Chapter 14

Chapter 14

She didn’t like him.

Not. At. All, Ashley decided as she found herself taking in the man glaring at her. Then again, the feeling seemed to be mutual, Ashley noted as she watched green eyes darker than hers narrow on her as they turned silver. The only question was, why did he hate her? For a moment, she wondered if he knew, but…

He would have already turned her over if he did, right?

God, she hated not knowing what was going on and how they’d found her. She’d considered asking Jacob over the past week, but she’d been afraid to say something that would give her away.

“You’re not going to escape,” Kale said with a dismissive shake of his head, making her frown.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, already knowing that she’d be an idiot to try to leave.

Right now, no one knew where she was and since that worked for her, she was going to stay right where she was. At least, until they gave her a reason to leave, and considering what was waiting for her out there, she didn’t think being an asshole was enough to make her do something incredibly stupid.

“Besides the fact that you would have already tried?” Kale drawled before saying, “Because you’re afraid.”

“I want answers,” Ashley said, knowing better than to admit that she was terrified and give him something that he could use against her.

She’d learned that lesson early in life, thanks to her stepfather.

“Then why didn’t you ask Jacob?” Kale asked, sounding bored as he considered her.

“Because he’s not the one who was hired to kidnap me,” Ashley pointed out even as she told herself that she needed to suck it up and get the hell out of here before it was too late, but…

She couldn’t stomach the idea of hurting someone.

“True,” Kale murmured, sounding thoughtful before adding, “but then again, since you have no idea what Jacob knows, you would have at least tried to get information from him.”

“And waste my time?” Ashley said, pursing her lips up as she made a show of thinking it over.

“You have nothing but time,” Kale said, sighing heavily as he pushed away from the wall.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Ashley asked, unable to help but frown as she watched him make his way towards her.

“Exactly what it sounds like,” he murmured absently as he raised his wrist to his mouth.

“You’re planning on keeping me here forever,” Ashley said hollowly as she watched his fangs slide down seconds before he bit into his wrist.

“Until I come up with a better plan,” Kale said, gesturing with his other hand for her to get on the bed as the tantalizing scent that she’d been trying to ignore suddenly permeated the air, making her lick her lips as she struggled to look away from the blood dripping down his forearm.

“You can’t keep me here and we both know it,” Ashley mumbled weakly even though she already knew that she might not have a choice.

Not if she wanted to live.

“I really can, though,” Kale said, coming closer.

“I can walk through that door anytime I want and we both know that you won’t be able to stop me,” Ashley rushed to remind him as she stumbled back only to hit the bed with the back of her legs.

“Then leave,” Kale said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

“You’re not going to try to stop me?” Ashley asked, frowning in confusion as she glanced at her bedroom door before looking back at him.

“I won’t have to,” Kale said, not really sounding all that concerned for someone who’d been hired to kidnap her.

“And why’s that?” Ashley asked, licking her lips nervously as she watched him move closer again.

“Because we both know that you won’t risk finding out exactly how dangerous you really are.”

* * *

“I-I would never hurt anyone,”Ashley mumbled absently as she stumbled back.

“And we’ll never find out if that’s true,” Kale said as he continued following her, noting the nervous glances that she kept sending the door and the way that she winced with every sound barely above a whisper.

“Why haven’t you slipped into bloodlust?” Kale wondered, following her as he noted that she’d lost weight, the way that she’d gone pale when he bit into his wrist, the fact that she wasn’t running for the front door, and how she noticeably struggled to stop looking at the blood dripping down his hand.

“I don’t know,” Ashley said, licking her lips nervously as she continued backing away from him.

“You took your transition well,” Kale pointed out, watching her closely.

She snorted at that. “Of course, I took it well. Why wouldn’t I? I looked like a little girl before this.”

“I’m not talking about that,” he said, thinking about her reaction the moment that she’d realized she wasn’t human, the way she’d reacted when her eyes turned red, and she’d spotted her fangs in the mirror.

Her reaction had been more curious than surprised. She hadn’t panicked, screamed, cried, or reacted like a woman who had no idea about all those things that go bump in the night should have. The same could be said for when Jacob had been forced to shift in front of her to fix his broken arm. She’d been terrified. There was no question about that, but there had also been a haunted look in her eye as though she’d seen it before. She also hadn’t argued or flipped out over the fact that she needed to drink blood, something that she definitely should have been upset about. Instead, she’d resigned herself to the fact that she required blood for the rest of her life without question, leaving him with more questions.

“You’re not telling me something,” Kale said as he stalked her around the small bedroom.

Licking her lips nervously, Ashley said, “Neither are you,” as she continued moving away from him.

“And I’m not going to,” Kale murmured quietly as he watched her bump into the bed only to quickly climb over it with a curse so that she could put the bed between them.

“Then neither am I,” she said with a firm nod, trying to sound tough, but the way that she worried her bottom lip killed the effect, making her look fucking adorable.

Nodding, Kale shifted to the right and began moving around the bed. “I know one thing.”

“What’s that?” Ashley asked, stumbling back away from the bed as she looked around frantically for somewhere to run.

“You’ve been around shifters before,” Kale said, watching as she quickly closed her mouth into a firm line. It was a small move, but a telling one.

“Which Pack?” he asked, moving closer as he scented the air, searching for any trace of shifter blood on her, but he couldn’t scent any. The only thing that he could smell was the telltale scent of Pyte and fear as she backed up towards the bedroom door. He followed her, refusing to let her go as he watched her, knowing that he was right.

“What’s going on?” Jacob asked as he walked back inside.

“Ashley was just about to tell me,” Kale said, watching her struggling not to panic as she reached down and yanked her shorts back up while she continued backing up, refusing to take her eyes off him.

Smart girl, Kale thought as he allowed his fangs to slide down, watching as her eyes took in the move and had to wonder how she’d managed to escape. She’d been trapped in the body of a child, weak and easily controlled.

“Did the Pack have an Alpha?” Kale asked, noting the way that her jaw clenched in response.

He could understand a Pack without an Alpha fucking up and letting her escape, but an Alpha…

Would have torn her throat out to make sure that another Pack couldn’t get their hands on her. It left him with more questions that, unfortunately for her, he didn’t have time for.

Deciding that they’d played this game long enough, Kale grabbed Ashley and shoved her against the wall. Before she could react, he had his fangs pressed against her throat in warning. As soon as she felt the sharp tips pressed against her skin, she went still as he forced himself to ignore just how good she smelled and released a warning growl, one that had her swallowing hard and sent her heart racing. He waited for the scent of fear to hit him before he pulled back just far enough so that he could speak without risking breaking her skin, knowing just how dangerous her blood was.

“Have you ever seen someone’s throat ripped out?” Kale asked as he leaned back in and carefully ran the tips of his fangs over her soft skin.

“Y-yes,” came the weakly mumbled answer that had him pulling back.

“Who?” Kale asked, watching as her expression grew sad.

“My mother.”