Page 35

Rachel

T he world comes back in fragments, blurry shadows in a dark room, the smell of mildew and dust swirling in the air. I can’t remember what happened. The fog filling my head too strong to overcome.

I blink once, twice. My vision clears and I see an old, dilapidated wall. The wallpaper is yellowed and peeling, edges curled like pages in an old book. A single shaft of light filters through a broken slat in the boarded window, casting long, slanted shadows that stretch like claws across the floor.

Where the hell am I?

My cheek presses against something cold and dirty. My arms won’t move. Neither will my legs.

Ropes.

My heart jumps to my throat. I twist, trying to loosen the knots and failing.

Then I see him.

Trent.

He stands over me, arms crossed, watching me squirm with a heat in his eye.

A scream rips out of me before I even register the breath behind it.

“Shut the fuck up, bitch.”

His foot rears back, then pain explodes white behind my eyes as he kicks me in the temple.

The world crashes back to black.

I wake again, slower this time. The pounding in my head echoes my pulse in my ear with every beat of my heart. The burning in my throat reminds me of the screaming last time I was awake. The sting bursting across my cheek brings back the memory of a kick to the head.

Trent!

Even fighting the drugs and headache, I could never forget his face when I first saw him. I knew there was something wrong with him. But I never thought he’d stoop this low. The hunger and excitement in his eyes at the sight of me tied up on the floor may haunt me for the rest of my life… which, by the state of things, may not actually be that long.

Half a conversation attempts to penetrate the buzz in my ears.

“…yeah. East edge of campus, that busted old shack near the creek. No one comes out here.”

So we’re still on campus. That’s good.

Silence. Whoever is on the other end of the line has a lot to say. Boots thud against the uneven floor and I stay perfectly still, praying he thinks I’m still knocked out.

“No, she’s out again, but she’ll wake up. I got it under control.”

More silence.

Then, “Yes, sir.”

The room goes silent again before his voice changes to the smooth smug tone that will haunt my nightmares

“Well, well. Look who’s awake.”

Fuck. It didn’t work.

“I know you’re awake, Foxy. You can stop pretending.”

My eyes flutter open. Guess the gig’s up. Might as well get on with it.

Trent crouches in front of me, phone still in hand, a twisted smile stretched across his face. There’s a wild gleam in his bloodshot eyes. His shirt is rumpled, streaked with something dark at the cuffs. Mud or maybe worse.

My pulse pounds in my throat.

“Did you miss me, Foxy?”

I don’t answer him. I just stare.

That's all I can do. My throat’s too raw to scream again, and I’d never admit to having any feelings for him, even to save my life. The thought of playing along with whatever sick fantasies he has makes my fox feral. She won’t let him touch us like that. No one gets to touch us without our permission.

He bends lower, close enough for me to smell the sour tang of his sweat and whatever cologne he’s doused himself in. His grin is stretched too wide, like he’s done something to be proud of.

“You know, this isn’t how I pictured it,” he says, almost conversationally. “I always thought you’d come around on your own. Sooner or later, you’d realize I was the better man. But you just had to keep playing the victim, didn’t you?”

I say nothing.

“You made me look like a creep in front of everyone. You turned your pack on me. Got me expelled.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes anymore. “But the thing is, none of that matters. You were always mine. From day one.”

“You’re insane,” I whisper.

He laughs. “Am I? Or am I the only one who’s been honest with you from the start?”

He stands and starts pacing again, dragging a hand over his face.

“You want to know the real reason I was in all your classes? Why I always knew where to find you? It wasn’t just coincidence, sweetheart.” He kicks a broken chair out of his way. “Your daddy made sure of that. Paid me to keep tabs on you. Daily reports, every little thing. Who you talked to. Who you flirted with. Who… touched you.”

My stomach drops.

“You’re lying.”

“Am I?” He whirls to face me. “Go ahead, deny it. Doesn’t change anything. Ranger wanted to know everything. And I gave it to him. I was the reason he knew how close you were getting to that nerdy wolf boy.” He kneels in front of me now, reaching out to brush my hair from my face.

I shudder away from his touch and he tuts, disappointed.

“Then you went and mated that clueless tiger and big bad Derrick the dragon back to back,” Trent chuckles, clearly enjoying this. “Daddy dearest wanted to come get you then, but he was having a hard time getting around Derrick’s meddling dad. By the time we were able to distract them with that report against Lucas, you had gone and mated all of them. Just like he knew you would. Like a bitch in heat.”

My whole body goes still. A cold, sharp ache slices through my gut, and not from the ropes. I knew Trent had something to do with the situation with Lucas, but I never thought my father might be involved.

“You’re lying,” I say again, but it sounds weaker this time.

“Oh, foxy girl. I wish I was. You should’ve heard the things he said about you. About your mom.” His smile twitches. “He said you were going to end up just like her. A soft, foolish whore, ruled by your instincts.”

He leans forward, grabbing me by my hair and pulling me up till our faces are only inches away. I wince at the pain, tears sting my eyes but I refuse to let them fall.

“But don’t worry,” he says, his nasty breath fanning across my face. “I know how to break you of your bad habits.”

His other hand caresses my cheek before drifting lower, trailing along my jaw, then down my neck. The feel of his hand on Bas’s mark revolts me. I jerk away, as much as the ropes will let me. Which isn’t much. He just laughs. A sick, smug sound that makes bile rise in my throat.

“You know, I always imagined this happening differently,” he murmurs, voice low and husky with a repulsive lust. “Maybe after a few drinks, some sweet talk. You’d finally see me for who I really am. But I’m not picky. Either way I’ll get what’s mine.”

His fingers dip inside the waistband of my sleep shorts.

I snap.

“You’re fucking disgusting,” I spit, rage breaking through the haze of fear. “And stupid if you believe Ranger St. James would ever marry his daughter off to the likes of you. Not that I’d even live past the bond breaking. My mom certainly didn’t. Did he tell you that?”

He freezes. For a second, something flashes in his eyes, something wounded, almost child-like. Then he backhands me, my vision going white as he tosses me back to the floor.

“You don’t speak to me like that,” he snarls, ripping the belt from his pants. “You will learn your place with me one way or another. If you want to do it the hard way, so be it.”

He raises the belt.

The sound of it snapping against itself, sends a bolt of panic through my chest. I thrash against the ropes, heart slamming like a war drum. My fox screams, clawing inside me, trying to fight her way to the surface, but the sedative still clings to my limbs like poison.

And then...

CRACK.

Not the belt. The door.

It explodes inward.

Trent doesn’t even have time to react before Ranger is inside, moving like a storm wrapped in a man’s skin. He grabs Trent by the throat slamming him back against the nearest wall.

“What the fuck did I tell you?” Ranger roars, his voice all gravel and rage.

Trent gasps, clawing at the hand around his throat. “Y-you said she was mine!”

“I said to keep your filthy hands off her until I gave the word!” Ranger’s grip tightens. “You touch her again, without my explicit permission, I’ll tear you apart.”

“Absolutely the fuck not!” Trent shouts back, shoving him off with a powerful kick. “You’ve been using me from the start! I’ve done every single thing you’ve asked. Every message, every report, every fucking humiliating errand and you were never going to give her to me, were you?”

Ranger’s eyes narrow, golden and feral. “No.”

Trent reels back like he’s been slapped.

“Even if she survives the bond breaking potion,” Ranger continues. “I never would have allowed her to be with someone as low-class as you.”

“Bond breaking potion?” Trents eyes are wide with disbelief. “You’re working with dark witches?”

“You killed Everett,” I rasp my accusation. “You gave my mother a potion to break their bond, and it killed him.”

“Yes, Trent. Well, a dark witch. They’re not so easy to find these days.” Ranger doesn’t even blink as he turns to me. “Everett was weak. He died because he couldn’t survive the severance. That’s not my fault.”

“And now you want to do it to me,” I say, voice shaking. “You think I’ll survive it?”

He smirks. “I guess we’ll find out.”

The room spins. I feel the fear rising like bile in my throat.

Trent stares between us, the full truth hitting him all at once. “You son of a bitch. You were going to break her, and just let her die.”

Ranger shrugs. “If she’s strong enough, she’ll survive. If not… well. She was a mistake from the beginning.”

Trent snaps.

With a scream of pure fury, he lunges at Ranger, and they collide in a tangle of fists, and feet.

It’s chaos. A blur of movement, snarling and growling and splintering wood.

I don’t wait. I force all my focus on getting myself to shift.

My fox rips free of my human form with a burst of wild energy. She’s small and white-hot, a blur of russet fur and glowing eyes, slipping out of the ropes like smoke through cracks. We don’t stop to look back. We bolt through a broken section of the wall, paws pounding over the mossy floorboards. Our four distinctly different tails fan out behind us as we reach the outdoors.

The afternoon air hits me like a slap as I break out into the trees, and run. Heart racing. Legs flying. No direction, just away.

Twigs lash across my muzzle as we leap over roots slick with moss. The scent of damp earth and old leaves clings to our fur, but we don’t stop.

I can’t.

And then… movement.

Voices.

Familiar scents on the wind.

I skitter behind a tree, chest heaving, ears perked. Someone’s coming. Heavy footfalls, sharp breaths. I crouch low, terrified it might be one of them.

But then…

“Rachel!”

It’s Derrick’s voice. I peek my head around the tree and see a black wolf heading my way at a dead run.

Liam.

Lucas, my white wolf isn’t far behind, and just as I take a step away from the safety of the tree, my tiger bursts through the bushes and surpasses my wolf twins.

“Rachel!” Demi’s voice joins the calls.

Bas skids to a stop inches away from me before softly tackling me to the ground and nuzzling into my neck.

The bond flares bright, finally shining through the effects of the drugs.

They came for me.

They found me.

I am not alone.