This was it. This was do or die, and she’d made her mind up. All the explanations and apologies, regretful looks and guilty platitudes couldn’t justify remaining in Quinn’s custody, staying in the company of five shifters whose priority was essentially to brutalize and breed her—even if it was against their will as much as hers, they were slaves to their beasts, to their natures, and nature wasn’t something to be denied.
Faster, faster, faster. The word was a manic chant in her head as her feet thudded on the ground, setting a desperate rhythm. Sweat poured down her back, gathered under her arms, streamed over her skin with the flush of panic starting to consume her.
Another howl tore the air in two, joined by another and another and another until her heart damn near stopped beating in her chest from terror. Arms pumping, she changed direction, steering away from where she thought the sounds were originating, but she’d pinpointed them in different locations.
Some farther away, one a hellishly too close for comfort, but they were surrounding her even as she ran, extending their boundary lines but not breaking them.
Rocks and trees became a blur. Sound turned into the beat of her heart, the pump of blood pounding in her ears.
The tiny hole set under a small arrangement of boulders was almost overlooked. Raine stumbled to a halt, eyeing the miniscule entrance with half-dead hope. She’d be lucky to get her shoulders in, she thought, and who knew where it would lead. She could just be presenting her ass to the wolves if she got stuck down the damn thing.
Quinn’s livid growl took the choice out of her hands; she dove for the hole, scrambling to disappear down the rabbit hole before the wolf pounced on her. It was dark and uninviting, smelled stale and damp, but she wiggled her shoulders through the gap, used her feet to drive her body forward.
“Goddamn it, Raine!” His furious shout was muffled by the sheer amount of stone above her, giving it the slightest, eeriest echo.
A hand closed around her ankle, struggling for grip as she kicked at it. She wanted to scream but the air down here was thinner, her oxygen levels already low from racing away from Quinn. Her stomach twisted, lungs burned as she was dragged, inch by inch, back into hell.
As soon as your hands can move, grab the razor blade. Finish it before you pass out, before he can take it from you. Die a free woman by your own hand.
Fingers hooked into the waistband of her pants, hauled her up and out of the hole with ease. She dangled there for a moment, coughing and wheezing, and then she was lowered gently—face-first—to the ground.
He was on her before she had chance to so much as roll over.
“Should’ve hit me again while I was down,” Quinn told her as he wrested her hands behind her back and held them with one of his own. “Would’ve bought you some more time. Now you’re out of it.”
Raine bucked when his knees landed on either side of her hips, his weight sitting uncomfortably on her ass. No, she didn’t like this at all. Though he didn’t cover her fully, the foreign feeling of being trapped by another’s body brought anxiety bubbling to the surface. “Get off me, you son of a bitch!”
“You brought this on yourself,” he rumbled, and if it wasn’t her imagination, sounded disappointed. “It would have been nice to get to know you on the journey home, pass some time talking, but you had to go and act out.”
“Act out? Are you fucking kidding me?” Her astonishment was lost in the damp earth smushing into her cheek. “You deserved it, asshole! I’ll do it again given the chance—to you and your asshole brothers!”
“No, sweetheart, you won’t. There won’t be a second chance.” Without warning, his weight moved off her and his muscled arm slid around her chest, just above her breasts. He lifted her upright so she was kneeling with him behind her, arms still locked at the small of her spine. “I’d say take a deep breath, but that will only prolong things.”
Dread pooled in her belly. “What?”
His hand clamped over her mouth, fingertips pressing into her cheek and his palm hard against her lips. His thumb captured her nose against the side of his index finger, completely closing off every method she had of breathing. “Just relax and slip away, Raine. This will be over soon enough.”
Her frantic reply was muffled against his palm, her body vibrating with fear. He was going to suffocate her? Jesus, was she going to die kneeling in the dirt, her lungs imploding in her chest? No, no, they needed her, needed to fuck her. Quinn just wanted her unconscious.
Shit, would they rape her if she was knocked out? It would be easier for them if she couldn’t fight back; maybe they were cowards that way, unable to handle being bested by a female.
She tried to throw herself backwards, ram her weight into Quinn to loosen the airtight grip on her mouth and nose, but he was a wall at her back, strong and immovable. She felt her heart begin to labor, struggling to pump blood without oxygen, and become a slow, dangerous thump.
Her lungs burned, screaming for reprieve, and spots swirled in front of her eyes. She couldn’t focus, couldn’t see anything but red floating dots. Terrified, she attempted to wrench her head free but her strength was gone, her body succumbing to oxygen deprivation and unresponsive to her confused commands.
Raine’s fingers brushed against the warm skin of Quinn’s stomach as one last plea; his squeezed her wrists gently. “Give in, sweetheart. It’s all you can do now.”
No, there was more, had to be more. She was not a quitter and she did not submit to anyone, not to a man, not to a wolf. But an abyss grew beneath her feet, leaving a dwindling edge of safety. Gravity sucked her toward it, closer and closer to that terrifying edge, before reality fell out from under her and sent her careening into darkness.
*
Finn
They’d caught two deer between the four of them when Quinn’s outraged howl shattered the tranquil piece of the woodland. Big brother was not happy, and now everyone knew it.
The four wolves, dragging the carcasses of a juvenile doe and a decent-sized stag, stared at each other with what-now? expressions, which was comical considering they wore the faces of their beasts.
Finn tilted his head. I’ll go.
The bitch is more trouble than she’s worth, Dubhlainn snarled in disgust.
Malachi rolled his eyes. Won’t be saying that when you’ve pinned her to the bed, trying to knot the poor lass. Put yourself in her place, Dubh; wouldn’t you give the guys who threatened to fuck you against your will as much shit as you could manage?
Dubh just grunted in affirmative.
You can manage the deer? Finn released his grip on the doe, disengaging his fangs from its rump. He shook his head when Dubhlainn dropped his end of the stag and bit into the centre of the doe’s back, his jaws clamping around the spine, and lifted the entire thing off the ground. Goddamn showoff, Dubh. See you back at the den if she doesn’t kill Quinn and I both.
Malachi and Cabhan hoisted the stag between them, carrying the deadweight easily. They would be a little slower reaching home, but only by a matter of minutes. The wolf was capable of a great many things and dragging bodies of prey animals was among them—and that was just normal-sized wolves.
When you were hulking forms of muscle and fur, the height and width of a small truck, not much stood in your way. A blessing, really. As shifters, Finn and his brothers should have taken the form of average-sized wild wolves. Nothing special, nothing overtly weird. Just normal, run of the mill gray wolves.
The O’Callaghan brothers were anything but.
The Council had decreed that the brothers’...advanced forms were a product of rich Alpha blood going back hundreds of years, bestowing them with unprecedented growth in both human and shifted personas. The next stage of evolution for wolf shifters.
Finn just laughed at the notion as he hurtled through trees and skidded around rocks, over small ditches toward where Quinn’s call had come from. His wolf relished the chase, the freedom, of running and stretching, of being out in nature as it was meant to b
e.
He picked up the scent trail and followed it, discovering his brother in a compromising position. Shocked, Finn shifted and simply stood staring at his usually-calm older brother as Quinn hefted Raine’s dead weight into his arms with a scowl.
“For fuck’s sake, Quinn, what have you done?”
Chapter Four
Finn
Upon inspection, Raine was unconscious, unharmed save for the bruises around her mouth. Quinn’s hand had been unforgiving against the soft flesh of her face, and she would bear the marks of it for a few days.
Finn shook his head at his brother. “This is only a short-term solution, Quinn; she’ll be awake before long. What were you planning to do, keep choking her into unconsciousness every hour or so until you made it home?”
Quinn snorted and paced. “If I had to. Goddamn woman was driving me fucking insane. Jesus, Finn, if I couldn’t smell it pouring from her, I’d swear on everything holy she doesn’t know the meaning of fear. She took my knee out without a fucking branch and then apologized before she took off.”
Breathing deep, Finn caught the lingering waft of terror and his soft heart sighed for her pain. Under that... “We need to explain to her about the pheromones and the heat cycles before it’s too late. Estrus is coming quickly, tonight at the latest. She needs to know her body will betray her.”
“Are you sure about that? That busy little brain is stronger than we thought.” Quinn shook his head slowly. “I explained about the pheromones. It didn’t go well. I didn’t get chance to tell her about the heat cycles—that could trigger a nuclear meltdown.”
“Unfortunately for her, it’s how her body is programmed. Lure in a male, seduce him with scent, soften and welcome him when the heat’s upon her. Take the knot, take the seed, carry the pups. Nature never intended for her to have a life beyond this; she’s designed to breed.”
“Hell of a life sentence,” Quinn muttered.
“She’ll see it that way. Punishment, atoning for something from a previous life. Instead of flipping the coin and studying both sides, she’s focused on the bad. She can’t accept the good—the fact she’ll be cared for, tended to, cherished. Held in higher regard than any other female in the pack.” Finn tried to bring a cage down around his heart to stop the guilt from battering it. “But that’s a talk we need to have with her. You have a plan in mind for getting her home?”
Quinn remained silent for a few moments, his face troubled and pensive. Then it cleared, leaving his brother calm and collected once again. “I’ll shift. Get her on my back and you’ll have to ride with her, keep her steady.”
“Steady? She’s unconscious, Quinn.” Finn lifted her arm, demonstrated by flopping it around. “How do you expect me to keep a limp mass steady on a moving animal?”
“You’ll figure it out. We need to get her home, and sooner rather than later if her heat is oncoming. Better to be fucked on a bed than out here with pine needles in her ass,” he told Finn with a small shrug before handing over her warm, soft body. “I’ll go as fast as I can without bouncing you both off.”
Brilliant. Finn muttered curses under his breath as Quinn began his shift. With his keen nose, the faint whiffs of imminent heat were more than just traces of seduction; they were long, tight strokes of an imaginary hand around his cock, bringing him to full erection within seconds. If this was what the first stages of estrus made him feel like...he would become a beast by the time the night was over.
Quinn dropped his front end to the ground so Finn could drape Raine over his brother’s neck before vaulting behind her and trying to maneuver her into his arms. They rocked precariously as Quinn gained his feet, began walking. Arms tight around her waist, head lolling back securely against his shoulder, Finn told Quinn to pick up the pace.
They moved into a smooth jog, then into a slow lope.
Finn learned how to balance himself and Raine without falling—although they both slipped a couple times. The warmth of Quinn’s body and pelt was welcome as temperatures dropped, signaling the arrival of dawn. The light changed, bit by bit, brightening up a murky sky filled with pale pastel colors. Pink and purple, mauve and gray among the blue.
And in the dim light, Finn felt warring sensations of regret and relief as their den came into sight. They’d made better time than he’d thought, halving his expectations if he didn’t know better.
The old farmhouse was a godsend. A little dilapidated when they first found it a month ago—shortly after they’d discovered Raine and had begun the hunt for a suitable den for her—Malachi and Cabhan had done the majority of renovations in preparation for this moment.
They’d taken out the dividing wall between the master and guest bedroom, not prettily but effectively, so that Raine’s quarters were extensive. Electricity and water still supplied the place, so the lights worked and the taps ran. Hot water and cold.
They’d blocked the windows and installed a thick door at the top of the stairs, lockable from both sides...if you had the key. She would have the run of the top floor, all the space she could want, and she would be trapped there until she learned her place and how to submit.
Or until she was knotted, bred and mated.
Finn slipped down off his brother, gathered up Raine. She stirred as Quinn shifted back to human form. “Get the door, Quinn. I’d prefer not to be in punching range when she finally comes around.”
Because she was not going to be in a pleasant frame of mind, Finn imagined. Losing the last moments of her freedom because Quinn had stolen them from her. Finding herself locked in a room designed for sex, sex and captivity. She was going to be violently displeased if her earlier behavior was any indication, and he was more than willing to give her time to rage by herself before the next step had to be taken.
He doubted she would take orders to strip naked kindly, but if she wanted to keep the clothes on her person intact...they needed to be removed before Quinn entered the room later.
Muscles twitched, jerked as she started to open her eyes. Finn clutched her close, cradling her against him as Quinn shoved the door open and Finn bulled through, ignoring the chaos of five bachelors on the ground floor and charging up the stairs to Raine’s new life. He shouldered open the second door and strode to the bed just as her eyes opened, blurred and miserable.
“Hey, little one,” he murmured, laying her down on the huge bed they’d appropriated from a property a few miles away. The sheets were clean, soft, and stolen from someone’s garden. “Go back to sleep now, you need the rest. We’ll be just downstairs if you need anything—just shout, we’ll be able to hear you.”
Her eyes, so like his, cleared slowly. Her bottom lip quivered; her bravado hadn’t quite kicked into gear again yet, leaving her vulnerable without it. Her shield, her weapon, stripped away. “So this is it? This is the countdown?”
“Yes, Raine, this is it. None of us wanted it this way for you.” Damn it, he couldn’t just leave her like this, thinking they were going to maul her. It might be the only time he had to reassure her that her body would welcome them, that the heat would surge through her and make the whole ordeal more pleasurable than she imagined. “Quinn told you about the pheromones, right?”
Raine sniffled, wiped viciously at tears she couldn’t stop. “Oh yeah. Those pesky little hormones designed to open my cervix for maximum penetration so you can knot me.” A humorless, resigned laugh whispered from her. “Yeah, he told me all about that thrilling event in today’s calendar.”
“The pheromones are strong. The reason we haven’t all ravished you yet is because they aren’t at their strongest yet.” Finn reached out and took one of her trembling hands. It was cold, her skin almost white, but instead of welcoming the warmth of his, Raine yanked it away. “Your body is preparing for estrus, Raine. Like a wolf, you’ll come into heat, ready for breeding—from what I can tell, I’m estimating sometime this afternoon or late this evening.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“No, don’t loo
k so worried. This is a good thing. It means your body is making sure you can take us, that you’ll find pleasure in us doing so.” He reached for her hand again but this time she scooted across the bed from him, revulsion on her face. “Raine, please, I know this is difficult. I just don’t want you to stress over what you can’t change.”
Her hand clapped over her mouth. He saw the wince as she made contact with bruises and got quickly to his feet as her shield and weapon jumped back into her possession faster than he thought possible. She remembered, he thought, and oh yes, she was positively furious.
“I’ll just let you think on that for a little while,” he murmured, backing toward the door. “I’ll come back in an hour or so.”
Gray eyes alive with hatred, Raine snarled at him. “The first person to walk through that door will have their precious cock ripped off and fed to them. Get the fuck out, don’t come back, and tell the rest of your fucking pack I’ll kill any one of them who tries to touch me.”
Finn crossed the threshold and quickly shut the door, turning the key and locking her in. God help them all if she found a way to escape—she’d probably castrate them all in their sleep and dance a jig on their bodies as they bled out.
One thing was for certain—he didn’t envy Quinn.
*
Raine
This sucked.
Though she’d heard Finn turn the key, the first thing she did was attack the door, yanking on it furiously. Solid as a tombstone, it didn’t budge an inch. She hadn’t expected it to. Judging by the room, they’d been planning her abduction for some time and had planned with a lot of thought.
The bed was the focus of the room, obviously. A monstrous piece of furniture for monstrous activities, she decided with a sneer, even as her belly twisted horribly. The brothers had chosen a pretty blue floral design for the duvet cover and pillowcases; she hated it at first sight. Pillows were piled everywhere, and she had no doubt they were trying to make it look...inviting. Appealing.
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