by Kali Argent
“Kara.” Rhys’ tone held no inflection, but his shoulders tensed, and his right hand curled into a fist on his thigh.
A she-wolf with fiery red hair and skin the color of milk stepped into Thea’s view, her long, blue dress glittering as she moved. “I thought maybe you were avoiding me.” Her thin, pale lips pressed together in an unconvincing pout. “Come dance with me.”
“Not really in the mood to dance.”
“Oh, always so serious.” Kara’s long, painted nail traced the vein that snaked down the side of his neck. “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know.”
“I’ll take my chances.” Rhys didn’t cringe away from her touch, but the look he gave her could have leveled mountains.
“I don’t really need your permission,” the female continued, her tone taking on a grating, whiney quality. “I could just claim you as mine.” She pressed closer, rubbing herself against Rhys’ chest. “Right here. Right now.”
Thea ground her teeth together until her jaw hurt. Sharp, pointed claws extended from her fingertips, shredding through her too-tight dress when she dug them into her thigh. Her canines elongated, piercing her bottom lip, and the night fell into hues of gray and green as her eyes shifted to their feline counterpart.
“You could try,” Rhys challenged. “How did that work out for you the first time?”
Splaying both her hands across his bare chest, Kara arched toward him, her lips brushing over his collarbone. “You will be mine, Rhys. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for you.”
Yep, Thea was going to kill her. She didn’t know the bitch, didn’t care if it would mean signing her own death warrant. She was going to kill her.
Kara’s hands travelled south, caressing every dip and curve of Rhys’ body in their trek toward the waistband of his shorts. Then, without warning or provocation, she slashed her claws across his stomach, opening deep gashes in his flesh. Rhys hissed, but made no attempt to stem the flow of blood, nor did he retaliate. When she lifted her hand again, her eyes locked on the side of his face, Thea had seen enough.
With a fierce growl, she stepped out of the shadows, placing herself between her mate and the she-wolf just in time to catch Kara’s arm on its downward arch. “I don’t fucking think so.”
Kara echoed the growl as she tried to jerk out of Thea’s hold, but her anger made her clumsy. When she swung out with her free hand, Thea ducked it easily, twisting around the wolf and kicking the back of her knee to drop her to the deck. One hand fisted in Kara’s hair, the other wrapped around her throat, claws biting against her fragile skin, Thea could have ended it right there.
“Thea, no!”
In her distraction, she didn’t see Rhys move until it was too late. Bounding forward, he wrapped his muscular arms around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides, and carried her several feet away from the were-bitch. On her feet instantly, Kara spun toward them, her upper lip curled over her fangs, and her eyes filled with rage.
“You stupid, pathetic bottom feeder.” She took jerky, uneven steps toward them, her fingers splayed at her sides, her claws still dripping with Rhys’ blood. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.”
“The only thing I wish is that I’d finished the job.” Her mate still held her in an iron grip, lifting her so that her feet dangled off the floor, giving her absolutely no leverage. “Rhys. Is. Mine.”
Kara roared, her features twisting into an inhuman expression of fury. “I’ll kill you.”
Thea laughed. Kara appeared to be the same age as her, or close to, same lean build, approximately the same height, but she was all anger and self-entitlement with little to no discipline.
“I’d love to see you try.”
“I’m going to love ripping—”
“Kara, enough,” deep, rumbling voice ordered.
Everyone went still, even Thea. Tall, with broad shoulder and a lean waist, an older male stood in the entryway between the patio and the main room. Cropped close to his scalp, his dark hair held just a hint of gray at the temples, and his eyes crinkled at the corners as they narrowed on the she-wolf. His ash-gray shirt molded to his frame, the fabric straining over his chest before the hem disappeared into a pair of tailored black dress pants. The string lights glinted off his polished loafers, and though he didn’t speak again, he commanded attention and respect.
“Alpha,” Rhys said, speaking first with a slight bow of his head.
Kara, on the other hand, threw herself at the male, clinging to him like a frightened child. “Daddy, she attacked me.”
“Daddy?” Thea scoffed. “You have to be kidding me.”
The alpha petted Kara’s hair in a tender gesture. “Kara, go back to the party.”
“But, Daddy!”
Taking her hand, he held it up, looking between Rhys’ injuries and Kara’s blood-caked fingernails. “As far as I can see, you’re the only one here who has drawn blood. Do I need to remind you that violence isn’t permitted at the Gathering?”
Her lower lip slid out into a simpering pout, making her look much younger. “No, Daddy.”
“Go back to the party, Kara. I’ll deal with you later.”
Hanging her head, Kara retreated back into the main room, but not before casting a last, threatening glare at Thea.
“I’m sorry for my daughter’s behavior. She’s young yet, and it’s nearly the full moon. I’m sure you can understand.”
“That’s a bullshit excuse,” Thea challenged. “Being young isn’t her problem. Being a spoiled, narcissistic little bitch is.”
Settling her back on her feet, Rhys unwound his arms from her and groaned. The alpha, however, laughed.
“You wouldn’t be alone in your assessment, but you would be the only one to speak it aloud.” Blue like the clear waters of the ocean, his eyes shifted to the side. “Go tend to your injuries, Rhys.”
“The cuts are shallow,” Rhys argued, angling himself in front of Thea. “They’re already healing.”
“Be that as it may, I’d like to speak to your mate alone.”
“She’s not my—”
“Don’t insult me with lies.” His expression darkened, his mouth twisting into a shrewd grin. “You more than anyone should know I’m always watching.” The cloud lifted, and he appeared genial once more. “She’ll be in good hands, I promise.”
Thea saw no way out of their predicament. She’d attacked the alpha’s daughter, threatened her, and had Rhys not stopped her, she would have killed her. The alpha knew about their relationship, however new and tentative it may be, which didn’t work in their favor, either.
“It’s okay.” Touching Rhys’ shoulder, she tried to smile, but gave up the pretense when he frowned. “Really, I’ll be fine. No violence at the Gathering, right?”
“No harm will come to her,” the alpha confirmed.
With a curt nod, Rhys leaned in and touched their lips together in a chaste kiss before turning and stomping off the patio.
“I’m Alpha Bricksten Chase,” the alpha began once they were alone. “Tell me, shifter, what is your name?”
“I thought you knew everything?”
His lips twitched at the corners. “True. I was merely trying to be courteous.” Linking his fingers together behind his back, he circled her in slow, measured strides. “I like you, Thea Mendez.”
“Then let me go.” She knew it would never happen, but she’d be a fool not to try.
“You know I can’t do that.” Stopping in front of her, he reached out to tuck a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “Since the virus, every werewolf is in danger of becoming a Ravager, of losing his or her humanity. The games, the Gallows, provide a distraction, an outlet, if you will.”
“Of course. It’s all for the greater good, right?”
He didn’t react to her sarcasm. “It is. Tell me something. Would you rather a few travelers go missing every month? Or would you rather have a large pack of Ravagers roaming the highways?”
Honestl
y, neither option appealed to her, and he had to know that. So, she focused on facts instead of hypotheticals. “It was your pack that destroyed the Revenant bunker on the highway, wasn’t it? How many people did you kill in the process? How is that any different than the Ravagers?”
“Do you know what it’s like to not be able to shift?”
Gabriel had once described it as something similar to what the shifters experienced, but on the full moon, it never stopped. Once shifters completed the change, the pain subsided. For wolves, the pain didn’t end. Over and over, for hours on end, their bodies attempted to shift, only to be halted by the virus. That kind of pain, that unending internal battle, would be enough to drive anyone insane.
She said nothing, unwilling to engage.
“If you did, then you’d understand that sometimes…accidents happen.”
“Accidents.” Thea tried to breathe through her rising anger, but it did little good. “Accidents? Your pack accidentally slaughtered innocent people?”
“Is that what Rhys told you?” One side of his mouth turned up in a cocky smirk.
“Rhys didn’t tell me anything.” She wasn’t even sure how he’d know about the Revenant bunker. “That’s not a denial, though.”
The male ignored her. “Did he also tell you he was a member of this pack?”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?” His grin grew wider. “Don’t take my word for it. By all means, go ask your new mate. Let’s see what he has to say.”
The alpha would say anything to create a rift between her and Rhys, but a small voice in the back of her head couldn’t help but wonder if his words held any validity. Rhys’ explanation of how he’d come to be a prisoner of the pack had been short on details, but she hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
The alpha chuckled, a deep laugh filled with satisfaction. “It was an honor to meet you, Miss Mendez. I wish you luck tomorrow night, and between us?” He turned, angling toward the doorway. “I hope you survive.”
“I doubt your daughter feels the same way.”
Alpha Chase continued to laugh as he walked away, leaving her alone on the deck beneath the twinkling lights. Only a moment after he disappeared into the milling crowd, Rhys stepped outside again, his expression anxious as he approached.
“Are you okay?” Pushing her hair back from her face, he cradled her cheeks and searched her eyes. “What did he say?”
“He likes me.”
With a heavy sigh, Rhys pulled her into his arms and rested his chin atop her head. “You can’t trust him, angel. Don’t believe anything he tells you.”
Thea told herself not to do it. She even bit her tongue to try to hold back the words threatening to spill through her lips, but she had to know. “He said you were part of the pack.” She expected him to deny it at once, so when he tensed, her heart fell into her stomach. “Is it true?”
“Yes.”
“No.” Backing away from him, she shook her head. “You’re a prisoner. You have a collar.” She touched the fresh scares on his stomach from Kara’s claws. “They did this to you.”
“Thea, listen to me.” Crowding her back against the railing, he took her face again, holding her immobile until she looked him in the eyes. “I’m going to explain everything, but right now, I need you to trust me.”
“Trust doesn’t work that way, Rhys. I can’t just magically hand it over to you because you ask for it. Trust is earned, and right now, you’re not inspiring a lot of confidence.”
He stared at her pleadingly, his expression tight, anxious, but he said nothing.
“Are you working for them?”
“What?” Jerking away from her, he fisted his hands at his sides and growled. “No!”
“Are you still part of the pack?”
He hesitated before saying, “No.”
“So, you left the pack?” She wanted to understand, but he wasn’t making it easy. “When did you leave?”
Again, he hesitated. “I didn’t.” Cursing under his breath, he shoved his fingers through his shaggy locks and paced in front of her. “Not here, angel. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, but not here.”
Fuck, she was going to regret this, but she couldn’t just condemn him without knowing all the facts. “Okay, I’m willing to hear you out.” She stepped back and held her hand up when he reached for her. “I said I’d listen to what you have to say. That doesn’t mean I trust you.”
When they’d met, she’d trust him blindly, all because of who he was to her. Her life depended on her not making the same mistake again.
CHAPTER FIVE
When the party ended and the lights turned out for the night, enforcers led Rhys and the other prisoners down the winding walkways to an enclosure that had once housed the zoo’s primates. Giant boulders rose up from the tall grass and twisted, leafless trees reached halfway up the stone wall that surrounded the manufactured jungle. The sound of splashing water greeted them, courtesy of a thin waterfall that emptied into one of the enclosure’s streams, and just past a log bridge, a heavy, steel door led to a dimly lit storage area.
The enforcers guided them there first. “You have three minutes to find something to change into and grab a blanket,” Timothy Ditton, one of the pack’s older enforcers announced. He sounded impatient. Maybe his knee was acting up again. “Put your party clothes in that hamper by the door.”
No one moved.
“Move it!” Ditton barked. “I don’t have all night.”
Glaring at the enforcer, Thea approached the first table with its pile of T-shirts, shorts, sweatpants, and tank tops strewn from one end to the other in no discernible order. Holding up a white T-shirt with the zoo logo on the front, she read the tag inside and set it to one side. Then another. And another.
“What the hell are you doing?” Folding his arms over his chest, Ditton snarled. “I said three minutes.”
“Unless you want these people to freeze to death before tomorrow night, I suggest you sit down and shut the fuck up.”
Thea glared at the enforcer, not giving an inch, until he finally grumbled under his breath and dropped into a chair at the end of the second table. The pack dressed up their prisoners for the Gatherings to mess with their heads, but the clothes on the table represented a more functional need—keeping their playthings alive until the full moon. The alpha didn’t just want death, he wanted violence and carnage. No one got excited over hypothermia.
Rhys had never met anyone—male or female—like Thea Mendez, and he stood in awe of her tenacity and compassion. He’d broken her trust by withholding information, and while he didn’t expect her forgiveness, he hoped she’d understand why it had been necessary.
He wanted to help, but he didn’t imagine she’d appreciate his company just yet. Instead, he turned to the group lined up against the wall and rested his hands on his hips.
“Everyone listen up. We’re going to sort you into groups to make this faster.” He pointed to the right. “Males line up over here.” Once the men started moving, he held his left hand out to the side. “Females here.”
When they’d formed two single-file lines, Abby and Zerrik took over, moving down the rows to ask each person’s size. Willing to accept Thea’s wrath, Rhys finally approached the long table and picked up a pair of navy blue sweatpants from the heap. After checking the size, he passed it to Zerrik, who then handed it off to one of the human males with thick-framed glasses and short, blond hair.
Thea said nothing.
Ditton had to remove the shackles around the humans’ hands in order for them to dress, which he then replaced with new collars—shock collars much slimmer and less powerful than the others. Clearly, killing a prisoner by accidently electrocuting them had as much entertainment value as watching them freeze to death.
Working together, they managed to get everyone dressed and out of the storage room within ten minutes. Not even Ditton complained. Amidst taunts and disparagements, the enforcers left them for the night wi
th the reminder that someone would be watching. The alpha hadn’t lied about that. Someone was always watching.
“We need to build a fire.” Picking up a broken twig from the ground, Zerrik twirled it between his fingers with a defeated expression. “Everything is soaked from the rain.”
“Follow me.”
Leading the vampire to a rock formation near the viewing fence, Rhys lowered himself into the soggy grass and crawled through the opening created by the boulders. Inside, he felt around in the dark until he found the canvas bag he hidden before the last full moon, tested its weight, and wiggled backwards to free himself. He tossed the bag to Zerrik, smirking when the male’s eyebrows drew together.
“This isn’t my first rodeo.”
Taking the bag of broken branches, twigs, and dry, dead grass back to the rest of the group, Zerrik stacked the larger pieces in a charred indention in the ground while Rhys layered the wood with clipped grass and dead leaves.
“How long have these people been here?” Zerrik asked, scraping two rocks together, attempting to rekindle the ghost of a previous campfire.
“No more than three days.” Rhys’ stint in solitary had lasted that long, and there hadn’t been any new prisoners before his confinement.
“What’s with the jungle shit?” Cade asked in between blowing on the tinder to ignite the embers into flames. The fire crackle to life, growing more intense as it consumed the dried wood. “I didn’t figure they’d put so many of us together in one place.”
“Those holes you woke up in are just intake cells. No one ever spends more than a night there.” The pack didn’t give a damn about grouping so many captives together. To their thinking, none of them would survive long enough to plot against them. “When the cells aren’t housing prisoners, the alpha uses them as punishment for the pack.”
“Solitary confinement?” Zerrik asked.
Rhys bobbed his head slowly. “No food. Minimal water.” Alone in unending darkness with only his thoughts for company. “It’s not something I’d wish on anyone.”
“Hmm.” Pushing to his feet, Cade wiped his hands on his gray sweatpants and huffed. “This alpha sounds like a prick.”