Chapter 8

Odhran

It was the assault of scents that roused me, but still I couldn't wade through my thoughts, couldn't grasp my full consciousness.

The fuckers had drugged me again.

My body ached, my limbs feeling as if they weighed too much, were far too heavy for me to move them. My wolf was trying to shake off the discombobulation, but my strength was returning little by little. Yet I wouldn't fight the ones who held me. I wanted this. I'd needed to get out of my cell so I had the best chance of finding her and killing them.

I felt my body lurch forward as we entered a room. My arms were jerked upward, cold and hard metal wrapping around them. My legs were kicked apart, the same bonds going around my ankles. I felt cool air brush along my battered body, and as much as I tried to open my eyes, they felt sealed shut from whatever drugs they'd been pumping into me.

I could hear the growls coming from me, my wolf trying in vain to gain control. But I was far too weakened in my state to do much more than make hoarse noises. I heard the humans laughing, their voices muffled, garbled. Then I felt pain when someone slammed their fist into my side, next to the center of my chest, finally ending when they punched me in my jaw. My head kicked back, colliding with the stone.

"He'll be fully awake soon. Let's get everything situated. They're all waiting."

With each passing second, I was coming back online. I lifted my head and shook it to clear my mind and spit out a mouthful of blood, finally peeling my eyes open and taking note of the scene before me.

I was in some kind of room barren of most things except an examination-style table in the center and a metal rolling tray off to the side. The flooring was white tiled with a massive drain in the center.

The room smelled of antiseptic and something else.

Pain. Death.

There was an entire wall made of glass directly across from me, but it was too dark to see what was on the other side. I knew I was being watched, not just because I noticed a security camera mounted in the corner at the top of the ceiling, but because I felt eyes on me that were coming from the other side of that glass partition.

And as I grew stronger with each passing moment, I tested my bonds. But there was little give, the metal digging into the skin of my wrists and ankles, tearing the flesh. These too were mystically enforced in order to keep a Lycan bound.

I bared my teeth and snarled as I pulled as hard as I could, trying to rip the chains out of the walls.

I felt this tightening of my skin, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Something big was coming, happening, the precipice of an epiphany. I strained even more until I froze at the sight of the lights flaring just behind the glass wall. I heard a feral sound leave me at the sight of all the sets of eyes locked on me.

There were sixteen chairs broken up into rows of four, each one slightly more elevated than the row before. They were humans, that much I could tell, and I snarled.

Aged males wearing pressed suits. Women doused in jewelry. Some had wide eyes, others showing excited expressions. And then there were the ones who grinned in malicious eagerness.

Some of the viewers leaned forward in their chairs, their grins widening, and I realized why when I heard the heavy sound of multiple feet coming my way. Thump-thump,thump-thump, their steps were sure and heavy.

The door was pushed open, and I was already snarling as one, then two big fucking males walked in. The first, I recognized instantly. Tore. I snarled at him even more.

I pulled at my cuffs again and growled, letting my wolf rise, allowing them to see how feral I was, how I had nothing else to lose in going after them.

Everything that I was, that meant the most to me, had been taken away, ripped from my heart and soul. And it was all because of them.

The next male who stepped through, I also recognized. I'd heard him called "D." He grinned as his gaze latched on to me, but it was what he held that had my entire body freezing.

For the first time in far too fucking long, the meaning of my life was in front of me once more.

And then that happiness, that elation, vanished as I took in the state of her. Her slight body was limp, the scent of drugs surrounding her nauseating in the air. Her long black hair was tangled and knotted and hung around her face, so I couldn't see her features well. But I didn't have to see her face to know she was mine.

Larkin.

I growled with more aggression as she was laid out on the stainless steel table, as they strapped her legs and arms down, and then finally they pushed her hair out of her face.

Oh gods. I'll kill them all ten times over.

She had a bruise on her cheek that snaked up to her ear. I felt even more primal that they dared touch my tiny nymph mate, her species so fragile and gentle, kind and naturally sweet. She'd never hurt anyone, never say a word that would harm another.

I looked at Tore, who was speaking with a third male who'd entered, then snapped my focus to D. He watched me with that sadistic smile on his face, and when he lifted his hand and pulled at a chain that hung around his neck, my breath left me viciously.

He wore Larkin's necklace, the one that I'd worn for decades, the one that had been taken from me when they captured me.

He chuckled low as he brought the anchor to his mouth and ran his lips over it.

"I'm going tae kill ye slowly," I said in a low, even voice to D. "I'm going tae rip yer heart out and present it tae my mate as a gift."

D had the intelligence to lose the fucking grin, tuck the necklace back into his shirt, and move a step back.

"Welcome, esteemed cardholders," Tore said in a raised voice, and the humans watching through the glass perked up.

The soft female moan that came from Larkin had me snapping my head in her direction and straining against my bonds.

Get tae her. Gods, please let me get tae her. Tae hold her. Tae tell her everything is okay now, and I'll never let anyone take her from me again.

"Ah, my sweet lass," I wheezed out, my chest too tight, my heart breaking over and over again as I watched her wake up and fight through the clear confusion. "I'm here, darlin'." I bared my teeth as the one called D stepped forward. "Ye'd do best tae stay away from her."

He paused and cocked his head. "Don't think you're much of a threat, Lycan." He grinned and reached out, grabbing a lock of her hair and rubbing it between his fingers.

My eyes flashed as I stared at him. "Ye signed yer death warrant before now, but now that ye're touching my female…" I felt a surge of power move through me. "Now, I'm going tae make sure I kill ye nice and slow. I'm going tae fooking enjoy tearing yer throat out and offering it tae my mate as a second prize."

There was a round of cheering from the humans on the other side of the glass, the scent of their disgusting eagerness seeping through the cracks and filling the small medical room.

Tore clapped his hands and said in a booming voice, "We have a special attraction for our VIP cardholders. We are so honored to be able to invite you to witness the connection a mated pair have, and when one hurts, the other does too. A mating like no other."

There was a round of laughter from the men, some of them nudging the others with their shoulders, winking, the grins becoming salacious.

Tore chuckled. "Now, now. It's not one of those kinds of sessions, although if you'd like to see one of our more adult-catered exhibits, please see one of the attendants on your way out to reserve your seat."

Larkin opened her eyes—her bright blue eyes. I remembered them all too well, ones I saw every time I closed my own. But that hazy expression changed as she realized where she was, a frantic look covering her face.

She knew where she was. She knew what was about to happen… because it's happened tae her before.

My female started pulling at her restraints, but despite being an Otherworld species, she was delicate, her strength that of a human's. My sweet little mate was far too weak and drugged to break free, even if she weren't clearly drained of energy, hurt, and malnourished.

"Lass."The word was nothing but a brutal croak from my throat. I wanted to be strong for her, to show her everything would be okay, but I couldn't break free to get to her. I couldn't protect her… again.

And when D gripped her hair hard enough she cried out, I roared, the chains rattling against the wall as I pulled on the cuffs, yanking until my skin broke open and rivulets of blood poured down my forearms.

"No more. No more, please," she murmured hoarsely over and over again, and I didn't think my heart could break any more.

What had they done to her?

"Awe, my sweet Larkin. My sweet girl."

She turned her head in my direction then, her blue eyes so big and wide with fear, her body tight as she anticipated pain.

She's used tae this. Aw, gods, she's used tae this.

Her vision cleared, her eyes flaring for another reason as we stared at each other. Recognition.

"Od… Odhran? Is that really you?" She was crying now, big tears streaming down her face, her pale skin streaked with dirt.

It was then I truly took in the state of her, how the gown she wore was tattered and ripped, the skin I could see dirty, her feet bare, bruises covering her legs and arms.

They'd hurt her. Repeatedly. All these years.

I was a growling, feral mess, never taking my gaze off her, my chest feeling like someone had ripped it open and torn out my heart.

"I'm here. I'm here, lass, and I'll take ye away. I'll protect ye this time."

The deep laughter in the room had me slowly looking at each man, memorizing their faces, knowing I'd kill every one of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Tore announced, "enjoy the show."