Chapter 18
Lana awoke in a dark basement. Through the tiny window, slivers of sunlight were beginning to shine but it wasn’t enough to light the room properly. A guttural growl rumbled from her as she rose to her feet, glaring at the men who had captured her. They were across the room, cleaning weapons. The taller one walked over to the cage and knocked the end of a long knife against the bars.
“Calm down, sweetheart,” he said through rotting teeth, his foul breath causing Lana to pull her face away from him. “You ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
Lana roared loudly, pushing her paws up against the door of the cage, but she knew that as long as they kept it locked, she wasn’t going to be able to do anything. Right now, she needed to keep calm and not provoke these dangerous men. She needed to keep the well-being of her child in mind.
Try as she might, she couldn’t pace around in this tiny cage, and she couldn’t try anything else, either. Not as long as those men were so near their weapons.
“We finally got proof of the ghost tigers, man,” the little one piped up, much like an excited child on Christmas morning, but infinitely more menacing. “I can’t believe it. They can’t say we’re crazy anymore.”
Was this really happening? Lana felt certain this must be some kind of insane dream.
I can’t believe I actually allowed myself to be caught by these maniacs, these gun-toting morons.
Was there no way that she could solve this on her own? Was there seriously nothing that she could do to free herself from this ridiculous cage? She wished with everything in her that she was lying in bed with any of her mates. She wished that she’d never left, that she had been smart enough to not go into the forest by herself. But that was pointless, there was no going back and changing the past.
“I gotta take a piss,” the little one declared as he ascended the stairs, leaving the mouthy one alone with Lana in this dark basement.
And then another man strolled into the basement.
“Hello, my pretty.” She heard the menacing voice behind her, against her ear.
Trevor.
“Behind you, my sweet.”
She was being prodded from behind by him. She realized she needs to scream, but then his rough, scratchy hand was over her mouth, holding her through the bars. She struggled, but he was so powerful.
No, this can’t be happening. No, it’s impossible. Not after all this time. Not after I had finally found safety.
She lost track of time. Things were going fast and slow at the same time. There were now two more men in the basement. She recognized them, but barely knew who they were.
Trevor and two other men circled her cage. She was on the floor again, her back against the bars. Her feet were bound with rope, and so were her wrists, behind her back. At some point, she’d gained a ball gag in her mouth.
Had Trevor’s presence really made her pass out? She tried crying out through it, but Trevor only laughed. And so did the other men. They take turns making fun of her, and even laugh over each other at points.
But they haven’t touched me yet.
The rednecks seemed almost quaint in their menacing now.
Finally, one of the men stepped forward and removed her ball gag. She then realized how much trouble she had been having breathing. She gasped for a while, before she finally had the energy to speak. When she did speak, it sounded weak.
“You don’t know what you’re doing. You are making a big mistake. I’m under protection. I’m an Alpha Mate.”
“Yes. You are an alpha’s mate. You’re my mate. You are under my protection. And my control.”
“No. I have much stronger mates than you. Incredibly stronger.”
He chuckled. “I highly doubt that, given how easily they let you get away.”
With a shrug, he dismissed all her threats. “They will all die. You are mine. You will be punished for running away, and they will be punished for attempting to take you from me.”
She decided to taunt him.
“I’m carrying my mate’s child. You can’t get your men to impregnate me, and you can’t do it yourself. It’s too late.”
At first, she saw a look of surprise on his face. Then, a slight flash of anger. But then he found calmness and a slight laugh. “In some ways, that’s all the better. Your child will grow up in bondage. And seeing his mother in bondage. He or she will know that you are both mine. Forever.”
“We’ll never be yours.” A growl began to build in her throat.
Trevor was about to say something, but a loud noise from upstairs catches his attention.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw feet—human and feline alike—scuffling past the window, interrupting the constant beams of light pouring in through the dirty glass.
I need to distract Trevor.
She roared loudly, rattling the door of the cage as much as she could muster. The man who’d killed her father crossed the room with large, hurried steps, shouting incoherently before smacking the cage with his large forearm. A loud crash came from up the stairs as somebody bashed their way through the front door.
Roman, Jackson, and Drake must have figured out where she was, miraculously.
Trevor has no idea what he’s about to face.
Jackson came roaring down the basement stairs like an avenging angel of a tiger, his teeth and claws bared, already furious before he’d even seen where Lana was being kept simply because they had taken the mother of his streak’s child.
On seeing where she was being kept, the actual small cage that they had her locked in, rage flowed through his veins as pure as hellfire. He growled and roared as he and his two streak-mates poured into the unfinished basement, his claws cutting into the cement as he ran at full speed.
Trevor met him full-on, shifting in mid-air as they clashed.
Lana let out a tiger’s scream at the same moment that Drake and Roman figured out that these weren’t actual poachers, after all.
Roman came around from the back of the cage, shifting into his human form. He rushed over to open the cage and took Lana in his massive, strong arm. “Oh, I was so scared. We all were.”
“So, was I,” she said, holding him.
Roman didn’t dwell on the moment for long, though. “I have to help Jackson and Drake,” he said.
Lana nodded. “Of course.”
And then the best case scenario happened for her. Her mates attacked in concert, cornering the shifter who’d been her nightmare for years.
“What the hell are you?” Trevor demanded, staring down his three attackers.
“Your worst nightmare,” Roman said. “And if you come near any of us again, I will kill you.”
Jackson balled his free fist tightly and hauled back, punching the guy as hard as he could in the face. The man went flying onto the ground, spitting out several teeth as he fell.
“Fuck this,” Drake said. “If we leave him alive, he’ll come after us again.” And with one swift motion, he ripped out Trevor’s throat, sending a plume of arterial blood splashing across the room.
Lana can’t even find it in her to be sorry.
“I thought I was never going to see you again,” Drake said quietly into her ear, as Roman and Jackson echo the sentiment.
“Me too,” she sobbed, trying to burying her face in all their shoulders at once as she began to cry.
Jackson backed away and guided her face up to look at his with his finger. He searched her eyes and kissed her tenderly, matching her fervor with his own. He backed up, meeting her gaze again, though remaining wrapped protectively around her for a few seconds before handing her off to Roman and Drake. “I love you, Lana.”
“I love you too, Jackson,” she replied. “And both of you, as well,” she said to her other two mates.
“Let’s get out of here before any authorities show,” Drake suggested. “I think there might be some reports of giant tigers stalking the area.”
“Unless you’re hurt,” Roman said, running his hand along Lana’s side. “Are you hurt? Do we need to get you to a hospital?”
“No, I’m fine.” She shook her head. “Just really shaken up. I want to go home.”
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” Roman announced. “And if you’ll just stay there, the three of us can possibly keep you safe.