by Jacey Ward
“I’m sure you’re doing fine taking the lead,” Torin muttered, pushing himself up from his seat. He knew full well that James wanted to lead his own pack someday, but it certainly wouldn’t be the McBain pack. Of course, Torin had wanted Thomas to be second in command, but for whatever reason, his brother had refused to take on that role. It just meant that, sometime soon, Torin was going to have to think about having cubs of his own, to carry on the family line. That was even more important now that Thomas was gone.
“Is Thomas’ place still crawling with police?” he asked, as they walked out of the house together, Torin locking the door before hanging up the key in its usual hiding place.
“Not sure,” James answered, pulling off his shirt in preparation to shift. “We can go up that way if you want, maybe see what’s going on?”
Torin paused. The police had told him that he could go in once it was all cleared, but, as yet, he hadn’t had a call about it. Torin guessed it was because they hadn’t found the evidence they were looking for, even though Sasha had promised to show him what they had against his brother. Probably they were looking for a way to get it to look like Thomas had been the killer, so they could tie up the investigation in a neat little bow.
“Yeah,” he grunted, tugging off his own t-shirt. “Let’s go. It’s getting late and I doubt they’d have anyone hanging about now.”
“You never know,” James warned, shaking his head. “They seemed pretty determined not to let anyone in until they finished whatever they’re doing.”
Torin didn’t answer, his body already trembling in preparation for the change. With a deep breath, Torin closed his eyes and let his wolf push through his skin. The sound of his bones cracking echoed around him, although he forced himself not to cry out. His muscles lengthened, his limbs twisted and changed until, with a last burst of agonizing pain, his wolf came through.
Panting heavily, Torin glanced to his left to see James in the last stage of his change. It didn’t take more than a minute before they were both ready, adrenaline pumping through Torin’s veins.
Let’s go, he said, his voice echoing in James’ mind. Carefully, now. Just in case.
James set off at once, and Torin followed behind. At the end of the road, he paused and looked back at the house, seeing a small shadow moving around in the upstairs window. Sasha wouldn’t have been able to see what had happened, and he had no concerns about leaving her in that room alone. There was no way she could get out and certainly no way she could even consider trying to climb down from her window.
A ripple of disquiet ran through him as he turned his nose back to the path, pushing forward until he caught up with James. What if, once he finally got into Thomas’ house, he found something that pressed the smallest of doubts into his mind? What if the evidence she’d told him about was actually there?
A slight growl came from his throat, unbidden. He wasn’t going to allow himself to start doubting. Just because she was trying to engender some sympathy from him didn’t mean he was about to lose his desire for revenge. He’d show her exactly who Thomas had been, what he’d meant to him and then, finally, he’d punish her for what he’d done.
Except, Torin wasn’t quite sure any more what he was going to do. He had thought of tearing her heart from her body, but that had been in the depths of his anger. Killing her was not something he could ever bring himself to do, although he did want to inflict the same kind of pain on her that he was experiencing.
Bramble was the only thing that had made her weak, but even now Torin didn’t see himself killing the dog. It was an innocent creature, even though it was a yappy little thing. So what exactly was it he was going to do?
She’ll pay, he told himself, deciding that he’d come to a conclusion later. One way or another, she’s going to pay for what she did to my brother.
Chapter Nine
Sasha emerged from the bathroom, only to realize that Torin had been in the bedroom. There was a tray of food on the bed but Torin wasn’t there. In fact, he had left the door a little ajar. She’d become used to Torin coming and going as he pleased over the last couple of days, but, for the first time, it looked as though he’d slipped up.
Not even stopping to think things through, Sasha crept to the door and looked out into the hallway. She was relieved that her arm was feeling a good deal better. She was going to need the full use of all her limbs if she was going to get out of here without raising the alarm.
The hallway was empty.
She stepped out at once, her entire body shaking with fright yet determined enough to attempt to make her escape. The whole house was silent, as though it were holding its breath as it waited for her to move. She had no idea where to go or what was waiting for her.
Closing her eyes, Sasha drew in a deep breath and began to creep along towards the stairs, remembering how Torin had been forced to half drag her up them when he’d first taken her there. Moving as quickly as she could, Sasha cringed as the stairs creaked under her feet, but she was not about to stop and go back. Wherever Torin was, he probably assumed she was still showering. She had to take her chance.
The staircase led directly to the front door, with other rooms on either side of it. Her heart slammed into her chest in fright as she tried to turn the door handle, her hands slipping on it as it turned.
It opened immediately. Sasha let out a breath of relief, every sense buzzing with awareness. She didn’t even pull the door closed, leaving it ajar as she began to race across the gravel covered driveway.
There was nowhere to go.
Fields lay to her left and to her right. There was only a single-track road but, if she took it, then Torin would easily find her. She had to take her chances with the fields.
The flagstone wall was tall and painful to climb over. Her hands scraped on the stones, her feet already torn by the gravel, but Sasha carried on regardless. Terrified, she literally threw herself bodily over the wall, crying out as her shoulder screamed in pain once more. Shaking all over, tears pouring down her cheeks, she gasped for breath as she crawled along the wall, knowing she couldn’t run out into the open fields. Torin was bound to be stronger and faster than she was. He’d catch her in an instant. The only thing she could do was keep her head low, ducking behind the wall, and move as fast as she could. Sobbing, she started running, ignoring the pain in her bleeding feet and screaming shoulder.
Her heart was racing and her breathing was labored. It was like every nightmare she had ever had as a child, where she was running from a monster, but never getting farther ahead. She could almost feel the heat of Torin’s breath on the back of her neck.
Finally, she was nearing the trees. If she could just make it there, she might be able to lose herself in the dense growth. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to survive if she didn’t find a helpful neighbor soon, but she had her wits and determination. Anything was better than being a captive.
Suddenly, she heard a roar of rage emanating from the direction of the house.
Torin had discovered her escape.
Panic clawed at her mind. The forest loomed to her left, the distance suddenly seeming to grow instead of it getting closer. Damn nightmares! If she made it there, then perhaps she might be able to escape him.
Her hopes died a moment later. She heard pounding feet, and a loud roar as Torin shouted her name, closer than he should have been able to get that quickly. She fell forward against the rough rock-strewn ground, covering her mouth for some reason to keep the cry from escaping. She prayed silently that he wouldn’t be able to see her sprawled flat as she was, but it was as though he was drawn to her. She could hear him approaching, as if he’d put a tracker on her and was following its guidance.
His hands grasped the back of her shirt and her hair, and she screamed aloud, pulling herself to her feet as best she could. Torin lifted her upright and started to drag her back toward the wall.
She stumbled frequently, but he didn’t slow. She chanced a glance at his face and recoiled from the si
ght. He looked furious, his jaw clenched hard and his eyes looking almost feral.
“What the hell do you think you were doing?” he roared, his face a deep, dark red and eyes ablaze with fire. “You don’t try to escape from me!” he roared, as if what she had done was the epitome of rudeness.
Sasha couldn’t say a word, her entire body shaking so badly she couldn’t even stand up. Sliding down against the wall, she covered her face with her hands and pressed her knees against her chest, unwilling to try to explain to him that that was exactly what any captive would do.
“My brother didn’t escape and you’re not going to either!” Torin growled, hovering above her. “You think you’re strong? You’re nothing here. You mean nothing. You’re worth nothing.” He grasped her arm and tried to tug her up to standing. “Now get yourself back inside!”
Sasha couldn’t even stand, her legs trembling too hard to hold her up. She had no choice but to slump against him, her breath coming in ragged sobs as the fight left her body. Torin stepped away, and she collapsed on the ground, not making any effort to protect her shoulder.
“Get up!” he shouted again, but Sasha didn’t move. She didn’t care. Her one shot at escaping and she’d lost. Again. There was no point in trying to fight him. He was too determined to believe that she was in the wrong, that she was the one who needed to pay.
“Whatever you’re going to do, just do it,” she finally said, her head hanging down. “I’m done, Torin. I’m done trying to fight you on this. You’re blind but you won’t let me help you see.” Her breath came in shuddering gasps, her mind swirling with possibilities of what he might do to her. “Whatever it is you’re going to do, please, just do it,” she whispered, her entire body shaking violently. “Don’t torture me like this.”
There was a long silence. Sasha waited for him to do something. The way he’d been coming in and out of her room, saying nothing and doing nothing, had been torturous on her mind. It was like Chinese water torture. She was always tense, waiting for the drip, drip, drip. Waiting for him to take his revenge in the way he threatened, but him never actually hurting her had made her almost crazy, wondering and worrying about what he intended to do. Surely now, after she’d tried to escape, he’d have no choice but to carry out his plan, whatever it was. Sasha had never been this tired. She just wanted an end to all of this.
To her surprise, his arms came around her and he lifted her up as though she weighed nothing. Sasha kept her head down, tears still trickling down her cheeks. Of course he wasn’t going to hurt her out here. It would be too obvious. It would have to be done indoors, where no neighbors or prying eyes could see, although they felt pretty isolated out here. Sasha had yet to see another dwelling or person beyond her window.
Now she had the sinking feeling she wasn’t going to get out of here alive.
Torin’s stomach was churning so badly he thought he might throw up right there in the hallway. Leaning heavily against the wall for a moment, he drew in three deep breaths, one after the other, until the nausea passed. He couldn’t believe what had almost happened. Sasha had almost escaped, and after his anger had died down, he’d realized just how terrible a man she thought he was. He’d seen it in her face. She truly thought he was going to beat her half to death, right there in the field.
What made it worse was that the sight of her bleeding hands and torn feet had made something in his heart burn with sympathy.
He’d thrown her on the bed and left. Now he was battling with himself about what he was going to do.
Gritting his teeth, Torin walked back into the bedroom and saw that Sasha was right where he’d left her. Walking into the en-suite, he stuck the plug into the tub and turned on the hot water, letting it run. He left the bedroom again, not bothering to lock it, and strode down to the kitchen.
What am I doing?
He didn’t have time to question himself. He just knew the look of defeat on Sasha’s face when she’d thought he was going to kill her was something he would never forget.
But you wanted to punish her for what she did to your brother.
“I know, I know,” Torin muttered to the voice in his head, not knowing exactly what he was doing. “I just can’t leave her like that.” His wolf growled inside him, unsettled by the confusion going on in his mind, but his wolf wanted to go to Sasha, to make sure she was alright. What the hell was wrong with him? Couldn’t his wolf see that she was responsible for his brother’s death? How could he want to protect her?? He didn’t really know what was going on in his head, or his heart for that matter.
There was no comprehensible reason as to why he was behaving like this, but something was driving him to do it. Hoping that James wasn’t about to walk into the kitchen and ask him what he was doing – since he was pretty sure he couldn’t explain it – Torin took the tray he’d made and walked back up the stairs.
The bedroom door was just as he’d left it and so was Sasha. She didn’t even look up when he set the tray down next to her.
“Here,” he said, as quietly as he could manage. “You’re hurt. This will help.”
Remembering the bath water, he quickly made his way into the en-suite and turned off the water, a soft cloth in his hand. Dipping it into the steaming water, he walked back into the bedroom and knelt down in front of Sasha.
Her eyes slowly lifted to his, half hidden by the curtain of hair around her face. He didn’t know what to say and so decided not to say anything. Taking her hand, he felt her jerk at his touch but grasped it firmly anyway.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he muttered, not able to look into her eyes. He gently began to wipe at the deep cuts and scratches on her palms, suddenly aware of just how terrified she must have been to scramble over the flagstone wall in such a way as to get these injuries. She didn’t move, didn’t even flinch as he began to wipe the dirt away.
Something stirred in his heart. His skin was warming from the touch of her hand against his. He paused, looking up at her and was suddenly caught by just how much despair was in her eyes. Torin caught himself wondering just how they would look if she were to smile, if she were happy.
Dropping the cloth, he rose to his feet but kept a hold of her hand.
“There’s antiseptic cream there, and some band-aids and gauze if you need them,” he said, gruffly, not sure why he couldn’t drop her hand from his. It was as if he needed to reassure her that he wasn’t the monster she thought he was, even though he’d always intended to be more terrible than any monster she’d ever experienced before. Clearing his throat, he let go of her fingers and stepped back towards the door. “The bath is there for you. Clean yourself up. Rest. I – I have some things to do. I’ll be back later.”
He couldn’t account for the calm way he was speaking to her. By rights, he should be furious, but instead all he was doing was trying to make her feel calm. It didn’t make sense.
“Sasha?” he asked, desperate to have her look at him. “Sasha? Are you going to be okay?”
She finally met his gaze, confusion in her eyes.
“Drink the tea and eat something,” he said, when she didn’t answer. He waited for her to respond, but she just continued to look at him mutely. Wondering what else to say and growing more frustrated with himself by the minute, Torin cleared his throat, gestured at the en-suite one more time and stepped out into the hallway.
Chapter Ten
Sasha had not slept well. She’d stayed awake for as long as she could, terrified that Torin was going to reappear at her side and scream at her, his fists punching into her soft skin, but, in the end, she’d been unable to keep herself awake.
This was now the second day since her failed escape attempt, but still Torin had done nothing to her. He kept coming in with plates of food and glasses of water, which she was thankful for, but he’d just look at her, set it down and leave again. She’d tried to talk to him, to ask him about Bramble or whether or not he’d gone to Thomas’ house but he’d remained perfectly silent, refusing to an
swer a single question.
Sasha was quite sure that he was doing it on purpose. He was intentionally trying to keep her off balance, to make her mind her own worst enemy, as she imagined what was coming every minute of every day. She would never know what he was doing or what he had planned. She would always be left guessing, waiting for the pain to come.
But, still, Torin did nothing.
Sasha couldn’t explain it. She had no idea what was going on in his mind, but her thoughts were driving her crazy. Unless, maybe he had started to really listen to what she had been saying all along. Maybe he saw the holes in his logic finally and he was second guessing his actions after all. Or, maybe he was just planning an even worse revenge. Argh!! The not knowing was driving her crazy!
“I have to do something,” she whispered to herself, looking out of the window at the cold morning sun. “I’m going to go mad with worry.”
Without Bramble by her side, and with the awareness that no one would be looking for her or even be worried about her, Sasha felt the aching hopelessness envelope her once more. There had to be something she could do to help herself.
Sniffing, she wrinkled her nose, aware that she’d been in the same clothes for a few days now. There was a shower, of course, but she had no clean clothes to change into. There were Torin’s things around the place, but the thought of putting on something of his made her stomach clench.
Then again, it might make you look like less of a threat, she reminded herself, recalling the various training tips she’d been given over the years. It might endear you to him a little.
Drawing in a shaky breath, Sasha walked into the en-suite and tried to work out how to put on the shower. Cold water spurted from the shower head, catching her by surprise. Managing to turn it off, she stepped back, her shirt soaking wet – only to hear the sound of the key in the lock.
Her eyes widened as Torin appeared in the doorway to the en-suite, his eyes dark.