Chapter 26
Katya
A searing pain ran from behind my right eye to my ear, and then radiated out to the rest of my head. I wanted to rub my temple, but my body was too heavy to move. Even my eyelids were too much effort to open.
I moaned, but the sound didn’t make it beyond my throat.
What had happened? Where was I?
Whatever I lay on was hard as a rock. Had I been knocked over and was now resting on the ground? But where?
I sniffed the air. It didn’t smell like anywhere familiar. Not the hotel or anywhere on campus I was familiar with. Nor was it Carter’s mansion or that supernatural bar in the woods.
The floor felt strange. It vibrated.
Vibrations?
There was a sudden jolt, and I rolled over onto my back and bumped into something.
Was I in a car?
I struggled to open my eyes. It was so dark, I may as well have still had my eyes shut.
Another jolt. I rolled back onto my stomach.
The vibrations stopped. An engine cut. Doors slammed shut. Muffled conversation sounded.
What was going on? Desperation clawed at me as I tried to remember how I’d gotten into the situation.
The volleyball game? No, that’d been a while ago. Finals? Those were done. Then Carter had taken me on that romantic picnic. That had been amazing. One of the best events in my life. A sweet memory I’d always treasure.
Another door slammed, bringing me back to the present. I was locked in a car’s trunk and had no idea how I’d gotten there.
Then it hit me.
I’d found my dad. My supposedly-dead dad. He was alive! But my mom and sister had thought I’d lost my mind. The only thing I’d actually lost was my sense of direction inside that maze of halls.
She’d been in contact with my grandpa, who had claimed to have a doctor who could help me with my supposed craziness.
Terror ripped through me. I was trapped in the trunk of a car, and outside were members of my dad’s family. Horrible, barbaric people who wanted to force me into a marriage where I’d be nothing more than a slave and baby-making factory.
I had two options. Either I could thrash around and try to bust out or I could lay still and take them by surprise when they opened the trunk. Neither option was ideal. They were just outside, and there were more of them than me.
Unless there was a third option. What if I shifted inside the trunk and attacked them when they came for me? They’d not only be surprised, but in human form.
They wouldn’t stand a chance.
I’d be cramped as I waited in jaguar form, but it’d be worth it if I could get away and maybe take a few of them out, too.
I listened, trying to hear what they were saying. If I was going to remove my clothes, I needed to know that I had enough time to shift before they opened the trunk.
No matter how hard I concentrated, everything they said was muffled. I couldn’t make out a single word. It was like trying to hear someone speak when under water—something I was all too familiar with after nearly being drowned by invisible hands.
I had some luck.
Not only that, but I probably only had a little time to make my decision. Shift or not? Staying in my human form seemed like a horrible choice. They could too easily overpower me.
I undid my pants and slid them down to my ankles. They wouldn’t go any farther. I pushed and kicked, but my ankles wouldn’t part.
They’d tied my ankles together.
Someone hit the trunk from the outside.
Did they know what I was doing? I quickly pulled my pants back up and my mind raced. There was no time to disrobe. I just needed to shift.
I closed my eyes and focused on turning.
Nothing happened. Not even a sore muscle. No bones popped.
Maybe I was doing something wrong.
I tried calling to my inner jaguar like Carter said the werewolves did with their wolf halves.
Nothing.
I focused on my anger. My fear. Stressful emotions usually caused the start of a shift. That was when my bones always started popping before I knew why.
Not this time. Even though I was being held against my will, it wasn’t enough to press a shift.
Then I remembered the needle. Whatever had been injected in me probably prevented me from shifting.
So much fury tore through me, I could have exploded. I should have been able to turn into a jaguar ten times over with all my anger.
Yet not even one bone popped.
The sound of a key sliding into a keyhole sounded. I wanted to tear off the face of the next person I saw, but I needed to think clearly.
These people probably expected me to be awake. Angry. To fight back. They’d see that coming a mile away.
Just as the trunk started to open, I closed my eyes and let my body fall limp.
“She’s still asleep.”
“I told you that was too much solution for her. She’s weak. Been raised by humans. Probably never even shifted.”
Laughter.
Rage tore through me, but I managed to lay still. I had the advantage of surprise. They didn’t expect me to shift and they didn’t think I was awake. One way or another, I would use that to my advantage.
Hands slid under my side and back, and someone hefted me up, throwing me over his shoulder. He kept hold of me by keeping his hands pressed against my thighs.
“She’s surprisingly muscular.” His voice vibrated against me.
“It’s gotta be from playing volleyball.”
“No, stronger than that. Like she’s shifted already.”
“That isn’t surprising. She’s almost twenty, and she’s been hanging out with that jaguar who thinks he’s a werewolf.”
More laughter roared. Gravel crunched underfoot as everyone started walking. The man holding me slid his grasp of my legs higher and higher with each step he took.
He had to be the one who thought he owned me. Who thought I’d be his wife and obey his every wish.
The man had no idea just how wrong he was. As soon as I had the chance, I would take off. With any luck, he’d set me down while we were still outside. Then I could run off, surprising them.
His hold on me kept moving. It took every ounce of my self-control to keep from beating on him. The moment he thought I was awake was the moment I lost surprise being on my side. He could cop a feel now, but that was all he was getting.
He stopped walking. Wood creaked. He stepped up, making my legs bump into someone in front of him. More creaking steps, then a door opened, the hinges squeaking.
I cracked open my left eye to see where we were.
All I saw was another eye of someone right behind the man carrying me.
“She’s awake!”
So much for having the element of surprise. I closed my eye and continued playing unconscious. Maybe they’d think the hollering guy was wrong.
“She’s awake!” he continued.
“Get her inside.”
There was a blur of commotion as numerous hands wrapped around me, pressing me against the guy carrying me.
I was thrown onto a bed. A door slammed shut. Someone pinned my wrists together and pressed me down on the bed, breathing hot tomato breath on my face.
It took all my effort not to turn away. I had to convince them I was still unconscious.
“Are you sleeping?”
Slap! A hand across my face.
Somehow I managed not to react, other than my head moving along with the assault.
“Are you awake?” Spittle hit my face.
I refused to respond.
“Rob, you’re an idiot!”
“She opened her eye! I saw it. I swear.”
“And I swear you’re a fool.”
Slap! My face throbbed as it was hit on the other side.
“Answer me, woman.”
Oh, how I wanted to punch him. He was making it harder and harder for me to fake unconsciousness.
“She’s awake! She is,” Rob insisted. “Try consummating your marriage early. I bet she’ll fight.”
My stomach lurched. He wouldn’t.
Smack!
That wasn’t me. And my ankles were now free.
“Shut up. You just want to watch.”
Laughter.
I cracked open my eye. Three men were in the room, and they all had their backs to me.
The door was only a few feet away.
I jumped up and lunged for it.