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Chapter

Forty-Four

D ANNY

“A deal is a deal.” The Pack Alpha’s voice came from behind Rex. “You held up your end and helped us with supplies and the omegas, so now he’s all yours and we’re square. Your petty vendetta shit is your problem. We’re not killing anymore wolves or smashing windows for you. Capisce?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Rex didn’t sound like he cared what the Pack Alpha said. All of his attention was focused on me.

I dropped to the floor and drew my knees to my chest, scooting backward until I was pressed into the corner.

Still, Rex advanced.

He looked like a bear who’d just discovered a honeycomb. Smug. Self-satisfied. Like he knew he’d already won.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” I raised my chin defiantly. “I won’t move from this spot.”

Rex folded his arms across his chest. “It’s done. Either you can come nicely, or you can get a beating. It doesn’t bother me either way.”

“I’m not coming,” I repeated, curling in on myself defensively. Once again, I searched within myself for my bear, but he was beyond my reach.

Rex looked at his wolf companion, as if expecting him to step in, but the wolf backed out of the room.

“I’ll leave you to it,” he said.

Rex’s jaw tightened. If I weren’t so finely attuned to reading his moods, I might not have noticed, but to me, it was as obvious as a sky-written message.

He stalked toward me, moving slowly and warily but without pause. Then, in one quick motion, he reached over, grabbed me by the collar, and yanked me out of the corner. I lashed out, kicking his leg. I aimed at his knee but missed.

He slammed me back against the wall, forcing the air from my lungs. My head knocked on the concrete and stars appeared in my vision. I gasped, struggling to breathe. Something warm trickled down the side of my face, and I instinctively tried to swipe at it, but Rex grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I planted the bottom of my foot on his gut and pushed, hoping to drive him backward and give myself some room to get away. He grimaced but didn’t flinch, so I aimed lower.

His eyes bulged, and his grip on me slackened. I dropped from his grasp and bolted for the door, which the wolf had left ajar. He thudded into me from behind, tackling me to the floor.

I went down hard, and cried out as pain ricocheted through me. One of his hands came across my mouth and I bit down, tasting blood. He swore and yanked it away. I gulped in a lungful of air and screamed as loud as I could. Rex reared back, his sensitive shifter ears desperate to avoid the aural assault.

The door was shoved open, and it whacked into the side of my head. I whimpered, wanting to cover my head to protect it, but with Rex on top of me, I couldn’t move my arms.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” the Pack Alpha demanded. “Tie him the fuck up and get him out of here. You’re upsetting Reid, and there’s only so much I can do to keep him calm. We need him under control for the move or all those supplies we’ve spent weeks gathering might fucking explode or something if he has a meltdown.”

“Help me tie him,” Rex grunted. “Then I’ll get out of your way. There are zip ties in my pocket.”

Someone made a sound of disgust and then two other sets of hands grabbed me. I fought them, but there was nothing I could do as they forced my hands behind my back and pulled a zip tie uncomfortably tight around my wrists.

Rex got off me and grabbed a handful of my hair. He pulled, and I jumped to my feet, doing my best not to trip and fall. He marched out of the room and I staggered behind him, knowing I ought to look around for details I could share with a rescue crew but unable to concentrate on anything other than the burning pain in my scalp.

One of the wolves opened the front door and I blinked, stunned by the brightness. In my mind, I’d thought it would be night by now, but it must still be afternoon or early evening.

A car was parked out the front. Rex opened the back door with his free hand and shoved me toward it. I faceplanted on the seat, unable to catch myself with my hands tied behind my back. He crammed my lower legs inside and shut the door.

I wormed forward and bit the door handle on the opposite side, ignoring the pain in my jaw as I pulled it toward myself. The door didn’t open. I scanned the interior and my stomach dropped. There was a child lock in place.

Changing tack, I pushed the window button down with my chin. Again, nothing happened. He must have it set so that only the driver could operate the windows.

Damn it.

As Rex got into the driver’s seat, I tried to maneuver myself into position to headbutt him. It was the only thing I could think of that might incapacitate him. Unfortunately, it took too long for me to lever myself into an upright position, and by then, he’d already started the engine.

“Don’t try anything.” He gestured at something on the front seat. I craned my neck and realized that it was a tranquilizer gun. “I’ll drug you again if you do.”

Defeated, I collapsed onto the back seat and rested my head against the window as he pulled out and began driving. The vibrations from the engine thrummed through my aching head. Cringing, I moved away from the window and watched the houses pass by.

After only a few minutes, we were out of Moonlight Cove and heading in the direction of Grizzly Ridge.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, not really expecting him to answer.

“I had a new cabin built midway between here and Grizzly Ridge.” He kept his gaze on the road, as if it wasn’t worth his time to glance back at me. “It’s been outfitted with a basement that has everything I need to keep you the way you deserve to be kept.”

My gut clenched, and I leaned forward and heaved the contents of my stomach onto the floor, filling the vehicle with the sour pang of vomit.

He’d had a prison built for me?

I retched again, but flinched backward when Rex swore and smacked at me.

Please, Knox. Find me soon.