Page 9

EMME

T alon stared at me for so long that I almost forgot I’d suggested he destroy Fletcher Davenport and rid the world of his evil. Not a single word passed his lips, no matter what I said or what questions I asked.

Eventually, I just babbled about whatever topic came to mind. I’d done this before with Slade, and it had about the same effect: none.

In the middle of explaining, in great detail , every step of taking apart an old Hemi engine, I found that I was only making myself more depressed.

Cars were one of the few positive memories I had of my childhood, when I’d escaped by sneaking into the garage below.

It was also a connection I held with the Reeves pack, who were into anything with an engine, and had a garage full of incredible vehicles and bikes.

With my eyes burning, I slumped against the bed, hoping I could stay awake. No doubt this asshole planned on taking my power by force if I didn’t give it to him, and I wouldn’t want to make that task any easier by being unconscious.

The silence stretched on as I stared at the ceiling and he stared at me, the only sound the gurgling of my very empty stomach.

During my time with the Reeves pack, I’d grown used to multiple meals being provided for me.

Multiple delicious meals, which my pack would watch me consume, ensuring I ate first before they touched a single item…

I squeezed my eyes shut at the pain of missing them, before a knock at the door had me lurching into a sitting position and scrambling back against the headboard.

Talon didn’t flinch at the intrusion, as if he’d anticipated this visitor.

When the dragon crossed to the door, he pulled out a chain from around his neck, and I noted the key at the end—the key I’d need to get out of here.

Once he unlocked it, he cracked the door an inch.

There was a murmur of a low, male voice from the other side, and it wasn’t familiar.

Talon didn’t reply or acknowledge the other shifter as he opened the door a fraction more to accept a tray.

The scent of food hit me so hard I almost groaned, and it momentarily made me feel queasy.

I’d spent a lot of my life hungry, scrounging around to feed myself, and somehow in my short time with Reeves Pack, I’d gotten spoiled enough to crumble under a little hardship and hunger.

In the middle of more hushed words from whoever was outside this room, Talon shut the door in his face, and if I wasn’t determined to hate him with the heat of a thousand fireballs, I’d have laughed.

He was worse than Slade with manners, and that was saying something.

They legitimately had zero fucks to give about what other shifters thought or felt about them.

Which made sense once you knew they were the apex predators.

The rest of us had to care to stay alive.

Talon approached the bed in his usual rapid stride, and I’d already started to note mannerisms about this shifter.

For starters, he was either moving with determination or completely still—there was no in between for him.

No nervous pacing or fidgeting. He gave the impression that when he was called to action, he moved at rapid, intense speeds, while the rest of the time he was left to sit and wait.

He placed the tray on the bed, and I tried my absolute best not to even look at the offerings. My stomach screamed at me, and I spoke to it the same way I would my beast. No! We’re not eating drugged food, so they have us at their mercy. You’re not that hungry.

As I remained in a tense huddle at the head of the bed, Talon released a smoky huff and reached out to lift the bread roll and take a bite.

He placed it back on the tray and proceeded to do the same with each of the small dishes.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I noticed it was rice, chicken, and a bread roll. No vegetables.

“It’s not drugged.” Truth rang out in that statement, and I got the sense that like Slade, he didn’t really lie.

Eyeing the tray, I knew there was still a risk. A dragon was so much stronger than me, and any drug in here could have been administered to him for years until he was all but immune. Still, I was shaky and struggling to stay awake. Food would fuel me… and maybe my beast.

She remained too weak for my liking. Hurt and hiding away.

I had to help her in whatever way I could.

Grabbing a bread roll, I took a bite to find it slightly stale, but who really cared when you were hungry.

Swallowing roughly, I moved on to the chicken and rice, which held faint flavors of garlic, lemon, and paprika, but otherwise remained fairly bland.

Talon didn’t touch anything on the tray again, watching me in that intense, unwavering stare of his.

Which bothered me less than it should have.

My pack had been warming me up to the obsessive nature of alphas for weeks now, and I was starting to crave their stares and touches and need for me. It wasn’t one sided either. Except in this case, Talon and I were enemies.

Nothing more.

When my stomach protested, I pushed away what was left on the tray, and Talon moved into action, eating everything in a neat, systematic motion. A surge of worry that I hadn’t left enough food for him hit me—I hadn’t realized we’d be made to share.

Was food a way they controlled him too? Surely, they fed their soldiers and pack members as much as they needed?

A shifter of Slade’s size couldn’t survive on a few bites of bread, rice, and chicken.

Why hadn’t he said anythin g? He’d just sat there and watched me force food into my mouth.

Was the instinct to feed your mate ingrained into all alphas?

No… no, it absolutely wasn’t. Blaine and his pack of pricks had never let anyone eat first.

Where did Talon learn it, then?

“Sorry I didn’t leave more,” I found myself saying, and then immediately regretted it. He’d forcibly bonded me, and here I was going all Stockholm Syndrome worrying about my captor.

Idiot.

Talon grunted, showcasing another alpha instinct. “Tell me more about cars.”

I blinked at him, trying not to squirm under his stare. “You weren’t bored?”

He shook his head without hesitation. “No.”

Okay, then. With nothing better to do, and in the hopes of keeping him calm while I figured out an escape plan, I launched into another story.

“When I was twelve, I snuck down into the garage later than usual. It had been a really hard day with my mom and her pack. They were home more than usual, and they hurt her right in front of me. Of course, when I tried to intervene, Blaine slapped my face. The bruise healed up fast enough, of course, but I was feeling a little sore and sorry for myself as I escaped, only to find one of the owner’s clients had brought in a Mclaren F1.

It was just sitting there, the orange shining so brightly that it briefly blinded me. ”

Talon leaned closer, and I swore that he was hanging on my every word.

“You need to understand, they only made them for a few years, and they were so rare. It was a literal multi-million-dollar car just sitting there in this old garage. Mack was one of the best mechanics in the state, but still… that was beyond.

“He didn’t let me touch it of course, and I didn’t really know about the car at the time, but once he explained how rare and precious it was, a sliver of hope bloomed inside me.

Hope that maybe better days were coming.

” A sad laugh escaped me. “It’s ridiculous that a car gave me hope, but even at twelve I knew it was special and felt the awe in its presence.

Thinking about the shimmer of orange, with the sunlight hitting it just right until it glowed, kept me sane through a lot of bad days. ”

Talon’s expression was unreadable, but deep in the icy darkness of his eyes there was the slightest flicker of a flame. “What happened to the car? Did you take the engine apart?”

He had finished the food now, the tray empty and the plates and bowls neatly arranged from smallest to largest across the surface.

I shook my head. “Nothing happened. They were having a small issue, but Mack was able to fix it up in an hour, and then we said our goodbyes to the beauty. He didn’t even let me breathe on it, let alone take the engine apart.”

“Do you drive?”

My eyebrows drew together as I considered if that was a serious question or not. He didn’t show any indication it wasn’t, so I answered. “Yes. I have my license for cars and motorcycles.”

Talon considered that, and I wasn’t sure if it meant anything more to him other than learning a new fact about me. I couldn’t get a read on this dragon.

“Do you drive?” I returned the question his way.

With a hooded gaze he shook his head. “Dragons fly.”

My mind flashed right to the memory of Slade squished into his Lambo or soaring on his bike. “I’m sure nothing compares to flying, but fast cars and bikes are a close second. Or as close as those of us without wings will ever get.”

I hadn’t realized that I was leaning toward him until he straightened with the tray and I almost fell onto the bed. “I will take you flying and you can tell me which is better.”

My heart pattered hard in my chest, and I forced myself not to soften. No. Just no. I’d already Stockholm’d myself into a relationship with four assholes. There was no room for a fifth. Even if the other four turned out to be the best alphas I’d ever met. Including the surly ones.

Talon was part of the bad guys , ready to destroy the fabric of our world and send us back to the Dark Ages. He might be a victim here as well, but while he refused to change his path and loyalty, I had to treat him as the enemy.

With the conversation over, Talon got up with the tray and opened the door to return it. I caught a glimpse of a dark hallway, and a mildewy scent filtered in from outside, disappearing when he closed and locked the door once more.

When he settled into his seat, ready for another few hours of staring at my face, I asked, “What are Fletcher’s plans? Once you forcibly steal my energy and are all powered up, what will he have you do?”

There was no evasion in his stare or tone as he replied, “I don’t know. He doesn’t tell me the plan. He just sends me out to ensure it happens.”

“You’re the muscle, not the brains,” I snarked meanly.

Talon shrugged, unconcerned by my little dig. No doubt that was the least of the insults he’d heard in his life. “I am whatever he wants me to be. But yes, mostly a weapon.”

“You can’t let him do this,” I whispered, swallowing roughly.

“He’s already destroyed too many lives. So many omegas taken and hurt through his experiments.

I know he said there weren’t enough of them to truly experiment on, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t hurt the ones that were around.

And they were innocent. You understand that, right?

They didn’t deserve what happened to them, and I don’t deserve it either. ”

For the first time, I caught a flicker of unease in his expression. Pushing forward, I hurried to try and chip away at his icy exterior. “Do you know what will happen to me if you drain all of my essence?”

More silence.

“My wolf will fade. My wolf will fade and I’ll be a shell of a shifter, unable to touch or call my beast. In the end, I’ll wish for death… and maybe even seek it out.”

Mom hadn’t been able to take the echoing silence in her head any longer or the weakness in her veins. She’d chosen to end it all, and I’d been the one to cut her down from the rope that stole her last breath.

Talon surged to his feet suddenly, and at first I thought I’d gotten through to him, only to hear another knock on the door, one he clearly hadn’t been expecting.

When he crossed to the solid door, he placed his hand against it, as if to sense who was on the other side.

There was a beat as he reached for the chain again, pulling it from his shirt, and when he clicked the lock open, the door burst inward.

I’d have thought it would catch the dragon by surprise except he was too fast, jumping out of the way of the bear who surged into the room, a dead shifter speared on his massive claws.

I was on my feet now too, and a gasp escaped me.

I’d only seen this bear one other time, but I knew his huge, menacing presence immediately.

Finley Thornton had come for me.