That’s what she’s best at.
Without another word to Natasha, Korver left the cabin. The small wooden structure was set just a short distance from a narrow brook that flowed through the forest. Korver walked to the water’s edge and came to a stop, crouching down to splash some cold water on his face.
Further upstream was the lumber mill where the rest of the pack was staying. It was old and rundown—likely having not seen use in over a hundred years. The remote location served as an excellent temporary encampment for the pack.
This part of the woods was densely forested many years ago, before the lumber mill was built and the trees were all cleared away. It still had a long way to go, but was starting to recover.
Korver had no love for the forest. Or the outdoors in general. He would never understand why some werewolves—like Tobias—preferred to dwell in the woods like wild animals.
Korver made his way up the slight incline to the main building of the lumber mill. Old wood boards creaked beneath his weight as he entered. He went straight to the storeroom where his mate-to-be was being kept and found Hugo guarding the door.
Right where he left him.
Hugo was the only one he trusted to guard Demi. Partially because the others were all terrified of the mammoth werewolf. In reality, it was Korver that they should fear, but he was more than okay with that mistaken belief on their part.
“Is she awake?” Korver asked Hugo, coming to a stop in front of the door.
Hugo shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t checked on her. Just been keeping guard like you told me to.”
“Good. Keep it that way.” Korver opened the door and entered the storeroom. He smiled when he found Demi lying on a rug sack in the corner. Eyes red and puffy from recent tears. She looked up when she saw him enter, and there was no mistaking the fear in her eyes.
“No need to be afraid,” Korver said, adopting the polite tone he always took with her. “It’s only me—your future mate.”
***
Demi was on edge the moment that Korver entered the room. Those piercing yellow eyes made her stomach squirm.
What does he want now?
Korver telling her not to be afraid had the exact opposite effect. She could never trust him. Not when she already knew the horrible things that he was capable of. The thought of spending the rest of her life with him was horrifying to say the least.
“There’s something important that we need to discuss,” Korver said, shutting the door behind him.
With no windows in the storeroom, the only light came from cracks and gaps in the old boards that made up the four walls.
“What do we need to talk about?” Demi asked with zero enthusiasm in her voice.
“Tonight I will take you as my mate,” he told her in an almost dismissive manner. As if it were a trivial fact. That did not give her high hopes for how he would treat their relationship—if that was even the right word for it.
Demi looked away. “So?”
“So I want to make sure you’re not going to try anything stupid.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Play your part, do as you’re told, and everyone will be happy.”
“Everyone?” Demi had to disagree with that.
Korver smirked. “I know this isn’t what you want, but it’s your destiny to take your father’s place as the alpha of the pack.”
Demi saw right through his lie. “You mean you want to follow in my father’s footsteps. I’m just your means to get there.”
A chuckle escaped Korver’s lips. “Once again I’m impressed with how clever you are. I have to admit I had my doubts about you. A half-breed raised by humans with no knowledge of our kind. You’re really quite remarkable.”
“I guess I should take that as a compliment.”
“Yes, you should. And you should also learn to appreciate the position you’re in. Do you know how many half-breeds are given the privilege of becoming the mate of an alpha?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me.”
“None. You’ll be the first. And you shouldn’t take that for granted.”
“Don’t you think the fact I’m a half-breed will bother the other werewolves?”
“The blood you share with your father is far more important than the blood you don’t.”
Demi pressed her lips together and didn’t reply. She didn’t care about Korver or the pack. The only werewolf she cared about was Tobias. She wished she were with him still, continuing their journey to reach her father.
But that wasn’t going to happen. She could only take comfort in knowing that Tobias was still alive, and he would remain that way because of the sacrifice that she made.
Korver started to head for the door, which Demi was relieved to see. But he stopped suddenly as if he could read her mind. He looked over his shoulder.
“I will have food brought to you soon. The ceremony will begin when the moon is at its highest point. Natasha will collect you before then and make sure you’re prepared.”
Without another word, he opened the door, left the room, and shut the door behind him, leaving Demi all alone once again.
But that was preferred to the company of Korver or any of the other despicable werewolves in his pack.
Chapter Sixteen
“HURRY THE HELL UP AND get out of there already. It’s freezing.” Natasha stood on the shore, tapping her foot impatiently. A tattered towel tucked under her right arm.
Demi wasn’t exactly happy about the situation either, but she held her tongue, not in a place to argue with Natasha right now.
Standing in the shallow waters of the stream, Demi was as naked as the day she was born, shivering in the moonlight. Apparently, it was tradition for the female to bathe in the moonlight before the mating ceremony, which Demi found particularly ridiculous and unfair when Korver wasn’t required to do it.
Demi scurried out of the water and snatched the towel from Natasha, pulling it tight around herself as if she would die without it. She couldn’t remember ever being so cold in her life.
“T-this is s-stupid,” Demi seethed, teeth chattering.
“Just shut up and follow me.” Natasha led the way from the water’s edge to the small rundown cabin a short distance away.
Eager to get indoors, Demi wasted no time following her. Bare feet scampered across the soft soil. She couldn’t wait to dry off and get dressed.
Once they were both inside, Natasha shut the door behind them. She was still very testy—the same as she had been since Demi first met her—and Demi got the impression that the werewolf did not like her one bit.
It was pretty obvious in fact.
The feelings were pretty much mutual, but Demi did wonder why Natasha felt so much hostility towards her. It seemed . . . personal.
“Dry yourself off and I’ll get you something to wear,” Natasha said, walking over to the corner of the cabin where a duffle bag was lying on the floor. She knelt down and unzipped it. Then began to rifle around inside.
“You don’t like me very much, do you?” Demi got bold and posed the question at last.
“Did you figure that out all on your own?” Natasha growled, tossing a few dresses out of the bag.
Demi sat down on the bed. “Mind telling me why?”
Natasha stopped what she was doing and turned a fiery look on Demi. “Do you have any idea what is even about to happen?”
Demi wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She thought she did, but now she wasn’t so sure.
“No.” Natasha shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Of course you don’t. How could you? You’re just a pawn in the plans of others.”
“You mean in Korver’s plans.”
“Korver has been waiting for this since you were swinging on a swing set with cute little ribbons in your hair. He saw your father’s soft leadership was failing the pack, but the others were too foolish to see it. But when your father disappeared, Korver saw an opportunity, and that opportunity was you.”
“You make it sound like I’m lucky or something.”
“You are lucky,” Natasha snapped. “You have no idea how lucky you are. You have no idea what I wouldn’t give to . . .” Her voice trailed off and she returned to searching inside the duffle bag.
It was too late, though. Demi already knew what Natasha was going to say, and it explained why she hated her.
“You wish you were in my place,” Demi said. “You wish you were the one that Korver wanted.”
“Don’t talk about things you can’t possibly understand.”
“Why not? What difference does it make? Just admit that you want to be Korver’s mate. That’s why you hate me, and that’s why you follow him around like a puppy.”
The words hardly left Demi’s mouth when suddenly Natasha rounded on her and raised a hand.
Demi closed her eyes and cringed, expecting to be slapped, but the blow never came. She opened her eyes again. Natasha stood over her, eyeing her with obvious contempt, but her hand had been lowered.
“Don’t you dare mock me,” Natasha hissed.
“I’m not trying to mock you,” Demi said. “I’m trying to make you understand. I would trade places with you in an instant if I could too. I don’t want this. I hate Korver. So don’t tell me I’m lucky, and don’t tell me I don’t know what I’m talking about. You might resent me, but you should at least understand my point of view first.”
Whether it was just wishful thinking on her part or the truth, Demi thought for a second that she detected a hint of sympathy in Natasha’s eyes, but it didn’t last long—if it was ever there at all—before hatred again took its place.
Natasha turned away and stomped over to the duffle bag again. She searched for another few moments before finally pulling out an elegant sleeveless red dress. She returned to Demi and tossed the dress at her.
“Put this on,” she growled. “And make sure you take good care of it. It’s one of Korver’s favorites on me.”
Demi barely even looked at the dress. It didn’t mean a thing to her. All it did was remind her of the thousands of dollars she spent on hundreds of dresses that never gave her even a hint of happiness. She had wasted so much time on material possessions and shallow relationships that it made her sick to think about now that she knew better.
Tobias had lifted the veil from over her eyes and showed her that everything she thought mattered was a pale imitation of what she truly wanted. If only she had realized it before she lost everything that mattered to her.
If only I could go back, she thought.
Just then, Demi noticed Natasha starting to leave. She looked up at the blonde werewolf.
“Wait,” Demi called after her. “You don’t have to do this. He’s just using us both. What makes you think he’ll keep you around after tonight?”
Demi was mostly grasping at straws, not having a clue what Korver would do. But if she could just create doubt in Natasha’s mind. . . .
And for a moment she thought it might actually be working too, but then Natasha spoke up and her hopes were crushed.
“You think I don’t see what you’re trying to do? Don’t waste your breath. I might hate that Korver is taking you as his mate when it should be me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am, and will always be, loyal to him. Now get dressed and come outside. Everyone is waiting for you.”
Demi’s heart fell as she watched Natasha head for the door. While tempted to give it another try, Demi knew it was only her desperation tempting her. There was no convincing Natasha. Her loyalty ran too deep.
Natasha opened the door and then paused in the doorway and looked back at Demi. “You’re fortunate that Korver needs you alive. Otherwise I would have ripped your heart out of her chest and devoured it already.”
A smile teased the corners of her pert lips. “Nothing tastes sweeter than a still warm human heart.”
Demi swallowed a lump in her throat. She could tell that wasn’t an empty threat. Natasha meant it.
The werewolf then left the cabin, and Demi was alone and all on her own—just as she feared.
Tears slid down her cheeks. A lot of tears had been shed since she was taken as Korver’s prisoner. And that was exactly what she was. It didn’t matter what Korver tried to make her believe. Held against her will and forced to do something she didn’t want to do. There was no other way to look at it.
Demi was a prisoner.
His prisoner.
And that wasn’t likely to change.
She wasn’t certain what kind of life she would have to look forward to as Korver’s mate, but she was sure that being loved for real was never going to happen.
Her father.
Tobias.
The only two people who might actually care about her. Like a cruel prank, she was teased for just a brief moment by her true desire before it was swiftly taken away from her.
Wiping away her tears, Demi put aside her self-pity. No one else was going to feel sorry for her. She grabbed the dress off the bed. Holding it out in front of her and looking at both the back and front.
It was ironic. In the past, she would have loved a dress like this. Now it only symbolized her surrendering both her freedom and her future to Korver. She didn’t want to wear it. No more than a slave wanted to wear shackles. But since she no longer had a past to return to, she had no choice but to accept the future, however undesirable it might be.
Imprisoning herself in the red dress, Demi pulled her hair out of the back and then smoothed out the folds.
Well . . . I might as well get this over with.
After a few deep breaths—in a mostly failed effort to compose herself—Demi started towards the door, about to go outside and tell Natasha she was ready.
But she had hardly taken two steps when the door was flung open. Demi froze in place, expecting to see Natasha, most likely having grown impatient with her. But it wasn’t Natasha. The person that entered the room shocked her to such a degree that her heart momentarily stopped beating in her chest.
“Tobias . . .” she gasped.
He held his finger up to his lips. “We have to get out of here.”
But Demi couldn’t contain herself. She rushed to him and embraced him tightly. “I thought I would never see you again.”
“I thought the same thing.” His voice was tinted with pain.
Demi released him, afraid that she might be hurting him, and then looked him up and down. His calf was still covered with bloodstained wrappings, but he was standing under his own power. That was a good sign.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I’m fine. But there’s no time to waste. We have to go right now. It won’t be long before Korver arrives.”
“How do you know?”
“He’ll know I’m here soon enough. He’s got a nose like a bloodhound.”
“What about Natasha.”
“She’s out. She won’t stop us if we go now.”
“Alright, lead the way.” She took his hand. “Oh, and Tobias.”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for coming for me. I hope you’re not mad.”
“Mad about what?”
“For choosing to go with Korver. I just couldn’t let him kill you. I don’t know what I—”
“There’s no need to apologize,” he cut her off. “I understand why you did what you did. You don’t have to explain anything. Now,” he gripped her hand tightly, “don’t let go and stay close. No matter what happens, you have to make sure you get away. Understand?”
“How about we both get away this time instead?” she offered.
He smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”
They left the cabin. Demi paused only long enough to look down at Natasha, who was propped up against the side of the cabin, eyes closed as if she were in a deep and peaceful slumber.
“Is she going to be alright?” Demi asked.
“She’s fine,” Tobias said. “She’s just going to be out for a little while. More than long enou
gh for us to get far away from here.”
Demi nodded, allowing her eyes to linger on Natasha for just another moment before turning away and following Tobias. They followed the stream—moving away from the lumber mill—for a short distance before heading into the woods.
“Do you think they’ll follow us?” Demi asked.
“Eventually, which is why we need to put as much distance between ourselves and the pack as possible before they realize you’re missing.”
Despite Tobias’s injury and Demi’s bare feet, they were able to make pretty good time. Still, she wished she had taken the time to grab her shoes before leaving the cabin. But she had been so excited and relieved to be reunited with Tobias that the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind. And she certainly was not going back for them.
As they fled through the forest, Demi found herself compelled to ask her werewolf protector a question. She didn’t really want to ask it, but she wasn’t going to be at ease until she heard his answer.
“Tobias, can I ask you something?”
“We should really keep quiet until we’ve traveled far enough from the pack.”
She frowned. “I know, but it’s important.”
He glanced over his shoulder without stopping and studied her face for a beat. “Alright. Go ahead.”
“Is it true? Did you really kill another werewolf like Korver said?”
His feet froze in place, and she too came to a stop. He then stared at her with an unreadable expression.
“I didn’t have a choice,” he said. “I discovered your father and another werewolf named Malik fighting. No one else was around. Malik had the upper hand. I thought he was going to kill your father, so I intervened. I didn’t mean to kill Malik. It just . . . happened.”
“Why were they fighting?”
“I don’t know. Your father said that Malik attacked him in an attempt to seize control of the pack, and I believed him, but Malik was a highly respected member of the pack. The others may not have believed that. So in order to avoid penalty of death, I was banished from the pack by your father and labeled a traitor. In reality, he saved my life.”
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