Chapter 8

Tilly

The woman came for me again the next day. I learned her name was Helen. She seemed to take a liking to me, but if she thought this tactic would get me to give up my mate, she was very mistaken.

I wasn’t tied to that table again and Egan never even showed his face. Instead, she brought in a tea cart and we sat and had a nice chat. Her sob story hadn’t changed much since the first time I heard it and honestly, I was struggling to determine if she was telling it to try to soften me up or try to settle her own conscience.

What would Lachlan think? This seemed like something that was probably more in his territory from what bit I knew about my mate.

I thought of him often and despite the horrific circumstances I found myself in, I still dreamed inappropriate dreams of him each time I laid down and closed my eyes. Maybe it was just my brain’s way of a distraction. I wasn’t sure. But with his parents in the room and Egan creepily watching me and occasionally making comments over the intercom, it made for a very awkward situation.

“How about we go for a stroll? I could certainly stretch my legs. How about you?”

“Um, sure.”

She walked me down the hall and past an open door. Bodies were piled high and a fire was going in what looked like a giant oven. They were cremating the bodies, I quickly realized.

My stomach lurched.

“Oh dear. I’m sorry about that. No need for you to stress. If you continue to behave, that won’t happen to you. I told you, my son has taken a fondness to you.”

She closed the door and moved on like nothing had happened.

What sort of sick and twisted people were they?

Perhaps even more disturbing were the number of workers we walked by on our little stroll.

I tried to commit everything I saw to memory. If there was a way out of this place, I wanted to know and be ready for it.

Just as she was about to turn around, a familiar scent crossed my nose. I couldn’t quite make it out, but I knew that I knew that smell.

“What’s down here?” I asked.

“The holding area where you were when you first arrived,” she explained.

“Can I see it?”

“Best you don’t. Why don’t we get you back to your room?”

But I had to stall. I needed to follow that scent.

Mate , a voice in my head whined.

No! It couldn’t be. There was no way they got to Lachlan. I couldn’t allow myself to believe it. He was going to come and rescue me. It was the only thought keeping me sane in here.

But what if he wasn’t coming?

I hadn’t allowed myself to even consider that.

Letting that thought sink in was difficult, but necessary.

I knew what I had to do.

“You’re right. I could use a nap. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

I hadn’t slept well since the tranquilizer wore off at my arrival, so it wasn’t a lie.

“I’m sure you’ll sleep well after that hot cup of tea and a good walk.”

She smiled and suddenly my head started to swim as the hallway began to swirl all around me.

“Oh dear. Are you okay? Best we get you back now. I do believe that sedative was a bit more potent than I planned.”

“You drugged me?” I asked.

“It’s for the best, dear.”

As I began to fade, the smell I’d been chasing became overwhelming and tears sprang to my eyes.

Lachlan .

*****

When I awoke my body was a bit sore, but especially the back of my right arm. It felt much like I was severely hungover on top of that.

I groaned. “What happened?”

“Oh thank God. Sweetheart, it’s me, Maxine.”

Even now, she was careful not to use my real name. Her and Aaron had explained that it was for the best to keep that bit of information to ourselves.

“Where am I?”

“You’re back in the room with us,” Aaron said.

“Helen drugged me. You can’t trust her,” I warned them.

“What did they do to me?” I asked as fresh pain shot through my arm.

“We aren’t sure. Your arm is wrapped, but that’s all we noticed.”

The door unexpectedly clicked open and we all jumped.

I forced myself to sit up. I didn’t want to be caught off guard like that again.

“Ah, great. You’re awake. No wonder you didn’t want to tell us who you are,” Egan said.

The smirk on his face gave me the creeps.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Ran a little DNA test while you were out. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Is that why my arm hurts?”

“Oh, no. That was a biopsy necessary for some tests I’m running. I knew you were a fighter. But a King? I never imagined. What were you doing in Sydney territory, beautiful?”

“That’s none of your damn business,” Aaron answered for me.

“Is that how the Kings have eluded us? Hiding in plain sight amongst the other Tribes?

"What are you talking about?”

“Stop playing games with me!” he yelled.

“I’m not. I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“We went to take out the Kings and no one was there. Imagine my surprise. I had no idea you backwoods trash in the Outback were so scheming.”

I forced myself not to smile. If he knew anything about my kind then he wouldn’t be surprised by this. We were sly and conniving when we needed to be.

The relief of hearing my family, my Pack, my Tribe had managed to disperse or at least hide from these psychos energized me and stoked the fire of my determination. And if they could do it, then there was no way these idiots got to Lachlan and his team.

Clearly, I’d just imagined his scent. It may have even been hallucinations from the drugs Helen had given me. There was no telling for sure, but it made a lot more sense than the alternative.

“You aren’t just a member of the King Tribe though, are you, beautiful? DNA tells us a lot about a person and yours depicts a high probability that you are the child of the Alphas. Am I right? Does that make you Michelle or Matilda?”

The idiot had Chelle in his grimy hands, at least at some point. I was sure of it. How had he not known that?

I certainly wasn’t dumb enough to ask him.

“Nothing? Then I suppose I’ll just call you M for now until I know for sure. Either way, you are a huge asset and valued chess piece when they inevitably come for us. I bet those morons would pay top dollar for a prize like you, too.”

I shuddered. He was going to sell me to a Collector now?

Sadly, that didn’t seem like the worst option for my future.

No! I couldn’t let myself think like that. I had to find a way out of here. I couldn’t be certain Lachlan, my Dad, Aiden, or anyone else was coming to my rescue. It was up to me to get out of here and get Maxine and Aaron out too.

People always underestimated me, but I knew I was strong and capable. Somehow, I’d find a way.