be worthless to Sebastian. He’ll never look at me the same. The way he touches me, the way he looks at me with desire and love—it’ll all be gone, replaced by disgust.

I scream. Louder than I have since they brought me here, the terror choking me as I thrash weakly against the restraints. “No! Don’t! I’m—” My voice catches in my throat, and tears sting my eyes as I scream again, desperation tearing through me. “I’m pregnant! Please, don’t touch me!”

The room falls into a suffocating silence. For a moment, everything stops. The man’s grip on my chin tightens, his amusement faltering as something shifts in his gaze. His smile fades, replaced by something darker. He stares at me, calculating, his fingers digging painfully into my skin.

“Pregnant, huh?” He murmurs, his eyes narrowing. “Well, that makes this even more interesting. Sending you back with a baby in your belly…” He trails off, a twisted grin curling his lips.

I feel bile rise in my throat.

Pregnant. If he touches me, if he does this… the baby—our baby—will be tainted too. I want to scream again, but my voice is lost. All I can think about is Sebastian. What will he think of me? Will he still love me? Will he still want me?

The darkness swirls around me, pulling me deeper, and I can’t escape the thought: I will lose him. I will lose everything.

Before he can move, before he can do anything else, the door slams open with a deafening crash. The sound echoes through the room, jolting both of us. The man jerks back, startled, his grip loosening on me just enough for me to pull away.

Gunshots ring out. I hear the sickening thud of bodies hitting the floor, the sharp sound of bullets ricocheting off the cement walls. My heart races, my vision blurring from exhaustion and fear, but I know those footsteps. I know that presence.

And then I see him.

Sebastian moves through the room like a predator, his gun still raised, his eyes filled with a fury I’ve never seen before. Ty is with him, along with a few other men from the Society. Their faces are twisted with the same murderous rage. Blood splatters the walls, pooling on the floor beneath the bodies of the men who held me captive.

But all I can see is him. Sebastian.

He drops to his knees in front of me, his gun clattering to the ground as he pulls me into his arms. His breath is ragged, his hands trembling as they cup my face, my hair, his fingers tracing every inch of me as if he’s making sure I’m still alive. Still here.

“,” he whispers, his voice cracking, and it’s the first time I’ve ever heard him sound vulnerable. “Fuck, darling, I thought—”

“I’m okay,” I manage to choke out, my voice barely a whisper. “I’m okay, Sebastian.”

“Who did you kill?” I ask, glancing down and realizing I’m covered in his blood, the remnants of what he’s done. “Everyone,” he replies, his tone casual, like there could never have been any other answer. There’s no remorse in his eyes, not even a flicker of regret. And yet, somehow, the way he says it—the certainty, the cold truth of it—makes me feel safe, protected. Loved, even.

His arms tighten around me, and for a moment, I let myself collapse into him, feeling the safety of his embrace, the warmth of his body. But the words I’d screamed moments before come rushing back.

“I’m pregnant,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “Sebastian, I’m pregnant.”

He freezes, his body going still, his eyes widening as he processes my words. His hand moves slowly to my stomach, resting gently against the small swell, his fingers shaking slightly. His expression softens, the rage melting away as he stares at me, at us.

“You’re pregnant?” he repeats, his voice rough, filled with emotion.

I nod, tears spilling down my cheeks. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Sebastian cuts me off with a kiss, his lips crushing against mine in a desperate, possessive way that steals the breath from my lungs. He kisses me like I’m the only thing that matters, like I’m his entire world, and in that moment, I know. I’m safe. We’re safe. But in the back of my mind, the fear lingers. What if he hadn’t come in time? What if that man had touched me, destroyed me? Would Sebastian still look at me like this? Would he still love me? The questions swirl in my mind, dark and heavy, but I push them away, trying to focus on the feeling of his arms around me. Sebastian whispers something, something that fades as the world slips away. My vision goes blurry, and I feel myself sinking, my body finally giving in to the exhaustion, the fear, and the relief all at once. I cling to the sound of his voice, to the feeling of his arms around me, but it’s no use. Darkness takes me before I can hear what he says next. And the last thing I feel is the steady rhythm of his heart as he lifts me into his arms and carries me away.