by L. P. Dover
Tyla
My goal was to not give into Jaret, to ignore him, but of course my patience ran thin. He opened the back door and waved me in. What I really wanted to do was smack the leer off his face, but I was outnumbered. I had a feeling his wolves didn’t care whether I was a male or female; they’d make sure I was punished.
“Any day now,” he said.
From the tension in the air, they were expecting me to run. I never ran from a fight. Holding my head high, I slid into the middle seat and he joined me. There were two men up front, and two guys in the very back. I tried to clear my mind so Sebastian wouldn’t know how dire my situation was. The last thing I wanted was for him to do some insane rescue attempt.
Once we were on our way to wherever it was they were taking me, I turned my body toward the window, intentionally ignoring them.
“Tyla Rand . . . it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you,” Jaret said coolly.
I scoffed. “I bet.”
“It is. I kind of wish I’d found you first. We could’ve had lots of fun together.” He touched my shoulder and I growled, slapping his hand away. His eyes flashed and he smiled. “Yep, it should’ve been you. No wonder my father was determined to have you.”
“Your father was a sick bastard. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
He burst out laughing. “I guess not. Don’t worry though, you’ll get to see just what I’m capable of. What makes it even better is that you’re mated to the one man I’ve been hunting for the past thirty years. Did you know he was the one who killed my father?”
I could still see Sebastian’s visions in my mind. He’d killed Vincent, but I had no clue why. Why had he been in California when he was supposed to be in Canada? And there was still the mystery of the red-haired girl.
“I didn’t know,” I answered honestly. “Sebastian wasn’t associated with my pack. His agenda was all his own.”
His eyes flared. “We would’ve won if it wasn’t for him. He’s going to pay for his actions.”
My blood boiled. “What about what you did? Your father’s the one who led the attack on my people over his greed.” I snorted in disgust. “If anyone deserves vengeance, it’s us. You’re the one who’s going to pay.”
“I don’t think so, sweetheart.” He moved closer, twirling one of my curls around his finger. Feeling him touch me made me sick. “You see,” he whispered in my ear, “I always get what I want. Wherever you are, Finn will follow. My men smelled him in the woods. If you tell me where he is, I’ll make your death as painless as possible.”
Everything inside of me trembled in rage. “Fuck off,” I spat.
His jaw clenched. “You might regret saying that come tonight. We’ll see how long you last.”
Heart pounding, I turned away from him and kept my gaze out the window. Fear crept its way up my spine and I hated myself for feeling it. I didn’t want to be afraid, but something about his words terrified me.
“I’m going to get you out of this,” Sebastian said. “Both you and Amelie.”
“How is she?”
“Not good. I can’t imagine what that fuckhead’s done to her. If he’s truly like his father, we’re dealing with a sociopath.”
“How do you know him?” I asked.
“I didn’t. I knew one of his mates.”
“The red-haired girl?”
More visions of her flashed through his mind. “She was special, Tyla, and he killed her. I had to make sure he paid for what he did.” And he did pay. I watched as he relived that night, showing me how he’d ripped Vincent apart, limb by limb.
But what really surprised me was what happened after. The battle was over, the rest of Vincent’s wolves had retreated, yet Sebastian stayed back to tend to my pack. Many of my people were dead, but there were several who were wounded, including Finn. He’d carried him to safety along with the others and sat with them through the night.
“When I knew they were healed, I left before they woke up. I didn’t recognize Finn until just now,” he said.
My eyes burned but I held back the tears. I didn’t want dipshit beside me to think I was crying because of him. “He’s alive because of you, Sebastian. We both are. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. Vincent would’ve won.”
“And he’s not going to now. Whatever happens, I will get you out safe.”
“Not without you.”
We were in Virginia, headed deep into the woods. The driveway had to be at least a mile long, surrounded by nothing but trees. We’d finally caught up to the van Sebastian and Amelie were in and I breathed a sigh of relief. There was a man who let them out, but then another who bound their hands together. Amelie hissed in pain and Sebastian clenched his jaw. I opened the door, desperate to get to them.
Jaret grabbed my arm, his claws digging into my skin. “Not so fast, sweetheart. If you don’t want to see them in pain, all you have to do is tell me where Finn is.”
“I don’t know,” I shouted, feeling my own claws lengthen.
“Suit yourself.” He pulled me out of the car and dragged me over to Sebastian and Amelie. One of his men wrapped a rope around my wrists and it burned, my skin raw underneath. Wolfsbane. The rope was soaked in it. “Take them to the basement,” he commanded. “I’ll deal with them later.”
He stalked off and Amelie shouted after him, but he ignored her. The look of pain on her face made my heart break. Even though my skin was on fire, I leaned into Sebastian until one of the men pushed us apart.
“Walk,” he shouted. There were four men guarding us as we made our way toward the massive cabin. They were all gray wolves, most likely the survivors from the battle thirty years ago.
I breathed in as deep as I could go, hoping to sense other people around, but there was nothing. We were in the middle of nowhere. Sebastian was behind me, and Amelie was out in front, her shoulders hunched.
Instead of going to the main door of the cabin, we were led to one on the bottom floor, underneath the patio. It was dark inside, with cement floor and walls—exactly like the room Amelie had been kept in earlier.
“This can’t be happening,” Amelie gasped, glancing around the room. There was a small cot and a clock in the corner, the same one as before.
The man in front of her turned and smiled. “You’re more than welcome to stay here again. Unless you’d rather be with them?” he asked, nodding toward us.
Amelie turned her head and nodded. “Keep me with them.”
He burst out laughing. “Okay. Just so you know, their living accommodations are going to be a little . . . different.”
I could only imagine what he meant by that. The lights were bright as we walked through another room, and when he opened the door, I coughed. The room reeked of wolfsbane. There were plants in every corner of the room. We wouldn’t die from breathing in the fumes, but it would surely burn our lungs.
There was also the scent of blood. Splatters of it were on the floor and in the separate cages scattered around the room. They allowed enough room to stand and lie down on the floor, but that was it. All of them were empty except one. When the captive lifted his head, I gasped. It’d been thirty years since I’d seen him last, but he looked the same. He was one of Finn’s closest friends.
His eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet. “Tyla? Amelie?”
“Josef,” I whispered. The guy beside me pushed me into the cell next to him and locked the door while the others secured Sebastian and Amelie in theirs. Josef faced me from his cell and I latched onto the bars, hissing as my hands burned. The bars had been soaked in wolfsbane. “Okay! We get it already. Don’t you think you went a little overboard with the wolfsbane?”
They completely ignored me and walked out of the room, locking the door behind them.
Sebastian growled and touched the bars. “More like, afraid we’ll kill them.”
I turned to Josef. “What’s going on? How long have you been here?” His clothes were torn and dirty, and covered in bl
ood. But it wasn’t his blood all over the floor.
“Only a day. Jaret’s men found me in Tennessee a couple of days after Finn left, asking me to come back to his pack. I was on my way to join him when I was ambushed and brought here. They’re trying to find him, but it looks like they found you instead.”
“More like me,” Amelie corrected.
He turned in her direction and sighed. “Where are your parents?”
Her eyes flashed. “Dead. They killed them. I’d called Tyla and told her we needed help, but all it did was drag her down with me.” She dropped her head, tears splashing on the concrete floor. “I’m so sorry, Tyla. I never meant to bring you into this.”
“It’s not your fault,” I murmured. “You didn’t know what was going on.”
“Does Finn even know?” Josef asked, glancing at us all before settling his gaze on mine. “When I talked to him, he said you were dead.”
“It was a lie my aunt and uncle had told him.”
Amelie’s brows furrowed when I looked at her. “You can’t be serious. Why in the hell would they do that? How did they even know Finn was alive? I thought he was dead!”
“He found them about twenty years ago. At that point, my mother told your parents to tell him I was dead. They knew if he found me, he’d want me to be his mate.”
Her gaze shifted to Sebastian. “And if that would’ve happened . . . you wouldn’t have met him.” She sighed and reached for the bars, but stopped short. “Tyla, I promise I didn’t know. I would never lie to you.”
I nodded. “I know, it’s okay. It all worked out in the end. Finn and I talked about it. He knows the truth now.”
“So you’ve seen him?” Josef asked.
“A couple of days ago, but I honestly don’t know where he’s at right now. If he can’t track Jaret’s wolves, there’s no way he’ll find us here.”
“He’ll find us,” Josef said, taking a seat on the floor. “One way or another, they’ll draw him in. They have the perfect bait.” He looked directly at me.
Tyla
“Tyla, wake up.” Sebastian’s voice echoed in my mind.
I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to imagine I was back at home and not sleeping on a hard concrete floor in my enemy’s basement. “I don’t want to.”
“There’s movement upstairs. I have a feeling we’ll be having company soon.” I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Amelie and Josef were still asleep, and Sebastian sat in the cell across from me, his gaze tormented. “I hate seeing you like this.”
“I’m fine, I promise. I’ll feel even better when I can rip Jaret in half.”
“You’ll be waiting in line for that one, love. There’s a special place in Hell for him, right next to his father.”
I glanced around the room. There were two windows near the ceiling, but they were too small to even attempt to sneak out of. It didn’t matter anyway because the cages hindered us from escaping. Even if we could get out, it’d take time to pry away the bars. That time would cost us our hands. “How are we going to get out of here?”
He looked around the room and shook his head. “I don’t know. We just have to wait it out.”
As much as I wanted to think we’d get through this living hell alive, I had to question it. There were no visions of a happily ever after when we’d shared blood. It was obvious what was going to happen. Sebastian jerked his head my way, his gaze heated.
“You don’t know that, Tyla. I told you I’ll get you out safely and I won’t let you down.”
“But what is my life without you? You’re my mate, Sebastian. I’m not going anywhere without you. We fight together, we die together. The sooner you realize that, the easier this will be.” I was prepared to die fighting. Jaret wasn’t going to get anything from me.
Sebastian clenched his fists, his mind going in a thousand different directions. In his craze, I caught one particular emotion he was trying to hide from me. Guilt.
“What are you hiding from me?” Before he could reply, footsteps sounded down the stairs. “Amelie? Josef? Wake up.” They both sat up and we waited. It was like they’d deliberately kept us guessing just to toy with us.
The door to the room unlocked and Jaret strolled in, freshly showered. Amelie turned her head, not even acknowledging him. He went straight to her cell and bent down. “Good morning, dear,” he said to her. “The bed was awfully cold without you this morning.”
It’s a shame you didn’t freeze to death,” she spat.
Chuckling, he glanced over my way. “A few hours with you and your snarkiness rubs off on her. I might have to keep you both around a little longer, and make things interesting.” Another of his men walked through the door and stood guard, while Jaret paced back and forth. Sebastian and I met his stare, not afraid to back down.
“Let’s see, who should I pick first? It can’t be you,” he said to me. “I need you for the grand finale, and for your mate to watch.” Sebastian’s power blasted through the room, bringing Josef, Amelie, and Jaret’s wolves to their knees. Jaret froze, sweat beading on his forehead.
It was only for a split second, but I saw how hard he was fighting the urge to kneel. Sebastian was stronger than him.
Clearing his throat, Jaret stood between Amelie and Josef’s cells, ignoring the fact Sebastian almost put him to his knees. He looked at Amelie and then at Josef, pursing his lips. “I can’t choose my mate because I’m not done with her yet. I guess there’s no other option.”
Amelie jumped to her feet, eyes wild. “Jaret, no!”
“Stefan, if you would please,” Jaret commanded. Stefan brushed off his jeans from where Sebastian dropped him to his knees, and glared at him before doing his alpha’s bidding.
Josef stood and released a heavy sigh. “It was good seeing you again, Tyla. I fear this is goodbye.”
“No,” I shouted. “You hang on, you hear me?”
Stefan grabbed his arm and wrapped him in a wolfsbane soaked rope. I could hear the burning of his skin, but he looked at me and smiled. “It was an honor serving the Redwood Pack. Make sure you pass the message along to Finn.”
Jaret pushed him toward the door and stopped in front of my cage. “Let the fun begin.”
Hours had passed and no one had been down to our dungeon. My stomach growled but I knew there’d be no food. I fought better when I was hangry anyway.
Sebastian looked to me, lifting his brows. “What does that mean?”
Even if we were locked in a basement, the way he said it made me laugh. “It’s when you’re hungry and angry at the same time. For a woman, it’s a lethal combination.”
“Don’t I know that,” he teased.
Amelie looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “What are you talking about?”
He pointed at me. “She said she was hangry. I’ve never heard that before.”
Amelie shook her head. “But she didn’t say anything.” Then it clicked into place. “Never mind, I get it. You’re true mates.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach, averting her gaze.
“You’ll find your true mate one day,” I promised. “We can’t help who we fall in love with. Jaret tricked you.”
“And I fell for it. That never would’ve happened to you. You would’ve seen through his lies.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’m not Wonder Woman, Amelie. Who knows what I would’ve done if the situation was turned. You’re just as strong and smart as I am. When we get home, the first thing I’m going to do is teach you how to fight. Sebastian and his brother can help too.”
She looked back and forth between us. “That’s just it, I don’t have a home anymore. I thought it was here, but I was wrong. My parents are gone because of me and I’m mated to a psychotic bastard. Unless one of us can miraculously kill Jaret, I’m screwed.”
“How do you feel about that?” I wondered.
Sighing, she ran her hands down her face, her eyes misting with unshed tears. “I loved him, Tyla . . . shit, or at least I thought I did. If I’m given the chanc
e, I’ll kill him myself. I’ll only be free once he’s gone.”
“When do you think his sister will show up?” Sebastian asked her.
Amelie started to speak, but I cut in. “What’s going on? What are you two talking about?”
Amelie sighed. “Laila is Jaret’s sister. We were good friends, until she betrayed me. I haven’t seen her in almost two weeks.”
“The moonstone is hers,” Sebastian added. “She’s the one who linked Amelie’s mind to it.”
“How do you know that?”
They looked at each other. “Because she has magic,” Amelie said. “She’s . . . different. I don’t know why she did it though.”
“How is she different?” I asked her.
Footsteps approached and the door swung wide open. Stefan walked in with two other men and they unlocked my cage, moving to Amelie’s next. Stefan grabbed my arms and pulled them behind me, wrapping my wrists with wolfsbane ropes.
“What are you doing?”
“Jaret wants you to be part of the entertainment tonight. The show starts in an hour.” He nudged me toward the door, and I looked back at Sebastian.
“What about him?”
Stefan chuckled and pushed me and Amelie out of the door. “He’s coming too, but we’re taking extra precautions with him. Can’t have him killing anyone.”
“Be safe, Sebastian.”
“I will, love.”
We walked through the other room and out the door. There was a large barn down the path, nestled further into the woods. Amelie and I looked at each other, dread settling into the pit of my stomach. Hoots and hollers rang out from the barn and I could only imagine why. Josef was in there; I could smell him.
The door to the barn opened and three wolves stumbled out with beers in their hands. They broke into laughter as they watched us approach. I could smell their lust, in fact, I choked on it. If Jaret’s idea of a party was to watch us be gang raped, he had another thing coming. With evil leers on their faces, the men stepped aside so we could walk in.