Promise Me You'll Never Feel Afraid

Cinder’s POV

I watched in horror as my sister stood on stage, two bat wings protruding out of her back.

“What the fuck have we gotten ourselves into?” I whispered.

“Don’t be jealous, it’ll be your turn soon.” A voice hissed in my ear. I whipped around and brought my arm back, but it was grabbed by someone before I could bring it forward.

“Don’t even think about it, sweetheart.” Avian whispered. I bared my teeth at him.

“Sold to Avenged Sevenfold!” A man shouted. I watched as Lyric fell backwards, her eyes rolling back into her head and her wings disappearing back into her shoulders.

“WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?” I screamed. Why the hell was Avenged Sevenfold here? I was roughly shoved onto the stage. I felt like a whore with everyone staring at me .

“DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!” The audience chanted. What the hell? Was that…Brendon Urie? And Jinxx from Black Veil Brides?

Avian walked up behind me and grabbed my waist, preventing me from moving.

“Get off me! Don’t touch me!” I shrieked. Another man who I hadn’t seen before hurried up to us, carrying a syringe.

“GET THAT FUCKING NEEDLE AWAY FROM ME!” I screamed. What was worse was that the audience was watching intently. All of my idols were here, watching me be abused!

The man plunged the needle into my arm. But the pain that came with it was much greater than just getting a shot.

I could feel my bones contorting and popping out of their sockets. I closed my eyes and screamed, arching my back. I could hear the audience cheering in the background. I glanced up and saw a few people throwing their heads back and howling up at the ceiling. Disgusted, I closed my eyes again.

I lay on the ground for a few seconds, panting heavily before standing up. I…I couldn’t. I could only manage to get onto all fours. I looked down at my hands…they had become big, furry, paws. I tried to scream, but the only thing that escaped my mouth was a howl.

“Look at her eyes!” Someone in the audience screamed. I lifted my head and saw Zacky Vengeance staring at me, pity in his eyes.

He doesn’t understand. I don’t need his fucking pity. I thought.

“Go on, look at yourself, sweetheart.” A man’s voice hissed in my ear, shoving a mirror in front of my face and grabbing the back of my neck. A tear ran down my nose…down my muzzle.

I was a monster . My entire body was covered in red fur, and a stream of blood was trickling down my chin. The only thing that I liked about myself were my eyes. They were an electric blue, and had a few golden specks flickering in them.

“Isn’t she a beauty? It’s been a very, very good number of years since we’ve had a wolf this beautiful! A rare breed, yes? How much are we talking here? Can I get 10 million?” The auctioneer exclaimed.

“20 million!” Someone screamed.

“25 million!” A woman’s voice screeched.

“30 million!” Another man shouted. I looked up to see who was bidding. It looked like it was a fight between Hayley Williams, Andy Sixx, and…Matt Shadows?

“50 million!” Andy Sixx shouted. No one said anything. Hayley Williams looked defeated and The Rev, M. Shadows, and Zacky Vengeance were talking urgently.

“Do I hear 60 million?” The auctioneer asked. No one responded.

“50 million…going once,” the auctioneer trailed off, searching the room for any takers on 60 million. I dropped my head, letting my tears roll down my face. This was it. I was going to be separated from my sister.

“Going twice…” The auctioneer continued. I lifted my head and met Zacky Vengeance’s eyes, pleading with him. I turned to M. Shadows and stared into his eyes as hard as I could, even though he was wearing aviators.

“60 million!” M. Shadows boomed. Nobody challenged him.

“60 million! Going once! Going twice! SOLD! This beauty is going to Avenged Sevenfold!” I was led over to the side of the stage when black started clouding my vision.

“Looks like the injection is wearing off.” Someone remarked. No shit , Sherlock.

I felt my bones twisting again, just as the pain had worn off. I let out an ear splitting scream, dropping onto the floor. I could feel that I had changed back into a human. I was naked, but I was in too much pain to care.

I felt someone wrap something around me and scoop me into their arms, starting to walk. I cracked my eyes open and saw it was Zacky Vengeance, and he had taken his shirt off to put around me. I couldn’t move to try and get away because it hurt too much.

C’mon Cinder. You’re such a weakling. Can’t even defend yourself. A voice inside my head whispered. Zacky must have noticed me staring at him because he looked down. He must have seen the internal battle I was having with myself because he leaned down and kissed my forehead.

“Shh. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you, darling. I promise. You and your sister are safe now, okay?” He whispered, pushing my hair off of my sweaty forehead. I nodded, dropping my head onto his chest.

Shame on you, Cinder. Trusting strangers. You know where it got you last time. The little voice whispered. I was too tired to pay attention it as I passed out.