Four wolves are holding James down, while I’m surrounded by at least twelve. I guess it says something that they knew they needed big numbers to take me. Adam steps forward, holding out silver shackles. His amber eyes scream evil and I know I don’t want this brute touching me.

“Come with us calmly, and we won’t hurt your protector. If you don’t, well then, pain will be all you feel for days,” he grins maliciously as the wolves shift around me uneasily. I should have been more prepared but no, I thought we had finally won Cam’s pack over. James had offered to take me for a walk as my guard so I could relax. Let’s just say, all the women excited by heat cycles and asking when I would have children, was getting a bit too much for me. Especially when the guys were just as excited. I still hadn’t told them I didn’t want kids, even though James kept telling me to, I just didn’t want to upset them.

I weigh the odds, deciding if James is free, then we could take them. I nod at the wolf, waiting until he’s within striking distance before kicking out, sending him and the shackles, flying. I move lighting fast, knocking two of the guys away from James giving him the advantage we need.

He sends the remaining two flying and turns to face me as the brute gets back to his feet. I try to negotiate our way out, hoping the guys would have heard me, “Look, you can leave unharmed, or you can wait until my mates get here and destroy you,” I smirk, waiting for them to back down.

Adam however grins at me, taking a step towards me. James grabs me, pulling me back a couple of steps so he is the one who would get the attack.

“Oh James, you can’t protect her,” he grins, pulling a gun from his back pocket and firing it at me. James moves at the last second, taking the bullet intended for me. I stare down at the ground, shocked. James is lying there, unmoving and my body is numb.

I drop to my knees, grief taking over me. “James?” I shake him as if expecting him to get straight back up again, forgetting everything that goes on around me.

“Dani,” he gurgles, blood spilling from his mouth. “You need to run. Find somewhere safe.”

I shake my head in defiance, “I won’t leave you, I can heal you.”

He smiles up at me, pain in his eyes. “It’s my time. This is how I’m meant to die. I saved you and have guided you as best I can. You are going to be a great Queen and I’m sorry I won’t see how amazing you will be.”

As the last words leave his mouth, his eyes dull, the light extinguished. I can’t believe it. He’s gone. Dead. I slowly get to my feet, my body barely containing my pain and anger.

Adam is still talking but it’s barely filtering in, “As for you ‘princess,” he spits at me, “Your mates aren’t coming. You must be stupid to think any of our pack would follow you, the woman who killed our Alpha’s mate, while she was pregnant no less. We know what you are, you’re a deceiver. You say things to get your way but we are still true to our king!” he booms, for the first time scaring me.

“Carrie’s dead?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper, the blood draining from my face. Cam hated his father but thought his mother could be redeemed.

He looks slightly confused by my question before a hard mask falls back in place, “Don’t try and pretend you don’t know. Now last chance, come with us willingly, or we make you.”

I weigh my options, sure that my mates won’t be far behind. Hell, even Jake and Rick barely leave me alone since I was taken at the first pack. This was my first time I could walk off because we thought all the packs were on our side. They aren’t going to let me go anywhere alone after this.

“She’s not going anywhere with you.” At first, I’m surprised by the voice, honestly thinking no one could come but when Erick steps from the trees, my heart soars knowing my chances of getting out of this alive just vastly increased.

My would-be captor grins, “Oh I beg to differ, Elder. You see, you didn’t come alone, did you?” He smirks as another shot rings out. What the hell is happening? I look at Erick, shocked to see blood appear on his chest.

His body crumbles and he lies gasping as I run to his side. I cover his wound, trying to staunch the flow of blood but he’s bleeding out faster than possible.

Footsteps sound from around us, and I look up to see Sonja appear from the woods holding a gun, a wicked smirk on her face. She looks so proud of herself.

“Oh, hello Dani, fancy seeing you here. You know, you deserved this. The moment you challenged me, it sealed your fate. Now you are going to get up, and let Adam put the shackles on you. If you fight, I’ll start putting bullets wherever I think they’d look good. Personally, I think silver would look fantastic in your heart but my orders are not to, that doesn’t mean I can’t play a little though,” she grins maliciously as if this is the best game of her life. “What the hell is wrong with you? I am your future Queen, Erick was your friend and fellow Elder, do you really think you will get away with this?” I ask outraged.

Both her and Adam laugh. Once she sobers, she looks down at me with a sneer, “Dani, don’t you get it yet? I won’t be blamed, you will! I caught you, while you were in a heat cycle with Eli.” I try to mask the shock at Eli’s name but mustn’t have hidden it well.

“You didn’t think I knew about your new mate hidden among the rogues? I know everything,” she drawls, letting the gun hang at her side. I try to make a plan to get away. They’ve obviously gone crazy. I guess working with Luke does that to a person. Maybe I can use my will to have them submit to me?

I let my wolf rise to the surface and Adam and Sonja both raise their guns, “Stop! If we even get a whiff of you trying to use your powers, your mate will die,” Adam growls, gesturing at another wolf at the back of their group. He moves away and reappears, dragging a body wrapped in silver chains.

Oh god! “Eli!” I shout, taking a step forward only to be grabbed from behind. I lash out and send the wolf flying into a tree, hearing the crack as his neck snaps.

Sonja pulls the trigger, the bullet whizzing past my ear, halting me from moving. I stare at them, fury boiling my blood. Adam bends down holding his gun directly over Eli’s heart.

“You finished? Or would prefer me to kill your mate and take your chance on your own, though I guarantee, we’d kill you before you could attack,” she says, gesturing one of the men forward. He’s got gloves on and is holding out a pair of silver cuffs, ready to restrain me.

God damn it! The guys are going to kill me for this! I nod, slumping my shoulders and holding my hands out for him to step forward and cuff me.

Sonja smirks at my show of defeat, “Good girl. Now, where was I? Oh, that’s right you running off. Erick came here and saw you in the middle of the heat cycle but your mate wanted you to himself and shot Erick as he tried to save you from yourself. I was on my way into the pack lands, ready to apologize when I saw your new mate here,” she kicks Eli in the side, waking him out of unconsciousness.

He looks up at her, letting a growl slip through his lips, “I’m going to kill you.” His eyes flash amber, his wolf projecting power even though he’s chained. Sonja looks down at him with disgust, “Filthy mutt,” she spits, lifting her gun and shooting him in the thigh.

Eli screams as the pain rips through his body, the silver burning him from the inside out. Sonja continues her tirade, waving the gun around maniacally, “Your mate was fucking you and so I had no choice but to try and help but I was no match for the Alpha Queen who demanded I leave her alone to be with her mate. I walked back to the pack and after a day of not hearing from you, I had to let your mates know what I saw. You had left them for a filthy mutt.”

How fucking sick! I know my boys won’t believe her shit but if she tells other pack members, they may. After all, she is supposed to be an Elder, and her fellow Elder has supposedly been killed so, there’s no-one to back up her story.

I look at the wolves around me, “I won’t forget this. Each of you here think I’ve done something I haven’t and for that you have all become traitors to your pack. I will remember. I will burn it into my brain, each and every image of you, then once I’m free, I will rip your throats out, one by one in front of your mates so they know the shame you have brought onto your pack.”

I turn my gaze on Sonja, a fire burning in my soul, “I’m going to take great pleasure in your death,” I grin at her, letting her see the wolf in my eyes. I see the flicker of fear, but she hides it before any of the others notice it.

I look at each of the wolves around us, “If any of you wish to survive, your only option is to tell my mates what has happened. I pray for all of you that they don’t find out what you’ve done before I escape,” I smirk, watching a few of them pale considerably.

As we’ve visited each of the packs, word has grown of our strength and relationship. I imagine some of them are realising that you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.

“I’m sick of hearing your pathetic voice,” Sonja says, gesturing behind me as something hard hits the back of my head. The first hit doesn’t knock me out but the second does.

 

***

 

Jolting up, I gasp as pain shoots down my spine. “Easy Dani,” Eli’s voice says in the darkness.

“Ah crap, so that wasn’t a dream then?” I ask, rubbing the back of my head, noticing the jangle of chains in the dark room. I can feel a chain wrapped around each of my wrists, and my neck. At least my feet are free.

Eli sighs in the dark, “No, it wasn’t a dream, but I keep hoping it is. I have no idea how to get us out of here,” he admits, sorrow lining his voice.

“Fuck,” I groan, feeling the sticky dry mess that is the back of my head. “How hard did they hit me? It still hasn’t healed yet.”

At first, he remains silent before finally speaking. “Dani, she almost killed you. You’ve been out cold for a week at least. I’m not really sure, they turn the lights on randomly to keep us guessing if it’s night or day,” he murmurs, lost in thought.

“What?!” I screech. “A week! Are you fucking kidding me! How has no one found us yet?!” I ask, starting to panic. My one reason for giving in was I thought my mates would come for me, but if I’ve been here a week then maybe not.

He doesn’t answer me, giving me the answer I need. They haven’t found us, because they believed what Sonja said, or they’re dead. I refuse to believe they’re dead though. Surely, I would feel it? I reach for my wolf, only to feel her lulled in my mind. She has been sapped of all energy by keeping me alive.

“What do we do then? I’m not staying here until we die,” I announce, getting to my feet, trying not to let panic take control. I feel around, trying to gauge where we are but all I feel is cold, smooth stone. No divots except where the chains are attached the wall. I try pulling them away but the silver just burns my hands. Fuck!

There’s only a couple feet length for me to move and I have no idea what to do now. Sinking to the floor in defeat, I let out a frustrated sigh.

Eli chuckles from the side, “Yeah, it’s pretty impossible. They made sure there was no way for us to get out. I’ve been checking every day, even though I know it’s impossible. The only thing we can do is wait to be rescued.”

Yeah… that’s just not something I’m good at. I’d rather be the one doing the rescuing rather than be the one being rescued. It gives me that feeling of weakness. It’s bad enough James saved me from the attack while we were with Pete’s pack. Sadly though, he won’t save me this time since he’s dead. A sob echoes in the room and I let it sink in. He’s really dead. He saved me but he’s dead.  I cry until I have no tears left. Eli doesn’t say anything, just leaves me to my grief.

Hours pass, and I start to drift off to sleep when light blares into existence. Covering my eyes, I get to my feet prepared for any attack they want to dish out. Why else would they keep us alive? I figured by now, Luke would’ve killed me.

I hear footsteps descending stone stairs, the soft sound of flesh on stone, giving me a direction to face. Off to my right, Eli shuffles getting up from his position on the floor. The sound of chains makes me sad. I knew he would be chained as I am, but to hear it confirmed, breaks my heart.

My eyes adjust to the light, watering from the harshness, just in time to see Adam strolling straight up to me. I tense, knowing something bad is going to happen.

“Where would they go?!” he demands in my face, spittle flying as he pants angrily. I glance to Eli, confused to see him smirking slightly.

Turning back, I ask, “Who?”

He laughs harshly, swinging out and slapping me. “Your mates! Where are they?!”

I taste blood on my lips but that doesn’t stop the laugh from bubbling out. Adam takes a step back, shocked before gathering his wits again. “Do you think this is funny?!” he screams in my face.

“Are you kidding me right now? You kidnapped me, threatened that my mates wouldn’t save me, then I wake up here, a week later and you think that I know where my mates are?! Are you fucking stupid? How the hell am I supposed to know where they are? Why don’t you ask your ‘all powerful’ king? If he’s as good as he says he is, then he should have already caught them by now,” I smirk, as his face gets angrier. My wolf is pissed and she’s enjoying it every bit as much as I am. He’s going to be the first one to die once we’re out of these chains.

He stares at me, his face turning a shade of purple as his anger builds. I know the hit’s coming before he swings, so I dodge at the last minute, enjoying when I hear his fist slam into the wall, breaking his hand.

He rears back, screaming in agony as Eli and I burst into laughter. “Did that hurt?” Eli asks him through his fits of laughter. I grin over at him, loving the fact that even though we’re locked up, we can still cause our captor pain.

He stomps away from us up the stairs, all the while cursing under his breath. I expect the lights to go out but a few moments later the door creaks open and heavy footsteps sound on the stairs, a foreboding feeling coating the room.

I feel his evil before I see him. Luke’s vibe was always off to me.

He waltzes right up to me, and wastes no time punching me in the jaw. My head is thrown back into the wall, blurring my vision. My jaw is in agonizing pain but I refuse to show him how much it hurt.

“Dani!” Eli shouts, thrashing in his chains. “I swear to god, I’m going to kill you for that you rotten son-of-a-bitch!” He growls pulling tight on his chains.

Luke turns his ire on Eli, kicking his knee, the snap echoing through the room. He cries out and drops to the ground cradling his knee in pain. He glares up at Luke, promising revenge but I don’t know if he’ll get the chance. My wolf is imagining every possible way we can kill him right now. Many of which are going to be drawn out as long as possible.

“Luke, it’s me you want. Leave Eli alone!” I demand, using what power I can summon which considering the circumstances, isn’t much, but it’s enough to draw his gaze back to me and away from Eli.

He reaches out, grabbing my jaw firmly, a hiss of pain escaping my lips at the rough contact. “You do not get to order me around. I want you to know just who is in charge here. It’s not Eli, it’s not you, and it’s not Adam. I’m the one calling the shots. Now, are you going to be a good little girl, or a smart ass little bitch that needs to be put in her place?”

I glare up at him, not wanting to cause myself more pain but knowing I can’t let him win so I do the only thing left. I lift my knee hitting him square in the balls.

He jerks back, his eyes tearing up with the pain. Eli laughs through his own pain as Luke lands in a heap on the floor, gasping form the pain. “You bitch!” he shrieks, summoning wolves to come running down the stairs.

Adam and another wolf help Luke to his feet. Once he’s steady, he pushes them away harshly. “Hold her!” he growls, commanding Adam and the other guy. They surround me on either side, each grabbing an arm and leg, holding me in place. I growl at them, pissed these chains limit my movement.

Luke shakes himself off, approaching me, much more confident knowing his minions are holding me down. “You know, I thought I was going to wait to take you as my mate, but I think now’s the perfect time. I already have one of your mates watching. What could be more fun than getting you pregnant with my child as your mate watches, unable to do anything about it? Maybe I’ll ask a few members of the pack if they’d like a turn too?” he grins, as the blood drains from my face.

I glance over at Eli. His face shows torment and rage like no other, taking over his soul. I look away, unable to see such pain. There’s nothing he can do to stop Luke and we both know it.

Luke grins, pleased to see we’ve both come to the same conclusion. “You’re lucky I have more important things to deal with right now,” he says, dismissing us as if we’re nothing but insects. He turns on his heel without another word and back up the stairs. Adam and the other guy release me, following Luke. As soon as the door shuts, I slump to the ground relieved.

Eli crawls as close as he can get, but still too far away, his eyes showing a vulnerability I didn’t expect. “Are you alright? How bad are you hurt?” he asks, concern in his voice.

I’m about to answer when I hear the door open again and I tense, expecting Luke to come back down but it’s someone else carrying a few trays of food. I smell the meat straight away, and my wolf perks up immediately.

The guy looks familiar to me but I can’t quite place him. He gives Eli his tray before placing mine in front of me. I watch as he reaches out, gripping my hand in his. I look down at his hand confused, when I feel the press of metal before he releases me. He gets to the bottom of the stairs before turning back to us, muttering under his breath just loud enough for us to hear him. “Two hours. If you’re not gone by then, you’ll never get another chance.”

He leaves taking the steps two at a time. Instead of turning the lights off, they’re left on. I open my hand looking at the key he placed in it.

Using it, I quickly unlock the chains from my neck and wrists before rushing to Eli, doing the same. “What should we do?” I ask.

Eli hesitates, taking a quick walk around the room, looking for something. Once he’s satisfied, he joins me at my side, keeping his voice low, “Ok, here’s the plan. Eat, then we leave. Neither of us has much energy. I know it seems like a waste of time but you’re still healing,” he says when I go to interject.

“What about you? They shot you when we were taken and now, Luke’s dislocated your knee. You must be in a lot of pain.”

He grimaces, rubbing his hand over a newly formed scar in his right thigh “Yeah but I’ve had a week to heal and a weeks’ worth of meals to give me the energy I needed to heal it.” He pauses, stretching out his dislocated knee and I hear a distinct ‘pop’ as he puts it back in place. He groans, biting his lip his face contorted in pain. “There all good, it should start healing properly while I eat. Now sit, and eat,” he commands, pushing the tray closer to me. 

I nod, digging in greedily trying not to focus on the fact he just popped his kneecap back into place before happily eating. Our plates have been piled high with five steaks and at least a dozen baked potatoes, all of which is gone in ten minutes. Still my wolf is wanting more. I have to admit, for kidnappers they really do feed you well.

All the food on Eli’s tray is gone and he looks just as I feel. “If you need to go to the bathroom, I suggest you do it now. I have no idea where we are or when we’ll get a chance to stop,” he says, some color coming back into his cheeks. I feel bad having wolfed my steaks down without offering him some. He needs it just as much as I do.

I get up looking around the room for a bathroom only to notice a bucket in the corner of the room. You have got to be kidding me! “Um, is that it?” I ask hesitantly, pointing at the steel bucket in the corner.

“Yep! Just imagine you’re camping. It helps, trust me,” he grimaces. Ugh, gross.

I stare at the bucket, debating what to do but my bladder decides for me. “Eli, I need you to look at the wall and pretend like you can’t hear me. How about you tell me what happened since we’ve been here?” I ask, hoping his voice will drown out the sound of me relieving myself.

He sighs, turning around and staring at the opposite side of the wall. “Well, they’ve been in here once a day checking up on you. From what I’ve gathered, Luke killed Carrie because she was carrying another boy. I’ve heard whispers amongst the guards and I think his new plan is to make you his mate which has pretty much been confirmed by what happened earlier. Everyone knows now that you’re going through spurts of your heat cycle. He’s hoping if he keeps you here long enough, then he can mate with you during it, ensuring you get knocked up.”

“In his dreams! My wolf would rip off his junk before she let him touch us,” I exclaim as I tidy myself up. I’m going to need to shower so bad when I get back to the guys. “Alright, I’m ready to go.”

Eli faces me and I feel his power, starting to build. It’s awe inspiring. fear. “One day, you have to tell me just what the power is I’m feeling from you. It’s amazing.”

I look around the room, trying to gauge our next move, feeling the anger build at the situation we’ve been put in. I’m going to fucking hunt down Sonja, Luke and anyone else who had a part in our abduction and make them pay.

“It’s because I’ve been cleansed and have full access to my power. You should think about visiting my pack. Your wolf holds onto a lot of anger which is denying full access to your power. A cleansing would do you good,” he says as if he can feel the rage inside of me.

Eli straightens, grabbing hold of my hand, “Alright Dani. We’re going to go upstairs. Now they aren’t stupid, as much as we believe them to be, so they will most likely have guards placed throughout the house. If a wolf tries to stop you, kill it and run, no hesitating. If you lose me, you keep running. The priority is getting you to safety, you can always come back for me another time ok?” he asks a little too forcefully.

“NO! We both get out of here, or we both stay. I’m not leaving you behind.”

He sighs, smiling softly, “You are too good, you know that right? Fine, we’ll leave together but we have to stay close. I don’t want you to get left behind because then your mates would kill me. Now, let’s go.”