Drip. Splat.
Drip, drip. Splat.
Drip. Splat.
Drip, drip. Splat.
I woke up to the sound of my own blood dripping and hitting the concrete floor. The room was so silent a human could hear a pin drop. With wolf senses I didn't need the quiet to hear it but it was there. The sound was gross enough to make my stomach churn.
My head was lolled back over the wooden chair I sat on. My hands were tightly tied behind the back of the chair. The blood was slowly dripping down from the side of my head onto the concrete floor.
My feet were tied to the legs of the chair. I could barely feel my chest rise and fall. My heartbeat was sluggish and my head felt like someone used it as a punching bag. My broken rib pinched my side every time I took a breath.
I refused to open my eyes. There were three other males in the room. I didn't want them to know I was awake yet.
My senses slowly returned to me. I could hear the men's rapid heartbeats as they slammed into their chests. Adrenaline rapidly coursed through their bodies.
Two of them were wolf shifters and the other was a hunter.
I slowly inhaled, trying to keep my breathing even. I was trying not to alert them to my consciousness. One of the wolves was from the Waters Edge pack. The other was from the Hollows.
My heartbeat began to increase. It couldn't be true. I had to be mistaken.
My nose took their scents in again, much faster this time. A shudder pulsed down my body in disgust. I wasn't wrong. I didn't even try to conceal it this time. The movement didn't go unnoticed.
"She's awake," one of the male wolves grunted. It was the wolf from Walter's pack.
"She hasn't even moved or opened her eyes. How can you be so sure?" the hunter asked in disbelief.
I felt like his eyes were burning a hole into my body. He was trying to see what the wolf saw but his eyesight wasn't as advanced as ours.
"Her breathing has changed and she did move," he answered without giving me another look.
"You can stop pretending you are asleep, Arianna," the other wolf growled.
Damn.
My eyes slowly fluttered open. It took a few moments to adjust to the lighting in the room. The two wolves were across the room as they stood guard by the door. The hunter was squatting on the ground right in front of me.
"Good morning little wolf."
I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't going to respond to him. I didn't even know what to say to him right now. I gave the two wolves a pleading look. They both turned away from me without a second thought.
"Eyes over here," the hunter grunted at me. He jerked my face back towards him.
"Don't touch me," I hissed at him.
He quickly let go of my jaw when I growled at him.
"Listen here missy. It would be prudent of you to treat me with respect."
I snorted, "You have done nothing to earn my respect."
His knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists at his sides. He narrowed his eyes and gave me a hefty shove. The chair teetered on the back legs for a moment before completely falling backwards.
My head slammed against the concrete floor. The wind knocked out of my chest. I choked on the air my lungs were trying to receive.
"Easy there killer," one of the wolves growled. He walked over to where I was lying on the ground and righted my chair again.
"Why am I here?" I asked him.
"We aren't allowed to say anything. We are just your guards. For now we are just waiting for Johnny to come deal with you. He will answer you."
"Who is Johnny?"
The hunter's mouth twisted into a grisly toothy grin. He stood up and walked our way. His smile was enough to put me off eating for good. I didn't like what his expression was insinuating.
"You'll see little wolf. He will be here soon."
The door to the warehouse swung open. It scraped against the floor. The sound grated against my ears. I winced and shrunk back. I wished my hands weren't tied back so I could cover my ears.
If it weren't for the restraints I would have ran screaming far away from this place. Johnny was the hunter I had feared for the past seven months. I would never forget his face or voice for the rest of my life.
His brown hair had been shaved off since I last saw him. His large untied brown boots clunked on the floor with every step he took. His muscles bulged against his clothing. His thin lips curved at the edges when his steel grey eyes caught mine from across the room.
I shuddered and cowered into the chair as his eyes raked up and down my body.
"Well if it isn't my favorite little wolf."
His cold tone chilled my spine. He placed a hand on my shoulder and bent down in front of me so he was eye level.
His hand fell from my shoulder down to my forearm. He gripped it tightly. My body tensed under his touch. My heart thudded against my chest.
"Let's untie her boys. I want to be able to enjoy watching the fear in her eyes while I work on her," he ordered them.
"Work on me?" I whispered.
"Someone's got to break you in," he answered hungrily.
The excitement radiated off of him. It was enough to make me want to vomit.
The other hunter walked behind my chair and untied the rope that was restraining me. My wrists were suddenly free. For a fleeting moment I thought about making a run for it. I was fast enough. But when I glanced back up at Johnny all thoughts of escaping were abandoned.
He had pulled out a long steel bowie knife. I quietly gasped when one of the lights in the room gleamed off the sharp, shiny blade. He was fully grinning now. I had thought the other hunter's smile was disgusting but his was worse. It brought a whole new level of fear.
Amusement flickered in his eyes while his partner shoved me onto the ground.
"We are going to play a little game Arianna. Do you like games?"
I shook my head. I was too afraid to speak.
"That's too bad because I love playing games and so do my friends here."
I firmly shut my eyes when I felt the cold blade lightly graze against my skin. He didn't apply enough pressure to break the skin but it scared me enough to flinch back in fear.
His malicious laugh was joined by the other hunter. It echoed against the walls of the empty warehouse.
"Let's play a little game called Truth or Dare. I'll ask you a question and you tell me the truth. I'm going to dare you to do something. If you refuse then face the punishment."
"I don't want to play your stupid game."
He promptly pressed the flat side of the blade against my neck.
"I don't care what you want. Let's begin. Did you mate with that abomination of a rogue Alpha?" he twirled the blade in his hands as he spoke.
"Leave him alone," I boldly responded.
"That's easy enough. He seemed terribly wounded yesterday. I don't think he will be getting up for a while."
Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks as I recalled the events that led to my capture. I had distracted him. The top of his shoulder had been stabbed. God only knows what happened after I lost consciousness. I closed my eyes and concentrated. My heart still felt whole and complete so I knew he was okay.
"You failed at killing him."
"That was never our intention. That attack was strictly to get you away from them. Harper right here did the honors."
"I stabbed your mate myself," he spoke proudly.
"Go to hell."
"Tsk tsk tsk , Arianna, such a foul mouth for a little girl."
"You should-" I began but cut myself off. I was about to use a lot of profane language but I kept it to myself. I didn't know how he would react and that knife kept me in line.
"I should what?" Johnny snarled at me.
"Nothing," I mumbled under my breath.
"That's what I thought. Are you ready to continue our little game?"
"I don't want to play your sick game."
"I haven't even gotten to the fun part yet."
"Don't bother. I'm not playing."
"I'm really going to enjoy this. Do you know why I'm here?"
"No, but I have a feeling you are about to tell me."
"You were the only unclaimed female Alpha in all the territories. But you sped up the timeline and let the mongrel mate you. I certainly have my work cut out for me," he nodded to the two wolf shifters. Suddenly they were at my sides, holding me down.
"Let me go!" I shrieked as I struggled against their hold.
"I dare you to renounce your mate Dante."
"Never," I retorted, spitting in his face.
This only caused his grin to widen.
"I was so hoping you would choose the punishment."
He brought his blade down and slowly dragged it across my thigh. I bit my lip back before I could scream. A burning pain spread all across my leg.
This felt so unreal. This couldn't be happening right now. Why did the hunters care if I was unmated or not? Why did they care that I had mated Dante? What timeline was he talking about?
"I am going to ask you again Arianna. I dare you to renounce Dante."
"Never," I repeated.
The blade sliced through my thigh again creating an X on top of my leg. The blood slowly dripped down my leg and splashed onto the ground. I moaned in pain but I still refused to scream for him.
They were crazy if they thought I was going to give up Dante as my mate. It was dangerous to try but it wasn't impossible. A wolf could renounce their mate even after the wolves have gone through the full mating.
Stay strong Arianna. That was the only thought running through my head as a few tears slid down my cheeks. I would gladly sit here in pain rather than renounce Dante. I had just found him. I wasn't about to give him up now.
"Stubborn little wolf. It's always better when they're feisty and refuse to scream," he smirked.
"I am never going to renounce him as my mate. You might as well give up now."
"Sweetheart I'm just getting started. You're going to wish you never said that."
He wiped the blood on his knife from my leg onto his pants. I watched him intently. It was like he was giving me a clean slate for more pain.
"If this is a game then it's only fair if you take a turn and play."
He chuckled, "Nice try sweetheart but that's not how this works."
"Well what are you waiting for?"
"Johnny, the boss wants to talk to you," the Hollows wolf interrupted.
"Keep an eye on her. Don't let her move."
He stood up and with one last leer back at me he walked out of the building.
"Don't even think about touching me," I threatened them as they eyed me hungrily.
My legs were still tied together otherwise I would have shifted now that Johnny was out of the building. My hands were loose but they continued to hold them down.
I felt the cuts on my leg slowly start to heal. It would take hours to become a scar. I would have that for the rest of my life; a daily reminder of my time with Johnny. At least the blood was no longer pouring out of the wound.
"You really should just give in," one of the wolves broke the silence as he tried to reason with me.
"Have you met your mate?"
"No."
"What about you?" I asked the other one.
"Yes."
"Would you ever renounce her?"
"Do you value your life?"
"I am an Alpha female. I value the life of my mate, the Alpha, and the lives of my pack members. My life comes in third to them."
"He's going to torture you."
"So be it. You should be ashamed of yourselves. What the hell is the matter with you two? Why would you ever team up with the hunters?"
"It's not just us that are here."
"Shut up man!"
"Who else is here?"
"No one."
I stopped talking. They weren't going to tell me anything else. I retreated into my mind. I tried to concentrate on Dante. My thoughts of him were the only thing getting me through this torture. I hoped he was okay and no one was badly hurt. I needed to get back to him and fast.