Page 7

CHAPTER 7

brIAR

“O h, hell no,” I blurt and then wince because I definitely shouldn’t be swearing in front of a table of kiddos. None of the kids are focusing on me. Instead, they volley their apprehensive gazes between Annabel and the guards.

Annabel whimpers. “Please don’t let them take me. This is what happened to Sage. They took her at breakfast, too, and we never saw her again.”

Her plea shreds my already torn-up heart. “I won’t,” I vow. Standing up, I gently place Annabel on the bench.

“What are you doing, Briar?” Anson hisses from his spot next to me. When I ignore him, he reaches out to grab my arm to stop me. I shake off his hold and march up to the guard with black hair and shrewd green eyes who spoke. Coming to a stop in front of him, I cross my arms and lift my chin.

He eyes me skeptically. “You’re five eighty-two?”

I meet his gaze unflinchingly. “I sure am.”

Glancing down at the notebook he’s holding, the guard reads something before glaring back at me, his face lined with exasperation. “It says here that subject five eighty-two is blonde and approximately five years old.”

Well, that throws a wrench in my plans to go in Annabel’s place. I’m surprised they even have any descriptions written down for us when they see all supernaturals as the same and expendable.

Racking my mind for something else, I settle on, “Take me to Ryker.” Gasps sound when I mention Ryker. I can feel hundreds of stares burning into me, but I do my best to ignore them. “I can guarantee you that he’ll be much happier to see me than a kid.” I want to tack on you despicable monster , but I somehow restrain myself.

How can these guards willingly hurt, experiment on, torture, and even kill children? They’re just babies for fuck’s sake. If I didn’t think the Knights were monsters before, the sheer number of kids here would definitely convince me otherwise.

The guard lets out a mocking laugh. “You think Ryker, the leader of the Knights of Aeneas of North America, gives a shit about a mutt like you?”

Huh. I didn’t realize he was so high up in the organization. It makes sense that he’s the one spearheading the operation to expand the wolf curse to all shifters. Not letting my surprise show on my face, I give the guard a bored look. “Oh, I know he gives a shit. Now are we going or what?”

The guard’s face turns red with anger at my defiance as he gets in my face. “This is your last chance to get out of our way and sit the fuck down.”

“I’m not letting you take her.” I know I shouldn’t show how attached I am to Annabel, who has made her way into my heart in record time. Ryker and the Knights will use anyone I care about to get me to do what they want, but I can’t just let them take her. I’ve only known them for an hour, but I feel fiercely protective of all the children from our corridor.

The Knight opens his mouth to blast me when a sandy-haired guard steps between us. He gives the one behind him a scathing look before trying to reason with me. “You don’t get to decide that. Now you can either move and we’ll take the girl. Or you can come with us when we take the girl. If you keep getting in the way, I’ll make the choice for you.”

Grinding my teeth in frustration, I eye the guards and wonder how many I could take out before they overpower me. With my nonexistent fighting skills, that number would probably be zero. As satisfying as it would be to try to beat up some Knights, it wouldn’t solve the problem. In fact, any violence would likely make the situation worse for Annabel.

Sighing, I turn back to the table and squat in front of the little girl. “Do you trust me?” She gives me the tiniest nod, and I give her a warm smile, her trust making me feel gooey inside. “I won’t let anything happen to you, but we have to go with the guards now.”

Her lip wobbles, but she nods her agreement. She reaches up her arms, and I happily pick her up, hugging her surprisingly light frame to me. “It’s going to be okay,” I murmur into her soft hair, my voice choked up. “I’ll protect you.”

When I have her seated on my hip and my arm securely wrapped around her, I turn back to the guards and stare at them with determination on my face.

“We can’t take her,” the black-haired guard protests.

The calmer and slightly nicer one shrugs. “If she’s so confident Ryker wants to see her, then let’s take her to Ryker. That’ll teach the mutt her proper place.”

I retract my nicer statement. That guy is just as much of a douche canoe as the other one.

Is it a requirement for all Knights of Aeneas to be assholes? Because it sure seems like it based on the Knights I’ve interacted with thus far.

Flashing me a vicious smile, the black-haired Knight roughly grabs the arm I’m not holding Annabel with and yanks me forward. I stumble and manage not to fall over by sheer willpower alone. I don’t get a chance to glare at him because the guards surround me and start marching us through the cafeteria.

I keep my chin up and project confidence to the supernaturals watching this whole fiasco. Even though I’m terrified of what they’re going to try to do to Annabel, I pretend to be unbothered. If I’m fearful, that just reinforces that they should be afraid of the Knights. Maybe seeing my small act of defiance will give them a little hope or encourage them to look for a way out.

It probably won’t work, but all I can do is try.

As I pass everyone, I really only smell the faint scent of shifter. Ryker did mention that they are specifically suppressing shifters here, so that lines up. Whenever we get a moment alone, I’ll have to ask Annabel what type of shifter she is. Since I haven’t had my wolf very long, I can’t tell by scent what her animal is.

A tiny ember of hope burns in my chest that maybe my wolf isn’t entirely suppressed if I can still smell what supernaturals are. I only started hearing Dido when I got my wolf, so they must be a packaged deal. If my wolf gets free, that’ll mean Dido’s free too, which may be all the edge I need.

As we walk through the facility, Annabel keeps her face pressed against my shoulder and her arms tight around my neck. I can feel her shaking in my arms, which makes fury and heartache course through me in equal measures. As much as it kills me, there’s nothing I can do right now to fix it for her. Instead, I just hold her tighter and hum “Look After You” by Aron Wright softly into her hair.

Less than ten minutes later, we come to a stop in front of a plain brown door with a tarnished brass nameplate that says “Jordan Ryker.” For some reason, I didn’t think something so mundane as Jordan would be Ryker’s first name. Something like Spike or Rex would fit his less-than-charming personality better.

The sandy-haired guard steps up to the door and hesitantly knocks on the doorframe.

“What?” Ryker barks from inside, his voice dripping with annoyance.

The henchman pales and gulps before nervously taking a few steps back. He bumps into me, and I see a lightbulb go off in his head. The guard shoves me forward, making me the sacrificial lamb to disturb Ryker.

Fantastic.

Since my lady balls are apparently bigger than any of the Knights’, I blow out a breath and push through the door. I come face-to-face with Ryker, whose nearly black eyes feel like they’re staring directly into my soul. His mouth kicks up into a cruel smirk as he looks me up and down. I don’t miss the way his calculating gaze snags on Annabel in my arms, and I wish I could shield her from him. Since I can’t, I keep my face as blank as I can.

As the silence stretches and becomes increasingly uncomfortable, I look around the drab office for something to do. A dingy drop ceiling and worn white floor tiles have seen better days. Flaking white paint on the cinder block walls and the lack of a window complete the depressing feel of the office. The only furniture in here is a desk, office chair, and two hard, wooden chairs facing the desk.

For being the leader of the North American Knights, I would’ve thought Ryker would have a nicer office. I guess spearheading an organization to eradicate supernaturals doesn’t make the big bucks.

Sucks to be him.

After what feels like an eternity, Ryker pushes up from his chair and unfolds to his full, bulky size. He wanders over to stand in front of his walnut desk, propping his hip against the top. Even slightly slouched, Ryker’s still massive and incredibly intimidating. “Why are you here, cur?”

I resist the urge to retort for shits and giggles . I’m clearly not here because I thought hanging out with Ryker and his penchant for violence would be a lovely way to spend my day.

I’m saved from having to answer by the black-haired goon chiming in. “She attempted to take the place of the whelp in her arms when we went to bring the girl to an experiment. She claimed that you would rather see her than the whelp.”

His grin widens as he reaches out a hand to touch Annabel. I twist my body to protect her from him, which only makes his face light up with delight. “Have a soft spot for children, do you now?”

Well, since I’m not a morally bankrupt psychopath, yeah, I do. Unlike Ryker, I think experimenting on kids crosses a line I didn’t believe even the Knights would. But thinking the Knights had any morals was na?ve of me, apparently.

When I don’t respond, Ryker lets out a long-suffering sigh. Straightening up, he darts out his hand to fist my hair. He yanks on the strands, wrenching my neck back until I’m forced to meet his gloating gaze. Tears prick my eyes at the sharp pain in my scalp, but I refuse to let them fall. “I asked you a question,” he growls as he stays in my personal space.

I glare at him, letting him see the complete and utter hatred burning in my gaze. “As I told them, I thought the Knights’ time would be better spent experimenting on me than a random shifter child.”

Ryker doesn’t look like he believes Annabel is just a random kiddo. His dark gaze bounces between mine for a moment before he abruptly lets go of my hair and steps back. My screaming neck muscles appreciate the reprieve, but I still eye him warily, wondering what he’s going to do next.

Surprisingly, he doesn’t try to touch Annabel or ask me any more questions. Ryker simply walks around his desk and rummages in one of the drawers for something. When he triumphantly pulls out a notebook, he starts for the door. I don’t immediately follow, and he pins me with an exasperated look. “Come along now. Since you’re so eager to get back to the lab, who am I to say no? Make sure to bring the pup, too.”

I clench my teeth at the reminder that I put Annabel on his radar. While the alternative was to let the Knights take her to an experiment she may not have come back from, it still feels like I’ve painted a massive target on her back. I just want to keep her safe. Yet, all I seem to do is put people I care about in danger.

So lost in my thoughts, I don’t realize we’re at one of the lab rooms until our procession comes to an abrupt halt, and I almost bump into Ryker. Thankfully I’m able to stop short at the last second.

Fishing a key out of his pocket, Ryker pushes open the stainless steel door that opens up into a similar soulless, all-white lab space like the one I was in yesterday. Not having much choice with all the guards at my back, I hesitantly enter the room after Ryker to see three people in lab coats look up at us in surprise. One of them is the tawny-haired man from yesterday.

As soon as I’m through the threshold, Ryker reaches over to pluck Annabel out of my arms. Tightening my hold on her, I try to stop him from taking her. Even before the two Knights wrench my arms back, I’m losing the battle. Ryker is just too strong.

When the Knights pry my arms from Annabel and Ryker takes her, I try to lunge after her. “No!” I shout as I thrash around, trying to get free of the guards.

“You seemed to lack the proper motivation to shift yesterday.” Ryker gives me a smug smile that makes the scar on his face bunch as he places Annabel on the floor and kneels next to her. He roughly grabs her chin and forces her to look at me. Her terrified brown eyes filling with tears shred my heart as I keep trying to get to her. “Hopefully, this will help.”

“How do you expect me to shift?” My voice is breathy from the exertion, but I refuse to stop trying to get Annabel away from him. “You have a suppression field up.”

It feels like he’s setting me up for failure. He wants me to do something that’s impossible just so he can hurt me through Annabel.

“That’s not my problem, mutt. Now throw her in the containment circle,” Ryker orders while holding up the brown stone around his neck. He whispers something I can’t hear, but I see the circle light up in reaction.

I fight the guards dragging me every step of the way, wanting to get back to Annabel, but it’s ultimately no use. The two men throw me by my arms into the spelled area.

Without the brown stone around Ryker’s neck, I get shocked as I pass through. It feels like a thousand hammers are striking all over my body for the brief moment I’m in contact with the spell. When I land in a heap on the floor, I have to bite my cheek hard enough to bleed to keep from whimpering in pain from the thousands of volts that just coursed through me. My muscles continue to spasm as I lie there panting.

“You might be thinking to yourself, well that wasn’t too bad,” Ryker starts. I meet his gaze as I struggle to my feet. He clearly hasn’t been electrocuted by the circle because that so wasn’t what I was thinking. “But the spell is only one way for you. Should you try to escape, you’ll be trapped in the electric field until I decide to free you.”

Lovely.

“I. Can’t. Shift,” I growl at him, wanting him to get it through his thick skull that what he wants is impossible. Even though I’m a hybrid, the suppression field still seems to work on my wolf side.

Ryker tsks and shakes his head before pulling a wicked-looking knife from the back of his belt. “That’s a pity. I didn’t want to hurt the whelp, but you’ve forced my hand.” He unsheathes the weapon and presses the sharp silver tip to Annabel’s bare arm. She struggles to get away from the blade, but Ryker easily holds her in place.

“Wait!” I scream, desperation causing my voice to break. Ryker keeps the blade pressed up against Annabel’s arm but doesn’t make any move to cut her. I reluctantly admit through clenched teeth, “My energy is still low. Will only a full shift count?”

Ryker’s lip curls up as he shrugs. “We’ll have to see what you come up with. I can’t make any promises.”

I don’t want to take my eyes off Annabel but closing them is the only way I can focus on my magic. “It’ll be okay. I promise,” I tell her, trying to infuse a confidence I don’t feel into my voice.

She gives me a tearful nod before I squeeze my eyes tight and look for the small blue flame in my chest.

Since I can’t feel or find my wolf, shifting is definitely out. So, I need my magic to make it look like I’m partially shifting. Making Ryker believe I can fully shift seems like a bad idea. I don’t want him to think he has all the answers and doesn’t have a need for me or Annabel any longer. While my mage power is usually an uncooperative bastard, I’m hoping it will work with me for Annabel’s sake.

Picturing what I want to happen, I wait to look at Ryker until I feel my magic buzzing through me. After what I think is long enough, I blink open my eyes, hoping against hope they’re the signature amber color of shifters.

“Holy shit. How is that possible?” one of the guard whispers from near the door.

I keep my eyes on Ryker to make sure he sees that I’m trying to call my wolf. When I’m sure he’s noticed my amber eyes, I let my magic go and slump like I’m exhausted. I need him to believe that I’m doing everything I can to comply with his orders.

Ryker dismisses me as soon as my magic fades and turns to the same scientist from yesterday. “Clark, anything useful from that?”

“Yes, sir,” Clark replies quickly, not wanting to draw Ryker’s ire. “There was a massive magic spike for the duration of her demonstration.”

Ryker’s brows furrow. “What does that mean for the suppression spell?”

Clark shakes his head as his gaze remains fixed on the machine in front of him. “I don’t know. I would need to see it repeated enough and have time to analyze it before I can draw any conclusions.”

“Shift again,” Ryker demands.

Blowing out a breath, I turn my eyes amber again and again and again until I really am worn out from all the magic usage. I must do the same thing at least twenty times over an hour and a half.

By the time the scientist speaks up, I’m considering just lying on the cold, hard floor with how wiped I am. “We’ve got what we need!” Clark tells Ryker excitedly. “I need a day or two to analyze the data, and then we can test our conclusions.”

“Stop yapping and get to it.” At Ryker’s lack of praise, Clark deflates. He hangs his head as he and the other scientists walk out of the room through the door by the two-way mirror. I don’t feel particularly bad for him because he’s cool with Ryker hurting a child to further his experiments.

I give Annabel a half smile when she glances up at me from her spot on the floor. She has her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest protectively. After I changed my eyes to amber the first time, Ryker stopped holding her, much to her and my relief.

I’m so focused on Annabel that I don’t notice Ryker striding over to me until he’s standing right next to me. He backhands me across the face, whipping my head to the side. My lip doesn’t split this time, but my cheek throbs angrily. I cup my face and turn to glare at him.

I bite my tongue so I don’t ask him what the actual fuck . I just did what he asked. Why is he slapping me around?

He can read the question I don’t voice on my face, apparently. “As a reward for following directions, I won’t hurt the whelp. However, I can’t have the other shifters thinking you get special treatment, can I? I would eviscerate anyone else here for daring to ask for me. Since you’re so crucial, I’ll go easier on you, but I still need to send a message. I’m sure you understand.”

I’m pretty sure he can do whatever he wants, but I don’t get a chance to respond because Ryker grabs me by the shoulders and shoves me down onto the knee he’s aiming at my gut. The blow knocks the wind out of me. I drop to my knees, which slam into the tile with a crunch. I only barely keep from crying out at the pain zinging through my kneecaps.

When I’m sure I have my expression under control, I lock eyes with Annabel and try to force a reassuring smile. “I need you to do something for me, sweetie. Close your eyes and cover your ears with your hands. Do you remember that song I was humming?” Ryker hauls me up to my feet by my hair, and a few tears leak out at the fiery pain searing across my scalp. I don’t look at him as I keep my gaze on the terrified little girl watching me and nodding. “Hum that and keep your eyes closed until I come get you. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” she whispers so faintly I have to read her lips to know what she was saying. I give her an encouraging smile as she closes her eyes.

Ryker chooses that moment to take out his knife and cut a stripe down my left arm. I do whimper as the serrated blade tears through my skin, sending blood gushing out of the mangled wound. Giving me a vicious smile, Ryker does the same on my other arm and pulls back the blade to cut me again.

Retreating to the often-used corner of my mind that helped me get through Patrick’s beatings, I let the numbness wash over me as Ryker breaks my body much the same way my stepfather used to.