by Vaughn, V.
She studied the other two men but couldn’t tell from looking at them what their true nature was. Obviously, something wasn’t right about any of them. They’d treated her like a second thought, hauling her in the back of the truck like she was trash. She’d heard about men like them, and had always steered clear of dating or befriending the uncaring type. But she would have never thought in a million years that her curiosity would land her in this much trouble.
The man with the walkie-talkie came and snapped a device around her ankle. The weight of it made her feel like they’d strapped a brick on her.
“If you run, we give you drugs,” he said, waving a small vial around in front of her face. “Trust me...you don’t want zis in your zystem.” He shoved a small sack into her arms. “Food and zupply come once per month. Ze first one iz free. Ze next, you bargain for.”
Disbelieving, she glanced around. Her attention focused on the source of the noise she had heard earlier. There were dozens of people standing against a tall barbed-wire fence looking in the direction of the truck. Some of them shook the fence aggressively as the men unpacked the cargo. They all looked like savages.
“You don’t mean to—”
Before she could finish her sentence, she was jerked forward and made to walk as the boxes were dragged on a wheeled pallet toward the gate.
“Move back!” The man with the walkie-talkie hollered to the men at the fence.
More than half of them took several steps back from the fence as instructed. There were a few who protested and pulled at the wires, seemingly uncaring that their palms were bleeding from getting stuck by the barbs.
“Apply the shock,” one of her kidnappers ordered.
A jolt of electricity sparked along the fence, and the few men who had disobeyed the previous orders were thrown several feet back, landing in an unconscious heap on the ground.
Kalena shrieked, instantly dropping the bag at her feet.
A chorus of wolf howls ascended with each passing pulse of air.
There were more of them.
Those weren’t men behind the fence, they were wolves.
“Oh God,” she whispered.
It was at that moment that Kalena finally processed the direness of the situation she was in. Her instincts told her to run despite the consequences...and run she did.
While her kidnappers were distracted with moving the cargo, she pivoted left and took off in the direction of the truck. Her quick thinking reminded her that the driver had left the keys in the ignition. She held her breath as she bolted through the descending darkness.
Kalena literally ran into the metal siding of the vehicle and wasted no time as she sprinted to the front of the truck, jerking the driver side door open. The keys! They were inside. Just as she’d thought.
Her fingers were within a centimeter of the keys before someone grabbed her hair from behind and jerked her out of the vehicle. She screeched, but the breath was knocked out of her when her ass hit the hard, rocky surface of the ground.
She bolted upright again to see the driver exiting the cab of the truck and charging her. Three feet of space separated them, and she only had mere moments to get away. Riding off and escaping in the truck wasn’t an option anymore now that the driver had the key, so she turned and ran in the direction of a narrow path.
Her lungs burned and her feet pounded hard against the ground. There were dense trees in front of her a few meters ahead. If she could make it, she could lose the men and find help...if there was anyone out here in this wilderness to help. She was afraid of being alone out here, but she needed to get away from these men.
Kalena never made it to the path. Something akin to a thick rope wound tight against her torso, tugging her until all the breath was squeezed out of her and she was restrained from moving any further. Something jerked the thick rope taut, pulling her backward. She lost her balance and tumbled to the ground. As she grabbed at the rope around her and fought against her bonds, she realized that she’d been caught with a lasso.
“I told you not to run. Crazy gurl,” her captor caught her by the shoulders, attempting to grab her hands.
Her instincts to live—no matter what—kicked in. She balled her hand into a fist and clocked the dirty old buzzard in the face.
“Help me! Someone, please help!” She screamed out to absolutely no one. Her voice echoed in the darkness.
“You stupid little human!” He cursed under his breath, lifted a thin metal syringe filled with liquid in the air then jabbed it into her shoulder.
She screamed from both the shock and the pain of the needle, but she could no longer fight as a dizzying sensation overtook her and her vision became blurry.
Chapter 5
A WOMAN’S SCREAM PIERCED right through Thane’s soul. His shoulders stiffened and he jerked upright, pulling himself fully off the rock. His nostrils flared as he lifted his nose into the air. His senses heightened and he forced himself to understand what he could not see.
“You hear that?” David asked, looking around.
Thane didn’t understand why this woman’s screams and cries for help sparked instant anxiety in him. There were a number of female inmates here, so if this woman was a new prisoner, she wasn’t the first and likely wouldn’t be the last. Everyone was fearful when they came here, but the women were more frightened than the men, and usually caused a scene once learning of their plight.
“Yeah,” Thane replied. The howls that followed signified that the trucks had arrived. “They’re making the drop, but I can’t see the trucks from here.”
Another high-pitched scream sent Thane’s heartbeat into overdrive. There was no denying now that the person in trouble was a woman.
“Sounds like we’ve got a new female prisoner,” David commented.
A long chorus of howls carried throughout the forest. The sound clashed with the stillness of the night. Thane interpreted the message loud and clear. Several wolves were already testing the waters with regards to their intent to lay claim to the woman. Female prisoners were one in a million here. He could count on two hands the number of inmates of the opposite sex sentenced to serve time at Area S2. Whenever one came, Nolan always ensured that he had first right to her, whether it be to claim or refuse. He had claimed three women of his own already, and Thane was sure that number was more than any one man or wolf could handle. There were limited resources out here, and most women required a lot of resources.
Just like Thane had refused to bow down to Nolan, he’d also kept his urge to lay claim and mate at bay. So why did he all of a sudden feel the urge to respond to this woman’s plea for help?
Thane willed his wolf to settle down, but he rose to a full standing position with his nerves on edge. A quick breeze flowed under his nose and he took a deep breath. He didn’t smell anything out of the ordinary.
“I’ve got to get closer to see what’s going on,” he said. “I’m too far out, and I can’t see shit beyond the fighting rings. But we both hear the woman. She’s out there. And in trouble.”
“You’ll get caught, “ David said. “What if it’s a trick?”
David sounded more nervous than usual, and it surprised Thane. David didn’t usually come across as the type to give a shit about anybody, let alone a member of the species that had caused his incarceration here in the first place. Ultimately, however, most of the inmates had a common goal: to survive, or to die on their own terms and not someone else’s.
Thane turned and began to climb the boulder in an attempt to decipher all the scents. “I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t blow your cover over this. Nolen will get the woman just like he’s laid claim to most of the others that’ve been thrown in here,” David added.
Thane cringed at that thought, but he ignored David’s warning and continued to climb the boulder. His palms stung against the grainy rock and his ankles strained to keep his balance as he ascended.
From the higher position, he was able to glance through the dense foliage
a little better. As usual, a crowd of inmates surrounded the hut where the food and supplies were left to barter for. He could make out the faint figure of two men carrying a small and motionless body toward the hut. Probably the woman.
This time, she wasn’t screaming. And she wasn’t moving either. Had they killed her?
“I’m going in,” Thane stated, immediately pulling his shirt over his head.
“For what reason?” David insisted. “You’re gonna get taken in by Nolan.”
“Taken in, maybe, but I’ll die before I bow down to Nolan.” Thane couldn’t hesitate. He stripped off the rest of his clothes down to his birthday suit. There was no point in destroying a set of clothing during the shift. He stuffed the clothes into his backpack and tossed it on the ground near his feet.
“Goddamn it to hell,” David fussed, closing the gap between them. “I’m comin’ with—”
“Don’t follow me,” Thane told him.
The howls grew louder and more aggressive. Thane’s breathing became labored and his palms clenched with anxiousness. He needed to go. Now.
David cursed under his breath but said no more, just stood there looking disturbed.
Thane tossed a chin over his shoulder to glance at David. “If I don’t return, will you do me a favor?”
David nodded once.
“Claim my territory and everything in it,” he said.
“Thane—”
There was no time for further discussion. Thane turned his gaze up to the moon and gave up his body and soul to the wolf. His joints began to jerk and pop as he collapsed to his knees, succumbing to his true nature. One part of him warned of the danger he was getting himself into, but the other part called out for something else, and to someone else. The woman whose screams had commanded his attention and needed his protection.
As soon as he was propped up on all fours, he dug his paws into the ground for leverage and then grabbed his backpack in his teeth and propelled forward into a full sprint through the forest.
He hunkered down low and shot past the trees, maneuvering the rocky terrain at higher speeds than ever before. Time wasn’t on his side, but his conscience urged him forward to assist the troubled woman.
Thane came to a screeching halt just before he allowed his wolf to intersect the crowd. He shifted from animal to human form, slung his bag over his shoulder and pushed through the ranks of inmates assembled by the hut. A few disgruntled men huffed as he shoved through the crowd, but others instantly moved aside.
A hush fell over the crowd as Thane approached the center of the formation where Zsecar Nolan and his men were conversing. But those men were the least of his worries. Not three feet away from them was a woman fighting to keep her balance, stumbling among the cargo and rubbing at her eyes.
Thane’s lips instantly parted and the breath he’d been holding moments before rushed from him. The sight of the woman startled him. She was human. Her frame was small, but compared to his large size; almost everyone was small to Thane. She was also exquisitely beautiful, her scent alluring.
Thane heard some chuckles, whispers, and grumbling behind him, but he was so mesmerized by the woman’s presence that he barely registered that he was standing stark naked in the middle of a crowd. He’d also utterly forgotten that he’d just revealed himself after dwelling in hiding for months.
On Nolan’s command, three Pack mates shifted into their wolf forms and surrounded Thane. Their eyes blazed bright yellow, their backs were stiffened, and their muzzles were fixed in a snarl.
Thane remained in his human form, but his wolf rumbled just beneath his skin.
“Well...,” Nolan drawled. “Lookie here, lookie here.”
Thane shifted his focus from the woman who was feeling her way around the cargo, to the ground, and then raised his gaze to meet Nolan’s stare.
“Have you come to barter or kneel?” Nolan asked.
The crowd grew deathly quiet, and Thane could make out the sound of truck engines in the distance as the supply vehicles drove away. They never stuck around anymore to watch the inmates fight for the limited resources. Not after the last three deliveries had ended in bloody massacres and an escape attempt.
Thane’s hands tightened on his bag and he ground his teeth. “Neither.”
“You know, there isn’t a wolf in Area S2 who hasn’t joined my Pack...except for you. A traitor to his own kind.”
“There are reasons for this,” Thane replied. He noted the lift in Nolan’s left eyebrow. “And none of them are any of your business.”
“Why do you care anymore?” His mouth turned up in a bitter grin. “If you think about it, everyone here has a death sentence,” he said, smugly. “Could be today. Could be tomorrow. Could be right now...”
“And your point is?”
Nolan’s mouth twisted in a grimace and his gaze traveled downward to stare at Thane’s nakedness. “And why are your fucking balls on display?”
“No sense in tearing through perfectly good jeans.” Thane dug into his sack and pulled out his pants.
The wolves growled behind him. Nolan lifted a finger and wagged it back and forth a few times, warning them to settle down.
“Looks like you were in a hurry to get here, but you don’t plan on bartering and you refuse to kneel,” he said. “Everyone here knows that when you step foot on my territory...” Nolan waved both arms out from his sides “...you are required to follow my command.”
“You’re not an Alpha. Only Alphas can command.”
The statement seemed to strike a chord with Nolan because the veins on his neck bulged and his face darkened with anger.
Unmoved, Thane’s gaze flitted over Nolan’s shoulder to the woman who was now being consoled by one of Nolan’s whores. Her scent was fucking with his rationale big time, but more than anything else, he had this instinctive urge to console her. To know her. He tore his gaze away and caught the look of annoyance on Nolan’s face.
Nolan lifted a hand and motioned to the wolves surrounding Thane. Suddenly, he was boxed in. His claustrophobia kicked in at the same moment he went on high alert.
“Restrain him—”
Thane’s canines dropped instantly. “I would advise against you and your followers laying a hand on me.”
Nolan stood rigidly in place and slightly cocked his head to one side. “Are you threatening me?”
“Call it what you will, but I follow through on threats, as well.”
“Rope him! Now!” It was the last command that Nolan spoke before all hell broke loose.
Before the human behind him could apply the ropes, Thane spun around and side-kicked his would-be attacker in the shins. Thane heard the bone crack and then the wails as the man tumbled to the ground in pain.
The wolves charged Thane. In less than three seconds, he’d shifted rapidly. His limbs burst through the pants and shed the fabric that restrained his wolf. When the first set of canines grazed his leg, he knew that the situation wouldn’t end well.
With three on one, Thane was in no position to make any wrong moves. The attacking wolves were trying to pin him, and viciously aimed for his throat in the attack. He smelled blood already. His and that of the other three wolves. Not a lot of it had been shed yet, but Thane knew that he wanted to leave with his life and, more importantly, the woman. Therefore, he would have to immobilize his attackers, and that meant inflicting some damage.
One of the wolves pawed Thane across the muzzle, his claws coming just centimeters from one of Thane’s eyeballs. Thane lunged, pinning his opponent to the ground and striking him back. A second wolf mauled Thane’s back, the wolf’s nails digging into the meaty flesh of his shoulders. Thane howled in pain. While caught off guard, he was thrown back nearly two feet. He pounced up the instant his body came into contact with the dusty ground and nailed the wolf that had clawed his back. His canines dug into the thick tendons of the wolf’s throat. He tasted fur and blood, but he didn’t let up. He shook the wolf like a rag doll until the body fel
l limp to the ground, still clutched in Thane’s powerful jaws. The jugular still pulsed with life, but Thane released the wolf anyway and it remained motionless.
Thane stood his ground and growled at the other two wolves threatening to attack him. His adrenaline was still pumping when the second wolf rushed for him. They collided full-force. Chest to chest. Claws battling for control. Blood and spittle flying.
Thane heard an uproar in the background and realized that the others were watching the fight like it was a tournament. Every twenty-nine days, they migrated here to see this shit. Every twenty-nine days, Zsecar Nolan championed the cage fighting, instilling hatred and feudalism among the prisoners in Area S2.
Thane was now an opponent in the ring and he could almost sense Nolan’s salacious appetite for violence.
But fuck it all. One day, Thane would make sure that Nolan got what was coming to him. On this day, however, he would leave this spot with his life. And if he was the only one who would ensure that the frightened and beautiful woman lost in these woods of hell would get help, then so be it.
A searing pain sliced through his side and he realized that his opponent had injured him. Blood seeped out into his fur and stained the dry ground. He stumbled as his vision dimmed. He saw the silver auras of his opponent’s smug gaze and witnessed a smirking Nolan standing in the background. The crowd roared. The breeze rushed violently through his ears. His eyes rolled upward and just as nausea nearly overtook him, he glimpsed the moon. It was massive, beautiful, and bolstered his will to live, to fight, and to survive. As his eyelids fell, he caught sight of the woman again. Her hair was pulled back in a band. Some of it had come free and was messy from her struggles. The dim moonlight reflected off of her brown skin, giving it a tinted golden hue. Thane’s pupils expanded, and he focused on her face and her troubled hazel eyes. A surge of energy rushed through him, replacing his nauseous feeling.
“Finish him!” Nolan commanded.