Chapter 44
Elizabeth
“We need to get going,” Calvin said, and my blood turned cold.
“Where?”
He smiled wide, showing off the gap in his teeth. “It’s a special place I found for us. But we need to go now.”
I took a deep breath and straightened my spine. I couldn’t let him take me. I wouldn’t let him take me. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His smile turned feral. “Yes, you are. If we stay here, they’ll find us.”
“Who?”
He rolled his eyes. “Abraham, of course. I know he’s not done with you yet, and he’ll eventually come out here. We need to be gone by then.”
I took a step to the side, the couch still right up against my back. “No, Calvin. This needs to end. You need to turn yourself in and pay for what you did.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “You think I’d go to a human prison?” He snorted. “Never. I’d rather die.”
His words sent an ominous chill down my spine. Fear was threatening to freeze my muscles in place, but I somehow held it back. I needed to figure out a way out of this situation. Needed to make my brain work fast enough to come up with a plan.
I knew I couldn’t go anywhere with him. If I left my apartment, Abraham would never know where to find me and I’d be at Calvin’s mercy for however long he kept me. Knowing how he’d treated women in the past, I didn’t have much hope that I’d make it long with him.
I thought about trying to get past him and out the door, but what then? I couldn’t involve any of my neighbors, Calvin would kill them as easily as he’d been killing women in the woods.
I could try to outrun him, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t get far and what about Charlie? I couldn’t just leave him here, and I couldn’t trust Calvin with him.
I’d done my best to talk my way out of the situation, but that wasn’t working either. Calvin was so far into his delusion, he couldn’t listen to reason at this point.
That left me only one option.
I had to fight.
I took a deep breath and felt the wolf magic running through my veins. Every training session I’d had with Beatrice came flooding back, and I tried my best to remember all the techniques she’d shown me.
This is what it had all been for.
This was the moment we’d all been gravely anticipating.
Hoping it would be quick, I took another step to the side and let the shift rush through me. A few loud snaps later, and I stood on four legs instead of two.
The wolf inside me bared her teeth and growled menacingly. It seems she was not happy about being threatened and planned to do something about it. I was thankful that my instincts were taking over because I was petrified.
“Now, why did you do that?” Calvin asked.
I growled again, and he shook his head. “Then I guess you’ll be traveling as a wolf. Let’s go.”
I took a step back, my hackles rising. A voice deep inside me whispered again.
Do not show weakness.
Calvin sighed. “Elizabeth, we don’t have time for this. Come on.”
I lunged toward him. It wasn’t meant to be a successful strike, but more to startle him. Maybe I could make myself such a nuisance that he left without me.
“Elizabeth. I don’t want to hurt you, just come with me.”
I shook my head and lunged forward again, my teeth snapping just inches away from his leg.
Calvin’s face transformed right in front of me.
When before, he’d almost looked normal, now the manic gleam was back in his eyes and his smile was predatory. “All right. We can do it the hard way if that’s what you want.”
His clothes ripped at the seams as he swiftly transformed into his wolf. I swallowed harshly as I came face to face with the creature that had attacked me that night.
Then, I’d been alone in the middle of the woods, defenseless and ignorant to what he actually was. But now, I was prepared. I’d trained for this. I wasn’t going down again without a fight.
Calvin stalked toward me and I danced out of his way, feinting to the side before lunging the other way and snapping at him. He dodged my attack and swiped a paw at me, smacking me in the head so hard I saw stars.
“I really didn’t want to hurt your pretty face, but maybe you’ll be less likely to argue if I break your jaw,” Calvin spoke inside my head.
I gritted my teeth and ignored him, instead, lunging toward him again. This time I got the smallest bit of his skin, and he yelped in pain.
“You’re gonna pay for that.”
I leapt onto my sofa and around the other side of it. My apartment was a woefully inadequate space to fight for my life, but I had to make do.
Calvin came barreling at me, and I danced out of his way just in time. He went skidding into one of my tapestried walls, ripping the cloth from the thumbtacks. Wasting no time, he spun around and charged at me again.
Instead of just stepping out of the way, I also swiped a paw at him, digging my nails into his face as he sailed by me.
He yelped again and turned back, fire burning in his dark eyes. “You stupid bitch!”
I sensed a change in him then. When before, he’d held on to a modicum of control, now I could tell all reason had left him. He was wild, and savage, and I felt the terror trickle through me.
I wasn’t going to make it through this.
Calvin was going to win this fight.
Best case scenario, he kidnapped me. Worst case, he simply killed me like all those other women.
I’d never see Abraham again. Never watch the crooked smile spread across his face. Never step into his embrace and let all my worries fall away from me.
And worst of all, I’d never get the chance to tell him I loved him. He’d die shortly after me, thinking I didn’t.
That was the hardest pill to swallow.
He deserved so much more, and I’d been selfish. I’d kept my feelings locked up tight because of fear and now I was out of time.
As the desperation swirled within me, the wolf surged forward, ready and willing to take over this fight. I mentally stepped aside and let her through. Maybe she would find a way out of this mess for us.
Calvin came running toward me and at the very last second, I jumped out of the way pawing him in the face again. This time, my nails came back bloody.
He growled loudly, cursing at me inside my head, but I ignored him.
I felt a renewed energy. Like the wolf deep inside was lending me some of her strength.
I decided that I was sick of being on the defense. Instead of waiting for him to strike again, I darted forward while he pawed at his injured eye and bit down hard onto his hind leg.
He howled in pain and tried to shake me off, but I held on. Finally, he came to his senses and turned his head to bite me back, but I’d already released him and danced out of his way.
He limped forward, wincing as he did. “You’re gonna regret that,” he growled into my head.
I ignored him.
I wasn’t interested in trading banter, I was out for blood.
This was the man who’d stalked me. The person who’d been killing innocent women and leaving them in the woods around Abraham’s house, so he’d look suspicious. This was the man who’d bitten me and strangled me in the woods. The one who had turned my world upside down, just because he felt like it.
Well, I was done.
I wasn’t just looking to hurt him enough so that I could escape–I was going to kill him.
Calvin came running at me again, and instead of moving out of the way, I rolled onto my back and let him sail over me. Before he could clear my body, I reached out and latched on to his hind leg again.
Thankfully, it was the same one as before. It was weakened now and with a surge of strength, I snapped the bone in two.
Calvin howled louder than before, and I worried he’d wake the neighbors. The last thing I needed was for the police to show up only to find a couple of large wolves fighting in the middle of my apartment.
I released his broken leg and rolled onto my feet. Not pausing for a second, I lunged toward him again, teeth clamping down on one of his front legs this time. He shook me off quickly though and snapped back, missing by only inches.
I danced backward out of his range and tried to figure out my next move.
I wished I had hands. I’d run into my kitchen and find the biggest knife I could. But, I couldn’t afford the time to shift back to a human and I couldn’t leave myself defenseless like that. At least in this form I had claws and teeth. As a human, I was practically wolf food.
“If you stop this now, I promise I won’t kill you,” Calvin reasoned.
I shook my head. “You’re a liar and a murderer. I don’t believe anything you say.”
Calvin huffed out a breath. “Fine. Then we can do this the hard way.”
Before he was even done speaking, he was barreling toward me. I eyed my surroundings quickly and at the last second, I leapt onto my dining room table, just missing Calvin’s snapping teeth.
While he recovered from that charge, I jumped onto his back and sank my teeth into the back of his neck. He yelped loudly and tried to shake me off, but I held on tighter. We grappled like that for so long, my jaw felt like it was going to fall off. Finally, he rolled over onto his back and my hold came loose.
Knowing this was the absolute worst position I could be in, I scrambled to my feet and struck again, this time nipping his shoulder. Calvin’s attention turned to the wound that was bleeding freely though his fur, and I saw my next opportunity to strike.
Just then, my phone began ringing from where I’d left it in the kitchen and that was all it took.
I glanced away for the barest fraction of a second, but it was enough.
Calvin, noticing my lack of focus, lunged forward, easily overpowering me and trapping me beneath his giant body. I struggled to push him off me, but it was no use. He was so much bigger and stronger, I had no chance in this position.
I turned to look away, hoping I’d see something that could help me out of the situation when he reached down and locked his teeth around my neck.
I instantly froze.
“Shift back,” he demanded.
“No.”
He bit down harder, and I felt the first trickle of blood make its way into my dense fur.
“Shift back now or I swear to God I’ll snap your neck.”
I swallowed roughly and weighed out my options.
If I shifted back into a human, I was practically defenseless. And if I didn’t, he’d kill me, anyway. There was really no choice here.
I closed my eyes and willed my body back into a woman’s. A few loud cracks later and I was lying beneath Calvin, completely naked with his strong jaw still digging into the tender flesh of my neck.
“I did what you said, now let me go.”
He bit down again, and I hissed out a breath of pain.
I would not give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream.
The pain was intense and felt like it was radiating out from my neck to the rest of my body. It was difficult to pull in a decent breath, and I felt the dizziness from the loss of oxygen start to set in.
Calvin stayed attached to my neck as I felt his body shrink on top of mine. There was a loud series of snaps as his bones rearranged themselves and soon, he was a man again.
He removed his teeth from my neck and kissed me.
“There, now, that was kinda’ fun, huh?”
I looked at him incredulously. “Yeah, tons of fun.”
He shook his head. “Now, I don’t want to have any more fussing from you, you hear me? From here on out, you’re going to do what I say or I’m going to kill you. Am I clear?”
I nodded quickly, and his smile widened. “Good girl. Now roll over onto your stomach.”
I was suddenly very conscious of the fact that we were both completely naked. Terror zipped through my veins as I envisioned the worst.
Calvin pushed off the floor, so I had enough room to maneuver beneath him and I immediately did as he said and rolled onto my belly.
He sighed, and I felt the slightest pressure skim down my spine from my neck to my butt. “So beautiful. I can’t wait to get you home.”
My stomach rolled, and I had to swallow down the vomit that rose in my throat.
Calvin climbed off me and I released a quiet sigh. He returned a few seconds later and wrapped something hard and cold around my wrists before tightening it painfully.
“What are you doing?” I breathed.
He hummed softly under his breath. “This is to make sure you don’t shift again.” He laughed. “Can’t turn into a wolf if your hands are behind your back, can you?”
“How am I going to get dressed then?”
He hummed again. “Huh. Well, I prefer you like this, but I probably shouldn’t take you outside without any clothes on.” He stood up again, and I heard him hiss in pain.
Good. I hope that broken leg hurt like a bitch.
“I’ll go grab you something to wear. Sit tight,” he laughed again and stepped over me.
As soon as he was out of sight, I pulled at my restraints, but quickly realized I wasn’t breaking out of them. I pressed my face into the carpet and inhaled slowly.
How was I going to get out of this?
Calvin came back seconds later with a pile of clothes in his hands. He pulled a large shirt over my head, not bothering to put my arms through the holes, and then slid a pair of sweatpants up my legs.
I was instantly grateful to be covered again. It was one thing to face a psychopathic killer, it was another to do it naked.
“All right, Elizabeth. Let’s get up and get on the road.”
Resting heavily on one leg, he hoisted me up by my arms, nearly pulling them from their sockets. When I was upright, he poked me hard in the spine. “Get moving.”
I trudged forward obediently, and Calvin limped behind me. When we made it to the door, my phone began ringing again.
A sudden thought struck me.
“That’s probably Abraham. When he finds you, he’s going to kill you, but if you let me go, I’ll make him take it easy on you.”
Calvin laughed and shoved me through my front door and out onto the landing. “He’ll have to find us first.”