Sasha paced the floor, gnawing on one ragged nail on her index finger. She felt stronger now, as though something within her had shifted irreversibly.

The fact that she’d tried to escape was reason enough for Torin to punish her – but he hadn’t done a thing. It had been four days and she’d barely seen him. He’d come into her room, given her food and left again, except Sasha was becoming aware of a growing pain in his eyes and found, much to her surprise, that she wanted to help him in some way.

Questions dogged her mind. Had he been to Thomas’ house? Had he seen something, something that had convinced him she was telling him the truth? Was this the reason he hadn’t touched her since coming back? Sasha didn’t think he was going to hurt her any more, that was for certain. She was almost growing to trust him, sometimes hearing him calmly trying to settle Bramble down when he started barking. Of course, she longed for her dog but the way he was treating Bramble made her believe that Torin wasn’t the kind of vengeful man she had thought. He had just been reacting to a very painful, very distressing situation and, in a way, Sasha could understand that.

It was clear that the desire, the urge to break her, had been there at the very start, but slowly that need was leaving him. He never said anything to her, but slowly he had started to treat her with a little bit of consideration. She was slowly coming to realize that he truly was concerned for her. Weird. It’s like he wants to let me go and keep me prisoner at the same time.

He hadn’t been back to see her for hours now but when he eventually did return, Sasha was determined to get the truth from him this time. She recalled how she’d touched his arm the last time he’d come in and how he had jerked back, staring at her with wide eyes. Something in his expression had made her catch her breath, seeing him as he truly was for the first time. A man who had experienced such a great loss that he didn’t know what to do about it. Her heart broke for him, pouring a sympathy all through her that she hadn’t thought she’d ever feel….and that sensation hadn’t gone away yet.

Of course, Torin hadn’t answered any of her questions yet, but she wasn’t going to let him leave the room this time without getting some kind of answer from him. Four days was more than enough to get his thoughts straight and, if he didn’t know what to do then she’d help him. He was probably confused over what to do with her since kidnapping a cop wasn’t exactly the best course of action.

It came as a surprise, even to her, that she had no intention of filing any kind of charges against him. It was as though she had forgiven him, even though he’d taken her against her will and hadn’t exactly asked for her forgiveness. The pain and suffering he was going through, the intensity of his gaze, spoke to her very heart and Sasha found that she was, in the strangest of ways, trying to get closer to him. It didn’t make sense, even to her.

A key turned in the lock and Sasha froze, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

“Sasha?”

An unfamiliar voice echoed through the door, as the key became stuck.

“Sasha, this is James. Torin wants to see you. He’s downstairs.”

That was weird. Torin had never let anyone else come to the room she was being kept in. Something wasn’t right. She didn’t really think Torin would send someone else to come and get her. She’d never met James, although she’d known there was someone else in the house. A sudden thrill of hope ran up her spine. Was he here to help her escape? Was this the only way he could do it?

“You need to jiggle the key a little bit more,” she said, coming closer to the door. “It gets stuck.”

The key turned effortlessly, as though James had been waiting for her to come closer, as if he’d been able to hear her moving around. Sasha frowned and made to step back but the door was thrown back with such force that she only just missed being caught by it – and a strong hand caught her arm.

“Sasha,” said the tall, burly man, as an evil glint caught his eye. “You’ve been causing Torin all kinds of problems.”

“James, is it?” Sasha replied, ignoring the quickening of her heart. “Torin hasn’t mentioned you.”

“He wouldn’t,” James said, offhandedly. “Although I fully intend to take over from him once you’re out of the way.”

Sasha bit back a cry of fright, trying to keep her thoughts calm. “Take over?” she asked, as he began to pull her out of the room. “Take over what?”

James laughed quietly, sending a ripple of fear into her stomach. “I forgot, you don’t know.”

“I don’t know what?”

He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Like I said, you’ve been causing Torin a ton of problems. I plan on showing him, and everyone else, how true revenge is supposed to be carried out. And that’s going to show everyone how weak he truly is.”

Sasha swallowed the lump of fear in her throat, beginning to resist as he pulled her along the hallway towards a room she didn’t recognize.

“Don’t start with me,” he warned, “I’m not afraid to spill your blood, and I’ll rip your throat out if I have to.”

He said the words so calmly, so quietly, that it took a moment before Sasha could react to them. She began to struggle in earnest, growing cold with the awareness that Torin was not in the house. She was alone, desperate to fend James off and retreat to the sanctuary of her room. If she could take him by surprise, then perhaps she would have enough time to grab the key from her door and lock herself inside.

A low, angry growl rattled through James’ chest, sending shivers all through her. Slamming her up against the wall, he glared down at her, his eyes narrowing. They seemed to glow with just a hint of gold and, remembering how she had seen the very same thing the night Thomas had attacked her, Sasha went weak with fright.

“That’s better,” James whispered, grasping her hair with one hand and pulling it so hard that her head was forced back. “You’re mine, Sasha. I’ll prove to Torin that he’s weak to have feelings for you by taking away the one thing that’s stopping him from behaving like the leader he should be.” He grinned at her wolfishly, his eyes glowing still. “You’re going to do everything I tell you,” he whispered, one hand tightening on the back of her neck as he pressed his body against hers, giving her no doubt as to what he intended. “And, if you’re lucky, I might just let you live.”

Sasha tried to scream but James’ mouth landed on hers, his teeth biting forcefully on her lower lip. She shoved him, hard, only for something big, something huge to break them apart, sending James to the floor.

Torin.

Sinking to the floor, Sasha pressed her hand to her mouth, stemming the blood as she watched Torin with wide eyes. He was shouting at James and James was screaming back at him, but the fear that raced through her drowned out every sound. She had no idea what they were saying.

Then, to her utter shock, Torin’s entire body began to change before her very eyes. Bones emerged from his back, his whole form tensing and burning with energy. Sasha screamed aloud as Torin’s body continued to change. She scrabbled back against the wall in a desperate attempt to shield herself.

A wolf. Torin was a wolf.

She couldn’t take it in.

James laughed darkly and transformed himself in an instant too, his wolf smaller than Torin’s but clearly strong. Sasha closed her eyes tightly, screaming silently as the two wolves began to fight.

It was only when the thundering of their paws began to move away from her that she finally opened her eyes, seeing the larger wolf chase after the smaller one.

With strength she didn’t know she possessed, Sasha pushed herself up to her feet and hurried back towards her own room, her fingers trying desperately to grab onto the key in the lock. Her hands were slick with sweat as she tried to grasp it, finding it an impossible task. The growls and yelps from downstairs had her heart thumping with fright until she was forced to give up.

Slamming the door shut, Sasha sank down against it, her mind still screaming at her.

“What is going on?” she whispered to herself, her hands at her mouth as she tried to make sense of what she had seen.

A sound unlike anything she’d ever heard before had her scrambling to her feet and moving to the window. She’d never known wolves could make sounds like that. There was almost a roar, a sound of victory that could only mean one thing.

The smaller wolf – James – limped away, blood dripping from his muzzle. She had no idea where he was going but relief ran through her regardless. He was gone from the house, even though that left her trapped with a crazy wolf man.

Sinking to the floor, Sasha tried not to hear the human like cry that came from downstairs, even though it echoed through the house towards her. Torin must be hurt.

What am I doing?

Her hands trembled as she opened the door, hearing Bramble’s barks coming from downstairs. Torn, Sasha stayed in the doorway, not sure whether to go downstairs or remain in the safety of her room.

“James is gone,” she told herself, taking one small step into the hallway, her eyes searching for him in every shadow. “And you’re going to go and see that the guy who stopped him is okay.”

Maybe he’d let her go now, too.

Reminding herself that Torin hadn’t hurt her, hadn’t laid a finger on her, Sasha began to make her way down the stairs, cringing at every creak and groan that came from the wood.

“Torin?” she asked hesitantly, as she moved into the nearest room. “Torin? Is – is everything okay?”

A cacophony of happy barking told her that Bramble was in the room next to this one and, unable to stop herself, Sasha hurried towards it and opened the door.

Bramble was all over her in an instant, jumping up at her until she had no choice but to pick him up, laughing quietly as he licked her face. She held her dog tightly, her heart bursting with happiness.

“You can go.”

Torin’s dark voice came from within the room and, despite her clamoring anxiety, Sasha pushed the door open a little further – only to catch her breath. Torin was standing by the wood burning stove, entirely naked. His back was to her, and Sasha could see deep scratches in his lower back. His thigh seemed to have a bite mark and, as he looked over his shoulder at her, Sasha saw another few scratches across his cheek.

“I said you can go,” he said, harshly. “Just leave. I’m sorry I ever did this to you.”

Sasha’s first instinct was to run, but something about him made her stay exactly where she was. He must be in a great deal of pain and, although she still couldn’t understand what had happened, the desire to help him began to burn deep within her.

“Didn’t you hear me?” he asked, a little more angrily. “Just go. If you want to press charges, so be it.”

“I can’t just go,” Sasha replied, setting Bramble down as she averted her gaze. “You changed – I don’t understand.”

“You don’t need to.”

“I want to,” Sasha replied firmly. “You saved my life too, Torin.”

He grunted, shaking his head. “It wouldn’t have happened if I’d never brought you here in the first place.”

“I have a lot of questions,” Sasha said, softly. “And I will leave, but I want some answers first.” Moving towards him, she cleared her throat and tried her best to keep her eyes on his face. “That’s the only way I won’t press any charges,” she said, softly. “I want answers and you’re going to give them to me.”

He frowned at her, his eyes confused. “I thought you’d be taking this opportunity to get as far away from me as possible,” he said, quietly, grasping a towel from the nearby chair and throwing it around his waist.

“I probably should be doing that,” Sasha admitted, surprised at how little fear she felt. “But the truth is, Torin, I’ve realized that you’re not going to hurt me. You can’t bring yourself to do it.”

He dropped his head and sighed heavily, pain spreading across his features. “That’s because you were right,” he whispered, as blood dripped from his cheek onto his chest. “I saw the house. I didn’t want to believe it. But I have no choice now.”

Sasha felt relief spread all through her, right to the very tips of her fingers.

“Let me clean up first,” he said, lifting his head. “Then we’ll talk.”