Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Raura

My heart stutters as Steel Lakes disappears from sight. Everything I know. Everyone I love. My entire life…is all there. And now, it’s gone.

Not gone! I can get back! I will!

I won’t allow myself to give up hope. This man at my side may be in league with the Devil himself, but he’s still only human.

I am not.

I feel a tingle as the change starts within me, my claws extending, fangs growing longer-

“Don’t even think about it.” A sharp jab beneath my ribcage has me stopping. “At this angle, the bullet will rip through your lung and into your heart. Death won’t take long.”

I grit my teeth and force the wolf in me to simmer down.

You’ll get your chance…be patient…

I just have to pray that he lets his guard down at some point. I stare numbly out the window, my mind racing as the world flashes by in a blur. No matter which way I look at it, I can’t see a way out. Not yet, at least.

If I try to make a break for it now, he’ll just shoot me. And even if I manage to get out of this racing metal deathtrap, being flung out at this speed means serious injury, if not death. And if I’m injured, I’ll be even more vulnerable than I am right now.

No, I need to bide my time. Wait for the right moment.

Be patient. Just be patient.

The thought makes my wolf snarl inside, straining against the chains I’ve locked it in. Patience has never been my strong suit.

The SUV finally slows as we enter a wide, empty field. My heart sinks as I spot the helicopter waiting, blades already lazily spinning. Of course, they’d have air transport ready.

Shit!

They could be taking me anywhere.

“Out,” Parker barks, shoving the muzzle harder into my side. I wince but comply, sliding across the seat and stumbling out onto unsteady feet. The wind whips my hair into my face as I’m roughly pushed toward the chopper.

Parker leans in close, his hot breath on my neck making me shudder. “Don’t try anything funny,” he hisses. “I won’t hesitate to throw you out if you cause me any trouble.”

I swallow hard, trying not to let the fear show on my face as I’m bundled into the helicopter. The engines roar to life, the downdraft from the blades flattening the tall grass. As we lift off, I catch one last glimpse of the road that led us here. The road that would take me back to Steel Lakes…

There’s no way I’m getting out of this chopper until we touch down. And then, who knows where we’ll be.

The towns whiz by below us, smokestacks and warehouses bleeding into a monotonous sprawl. I scan each one desperately, hoping to pick out something – anything – familiar. But it’s no use. I’ve never ventured this far from Steel Lakes before.

As the urban landscape gives way to smaller towns and winding highways, I try to memorize every twist and turn, every landmark. A towering water tower here, a crumbling old barn there. Anything to give me some sense of where we’re headed. But the further we go, the more alien and unfamiliar our surroundings become.

The patchwork fields and dense forests slowly morph into something rougher, more rugged. Towering mountains rise in the distance, their peaks dusted with snow. My breath catches in my throat as I realize just how far from home I truly am.

“Where are we going?” I ask, unable to keep the tremor from my voice.

Parker ignores me, too busy muttering with the pilot. I strain my ears, catching snippets of their conversation over the roar of the engines.

“…rendezvous at the Enclave…”

“…Consortium will be pleased with this one…”

My brow furrows. Enclave? Consortium? The words mean nothing to me, but they drip with menace all the same. I have a sinking feeling that I’m being dragged into something far bigger and more sinister than I could have imagined.

Clutching the door frame, I peer out at the sea of green rolling by beneath us. Dense forest broken only by jagged rock faces and winding mountain streams. The helicopter banks hard, swinging us around the peak of a massive ridge.

That’s when I see it.

Cut into the very heart of the mountain itself, a vast complex of concrete and steel. Runways and helipads spider out from the central structure, which seems to bore straight into the rocky face. I suck in a sharp breath as the terrible realization dawns.

There’s no way in hell I’m getting out of this place.

The helicopter touches down with a bone-jarring thud, kicking up swirls of dust and loose gravel. Before I can even catch my breath, Parker is hauling me out by my arm, his iron grip biting into my flesh.

“Welcome to your new home,” he says, shoving me forward. I dig my heels into the ground, straining against his vice-like hold.

“Let me go!” I snarl, thrashing wildly. My elbow connects with his ribs, and he grunts in pain, shoving me away with enough force to send me staggering.

“You little bitch,” he wheezes, clutching his side. His face is red with rage, lips curled back in a snarl of his own. In a whirl of movement, he lunges forward and backhands me across the face with a force that stuns me.

White-hot pain explodes through my cheek, and I crumple to the ground, ears ringing. I can taste copper on my split lip as I struggle to blink away the stars swimming in my vision. A firm kick to my ribs knocks what little breath I have left out of my lungs.

“That’s enough from you,” Parker growls, looming over me. His foot presses down on my chest, pinning me to the ground. I claw at his leg, fangs bared, but he simply grinds his heel harder into my ribs. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep that mouth shut.”

Suddenly, I’m looking down the barrel of the gun again, another reminder of the power he wields over me. It’s a completely unfamiliar sensation. I’ve always felt so secure in my shifter strength – but I’ve never had to use it. Now, I wish I’d learned. Why didn’t I spend at least a little time with the training teams instead of focusing all my energy down in the village? Running the boutiques, arranging exhibits. Like my life could be normal.

God, I’m so useless.

Parker hauls me up by my hair, dragging me toward the imposing entrance carved into the mountainside. Up close, the sheer size of the facility is staggering, the heavy steel doors disappearing into the rock face like the jaws of some great beast. I renew my struggles with increased desperation as the gravity of my situation sinks in.

Once I’m through those doors, there will be no way out. No chance of escape or rescue. My life – my freedom – will be over.

“Please,” I plead, digging my nails into Parker’s arm until I draw blood. He backhands me again, and I taste blood once more. “Let me go!” I scream.

His lips twist into a cruel sneer. “Don’t make me fucking hurt you, bitch! You’re worth a fortune. Alive and unharmed, that is.” His gaze drops meaningfully to the trickle of crimson leaking from the corner of my mouth. “Of course, if you keep acting up, I may have to make some…adjustments to that price. And, truth be told, it might be worth taking a knock – if it means I can delve into that pretty little head of yours.”

“What?” I frown in confusion.

“You don’t get it, do you?” he sneers. “The information you have is worth millions.”

“What information?” My frown deepens.

“Do you need me to spell it out, wolf girl?” He lifts an eyebrow. “You hold the key to that little gold mine back there. All the details I need to get what I want.”

Details… What? No!

An icy shudder surges through me as understanding hits me. I’m not just a commodity to this man, a product to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. My greatest value, it seems, isn’t in the power running through my veins – it’s in the knowledge locked away in my mind. The inner workings of Steel Lakes. My pack mates. My family.

The realization is like a lead weight in the pit of my stomach.

Parker must read the understanding in my eyes because his grin widens into something cruel and predatory. “That’s it…you’re finally catching on. We’re going to have some interesting conversations, you and I.”

“Never!” I hiss. A lump forms in my throat as my blood turns to ice in my veins. They want Steel Lakes. They want to strip me of every scrap of information, then sell whatever’s left of me. But worst of all, they want to deliver the same fate to my pack.

“Never is a long time when you’re wracked with pain, wolf. But I could make it easy for you. As long as you cooperate, you’ll stay nice and pretty for the buyers.”

“Then you may as well sell me by the pound, you fucking bastard!” I spit at him. “Because I’m not telling you anything.”

“We’ll see about that,” Parker snorts. “Because there are ways to get what I want if you won’t cooperate.” He tilts his head. “You’ll be useful to me, one way or another.”

I set my jaw, not having a response to that. The message is clear: he’s going to torture me to tell him about Steel Lakes.

With a bone-deep chill, I realize my situation is even more dire than I feared. Not only am I trapped…but if I can’t withstand whatever he does to me, I’ve just become a danger to everyone I’ve ever loved.

I have to stay strong.