Chapter 23

Kiara

My head spins as I begin to awaken. I attempt to sit up, but my limbs are heavy and uncooperative. Chills erupt along my skin from the cold, damp air that's seeping into my bones.

When I open my eyes, my vision swims. It takes a few moments for the room to come into focus. A metal door is directly across from the small, dirty mattress I'm lying on. In the corner is a toilet and free-standing sink, but no mirror. There's a tiny window up toward the ceiling that lets in a sliver of sunlight. A single bulb hangs from the center of the small space. Everywhere I look, I'm surrounded by cold, hard stone. It's small and lifeless.

I glance down to check myself over, and metal bites into my neck. My fingers dig into the heavy iron that's clasped around my throat like a collar, and panic sets in. I pull on it to try and pry it off, but it's secured with a padlock. A chain dangles from the center of it and connects to the wall next to the bed. Judging by the length, I'll only be able to walk to the small toilet in the corner of the room and back.

Gone is my black dress from earlier, and in its place is a white babydoll-style nightie. Unlike the ones Mátyás and Elek liked to put me in, this one is so short it barely covers my ass. The material is see-through, showing off the matching g-string I have on underneath. There's a light blue bow right underneath my breasts that matches the halter top that my breasts are spilling out of.

I slide my legs over the side of the bare mattress and set my feet on the floor. The cold that spreads up my body causes me to shudder. I don't even make it a step when I sway on my feet and fall back down on the mattress.

The magic they used on me still lingers in my system, but it's much stronger than any I've ever felt. It's pitch-black out, but there's a hint of something else that I can't quite place.

The sound of metal creaking makes me jump. I jerk my head up in time to see the door in front of me open and in steps a man I've never seen before.

His midnight hair sweeps the tops of his shoulders and hangs around his face. The corners of his amber eyes crease as he watches me.

"You're awake. Good." He steps deeper into the room, stopping right in front of me and trapping me between him and the mattress. Something I'm sure is intentional on his part.

My head tilts back to meet his cold gaze. He's as tall as Elek and Mátyás, but that's where their similarities end. Where my mates are domineering and wild, he's the exact opposite. Everything about him is feral and hard.

"Who are you?" My throat feels like sandpaper as the words fall out. I lick my dry lips, doing my best to remain calm. Lycans can sense any increase in your heart rate, like vampires and Nephilim. The last thing I want is to give him the upper hand.

"You know who I am, pet, but I'll play along. I'm Farkas, alpha of the Nera Spring Pack." He cants his head to the side, watching me for a sign of recognition, but I refuse to give him the satisfaction and school my features.

"Never heard of you." I swallow the lump forming in my throat as my face remains blank.

"You can't lie to me," he grins, showing off his sharp teeth. "I can hear the quickening of your pulse. Right here." A sharp fingernail runs along the pulse point in the side of my neck.

I jerk my head away, loathing every second of this bastard's touch, but given my current position, I can't go far.

He isn't having that and grabs my face, forcing me to make eye contact. His hand squeezes my cheeks until they dig into my teeth, but I don't flinch. That's exactly what he wants.

There isn't much in the way of soil or plant life for me to use, but it won't stop me from trying. I summon my magic in hopes of knocking him on his ass far away from me. The buzzing hums underneath my skin, but it's faint, and nothing happens.

"Your magic won't work here." He tugs on the metal around my neck. "This is enchanted much like your precious bloodstone was, but unlike that stone, it keeps your magic locked away until I allow you to have it back."

"Don't touch me." My skin crawls from where his finger was.

"Not only did I touch you when I redressed you last night, but I washed your bloodsuckers' cum from your filthy cunt. I might have even tasted you myself." He tugs my collar, pulling me in closer, and licks up the side of my face. "And make no mistake. I'll be taking much more than that soon."

"If you so much as try to put your filthy paws on me, I will gouge out your eyes."

"You are going to be fun to break." His tongue drags along his bottom lip as his eyes dip down toward my heaving chest.

"I will never break for you." The muscles in my jaw ache from the force of my clenching.

"That's what they all say." He throws his head back with a laugh. "Sooner or later, the pain will become too much, and you'll beg me to stop." His tongue darts out, licking up the side of my face. "But I won't."

"Let go of me." I jerk against his hold, but it's pointless. He's too strong.

"I told you we'd talk to her together." My body goes rigid at the sound of that familiar voice.

"Anna." A slight tightness is coiling around my chest, making it harder to breathe.

"Surprise." Her blonde head appears over his shoulder as her hazel gaze scrutinizes my current situation.

"But you were wounded. I saw you go down." This doesn't make any sense.

"No, you saw what we wanted you to see. We had a plan. I was to get you to the club that night, and we would sell you to the highest bidder, but I realized that wouldn't work. You're too much of a prude. So, we had to come up with a different plan."

"Your friend was kind enough to help us bring you home where you belong." He steps back, lets her through, and crosses his arms over his chest.

"You betrayed our coven and sold me out to him?" Emotion clogs my throat. This is the woman I thought was my friend, the one I shared my most entrusted secrets with. Now, I might as well be staring back at a complete stranger. There's none of the warmth in her eyes that I remember.

"Don't be ridiculous." She curls the corner of her mouth in disgust. "A half-breed like you will never be a part of our coven. We did that for the power Kesabel promised us, but we never intended to hand you over to those leeches. Your aunt thought she could tell us what to do and that we'd blindly follow orders." She scoffs. "It's your fault we had to go into hiding and not use the full potential of our magic."

"Everything you told me about them was a lie. My entire existence has been a lie."

"You're so dramatic." She rolls her eyes at me. "I told you the truth. They're an abomination and should be eradicated."

"You used me." I jump to my feet, ready to claw her eyes out, but my vision spots, and I fall back.

"Be careful. Blood magic packs quite a punch." She wags a finger at me like she's scolding a toddler.

"You used blood magic?" My eyes widen at the realization of what she's done.

"Don't look so surprised. I needed more power to break their protection spell." She shakes her head at me. "And I knew you wouldn't come quietly unless you were unconscious."

My temper flares to life, and I do the one thing I can to make my point. I spit in her face.

"You ungrateful bitch." Pain explodes along the side of my side as her hand makes contact with my cheek.

"Hands off my mate, boszorkány." Farkas grabs her wrist and growls. "If anyone punishes her, it's me."

"I am not your mate." My hands tighten into fists at his delusion. I would punch him in his smug face if I knew I stood a chance.

"You are. Fate gifted you to me to put an end to our curse. Not those leeches, but me." He slams a hand against his navy T-shirt, which is stretched tight over his muscular chest.

"Fate may have done so, but it is not me. Your true mate is still out there, and I hope you never find her."

"Tell yourself whatever lie you want, but you're mine." He toys with a strand of my hair. "And if you can't behave, I'll leave you locked in this cell as the pack's personal bitch. We will make you bleed for us until we've had enough, only to repeat it the next day."

"That wasn't the deal, Farkas." Anna puts her hands on her hips and attempts to appear taller.

"Relax, boszorkány. She'll birth us plenty of pups to build our army for your war." His gaze travels down my body, stopping at the space between my legs. I squeeze them closed on instinct.

"I would rather die than let any of you filthy dogs touch me." I lift my leg and kick out his knee, but he doesn't move. All I did was piss him off.

His hand balls up into a fist and hits the other side of my face, knocking me back against the stone wall. A gasp escapes me from the force of the impact.

"You don't have a choice." He leans over me, bracing his hand against the wall. "You're mine to use and abuse in any way I see fit. So, I suggest you get used to your new home."

"I hate you." Tears stream down my flaming cheeks.

"You'll hate everything I do to you. That's a promise."

My heart pounds against my ribs from the way his hungry gaze lingers over the space between my legs.

A sense of dread floods through me. This kidnapping is nothing like when Elek and Mátyás took me.