Behind Ash’s eyes, memories and dreams swirled in the darkness. He heard faint voices, like they were talking from far away, and his head struggled to process the words.

“Aaaaaaand the douchecanoe’s awake,” said a voice with a thick Southern accent. “Seriously, Miles. What kind of jackass uses an injury for sympathy sex?”

“Um. You would.” The deeper voice was unamused. They both sounded Appalachian. Ash tried to open his eyes to get a look at the two hillbillies, but it felt like his eyelids weighed a pound apiece.

“You’re right. I’m totally taking notes. Good one.” The first voice laughed, but Miles still didn’t join in the hilarity.

“It wasn’t sympathy sex,” Ash tried to mumble, but the words didn’t come out right.

“Oh, and it speaks!” The dumb one came a little closer.

Ash finally blinked his eyes open and tried to clear his vision, but damn…those drugs were potent. “What time is it? What day is it? Where am I?” He kept asking questions, but his coordination was off. When the words came out, they didn’t sound like real words.

“What’s it saying?” asked the dumb one, even closer this time. Suddenly, Ash got a whiff of Axe. Heavily sprayed. And under all that Axe, he smelled hay and horse manure. It reminded him of his doorstep…

Hands on his shoulders. Pinprick in his neck. These were the jerks who’d showed up at his door. Oh, geez. Were they serial killers?

They’d taken him from his house in the broad daylight and…shit…he tried moving his hands, but his wrists were bound together.

“Look, Miles.” Hands clapped, somewhere in the vicinity of his face. “It thinks it can get away.” The voice was overblown, like the guy was quoting from a movie or something. Or maybe the playbook of his favorite serial killer.

I’m going to die. Good God in heaven, I’m gonna die. At least they left Lisa. That was his only consolation.

“Dammit, Lee. Shut the hell up.” A blurry figure came toward him in the dark, smacking his shoulder. He felt, rather than saw, the impact. “You awake, boy?”

“I’ll go get Aaron.”

“Don’t get Aaron until we’re sure he’s okay. You gave him too much of the damn drug, Lee.”

Aaron? Who the hell is Aaron?

“It said to give him half an em-ell for every fifty pounds. How was I supposed to know how much he freaking weighed without seeing him first?” The dumb one named Lee was super close now. If Ash’s hands hadn’t been tied, he could have reached out and punched him in the face.

“Next time, I’m gonna do the dosing,” said the angry one.

“Next time?” Lee laughed. “You’re pretty convinced there will be a next time.”

“Shit, man. Turn the light on already. He’s breathing differently.”

“Okay,” Lee said, and then a bright light shocked Ash’s system.

He instantly closed his eyes again, shaking his head at the pain. He’d seen a brief glimpse of some kind of room, shared with him by two blurry beefcake men—yup, the same two from the front door. He blinked his eyes open slowly, trying to keep adjusting.

“Yup, he’s awake.” Lee’s voice came out of a tall man with short, light-blonde hair and a dumbass smile. He looked like a real idiot.

The other one was darker, angrier, more muscular. He had his head cocked to one side, and he watched Ash like a freaking predator.

Holy shit. I’m going to die. He saw the two-way mirror off to one side of the room. They’re going to kill me and someone’s watching it go down.

What kind of fucked-up place was this?

In the two-way mirror, he could see a chair behind his, back-to-back, like they were planning to chain someone else there. Thank God it wasn’t Lisa. Ash closed his eyes and tried to remember his prayers from Sunday school. If he was going out, he was going out with a clean soul.

And only one regret.

Letting Helena out of his sight.

“You awake, boy?”

Ash coughed and nodded his head. “Yeah. I’m awake.” This time, the words came out just like he’d planned them, only a little slower and a little groggier.

“How much do you weigh, just out of curiosity?” Lee asked, and the other one smacked him so hard, the dumbass jumped a foot. “Hey. I just wanna know if I guessed right.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Miles said, narrowing his eyes. “What’s your name, boy?”

“Aaaaassssshhhhhhhhhh.”

“Oh great, we lost him again.” Lee came toward him, one hand raised with his fingers spread out. “How many fingers am I holding up? Who’s the president of the—”

The other one smacked him again. “Shut up, Lee. I’m calling Aaron.” He walked toward the door, breaking out his cell phone and pressing something on it. “Aaron?” he said. Then he stepped through the heavy door, letting it wing shut behind him.

“You’re lucky I didn’t leave you alone with him,” Lee said, sucking on his teeth and making his eyes go wide. “These rooms make him a little crazy. He doesn’t like cages.”

Ash opened his mouth to answer, but…

What do you say to your serial killer?

Offhandedly, he wondered if Helena would have a contingency plan for a situation like this. She seemed to have plans for everything. He’d never sat down and thought about what he would say if someone kidnapped him and tied him up in a barn with a two-way mirror.

“And you’re not crazy?” Ash finally said, stumbling through the words.

His grin widened. “You’re lucky. I’m the sane one.”

The door opened again and Lee raised his brows a couple of times—a gesture that seemed to say, Wait and see. Ash’s heart was beating pretty damn fast.

“He’s on his way. They’re just breaking up the alpha meeting.”

“You think you should say the a-word in front of the uman-hay?” Lee said.

Uman-hay…pig Latin for human? Holy mother of green fairies. These guys were both certifiable. Ash looked around at the small, strange room. If he hadn’t smelled hay and manure, he would have assumed he was in the soundproof basement of some murder house.

But no, this was Texas. They’d brought him to a murder barn.

“Just shut up, Lee.” Miles crossed his arms and stood in the back of the room, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet like a psychopath. If Ash had learned anything on Criminal Minds, it was that there was always a dominant in any killing team. The dark-haired cage guy was obviously the dominant. If only he’d paid better attention and could remember how to get under the skin of said dominant psychopath.

There was only so much room in his brain, and he’d spent his day researching other things, like how to give Helena multiple mind-blowing orgasms. In retrospect, sweet-talking serial killers should have been #1 on his list.

Life goals.

“We wait for Aaron,” said the dominant.

Ash replayed a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds in his head in the silence, but he just couldn’t remember the dialogue. His sister was the one who’d gotten him into the dark serial-killer show. If only he’d paid more attention.

Lee paced around the room like he was nervous. He did little figure eights around Miles and Ash, but he kept blessedly silent. Ash kept working the restraints on his wrists, but they felt like actual metal. No way he could break handcuffs. Not even with adrenaline on his side.

A knock sounded on the heavy door, and the dominant one opened it. A big, broad-shouldered, bearded man walked in, and Ash instantly shifted his impression about who had the power in this situation. This guy was practically bleeding power. Like, it was coming off him in little cartoon smell lines.

This had to be the alpha they’d mentioned. The dominant.

His eyes narrowed on Ash and he looked around at his two sidekicks. “Who the hell chained him up?”

“We thought…” Miles looked at the other one, a dark look clouding his features. “You told us to go get him.”

“Yeah, I meant bring him here. Not stuff him in one of the interrogation rooms and chain him to a chair.”

“You never tell us to go get someone unless you mean… y’know…” He lowered his chin. “Go get them.”

“When have I ever asked you to chain someone up in the barn?” Aaron asked, rolling his eyes and kneeling down in front of Ash. “I’m sorry about them. Their last alpha was a…well, let’s just say…they need some house training.”

Ash thought it was weird that they kept using the word alpha. Sure, he was trying to ID the dominant one in the hopes it would help him escape, but why were they talking like that? Were these guys military? In some kind of cult?

Lee circled around Ash and unlocked the handcuffs, muttering, “Don’t you ruin this for us by moving or trying to get away. I’m letting you out, so you be nice,” like a damn psychotic. Score one more in the Bundy column.

“Stop mumbling,” Aaron said on a long-suffering sigh. “Stand him up.” He pointed his finger at Lee and, with a bite to his words, said, “If I ever want you to chain someone up in the barn, I will be crystal damn clear. Got it?”

“Got it, boss.” Lee walked Ash to his feet and swiped at his clothes, like he was cleaning off a pet’s fur. This situation wasn’t getting any less weird without the handcuffs.

“I expected better from you, Miles.” Aaron walked around and stood in front of Ash, spreading his feet wide and narrowing his eyes. “And you. You’ve been feeling some strange things lately, I hear.”

Ash opened his mouth to disagree with his murderer, but it occurred to him that the psycho was right. He remembered waking up in his bed with phantom hands on his ass and chest. And then the weird sensation of riding a horse, which he’d been convinced was a hair-of-the-dog daymare.

Instead, he nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“You slept with Helena Quade last night?” Aaron asked.

A quick pang of protectiveness stung his chest and he moved toward the big man, ready to punch him in the damn throat. Lee stopped him, but Ash struggled against the big hands. “What did you do with Helena?”

* * *

Tonya’s phone buzzed on the counter, distracting Helena from the strange sensation of metal around her wrists. Ash? She met Tonya’s gaze and held her breath.

“It’s time.” Tonya pointed to the back door. “They’re ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“The solution to your situation.” Tonya grabbed her hand and led her outside. They crossed the patio and then stepped off onto a gravel path that led straight to a massive horse barn.

“They’re not going to hurt Ash… He has a sister he has to take care of…a human family.”

“No,” Tonya said quickly. “Of course not.”

Helena breathed in and out a few times, trying to calm herself. Tonya stopped walking and put both her hands on Helena’s shoulders. “Hey, you’re going to be fine. He’s going to be fine too. There’ll be an adjustment period, but you will work through it together.”

Adjustment period? Tonya tugged on her hand. They were walking again. The red barn loomed ahead. Helena focused her hearing, but she only heard the nickers of the horses. Several people passed them on the path and Tonya made quick pleasantries before continuing to lead Helena toward the barn.

Ash was standing now. She knew it as if she were standing next to him. She could feel the distinct throb in his ankle. And he was close. Like really close. How did I not notice this before? Gods, I must have been drunker than I thought last night.

“Ash is here,” she said softly.

“Aaron had him brought here. You have to finish the bond. He has to be inducted into our culture so he knows to protect our secret.”

Helena tugged, but Tonya didn’t release her steely grip. Helena could’ve wrenched free. Tonya was a human. She wouldn’t be able to hold her. But she didn’t dare hurt the VonBrandt alpha’s wife. Besides, the woman had been nothing but kind and caring and they were trying to help her. Both Tonya and Aaron had indicated there was some sort of plan. Apparently finishing the mate bond was part of it. Dammit. The alpha had warned her that she probably wouldn’t like his solution.

He was right.

Tonya walked her around the back of the barn and up to one of the side doors, which the alpha’s wife opened to reveal a dark space. Helena could finally hear Aaron’s voice, and then Ash spoke, from deeper inside the barn.

“What did you do with Helena?”

She couldn’t see in the dark space, but she found herself shaking free of Tonya and running toward the door “Ash, I’m here,” she shouted.

Everything she’d felt for Ash came tumbling into her chaotic brain. All the feelings of belonging and safety came rushing back, slamming into her doubts and fears about being with a human.

She stopped short inside a dark hallway with one dark window and one bright one into what looked suspiciously like an interrogation room.

Holy cow. Who the hell are the VonBrandts? Who has interrogation rooms in their barn?

She could see Ash through the one bright window. He was still concerned about her, even though they’d…what…kidnapped him? How could they do this? Why?

Someone caught her arm. Not Tonya this time. She looked down to see Miles’ hand curled around her wrist. The door to the interrogation room was now open. “Let me go,” she snarled.

Tonya stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Is that the man you slept with?” she asked in an undertone.

This was it. She could deny it and maybe they’d let him go. Let him return to his life without her in it. She could survive living with a half bond, right? It was better than completely ruining an innocent man’s life. She closed her eyes. A vision of her grandfather losing his shit flashed through her mind. Fear crept up her spine like a shadow, threatening to swallow her completely. Ash was human. This could never work. Not in her pack. Grandfather would never allow it.

“Helena—” Tonya’s voice was firmer this time, “—is this the man?”

Helena sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”