But the blow never landed.
He knocked her hand away, slamming it against the stone floor. Her knuckles split open. Her fingers grew numb, and her hold loosened. She watched, helpless, as the knife spun beyond her reach. Rage twisted Jacob’s face, and he slowly wrapped his hands around her throat.
She kicked, but her legs weren’t able to budge his weight. Fighting only made his fingers clamp down harder until breathing became impossible. Black spots danced in her vision. Shayla raked her nails against his fingers, then forced herself to stop. It wasn’t helping. Then she remembered her brother’s words about kicking someone when they’re down…aim for where it hurts. She bent her arm, and rammed her elbow into the injured side of his face.
They both grunted at the impact.
Stiches popped and blood ran down his face.
“You’re going to pay for that.” Warm breath brushed her face as he whispered into her ear. He picked her up and slammed her down, her head smacking stone. Her vision dimmed. Her arms were suddenly useless. As Shayla struggled to remain conscious, she felt arms wrapped around her from behind. Then she was being dragged. Her arms and legs dangled uselessly. She wanted to fight back, but her mind was too sluggish to form a plan of attack.
“We can’t allow the beastman to find you too quickly.” The grip on her ribs tightened cruelly, squeezing the last of the air from her starved lungs. “He has to suffer first.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Aiden was stilling breathing heavily, observing Lassie as he bent and checked on his men. The young wolf was close to going feral over the loss of his brother, but he was holding it together for now.
They needed to get out of there as quickly as possible before he lost it altogether. The prisoners were all in one place, a blessing in disguise. It made escape far easier. They separated him so he couldn’t incite the others.
Clever.
They understood wolf mentality too well.
Aiden slowly became aware of the silence behind him. Emptiness hovered in the air, and a hollow feeling of dread slithered around him like a coiled snake as it slowly tightened. Aiden spun, already knowing that Shayla would be gone.
The damned little fool went to find the keys.
She’d stolen away like a thief while he’d been unable to stop her.
Anxiety skittered over his flesh like thousands of spiders. It was his fault. He should’ve never allowed her to help.
“Shayla!” Her name was a bellowed demand, as if she’d magically appear if he wished it hard enough.
Everyone stopped moving. Stopped talking. A few wolves cowered, while others perked up, as if her name was a battle call.
His wolf carved up his insides, challenging him for control. Aiden almost gave into the fear, the craving to hunt and kill anything that got in the way of finding Shayla, but that way lead to danger. Ironically, the drugs that weakened his wolf were probably the only thing that allowed him to remain human.
If he turned wolf, he’d be able to track Shayla, but the wolfsbane would eventually incapacitating him. It already swam in his bloodstream. It was only a matter of time before he succumbed.
The two sides of his soul battled, and he struggled for balance. He needed both or they’d lose Shayla forever. His wolf huffed in agreement and stopped fighting.
A thick cloak of rage from the beast nearly smothered him. Instead of shaking it off, Aiden welcomed its embraced.
He needed every advantage if he was going to track Shayla.
But he had an edge going for him…months in prison had given him a tolerance for the drug.
He’d eventually fall prey to it, but not until Shayla was safe and once more in his arms.
The near-silent slap of feet caught his attention. He wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been listening for her. Aiden signaled his men, and they scattered in an instant, hiding themselves among the other wolves.
Aiden put his back against the wall, his arms and chest bulking up, readying for battle.
A shadow darted forward. Instinct took over and Aiden’s arm shot out, his nails grazing the small form, the little piss-ant nearly too quick to grab. He hefted the slight weight off the floor. Dark amusement brought a smile to his face when the kid’s feet continued to run as if unaware he was no longer going anywhere. Aiden shook him until his legs stopped moving.
He listened for a few more seconds but heard nothing beyond the panicked breathing of his quarry. He hauled the little fellow closer, the fast tempo of his heart making his beast ache to sink his fangs into the delicate flesh. “You’re going to tell me everything you know about this place.”
Before he could finish his threat, a small fist came at him. Aiden didn’t move. But instead of striking him, the blow landed just short of hitting him. The arm trembled but didn’t lower.
Aiden barely registered that the kid was wolf when his focus dropped to the dull piece of metal fisted in his small hand.
“She told me to give this to you.” The voice rose barely above a rough whisper.
Unable to prevent it, Aiden’s hold tightened. The boy gave an alarmed squeak then went limp like a young pup.
“Shawn?”
Lassie shoved forward, and ripped the boy from Aiden’s grip. The kid gave a muffled sob seconds before being engulfed in his brother’s arms. Aiden turned and watched the tunnel until his eyes dried out then stared some more, afraid to blink lest he’d miss Shayla’s lush form.
And was greeted by a barricade of all-consuming blackness.
It felt like losing her all over again.
He wanted to howl with the pain. His skin itched with the drive to hunt when he turned to face the kid. Though he wanted to give the brothers more time, the longer they waited, the less he’d be able to contain his wolf. “Where is she?”
The boy retreated, shoulders stooped, his frame too sparse to provide the calories needed to fuel his new body. “She made me go. I tried to argue, but she told me to run.”
Aiden could sympathize. Shayla was a force to be reckoned with. “Why didn’t she follow?”
“He took her. The man with the scars on the face. She insisted that you needed the key, and sacrificed herself to get it.”
Aiden closed his eyes, engulfed by fury. That bastard had dared to touch her. His hands fisted tight, his claws piercing his palms as he battled the change, wanting nothing more than to rampage and tear this place apart.
“Aiden?”
He slowly lifted his head to see Lassie stand in front of him, though smart enough to keep his distance.
“We need the key. With all of us searching, we’ll get her back that much faster.”
Aiden looked down and slowly uncurled his hands. Blood pooled in his palm. The cast iron key was tacky with his blood, a slight bend in the metal where he’d gripped it.
Aiden tossed it to Lassie. “I’m not waiting. Get everyone you can out of here and back to the castle.” Power from his wolf swelled over him, hair sprouted along his body. Bones cracked, muscles stretched and pulled, bulking him up into his two-legged wolf. The process took only a few minutes, age and strength granting him the ability to change faster than the more excruciating ten minutes it took for others.
Lassie stepped back, barely able to stand his ground. Without once taking his attention from Aiden, Lassie bent and unlocked the first prisoner.
“Those of you who are able, follow the bodies.” Aiden’s command was no more than a growl, but every wolf straightened to attention.
“I can show you where he grabbed her.” The timid offer caught Aiden by surprise. The young boy stood quaking before him. Despite the stink of fear rising from his skin, the boy showed courage. Aiden opened his mouth to let him down gently when the kid rushed to speak.
“There are miles of tunnels. I can get you to the spot where I’d seen her last.”
Aiden took a deep breath, unwilling to waste any more time. “Are you able to keep up?”
Pride had the boy standing straighter, an
d he nodded once. “I’ve been here the longest. I know the way to the draining tanks.”
“Lead the way.”
They ran. The boy stumbled a few times but plowed ahead. Aiden had to give him points for resilience.
The click and scrape of nails on stone reached his ears. His wolves were following, but Aiden didn’t have time to wait for them to catch up. The hurried, frantic sounds of people scurrying about echoed from a room a few yards down the corridor. He snagged the back of the kid’s shirt before he could give away their location and yanked his scrawny butt behind him and out of danger.
He eased forward, clinging to the shadows. He dipped his head, taking a three-second glance through the open door way before pulling back. No sign of Shayla. The room was a hive of activity, people collecting vials that looked similar to EpiPens. Well-armed guards stood watch over them.
Too many people to take all at once.
He hated that he didn’t have time to stop them from moving the product, but Shayla was his first priority. That didn’t mean they would escape without justice. Wolves filled the halls behind him, slinking into view, all silent and lethal, and hungry for vengeance.
Aiden gave a signal and watched as a stream of wolves launched themselves into the room. Shots rang out, screams of unholy terror echoed in the tunnels, followed by vicious snarls. He crouched, shaking against the need to join the fight and break a few bones.
He took a step to continue his hunt when two humans careened out of the room. Aiden stuck out his arm and clotheslined them. They flipped, landed hard with a crack of skulls against stone, and didn’t move. Vials scattered and rolled across the floor. Glass crunched as Aiden proceeded down the hall.
“Where?” There was no response. Aiden glanced over his shoulders.
The boy panted, his eyes dilated, seconds away from being claimed by bloodlust. Aiden returned to where the kid stood frozen and hauled him away from the battle. “Where?”
The kid gave himself a full body shake as if waking from a trance. “She was just up ahead, past the pit.”
Something about his tone put Aiden’s hackles up. “Pit?”
Shawn didn’t look at him, his steps quickening as he nodded toward the shadowy room in question. “Where they put the bodies when they’re done with them.”
Aiden stopped dead, unable to suppress the fear that Shayla could be lying in that pit.
He had to know.
The beast rose to the surface, strangely subdued. Aiden scanned the pit quickly, ready to leap in to rescue Shayla. It took a full minute to convince himself she wasn’t there, relief nearly dropping him to his knees when he didn’t see her bright blonde hair among the bodies.
Corpses were tangled together, limbs twisted and broken. Bile rose in his throat as he was confronted with just how badly he’d failed his people. With so few of his kind left, each loss was a blow.
Aiden vowed that he wouldn’t fail Shayla, too.
He backed out of the room, his sense of urgency increasing. The longer she was gone, the less likely he was to get her back.
“The last place I saw her was down here.”
Aiden followed the kid. There was nothing more he could do to help the people in that pit but catch the man responsible.
Aiden rounded the corner to see a woman crumpled across the ground. For a heart-stopping second, Aiden’s life imploded.
His wolf went a little feral, seconds away from spilling out of his skin when the details filtered in his brain.
Tall, scrawny, her tangled, mud-colored hair nearly blending into the background.
Nora.
A snarl of outrage curled his lips, and he strode forward, taking in the scene at a glance.
There were signs of a scuffle.
Shayla had fought back.
A couple droplets of blood cracked a small fissure in his heart, but one thing kept him sane. No one would lug around a dead body. She was alive. He just had to find her.
Aiden shoved Nora’s shoulder with his foot until she flopped onto her back. Blood smudged her face, matted her hair. Her face was already swollen, making her nearly unrecognizable. He slapped her twice, but she remained stubbornly unconscious.
They were wasting time.
“Grab me one of those vials.”
The kid bolted down the tunnel and appeared in seconds, a vial in his hand.
Aiden took the single dose of the drug that started this all and slammed the end into Nora’s thigh. She gasped for air, her body bowing upward as the drug sped through her system. The swelling immediately shrank, small cuts healed. When her eyes snapped open, recognition sparked in her eyes, and she scurried backwards. He missed seeing the knife until she lunged for it. She whirled, swinging the blade wildly in front of her. “Stay away.”
She lunged toward Shawn and brought a weapon up to his throat.
The boy froze.
“Where is she?”
Nora shook her head and gave a triumphant smile. “That’s not how this works. I want free passage topside. Once I arrive unharmed, the boy will go free.
The blade and drug made her overconfident.
Made her careless.
“I don’t think so.” Shawn slammed his hand backward, his claws sinking deep into her thigh and shredding muscles. He dropped and rolled out of the way, coming up balanced on all fours.
Her high-pitched scream of pain echoed in the corridor.
Aiden snapped his arm out, knocking the knife from her grip and clamped his hand around her throat. He inexorably drew her closer until he was right in her face. “Where’s Shayla?”
Panic widened her eyes until they looked pure white as blood dripped down her leg in an ever widening puddle. “Give me the drug.”
His hand clenched involuntarily, not willing to lose the only prey that might know where they’d taken Shayla.
She scratched at his hand, struggling to speak. “I’m not healing fast enough. If I die, you’ll never know.”
Aiden stared at her pale, blood-splattered face, and couldn’t believe that he’d ever been fooled by her innocent act. He relented and nodded to the boy. The kid gave a grimace of distaste and went to fetch another vial.
Aiden swiped the drug before Shawn could hand it over. He held the vial away from her, keeping it just out of reach. “Where?”
She groped for the drug, while her other hand tried in vain to staunch the flow of blood bubbling up between her fingers. With her eyes glued on the vial like an addict, she tripped over her words. “He keeps his special prisoners in a different location.”
Aiden’s arm dropped heavily to his side. The vial dropped, cracked and rolled. Nora shrieked and ripped herself from his grip to lick the floor.
He saw it all through a fog.
He knew exactly where that bastard had taken her.
To Aiden’s very own personal hell. He should’ve gone back and destroyed the place when he had the chance.
That Shayla would be imprisoned in his old cell, tortured by that bastard, freezing the blood in his veins. His stomach bottomed out, and he wished for the first time that she’d never found him. At least she would still be safe.
All emotions, all the rage evaporated and calm settled over him. Aiden knew what he had to do.
He turned and hauled ass out of the tunnel.
He didn’t care about Nora. The others were welcome to her.
“Wait! Where are you going, so I can tell the others?” Shawn tried to keep up, but he was no match for Aiden’s longer strides.
“Send them to the ruins overlooking the cliff. He took her to the dungeon.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Shayla was being dragged through bitterly cold water, her body nearly submerged. The chill penetrated every cell so deeply her bones felt like solid ice.
It slapped her back to reality, and everything came rushing back. She’d been kidnapped. Shayla struggled against the grip on her shoulder.
“Want to try it on your own, huh?”
&n
bsp; The support disappeared.
All thoughts stopped when her head dropped below the surface. Brackish water immediately filled her mouth, spilling down her throat. She flailed for purchase, and sank like dead weight.
A hand fisted in her hair. Shards of pain wrapped around her skull as she was yanked out of the water none too gently.
“My dear, you must take care. It wouldn’t do for you to die before I’ve finished with you.”
Shayla gulped for air, clutching at the hand that was doing its best to scalp her. Filtered light barely penetrated the darkness. The walls were stone and very old.
Familiar.
Shayla bit her lip against a whimper when she recognized exactly where she’d ended up.
The dark, stinking hole where everything began…the ancient prison under the earth. She scrambled away, a bubble of desperation building in her chest.
“Not so fast.” He grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked until the collar threatened to strangle her.
She wasn’t going to win against him in a physical fight. It was time to use her brain if she wanted to survive. Rivulets of water poured down the walls, seeping through cracks in the stones. The level had risen drastically since she’d last been there, well above her knees now. Instead of Aiden’s cell, the one he hauled her in was decrepit.
From one step to the next, the floor vanished from under her feet, and she dropped. Water immediately rose to her waist, and she gasped at the cold. More suspicious now, Shayla took in the rest of the cell. No windows, a low celling, and—more troubling—only one exit. Most of the stones were cracked, stacked precariously. If any more pressure came to bear on those walls, everything would collapse.
“Get your filthy hands off of me.” She wrenched away, but his grip only tightened. A muscle ticked in his jaw, like she had struck a nerve, and he yanked her closer.
“Not so pretty now, are you? I wonder if your beastman would still want you if I messed you up a little.” His voice dipped lower. “If he knew I had you.” He tilted his head into the meager light, the ruined side of his face twisting into a grotesque mask in the shifting shadows. “Do you want me now that his mark turned me into a monster, too?”
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