Torin strode through the forest, his mind dark with rage. It took everything in him to keep his temper, but he was determined to get her back to his home before he began any kind of punishment. She was obviously injured, but he felt no sympathy; mostly just satisfaction that she had been hurt. It meant that she hadn’t got off lightly with her battle against his innocent brother.

“Please, let me go,” he heard her say, her voice shaking a little. “I didn’t do anything except defend myself.”

Torin’s wolf growled, urging Torin to let him free so that he could show this woman exactly what happened when you killed a shifter. But with an effort, he kept a firm control over the beast. The first step was to get her home. After that, he’d think about what it was he was going to do.

It didn’t take much effort to shove Sasha into the back of his van, practically throwing the scrap of the dog into her arms. She cried out and desperately tried to catch the creature, but he slammed the door shut before seeing whether or not she’d managed it. He didn’t care about the dog. The only reason he was bringing it along was so that it wouldn’t raise the alarm.

Locking the back of the van, he strode around to the front and went to pull the driver’s door open. It was only then that he realized his hands were shaking.

His jaw tightened as he ran his hands through his hair, drawing in a few deep breaths. He had to control himself before he got behind the wheel. The last thing he needed was someone stopping him for driving erratically – not that there were very many police officers near this part of the highlands. There were hardly any houses out this way, which was just what he liked. His pack could roam free whenever they liked, and he had the solitude he so often craved.

Pacing towards the front of his van, Torin leaned against the hood and tried to ignore the shouts coming from the back of his van. Sasha was clearly upset, although she hadn’t quite given in to panic. Probably some of that police training kicking in. Oh yes, she’d know every trick in the book to try to get him to let her go free but Torin was prepared for that. He wasn’t about to let her get at him. He’d tracked her for a couple of days, before the right opportunity had presented itself. She could cry and scream all she liked, but he wasn’t about to listen. She’d killed his brother in cold blood, somehow believing that he was the serial killer everyone had been searching for, but Torin knew she had been wrong. Most likely, she’d been trying to find someone to put the blame on so that she could bring her case to a close, and Thomas had been the one she’d found.

Thomas Clifford. His brother. Dead.

Dropping his head, Torin struggled against the swirl of nausea in his stomach, still struggling to take in the truth of the matter. His brother was gone. They’d never been particularly close, but Thomas had been his own flesh and blood. They’d grown up together, taken over their father’s business together and spent a few hours every day together. There was no way that Thomas was the man the police had been looking for.

Okay, so Thomas had been distant the last year, but that was just Thomas. He’d never been particularly open with anyone, choosing to live in a house a good few miles away from the factory, but Torin hadn’t had a problem with that. They didn’t have to be close just because they were brothers. He just liked that Thomas was a good business man.

Sasha had gotten it wrong. Thomas wasn’t a killer. And, because she’d taken his life, that meant she had to pay.

It had been pretty easy to discover where she was, given just how chatty the townspeople were. They’d told Torin more than enough about Sasha for Torin to make a few quick calculations. If Sasha was meant to be on holiday for a month, then no one would miss her if they couldn’t get in touch with her. They’d just assume she was taking the break she apparently so ‘desperately needed’. Torin rolled his eyes, thinking about the sympathy on the superintendent’s face as he’d discussed Sasha. It was as though the man didn’t care about what Torin was going through, focusing only on the woman who’d spilled Thomas’ blood.

Flinging open the driver’s side door, Torin threw himself into the front seat and revved the engine. If he revved it loud enough, he could almost drown out the sound of Sasha’s cries, in spite of his enhanced hearing. Turning up the radio, he drove down the dirt track away from the forest, a small smile spreading across his face. He had done it. He’d captured the woman who had put his brother in the grave and now, somehow, he was going to have his revenge.

“Get out.”

Sasha stared at him with wide, fearful eyes, holding her dog to her chest with one hand.

“I said,” Torin growled, his eyes narrowing. “Get out of the van.”

“No,” came the reply, in a voice that was stronger than Torin had expected. “You don’t know what you’re doing. I’m a police officer. If you kidnap me or….” Her voice trailed away, her face growing pale.

“If I kill you?” Torin continued, with a wolfish grin on his face. He’d had that idea, but wasn’t sure yet which way this would go. Besides, there were other ways to get his revenge.

Sasha lifted her chin. “I’m not afraid of you. People will come looking for me.”

He chuckled, reaching forward to grab one ankle before pulling her towards the edge of the van. Sasha shrieked and tried to kick out, but he caught her other leg almost at once.

“You’re on holidays for a month, don’t you remember?” he asked smoothly, continuing to pull until she was sitting right on the edge, her body almost pressed up against his. He had her right where he wanted her and Torin fully intended to intimidate her in any way he could.

“No one’s going to come looking for you, no one’s going to raise the alarm, no one is going to do anything,” he breathed, his furious anger igniting itself again. “I’ve got you to myself for a whole month and I fully intend to take my revenge for what you did to my brother.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” she whispered, only for Torin to jerk her, hard.

“Don’t say that,” he bit out, his face inches from hers. “You killed an innocent man, just so you could close a case. My brother would never do anything like that. You’re a fraud.”

Sasha stared up at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and determination. He wasn’t quite able to break her yet, and, much to Torin’s surprise, he felt a slight frisson of admiration for her. In fact, he found himself almost caught by her eyes, suddenly unable to look away.

“Please,” Sasha whispered, still clutching her dog. “I didn’t do anything wrong. If you come to the station, I can show you the case notes, all the evidence –”

“No!” Torin shouted, stepping back and pulling her roughly from the van. “I won’t listen to your lies. I know what you did. You shot him. He’s dead because of you.”

Sasha lifted her chin, her skin milk white but a resolute look in her eyes. “Your brother died because he attacked me,” she said, quietly. “Nothing you can do or say to me is going to change that.”

Torin blinked twice, surprised to see that she was still appearing so unafraid. “We’ll just see about that,” he muttered, reaching for her dog.

Sasha’s eyes flared immediately, and she tried to run, but his grip on her arm was too strong. Torin smiled inwardly, aware that she was attached to her dog in a way that he could use.

“Now,” he said, quietly, each word filled with fury. “If you don’t do what I ask, I’ll take this dog of yours apart bit by bit.” He glared at her, unblinking, giving her no doubt that he’d do exactly what he’d said. She slumped almost immediately, the fight temporarily gone from her.

“Good,” he grunted, shoving the dog back in her arms. “Now, through that door and up the stairs. No nonsense now.”

He chuckled darkly to himself as she turned and walked towards the door, the spark and determination to fight against him completely gone. He’d have knocked her out and thrown her into the room if she’d refused to do what he wanted, but things were just easier this way. It meant that she had to give in to his demands regardless of what she felt herself. She would see that she wasn’t about to escape from him, no matter what she tried. It was better that she learned that now, better that she gave up now. And all for a dog, Torin thought to himself, rolling his eyes. He had no time for softness of that nature, in either personal life or business.

“In here,” he growled, leaning past her and shoving the door to his room open, hard. She stopped just outside it.

“Whose room is this?” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“It’s mine,” he said, softly. “I want to keep you safe, see?” he said with a leering grin.

She swallowed hard. The dog leapt out of her arms as she began to tremble, clinging to the door frame for support. Frustrated with her, Torin scooped her up and strode in, practically flinging her onto his large queen bed. She shrieked at once, scrambling back across it until she fell backwards onto the floor. Torin, feeling quite happy that she was so afraid of him, simply pulled the door shut behind him and feeling for the key in his pocket, locked it. There was no way she could get out. The window was nailed shut, and with a large drop underneath, even if she could get out that way, there was nothing she could use to get to the ground.

He paused for a moment, frowning to himself as a sudden thought hit him. Had she thought he intended to rape her? Was that why she’d gone sheet white and had scrambled off the bed in fright? An uncomfortable feeling ran down his spine, filling him with a sudden urge to unlock the door, go back inside and explain that he wasn’t that kind of man…. but he stopped himself just in time.

He wanted her to suffer, didn’t he? So what did it matter if she thought that about him? It would only add to her fear and distress and that was exactly what he wanted. Shrugging his shoulders, Torin walked down the hallway, back down the stairs and into the kitchen, feeling more than satisfied with the day’s events.