Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Derrek

Apparently, I have more fortitude than I thought.

I let her have fun with the leash for a while, but Erica quickly grows annoyed when I remain unreactive.

I don't comply with her orders to strip, so she calls in the guards to hold me still and yanks off my shirt and pants herself. And despite a good deal of effort on her part to entice me with groping, stroking, and her own strip show, she fails to draw a reaction from me. I keep still with my head turned to the side, and refuse to let her tongue enter my mouth again.

When her frustration grows even larger, she follows through on her threat to tie me up and attempts some sort of sorry dominatrix routine.

That's never really been my kink, so naturally it was a dud.

At this point I can't tell if she's trying to get my body to react so she can have her way with me, or if she thinks this tactic will force me to shift. Either way, it's completely ineffective, and she's becoming desperate.

"Damn you!" The multi-strap whip she's been cracking against my back lashes me again. "You have to be my mate. You have to!"

I remain in my silent kneeling position, hands behind my back, head straight and eyes closed. Honestly, it's still better than the cattle prod.

She's panting hard, and her power is fading with each stroke. She's not cut out to be a dominatrix, clearly.

When she strikes me again, she lets out a sob, and judging from the thudding sound behind me, she collapsed on the floor.

I suck in a deep breath and remain still.

It's silent for a few moments, other than her panting, and I wonder what plan she's devising for me next.

"Why couldn't you just do it?" She whispers in an emotion-filled voice. "All you had to do was accept me and we'd both be out of here."

At that, my head whips to the side and I shift uncomfortably on my knees until I can see her.

She's laying on her back in her leggings and bra, sweat pooled on her chest and her cheeks red. When she sees my confused expression, she barks a laugh but doesn't move, gazing back at me with glassy eyes.

"Oh, you actually bought my little story, didn't you? That's kinda sweet, that you're so na?ve."

I can't speak and I can't write, so I just gaze at her, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"I suppose it doesn't matter now. I've already failed. There's no point in hiding it." She sits up and scoots behind me, untying the knots that chafe my wrists and have been cutting off circulation to my hands for some time. She stands up and walks to the bathroom, filling my cup with water.

As the blood rushes back through my veins it's almost painful, and I flex my fingers repeatedly to speed up the process. My body sags to the right and I straighten my legs, relieving the pressure on my aching knees.

When she returns and holds the cup out to me, her eyes glimmer with tears. "Go ahead, I promise there's no trick."

I accept the cup, and she settles beside me.

"The truth is, I've been here for over two years, in a room exactly like this one. I lied when I said I'd never experienced this torture. Granted, I don't have a magical collar to keep me quiet; I just learned that making noise causes punishment, and that I definitely wanted to avoid punishment.

"When I finally shifted, I cried in relief—that meant I could go home! I was telling the truth about my brothers, by the way. They all came here, went through this, and once they shifted alpha released them.

"But he wouldn't let me go. I got some more privileges, and no more abuse, but I wasn't free to leave. Apparently, there's a lack of eligible females in the pack that can shift. A frightening lack, in fact. And alpha decided way back that he was going to make sure all the wolves in his control mated other wolves, so I couldn't go out and fall in love with someone else. He's kept me here waiting until he was ready to assign me a mate. I mean, I do still get out occasionally. Last night was fun, at any rate."

I snatch my pen and pad and ask the question.

"Oh, you don't know? I assumed you'd heard something. Everyone was going crazy out there. Some of those Smoky Falls people snuck in, probably trying to get to you. Obviously, they didn't succeed."

That must have happened while I was holed up in my bathroom.

My heart leaps to my throat and stays there. I scribble out another note.

"No, they all got away. You know, she seems nice, the Harridan girl. Nicer than our alpha, at any rate. I can see why you like her."

I breathe a sigh of relief, scribbling, and she glances at my latest note. "No, we didn't exactly meet, per se. I tracked her down, and we tussled a bit, as wolves. She tried to talk to me first, that's all. But they came and got her and that was it. There was no way I could keep up with a car, you know?

"But anyway, I'm a prisoner here, just like you, and this was both of our tickets out. Since I've failed, I don't know how he'll punish me. Nothing I can't take I suppose.

"But you… I'm sorry to say your punishment is gonna be worse. I wasn't lying about that, either."

I raise an eyebrow at her, and she gets the hint. "It's not more of the same, I'm afraid. If he can't get you to shift and claim a mate, he plans to kill you. He can't have a son that can't shift, and he won't let anyone leave this dungeon without a mate. Period.

"But before he does that, he's going to kill the Harridan girl, just to see if that triggers it. He figures if that's not enough to send you over the edge, nothing else will."