Page 2 of Curvy Hostage Mate (Gold Wolves Black Ops #4)

I sat on the floor next to where Cain sat on his throne. He stared down at the two men in front of him. He shifted forward slightly, tugging the chain attached to my collar with the movement. I adjusted my position on the soft throw pillow beneath me.

“My men informed me that you tried to walk out of one of the brothels without paying for the privilege of getting to spend an hour with one of our alluring slaves there,” Cain said, tilting his head.

“I paid,” said the gruff man with sandy hair, the drunker of the two.

Cain gave a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, which burned with danger. If I’d had the chance, I would have moved as far away from him as possible. As it was, I couldn’t so much as twitch away, even as I sensed the rising danger simmering in the room.

Glancing at each of the guards standing sentry around the room and noting the uneasy glances they exchanged with one another when they thought their boss wasn’t looking, I guessed they felt similarly to me.

“Is that so?” Cain mused. “In that case, why did all of my men—and the slaves, for that matter—agree you walked out without paying a dime?”

“Those bitches lie,” the guy grumbled.

Cain gave a feral grin that made me want to recoil. “Not to me,” he growled. “And my men certainly do not.”

A long pause as the still-drunk guy seemed to finally start realizing the danger he was wading into. He blinked blearily, then looked at his dark-haired friend as if for guidance.

“We were gonna pay,” he muttered. “I was getting the money when your guys snatched us up.”

“Then where is it?” Cain asked. “Because when my men caught you, you were wandering into a different brothel.”

Another pause.

“All right, then, I can get the money,” the sandy-haired one mumbled.

“So you’re saying you can’t pay?” Cain asked, his voice smooth as silk as he reclined in his chair.

Once again, I shifted in my seat. At the motion, Cain tugged on the chain, pulling me closer to the throne. His hand went to my bare shoulder, caressing it.

“Not exactly,” the dark-haired one said. “We just need to hock some things first.”

Cain’s hand moved from my shoulder to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair, locking my head in place. I stared straight ahead, trying not to think about how hard he was tugging, almost but not quite to the point of it being painful.

“I believe I made it perfectly clear that anyone who comes to the Underside and so much as attempts to renege on payment would suffer a severe punishment,” he said.

The man snorted and rolled his eyes. His dark-haired friend looked a little more unsettled.

“Yeah, but we all know that’s bull,” the sandy-haired man mumbled, his voice slurred. God, he had to be wasted if he was going on like this.

Cain stilled in his chair. I risked a glance up at him. His blue eyes burned white-hot. Every single guard in the room stilled and backed up, as if wanting to create as much space as possible between themselves and Cain.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Cain said, his voice sounding like poisoned honey.

The sandy-haired man didn’t seem to get the hint. “It’s just to make sure we all stay in line,” he mumbled. “You wouldn’t actually kill paying customers. It’d be bad for business.”

Cain nodded speculatively, as if legitimately considering this argument. The man straightened, as if he thought he had made enough of a compelling argument that he’d managed to persuade the man in charge of the entirety of the Underside that his logic made perfect sense.

“What’s bad for business is not following through on my promises,” Cain said.

He stood, relinquishing my chain so it fell limply into the chair.

I watched with growing unease as he strolled languidly toward the two men, the drunk one wobbling slightly.

He must have started realizing his predicament, because he finally began to look uneasy.

He took a couple of steps backward as Cain approached.

“I can pay,” the man mumbled.

Cain stopped. I could see his face, but I could imagine the expression there: polite, curious, almost pleasant. The only evidence of his rage would be his eyes.

“Right now?” Cain asked, the tone almost friendly.

The man hesitated, licking his lips as he glanced around, eyes lingering on the guards who had slowly begun to approach. But it wasn’t them he should have been worried about.

“Not right this moment,” the man babbled. “But I have money if you let me go through the portal—”

Blood spurted as Cain’s hand swiped through the air. The man gurgled once before collapsing to the ground, his eyes glassy. Cain examined his claws, the ones that had appeared moments earlier. I could see the deep crimson staining them from here.

“The thing about threats,” he said, almost speculatively, to the corpse, “is that you really need to back them up. Otherwise, no one will take you seriously.”

The corpse didn’t respond. Cain nudged the body, as if checking to make sure that he wasn’t going to move. When the dead man remained stationary, he turned to the guy’s friend. At first, shock filled his eyes, then they narrowed with anger.

“You killed him,” the guy said.

“Yes,” Cain responded pleasantly, as if they were discussing the weather. “I did.”

The other shifter lunged forward, arm raised, claws glinting in the light. I watched as it came down toward Cain’s neck. Cain didn’t move, and the claws raked across his skin with enough force to gouge.

But the claws seemed almost to bounce off, with not a scratch to be seen anywhere on Cain.

The man had just enough time to look confused before Cain lunged forward, took his head in his hands, and twisted.

A loud snap reverberated through the hall, and the man crumpled at Cain’s feet.

Nodding in satisfaction, he gestured at a couple of the guards to come forward, then began idly playing with a ruby ring resting on his finger.

I glanced at the chain, still waiting patiently by the throne for Cain to return.

If I were a braver person, I might take the chance to escape.

I could snatch the end of the leash and race toward one of the doors.

Except I wasn’t that brave, and even if I were, running wouldn’t do me any good.

I’d be caught within minutes, if not seconds.

Ever since Kendra had managed to escape, security had increased tenfold.

Guards and Cain’s personal men seemed to swarm everywhere, almost outnumbering the slaves at this point.

Each one had some sort of weapon on them, even the shifters.

The slaves were under closer scrutiny, monitored nearly every minute of the day to make sure none of them got any bright ideas.

And Cain kept me within arm’s reach, unwilling to let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes.

Which was why I remained sitting on my velvet pillow, in too-skimpy clothes, the heavy chain unguarded as Cain strolled back toward me, blood dripping from the fingers of one hand as guards ran to the corpse crumpled on the floor.

“I think we’re done for the day,” he said to no one in particular.

He plucked my chain up and tugged, a silent command to rise to my feet. I did, and followed him through the back hall.

“You look unhappy, darling,” he said. He looked at me, waiting for a response.

“I just wasn’t expecting that,” I said.

“I have to keep my word.”

“You didn’t have to kill them,” I muttered, my voice quavering. “They were just drunk idiots. They would have paid.”

His eyes burned dangerously even as his lips curled into a patronizing smirk. “Are you telling me how to do my job?”

I froze, realizing too late that I had stepped into dangerous territory. “I…I didn’t…” I stammered. But his expression was already turning dark, foreboding.

“Careful,” he snarled. His hand wrapped tight around the chain, and he jerked me forward, bringing my face inches from his, so close that we were nearly kissing. “You’re forgetting who’s in charge here.”

I couldn’t forget. He wouldn’t let me forget.

Anger and frustration burned inside me. Not for the first time, I wished I had Kendra’s confidence and fire.

She had always been the one who said what I wished I could say.

She’d always been the strong one, and I had always admired that about her.

I didn’t have that—I never had. All my life, Kendra had protected me, stood up for me.

While I appreciated it, half of me wondered whether that protection hadn’t backfired in the long run. I’d never had to speak up for myself.

“I haven’t forgotten,” I said, trying to keep my voice from cracking. “I was just saying I thought it was unnecessary.”

With an angry snarl, Cain gripped my neck and pressed me against the wall. “Watch your mouth,” he hissed. “You’re not here to give your opinions or talk back to me.”

“Please let go of me,” I whispered.

He barked out a laugh. “Or you’ll do what?

You can’t do anything to me. Not with these.

” He tapped the thick bracelet wrapped around my forearm.

A pretty, bejeweled thing that seemed to shimmer in any light.

Even if I hadn’t known what it could do, I could sense the magic radiating off it.

I wanted to curse whatever witch had ever invented these in the first place.

But I couldn’t. The bracelet prevented me from using any sort of magic that might harm Cain or any of his men.

Kendra had somehow managed to outsmart it, at least to a certain degree, using spells innocuous enough that it wouldn’t trigger. Since then, the spell on it had strengthened. I couldn’t cast any spell if I intended to use it to escape or cause any sort of harm, even if it was indirect.

My eyes flicked down to the floor, heat rushing to my face as I tried to make myself as small as possible.

I heard Cain laugh. Two fingers slipped beneath my chin and forced me to look into his cold blue eyes.

He gave a sinister grin with sharp teeth that made my blood run cold.

A spark of hunger and lust burned in his gaze as his eyes flicked up and down my body.

His free hand ran down my side to grip my hip, squeezing just a little too tight.

“You shouldn’t be worrying your pretty little head about that,” he said. “You have more important things to think about.”

I swallowed, lips thinning as I stared up at him, feeling helpless as he kept me pinned against the wall.

“I hope you’re looking forward to our mating ceremony next week,” he said, his hand reaching up. He wrapped a finger around a lock of my hair and tugged hard. “I have the prettiest little dress picked out for you.”

I didn’t answer, didn’t nod or shake my head.

All I did was look to the side. The truth was, I doubted if much would change after the mating ceremony beyond Cain becoming even more possessive, if that was at all possible.

He was controlling enough already. I didn’t know how he could manage to be more so.

He already made me sleep in his bed and pulled me along at his side whenever possible.

When he wasn’t at my side, he had at least one person watching me or had me locked in his room.

I didn’t get a moment’s peace. I didn’t see how it could get much worse.

Once it happens, you’ll be stuck for good, a tiny voice in my head whispered. At least right now, you have a tiny chance of getting free.

It was a cute thought, but one I didn’t take much stock in. I couldn’t see any way out of this. Not on my own.

If I were Kendra, it might be different. She was the strong one, the pretty one. She wouldn’t give up. But I didn’t know what I could do, not without the risk of getting in trouble.

A broad-shouldered man with light brown hair and a scar along the side of his cheek strolled up.

Thresh, one of Cain’s Inner Circle, one of the more dangerous ones.

He gave me a dismissive look with a flick of his eyes, then turned to Cain.

Thresh muttered in Cain’s ear, and Cain gave a curt nod before turning back to me.

“Darling, something has just come up,” he said.

I hated when he called me “darling,” and I was fairly certain he knew it. Just another game to prove he was in control.

“I’m going to have to go take care of it,” Cain continued. “Thresh, take her to our room, then come to my office.”

Before relinquishing the chain, Cain yanked me toward him again before forcing his lips against mine. Shivers of revulsion radiated through me, and I fought back the bile threatening to creep up my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for him to break the kiss.

He finally did. Giving my hip another squeeze, he handed Thresh the chain and strolled down the hall.

Without a word to me—I was fairly certain I’d heard Thresh say a grand total of ten words since I had first met him—he tugged on the leash and guided me back toward my room.

Out of everyone in Cain’s Inner Circle, Thresh scared me the most. Not because he was silent, or because he was almost as large as Cain, or even that cool brutality that seemed to lurk in his eyes, though all of those qualities certainly helped.

It was the way he looked at everything, as if trying to figure out the best way to destroy it.

He brought me to Cain’s chambers, shoved me inside, and slammed the door shut. I heard the bolt slide into place as he locked me inside.

Letting out a deep sigh of relief that I was finally alone, I walked over to the window, leaning against the sill as I stared out at the purple sky. As I did, an overwhelming pang of loneliness slammed into me.

I missed Kendra. I had tried scrying just so I could see her, to make sure she was happy and safe.

Except every time I had tried, it hadn’t worked.

I knew I had talent when it came to magic.

I was probably better than Kendra, even.

It was one of the only things about myself that I actually took some amount of confidence in.

So if I couldn’t reach my sister, it meant Cain had taken some sort of precaution to prevent it.

At the very least, I knew she was safe. Cain had thrown a fit the day after she had managed to escape with those guys, so I knew that whatever plan he’d had failed.

He had kept me locked up in that other pocket of the Underside, sealed off from everyone but for his Inner Circle, for over a week while he waited to see what the fallout would be.

Once he’d deemed it safe, he brought me back here and slowly started back up the trade. I’d been under his thumb ever since.

And unless something happened in the next few days, I’d be stuck like this for good.