I wake up to a female in the room. I jerk up, lifting my head off the pillow. I’m tied up—my feet together at my ankles and my hands at the wrists. I can’t change if I’m restrained. They’d thought this through well. My shoulder isn’t so painful now, and my face feels less swollen. My head is really fuzzy though. I’ve been drugged. Fuck, he’d injected me.
The female was a kitsune. I don’t know how I knew because I couldn’t scent her like I could a wolf. I just knew she was. Something inside me recognised it in another. Just like the bastards that brought me here. I knew. It was like a light bulb moment—somewhere in my brain it screamed ‘kitsune’. It was weird but until these fuckers had shown up and knocked me out I hadn’t ever met another one, except blue eyes, and I knew instantly then too. Well, except my mother, but I can’t remember ever having the same sense when she was around.
‘Have a nice sleep?’ The bitch asks, looking up from her magazine. She is slender and blonde, and pretty in a ‘resting bitch face’ kind of way. There is no kindness in her face at all. Her eyes are so brown they look black. I weigh her up while mentally ticking off all my body parts, making sure I am fully functioning. I’m not, but it will do. I’d rather take my chances with her than the guy.
‘I really need to use the bathroom.’
Looking over the top of her magazine she narrows her eyes at me.
‘Don’t even think about trying to get past me, because you won’t.’
I nod. She pulls me up by the rope around my wrists. It smarts a bit, but I don’t show it. ‘I’m gonna untie your feet so you can walk your own ass to the toilet. Try anything and I’ll kill you. Are we clear?’
I nod again. Yeah, we’re clear, bitch. Untie me, and I’ll kill your ass. I walk stiffly behind her, my legs protesting a little to the sudden activity. She yanks on the rope, and I nearly fall into her. I get to the bathroom and find I really do need to go. She closes the door, and I sit on the toilet—no time for cleaning it—taking in my surroundings and weighing up my options. No window—so no escape. Weapons? Not even a fucking toothbrush. I tried to wriggle my wrists out of the rope. No chance. I am wondering if I can actually wrap my arms around her neck and choke her out—when she rattles the door.
‘You’ve got ten more seconds.’ I don’t make a sound. And count one… two… She bursts through the door in a panic. Ha, her mask has fallen, and she fights to put it back, but I’ve already seen the fear of losing me on her face. So I now know she isn’t in charge.
‘Hurry up, bitch.’
Lucky for me I’d been kidnapped in my pj’s, so I don’t need to fiddle with zips and buttons. I pull them up best I can and walk like a good little girl from the bathroom. The idea of choking her is still in my mind, but she yanks me in front, so I lose the element of surprise. But since she is still my best option at escape, I take a couple of quick steps forward then lunge back using my shoulder. I hit her hard in her solar plexus. She flies back hard, and I dive for her, trying like hell to wrap my hands and the rope around her neck. I finally get her, and her arms and legs are flailing around like she is drowning. She’s clawing at my arms with her nails, but I have her pinned with my legs and the rope tight to her throat. It couldn’t have gone better. Just as her eyes are rolling and she is turning a nice shade of purple, the door at the other side of the room flies open, and another asswipe walks in. I’m distracted, and I loosen my grip on the rope, but she can’t wriggle free. I’m using her weight and mine against her. Then I notice the gun he has trained on me.
‘Let her go, or I’ll shoot you right now.’
I weigh up my options. And come up with jack shit.
Right now isn’t my time. But it will come. I release her neck and free my legs from around hers. Coughing and gasping she gets to her hands and knees and crawls to his feet. When she stands in front of him, he punches her right in the face. She hits the foot of the bed and then falls into a heap on the floor, blood gushing from the cut he’d caused. ‘Useless fucking bitch’ he sneers, as she sobs in a heap. I feel a little sorry for her then. I get over that quickly though as he comes barrelling towards me. His strength outmatches mine on a good day, but after I’ve exerted all my energy on trying to escape, I have nothing left. I’m thrown on the bed. He grabs my pyjama bottoms and begins yanking them down. Panic takes over, and my blood turns cold. No no no no. Not that, please. I kick out and manage to hold the top of my pants, gripping the waistband with everything I have left. I manage to get a good boot to his face, he grunts and falls back, but it isn’t enough, and he keeps coming. I continue to kick my legs and make it difficult for him to manage me.
‘Get your ass over here and fucking hold her down,’ he bellows at the snivelling heap in the corner. I’m wild and screaming now, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I will not allow this bastard to rape me. I will die first. His first mistake is getting close to my hands with his face. I grab at his hair and yank with everything I have, while kicking and kneeing at anything I can land a hit on. Lifting my head, I bite down on his ear, my teeth sink into the flesh and cartilage and my mouth pooling with his blood as I tear and come away with the majority of his ear. Bastard. He howls in pain and surprise as he clutches at what was left of it. With him letting go I manage to knock her on her ass too. It doesn’t take him long to recover though, and he hits me with a clenched fist in the side of the head, rattling my teeth. He follows that with another blow, and I feel my nose crunch and explode as he rains down, blow after blow. And then I feel nothing.
***
I think I’m awake but what I’m seeing can’t be real. I must be dreaming. I’m still tied down, and my bottom half is naked. I’m covered in blood, and I can taste it. It’s not my blood—it’s the guy whose ear I took. He’s lying in a heap on the floor with a hole in his head. A huge hole. His eyes are wide and staring at me. Dead. All of that I can believe, but what I can’t believe, is that sitting across from blue eyes at the table in the corner of the room, is my fucking mother. It’s been over sixteen years, but I would never forget that face or that voice.
‘Mom?’ I mumble, and she turns at the sound of my voice.
‘Hello, Devon.’ She doesn’t smile. Doesn’t move to untie me or cover my naked body. No. She just stares at me, like I’m a piece of meat. And all I can do is stare back.
‘How long has she been healing?’ she asks blue eyes.
‘Well, after her initial injuries she was healing quite well—’
‘Daniel. Did I ask if she was healing well? No. I asked how long?’
‘Sorry,’ Daniel says. ‘Healing has been a few days, but she was in a very bad way when she arrived, and then he—’ he points to the guy dead on the floor, ‘— had another good go. I’d say she heals at least three times faster than we do.’
‘Well, that is good to know.’
‘What the fuck do you want?’ I asked on a squeak. Wow, my throat fucking hurts. Come to think of it everything hurts. I need to get myself sorted and get a plan. Fast.
‘Why am I here?’
‘Why?’ my mom laughs humourlessly. ‘Because you are my blood,’ she says matter of factly. Like that piece of info cleared everything right up.
‘Gee, that explains everything. I think I’ll sleep better tonight for knowing that.’ She walks over and smacks my face. It feels like she hit me with a brick. My teeth rattle and I’m sure they’re loose. Not from the power of her slap but because I’m in a real bad way. If I had it in me, I would smack her right back, but I don’t, and I’m still tied up. Instead, I glare at her like I’m shooting daggers from my eyes. It’s moments like these that you wish comic book heroes were a thing. But I was shit out of luck. I spat in her face instead. It was mainly blood, so I got the satisfaction of it smearing down her cheek as she wiped it away.
‘If you wanted a mother-daughter talk you could have just asked?’ I sass her, but deep down I’m terrified. I’m naked, beaten, and possibly raped. Although everything down there feels okay—please let me be
okay. I can cope with everything this bitch throws at me but not that.
‘This isn’t a reunion, Devon and we have no need for a chat. You are simply a tool in a war I wish to win. You are a hybrid, one of my bloodline. I intend to make more just like you, and then no one will be able to stop me from taking what is mine.’
‘What?’
‘Oh, come on Devon. You were made for this purpose. We’ve been watching you grow. Watching as that bumbling idiot trained you to keep all of your natural instincts hidden. Well now that all changes, you are a kitsune-wolf hybrid, and you have already proven that you can infiltrate the enemy, which I am very happy about. However, we have bigger things to do, this small island has nothing I want, so we leave tonight. You will infiltrate the North American Pack, just like you have this one, and you will kill the alpha.’
‘Are you high?’ I ask in disbelief. ‘Cause it sure sounds like you’re high as a kite right now.’ She slaps me again. I spit more blood. ‘I will never help you. Ever.’
‘Oh, but I think you will.’
I shake my head vigorously clenching my teeth. ‘Never.’
Daniel walks up with an I pad and opens a screen. There, tied up and beaten bloody is Maiya. It’s a live feed, and she’s slumped over struggling to breathe.
‘You bastards,’ I scream. ‘Let her go, you fucking bitch. I’ll kill you. I swear to fucking god I will END you!’ I’m thrashing around, desperate to be free. I need to be free. ‘How can you do this? You were supposed to love me!’
‘Pshh. Don’t be ridiculous. I was completing a task. I made you and left you with him so you would learn his ways, and now here you are, a little disappointing, but since you’ve inserted yourself so well in this pack, you should have no problems doing it again.’ I continue my struggle with the ropes, but it’s futile. I am locked down tight, and all I’m achieving here is more injury to myself. I stop struggling and slump back. Fuck. My eyes glaze over, and I put my poker face in place. I.WILL.NOT.GIVE.IN.
‘How about we start on the other part of the plan?’ Daniel says a huge grin on his face. ‘I’m not shy. You can watch? Make sure the job’s done.’
‘It doesn’t seem that she is in her fertile time right now, Daniel, so I hardly see the point.’ Fertile time? Oh shit. Inside I am screaming to get free, but I’m showing none of my inner panic. They’ll have no satisfaction from me. I’ll wait this out.
‘Well, how can you be sure she even has a fertile time like a kitsune? Being a hybrid and all. Maybe wolves don’t?’
I don’t even know if I have one. Shit. Think, Devon for fuck’s sake. My mind is racing through every conversation I’ve ever had with my dad—I come up with nothing. Chances are I could be fertile at any time, and he is gonna rape me and make little hybrid pups. Well, he is going to try. He will have to kill me first. My mother is thinking on his words. Then she walks up to me and squeezes hard on my breast, to the point of pain,
‘It’s highly possible that she could be fertile year round.’ She shrugs. ‘No harm in trying I suppose.’ I cannot believe that my own mother is going to stand by while this bastard rapes me.
‘You sick, twisted fuckers,’ I spit as she pulls my tied hands up above my head and holds them in place. Daniel is unzipping his jeans. He pushes them down and his filthy cock springs free. Bile rises in my throat as he grabs my legs. I kick out at him, hitting him in the face but he grabs me hard, and his fingers dig in, making me scream out in pain.
‘Come here and help him,’ my mother screams at the woman on the floor.
‘Hold her leg there,’ he tells her as she grabs one leg and pulls. He’s struggling to get my other leg still while he pushes his fingers inside me. Please, someone, help me. Please don’t let this happen to me. I’m fighting with all I have. And he’s almost there now, he’s at my entrance with his cock, and I scream for all I’m worth while wriggling and thrashing. I buck upwards, and they each pull on a limb as I’m stretched so wide it’s painful. I feel him there. I thrash and bite at my mother’s hands. She yelps and I feel her fist crunch my cheekbone. Blackness descends. The darkness takes hold, and all hope leaves me. I pray I don’t wake up. I pray to die before he gets inside of me. I’m sorry, Jared. I love you. That is my last thought before I’m swallowed whole by the darkness.
Brad manages to work a stroke of genius with his hacking skills and traffic cameras, and he’s called me with the good news. I park my bike about three hundred yards away. Howard and Zoe are half an hour out, and I told them I’d wait, but when Brad narrows down the location to two possible places I can’t wait any longer. The first one checks out—she’s definitely not been there. So this is it. It had to be. In my heart, I knew she was in here, and holding back was churning me the fuck up. I decide to change and sneak up to the cabin to see how many we were up against. I found a closer spot and stripped. Gritting my teeth I made the change as fast as I could, trying not to make a sound.
Padding up towards the place, I hear screaming. My heart stutters, before hitting the pit of my stomach. Devon. I run full out and crash through the door, and up the stairs towards the noise. The door is open, and the sight that greets me almost stops me in my tracks. Almost. The bastards have her tied up, battered, and half-naked on a bed. An older woman is holding her arms above her head, and another is holding her leg. A man is between her legs with his cock in his hands. Fucker.
They start to flee as I burst through the door. I see red and launch myself through the air just as the bastard’s head turns and recognition dawns on his face. He drops to the floor with that same look, as I rip his throat out in less than ten seconds flat. My body is jacked up on adrenaline, and I search the room for any other threats. One woman—now in the corner cowering—the other long gone. There’s another body in the room, but it’s been dead a while. I assess my options. Deciding it’s more important to check Devon’s state, I change, quicker than I’ve ever done before. It is fucking painful, but it doesn’t register. What does is the bloody mess Devon is in. Her face is barely recognisable—she is so swollen. I’m not sure where to touch her—where to even begin cleaning her up. I untie her hands and feet and cover her up. I check her airways and lay her in the recovery position. I’m frightened she’ll choke on her own blood. I reach to grab my phone—I need Zoe here, now. Fuck. I don’t have my clothes on, and I can’t afford to leave her to go and get my phone. The woman in the corner is still cowering and crying, and she screams as I step towards her.
‘Gimme your phone.’ I snap my fingers at her because my words aren’t sinking in. ‘NOW!’ She jumps and finally pulls a phone from her pocket. I dial the landline at home—it is the only fucking number I can remember. When Brad answers, he puts me in a three-way conversation with Zoe. Devon is still out cold, and I have no fucking idea what to do next.
‘Where are you?’ I snap, my patience with this shit is gone, and I need her to be okay.
‘We’re five minutes out, tops.’ I growl my frustration and hear her tell Howard to floor it.
‘I need you now, Zoe. I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, and she’s a mess. Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t lose her.’ After talking me through checking her pulse and pupils she hangs up and no sooner has the call ended when she walks through the door. I sag with relief when I see them with her medical bag. Zoe runs straight to Devon’s side, and I see the shock and fear cross her face before she puts her game face on and gets to work. I watch as she checks her out from head to toe. I’d covered her bottom half with a throw from a chair in the room, but when Zoe pulls it back and when she realises she’s naked from the waist down her eyes meet mine, and I see sadness there. I swallow the bile that rises, and shake my head, indicating that I didn’t want to talk about it. If he’s raped her, I will drag the bastard back from hell just to kill him again. The thought alone makes me sick with rage. I can smell him and the woman all over her, but the aromas mixed with her blood and theirs means I just can’t tell. Howard is watching the female still snivelling i
n the corner—she is clutching her knees to her chest, rocking slightly. As a rule, we don’t kill women, wolf or human. But I think I’d make an exception for this kitsune. Zoe finishes examining Devon, and her eyes met mine. With my heart in my throat, I wait for her to speak and it feels like a fucking eternity.
‘I’ve done everything that I can do for her here, but I can’t see if she’s healing yet.’
When we get hurt real badly, we don’t always heal without a bit of help. If she’s at that point, then she’s hurt really fucking bad.
‘When will you know? How long?’ I ask.
‘Well at this point I don’t really want to move her in case there is anything internal going on, but I’m weighing that against how safe it is to stay?’ Her eyes move to the woman on the floor. It’s time to get some fucking answers. We need to stay alert for any further threats, and there are only three of us. Zoe needs to stay with Devon. I don’t want to leave her, but I have no choice. I give Howard the choice. Guard duty or interrogation.
‘Well, since you’ve already got your junk out, I’ll take the bitch while you run guard? Yeah?’
I agree.
‘Anything changes with her, you holler, okay?’ I tell Zoe, motioning to Devon. ‘Do what you’ve gotta do with her.’ I lift my chin toward the bitch in the corner. ‘Whatever it takes,’ I tell Howard. He doesn’t answer—just gives me a small nod. He knows what I mean, and he’s okay with it. We needed answers and numbers, and she would have to give us what we wanted. We knew four guys had taken her and only two were here now, both dead. So we were at least two missing because this female definitely wasn’t in the footage we saw and neither was the older female. I kiss Devon gently on the lips. ‘I’ll not be far, baby,’ I tell her before I drag myself away.
An hour passes, and I’m getting edgy. I’ve run the same circle around the boundary of the property and haven’t come across anyone or heard anything from Zoe. The female Howard is interrogating can be heard from my vantage point, but what I want to hear is Zoe. Another few minutes pass and I can’t wait any longer. I make my way back into the house, passing Howard and the bitch tied to a chair. I wander up the stairs, changing when I reached the top.
Forbidden Love (Stone Pack Book 1) Page 21