The Wild Moon by Riley Storm

Chapter Twelve

The small, windowless room in which I was being held made it impossible to tell time, but I figured several hours must have passed while I sat in the chair, unmoving.

No sounds reached my ears. Only the single dull yellow bulb overhead provided any light. The metal of the chair was cool to the touch. My wet clothing initially left me chilled, but as time went on, my body heat warmed it until I was just damp. Which was almost worse, in a way, since I couldn’t scratch any of the million itches that broke out across my body.

“This sucks,” I said to myself.

All the while, in the background of my mind, my Soulbond pulsed away, a link to a man I wanted nothing to do with. Or did I? Would it be so bad to submit to it? I would be happy with Johnathan. The Soulbond would see to that.

Fuck right off, I snarled at the thought, recovering my sanity. I shut those treacherous ideas down. There was no way in hell I was going to give up and become a broodmare for this twisted family. No way, not happening.

I struggled some more in my bonds, trying to twist my arms and use my shifter strength to break through them, but they held firm, leaving me feeling weak and useless. I tried to turn to see just how I was secured, but the tightness of my arms bound behind me meant I couldn’t twist far enough to get a good look.

Lars had known what he was doing. Just how many other people had he held prisoner here? I could look down and see that the chair was bolted to the floor. Clearly, this hadn’t been set up for me. It had already existed. Why?

Before I could contemplate that further, my Soulbond pulsed even stronger, and a moment later, the door behind me opened.

“Bravo!” I called, instantly knowing who it was. I tried to whistle but failed to make a sound. I’ve never been able to do that properly. I was really hoping for a one-time wonder, but alas, I failed at that, too, like so many things lately.

“Danielle,” Johnathan said as he came around to my front.

“Vir’s Oath,” I cursed, more in annoyance than anything. “What is it with you and having to use people’s full names? It’s such a mouthful.”

My ex shrugged, looking quite uncomfortable as he stood before me dressed in an expensive dark blue silk shirt, black pants, and chocolate-brown shoes. I noted he carefully avoided the water still puddled around me—there was nowhere for it to drain.

“Why is it you insist on those dusty old curses?” he countered. “Nobody swears by the old gods anymore, Danielle. Just you.”

And my father, I thought sullenly. But what was the point? Johnathan had been indoctrinated by his asshole father. I wasn’t about to break through that wall anytime soon, and I frankly didn’t care to spend the energy trying. He wasn’t worth it.

“So, did Daddy send you in here?” I shot back. “After all, he has to do everything for you. Like you’re a child. Did you run in here and start crying to him when I told you to piss off? Running home to tell on me. Pathetic.”

“I didn’t tell on you,” Johnathan snapped, clenching his hands into fists, his shoulders flexing until the veins in his neck stood out. “It was rather obvious what happened. You know, since you did it in front of the entire pack.”

“You deserved it,” I said, shrugging as best I could given my situation. “It’s not my fault you were a colossal asshole to me.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“And you’re victim-blaming,” I fired back hotly. “You don’t even believe you were the slightest bit rude to me. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have expected me just to accept you as my mate.”

He clenched his jaws together. “It wasn’t exactly my choice,” he said through his teeth, showing his frustration at our situation. “I didn’t mean to be.”

I sat back in the chair, staring at him. He’d had no choice but to be a dick to me? But who—no, bad question, I know who. Why would his father put him up to that?

“By Vir, your entire family is messed up,” I said, shaking my head. “I thought shit was bad for me when you told me I was adopted and you were right, but now that I’m seeing the real Aldridge family, I can confidently say yours is way more fucked up than mine. All of you are insane.”

“Now that’s not fair,” Johnathan protested sharply.

I lifted my eyebrows before looking pointedly at my current shackled predicament and my clothes, which his father had put on me, by stripping off my other ones.

“Not to mention the mark I’m sure dear old dad left on my cheek when he hit me. Like the real man he is.”

“It’s fading,” Johnathan said.

I sighed. “That’s not the point, John.” I used the short form on purpose. “The point is that you guys are treating me like shit and then acting surprised when I won’t immediately obey and become the good housewife who does whatever she’s told. Look in a mirror! This isn’t how you treat people.”

John looked away, unable to meet my eyes as I gave him my best glare. I was surprised. Embarrassment was far humbler of a reaction than I’d ever expected from him or anyone in his family at this point. It suggested he knew what was going on was wrong.

“You don’t know him,” he said quietly after a moment, clenching and relaxing his right hand over and over again. “You don’t know what it was like, growing up with him as your father.”

I laughed. Hard. I laughed until tears streamed down my face and I was out of breath. Then I laughed some more.

Johnathan stared at me, unspeaking, the entire time. I eventually pulled myself together.

“Please,” I gasped, still struggling for air. “Please tell me you don’t actually expect me to fucking pity you, do you? After everything your stupid family has done to me and mine, you want me to think you’re the victim in all this?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but I wasn’t done. My outraged laughter quickly became white-hot fury.

“And even if it was real, don’t ever expect me actually to give a shit, John. You’re an adult, and you can make your own decisions. Do what’s right if you think you’re not like him. Set me free.”

“I can’t do that,” Johnathan said quietly, shaking his head, staring at the floor. “Not unless you agree to be my mate.”

Well and truly under Daddy’s thumb, it seems. Can’t even think for yourself.

“That’s never gonna happen,” I said coldly. How many times did I have to tell them that?

“Dammit!” Johnathan said, smacking a fist into his palm. “Can’t you see I’m trying to help you out here? Come along willingly, Dani, and this will be easier.”

He was trying hard to convince me, even resorting to using a short form of my name. I wondered how much that cost him. Not enough, that’s for sure.

“No,” I repeated.

“If you don’t do this on your own, my father is going to leave you broken and bleeding for the next Wild Moon. You’ll be so weak that you’ll be lost to your wolf forever. Then he can come and hunt you down for sport. Don’t let him win like that! Just accept our bond.”

As he spoke, the Soulbond pulsed harder in my mind, filling me with warmth and happiness as I looked at Johnathan. Here was a man who would make me happy. Who I could feel fulfilled with, it said, working its insidious way into my mind, trying to twist my thoughts. The stupid thing didn’t care that he’d ruined my family. That he was an asshole or had a tiny dick. None of that mattered.

My Soulbond wants me to be miserable. Perfect. ‘Cause my life isn’t already fucked up enough as is.

A part of me almost believed Johnathan’s last plea. That he truly did not want to see me hunted down by his father, who would surely take pleasure in ripping my throat open for all the pack to see.

I couldn’t trust that part of me, however, because it might be compromised by the Soulbond. I would have to rely solely on myself and pure logic. No emotions could be taken into account.

Which was fine with me because I wasn’t going to let any of this influence my decision. I’d made it and was sticking with it. Besides, I was already working on my escape from this hellhole.