Chapter 7

The silence was killing me. I couldn’t stand it. “What’s your name?” I asked, just for the sake of filling the silence that surrounded us.

“Why should I tell you?”

“Do you have to answer all of my questions with another question?” I shot back.

“Let’s remember who’s in control here.”

I gulped, recalling the moment he had slammed me into the wall. Fear crept under my skin in response to the memory. I had no way of knowing what this man was capable of. From those few seconds trapped under his body, I could tell that he was strong – very strong. I had no doubt he could hurt me if he wanted to.

Still, I couldn’t just sit here in silence, waiting for the inevitable…

“What about the leader?”

“What about him?” The man grumbled. “You know, I wish you’d just shut up. Most of the other girls were so quiet, but you just keep on running your mouth.”

“What is he the leader of?” I pressed, ignoring his statement. Maybe if I learned more about this man it would help me. Maybe I could somehow use it to my advantage.

“Does it matter?”

“Why am I in this cave?” I asked him another question, hoping I could wear down his patience. “Why have you brought me here and not someone else? Why are we so deep in the woods?”

“God. Do you ever shut up?” He cut me off, getting up in a rush. I cowered in the corner of my bed and flinched as he walked toward me, thinking he was going to hit me, but instead, he just ran his fingers through his coarse hair, pushing it out of his face. “If I answer your questions, will you promise to keep quiet?”

I nodded, unable to answer with the surge of terror that had shot up my spine.

He sighed and sat down, his hands on his thighs, his back against the cave wall. “We’re all part of a community. A community that the humans don’t know about.”

I cocked my head at his weird choice of words, wondering if he was delusional.

“We’re a group of people known as shifters.” He paused, rubbing his palms against his worn jeans. “We can transform into different animals at will, but only if we transform at least once a month. If we don’t, we lose control of our instincts and grow animalistic. Wild. Could turn at any time.”

I stared at him like he had a third head coming out of his chest. This guy was crazy. Was he really trying to tell me that he was a part of a shapeshifting community? He obviously had read one too many comic books and eaten one too many mysterious mushrooms.

“We’ve been using Amethyst as a base for months now. It’s far enough from the humans that we can transform at will and live our lives in peace.”

I could only stare at him, incredulous. Not only had I been kidnapped, but I had been kidnapped by a crazy person who believed in shape shifters!

I was almost afraid to keep the conversation going, but as long as he kept talking, it kept me distracted from all my fear-induced thoughts. “But you haven’t said anything about your leader… or why I’m here.”

He sighed. “You just won’t let this go, will you?” He shifted in his seat and licked his lips. “The Leader is the leader of our community, which I thought was obvious, but I guess not.” He looked at me, his blue eyes narrowing. “Anyway, after some shifters turn back to human form, they have insatiable sexual appetites. Our Leader has the worst one of all. So, every month, each of us finds a woman and brings her here. This month, however, I got stuck with babysitting duty.”

My eyes widened at his words. A sinking feeling developed in my stomach, like there was a rock lodged there. This couldn’t be happening. This man had kidnapped me so his leader could rape me. I shook my head and threw the torch at him.

It missed, clattering to the ground. “Hey! Why did you do that?” The man grabbed the torch quickly before it could extinguish. He came closer and I scrambled out of the bed, making a run for it. I couldn’t just let myself get raped. I had to escape. I had to escape now.

I stumbled in the darkness, desperately trying to feel my way out of the cave. Hot tears streamed down my face as my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.

I spotted the light of the entrance and quickened my pace, only to feel the man’s fingers around my arm once again, yanking me back. I yowled in pain, feeling like my arm would rip out of its socket. For the second time, he slammed me into the wall, taking my breath away. “Please… just let me go…” I said through my sobs, shaking my head. “I swear… I won’t say anything…” I pleaded with him, hoping he would have mercy on me.

“Calm down.” He pinned me against the wall with his body. “It’s okay.”

“How is it okay? Your leader is going to rape me!” I screamed, my eyes red and puffy.

“Listen. You’re looking at this all wrong. He’s not going to hurt you. The other girls… they were hesitant too, but the Leader has great patience. He will make sure you enjoy yourself. You’ll leave this cave feeling very satisfied.” The man said.

“How can you say that?” I asked, thinking he was even more insane than I thought he was. How was I supposed to enjoy a situation like this? This man was completely out of his mind.

But before I could say anything else, the light at the end of the cave was blocked out by a large, hulking figure. A heavy, musky scent filled the air.

The man beside me held his breath, his fingers tense around me. “He’s here.”