Wolf Taken by Heather Renee

3

Cait

The water was long gone, and I’d savored the soup—that hopefully hadn’t been poisoned—for as long as I could. Once darkness fell, I assumed nobody was coming back down to my hole of doom, as I’d so named it, and I risked checking out the only way in or out.

Moonlight streamed along the bumpy walkway. Besides that, I couldn’t see much more than a ladder that led above ground. My skin tingled under the light as I stretched my muscles. I didn’t feel strong like I’d been when working with Embry and Ramona, but something stirred inside me for the first time since I’d woken up.

That, along with the voice I’d heard earlier, was enough to give me a bit of hope. For a little while, anyway.

Are you there… uh… ma’am?I asked, having no idea what to call the woman in my head.

There was no reply as I paced back and forth. Everything around me was quiet except the rapid beating of my heart and the tapping of my nervous fingers as they drummed against my thighs.

Sleep under the moon. You’ll need all the rest you can get for what’s to come.The woman’s voice startled me, and I hissed.

Can’t you give a girl some warning?I snapped.

No, I can’t.I could hear the roll of her eyes by the sharp tone she used. Like I said before, I can’t stay long, but I need you prepared. Tomorrow is a new moon. Sleep as close to the exit as you feel comfortable, and I will be back again as soon as it’s time.

Time for what? Who are you? What is happening?I asked, barely breathing.

Silence was my only reply. The woman was gone. Again. I wasn’t sure which was more frustrating: being trapped down here or having someone randomly popping into my head. Okay, that was obviously a lie, but I was ready to figure a way out of the shitty situation I’d been thrown into.

I refused to be beaten without a fight. I knew I didn’t stand a chance against shifters and witches, but I’d keep trying to call on whatever power had drawn the wrong kind of attention to me. There had to be a way I could get out on my own.

Then, I was going to have a serious talk with myself. Clearly, I’d made a mistake. Likely more than one, but that was beside the point. I wasn’t stubborn enough to deny I was better off staying with Embry and Roman than I was on my own. And maybe, just maybe, I needed to accept the curveball life had thrown my way instead of being so damned afraid of change.

I used to be a firm believer that everything happened for a reason. Then, my mom was taken so harshly from me. She’d been fine one day, then gone the next. I’d had no time to process the thought of life without her. It hadn’t been fair. It hadn’t been right. I’d had no control, and it had altered me irrevocably.

I’d let Embry in because she brought light into my life when I’d needed it most, but anyone else? I’d kept them at arm’s length and made sure they never had any power to hurt me.

Being told I was bonded to Roman had been everything I’d feared the most. Instead of facing the situation head on, I’d done everything I could to push him away from me. Knowing Roman was supposed to be an instant happily-ever-after scared me, considering how much he could also hurt me if I let him get too close.

After being alone with my thoughts for the day, I was kicking myself in the ass for being such a chickenshit.

Roman had been kind and patient. He’d given me choices. He’d accepted me into his world and offered nothing other than protection, but I’d thrown it back into his face. I was officially the world’s biggest asshole.

I wasn’t ready to have his babies, by any means, but if I made it out of this hole of doom alive, I was willing to get to know him better and stop fighting whatever was happening between us. We both deserved that.

Leaves crunched on the ground above me, and I slid back into the darkness, holding my breath.

A woman’s voice sounded. “Everything staying quiet tonight, Felix?”

“Sure is, D. I think she’s sleeping,” a guy much closer replied.

“And nobody has been down there since the alpha gave orders?” she asked.

“I’ve been here the last four hours and haven’t seen anyone.”

“Good. You call me if you do.”

There were a few beats of silence followed by a howl that had my skin tightening. The howls grew quieter until there was nothing but eerie silence. After a few minutes, I chanced moving back into the moonlight and lay down on the ground.

My head rested awkwardly against the dirt wall, and my eyes grew heavy. The day was finally catching up to me, but I was hesitant to let sleep claim me. I didn’t want Kyle or that witch Callista to come back and mess with me while I was out of it.

Rest, young one. I will keep watch. The woman’s voice was back in my head, but this time I didn’t question her. She wasn’t going to answer me anyway, and I needed the sleep.

Tomorrow would be a better day. All I had to do was figure out how to get away from this pack and back to where I belonged. With Roman. And Embry.

Easy.

* * *

Slowly,I came to, and sunlight warmed my bruised and battered skin. Everything was already feeling heaps better than the day before, and the stirring of a slow-building energy inside me was enough to reignite the hope I’d clung to the night before.

I took in the rest of me as I got to my feet. My shirt was torn at the bottom, exposing a few inches of my stomach. Dirt covered most of me, and my hair resembled a rat’s nest. Lastly, I glanced at my wrist. The mark was even lighter than the day before. My heart sank.

I needed the mark. I needed the magic it provided. I’d never try to get rid of it again, if only the damned thing got me the hell out of the hole of doom.

“Felix. How is our guest?” Cohen’s voice sounded above.

“I think she just got up. She’s been quiet all night, Alpha.”

“Good. You’re off duty. Kyle will be taking over for the day,” Cohen replied, and the plummeting of my heart grew.

I was never getting out of here alive, but that didn’t mean I’d go down without a fight.

Walking further back into the dirt cavern, I stood behind the chair I’d been strapped to. It was the only object big enough to do some damage if Cohen or Kyle came at me.

There was an echoing thud, followed by heavy footsteps as they came closer.

“Cait,” Cohen called out, but I remained silent.

He came around the corner first, with Kyle right on his heels. “How are you feeling this morning?” Cohen asked.

“Right as rain,” I replied with a fake sweetness.

“Glad to hear it. Seal the room,” Cohen said.

“Huh?” I asked, but nobody responded as a heaviness settled over me.

My fingers tightened around the back of the chair until the metal groaned beneath my grip. My heart pounded frantically, and any amount of breath was hard to draw as Kyle and Cohen stared me down.

“I hate to admit it, but maybe you were right, Cohen.” Callista materialized beside him, and the pressure on my body eased.

“Maybe, maybe not. Either way, we need to be sure. If we can use her to get what I want, then this will all be worth it.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

Kyle laughed. “Shut it, bitch. You don’t get to talk unless spoken to.”

Oh, what I wouldn’t give to kick that asshole in his junk, followed by a swift punch to the throat.

“Now, Kyle, it’s not Cait’s fault she’s in this situation. She seems like a smart girl, and we need to work together. Cait, this is Callista. She’s been watching you for me and reporting back. She knows that you’re not happy under the thumb of Roman, that he thinks you’re his mate, and that you rejected him.”

I internally smacked myself. Of course she knew. That was how I’d been lured into the forest before Callista dragged me through a portal. Yet, even though they were aware of the truth, Cohen didn’t believe it was real. I wondered what made him doubt what everyone else had been so sure about.

Cohen continued, “Denying the call of a mate isn’t an easy feat. On top of that, you don’t possess a wolf spirit. So, either someone has an agenda for my grandson or… Well, the ‘or’ doesn’t concern you. What should concern you is that I’m willing to overlook the many oddities about you if you stop trying to hide what you are from me. I believe that we can be of great help to each other.”

If he wanted compliant Cait, I’d happily give her to him. For now. “So, you’re looking for a mutually beneficial relationship?” I asked.

He grinned. “Yes, that’s exactly right.”

He knew more than I’d originally thought, so I had to quit playing stupid while still keeping most things to myself. “Whatever I thought I had is gone. Maybe someone planted magic in me to trick Roman. An agenda of sorts, like you mentioned. I never felt an attachment to him, so it’s possible,” I said, hating myself for speaking the words.

Cohen stepped closer as Callista glared daggers at me. “I’d know if another witch was up to something.”

“Cait didn’t say ‘witch.’ She said magic,” Cohen said.

He seemed to be buying what I was spitting out, so I kept on going. “I rejected being in Roman’s pack, which was when I sensed things changing for me. At one point, a witch told me my energy was tied to the alpha somehow, but nobody knew how exactly the magic in me worked since I was human-born. When I officially denied Roman’s offer to be his mate, the power I’d been gaining began to dissipate.”

Cohen reached for my wrist, his thumb gently stroking over where my mark was fading. “Well, maybe if you accept another alpha, the magic will come back.”

This particular alpha was old, his breath reeked, and there wasn’t a single thing about him that drew me in. The only comforting characteristic about him was his eyes, but up close, I could see the evil stirring behind them. He was nothing like his daughter.

Callista sighed and shoved Cohen out of the way. “That’s not how this works. If there is still something inside that pathetic body, I’ll get it out. Though, I’m not sure it’s enough to do what you need.”

Cohen’s hand darted out and wrapped around her throat—a move that seemed to be his favorite. “Listen here, witch. You were nothing before I found you. Don’t question my plans or I’ll send you right back to the shithole I pulled you from. Now, prove your worth before I run out of patience.”

Callista sneered at him as sparks of magic flew off her fingers, but she didn’t attack. Interesting. Cohen was stronger than I assumed any of the East Texas pack realized. At least, that was what he seemed to be working toward.

Cohen released the witch and stepped back to me. “You might not have a wolf, but I believe you will, and we’re going to figure out how to make that happen. When we do, you will accept me as your alpha.”

I bowed my head, feigning submission in hopes they’d let their guards down. “I will.”

“We’re all shifting together as a pack tonight for the new moon. Maybe you can join us if all goes well.” Cohen spoke to the witch without looking at her. “I expect results by midnight, Callista. Don’t disappoint me.”

I peeked up, watching as Cohen and Kyle left me alone with my least favorite of the three of them.

Callista circled me, staying close but never touching me. “Show me how you made the fire before.”

“Don’t you think if I could do that still, I would have tried to use it by now?” I snapped. There was no chance of negotiating with her, so I didn’t bother to play nice.

Her eyes were the same black I remembered from when she’d taken me, and her sleek platinum hair cascaded around her shoulders, ending just above her waist. There were dark marks already forming around her neck where Cohen had grabbed her, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Well, then. Let’s have some fun, shall we?” she cooed right before heat slammed into my chest.

My head was thrown back, but I managed to stay upright as I reached for the chair. My fingers grasped the metal, but I wasn’t close enough to really grip it before Callista was on me.

“Show me your magic,” she demanded.

I kneed her in the gut and shoved her off me, but she only rolled a few inches away. Not far enough to allow me any sort of head start to get away.

She grabbed onto my wrist as I went for the chair again, and my mark flared to life. Whatever surge coursed through me burned the witch, making her let go.

“There’s the magic I knew was in you. Give me that and maybe I’ll take it easy on you,” Callista said, eyeing her hand where there was now a crescent burn mark on her palm.

“Don’t you think if I had any control over the power that I’d have been using it already?” I asked, trying to move away from her, but the witch wasn’t letting me out of her grasp.

Callista reached for my hair and slammed me into the chair I’d been trying to grab. “Don’t get smart with me. You’re nothing more than trash. I could end you right now.”

I spat blood on the ground as I got up. Screw this bitch. I was done playing her games. As I steadied myself, I let her come closer. She reached for my wrist again, but there was no surge of magic this time.

“I said give me your power!” she bellowed in my face.

“Over my dead body.” I slammed my elbow into her gut and jerked my head forward until it connected with hers.

Callista staggered back as I finally got a solid grip on the chair. “You’re going to pay for that,” she snarled.

“You’re going to kill me either way. Might as well have fun before my party’s over.” I grinned and lifted the chair. Energy surged inside again as I hefted the metal into the air, using every bit of strength that I had to plow my make-shift weapon into the witch.

The chair connected with her ribs, and she howled in pain. I wasted no time and ran for the exit while I had the chance. As I rounded the corner and caught sight of the ladder, the bitch was already on me. She grabbed onto my hair and sent me flying backward into the wall with one jerk.

My vision faltered, and before I knew it, I was crumpled on the ground, losing consciousness. At least I’d gone out with a fight like I wanted. Callista was bleeding from her nose and had a gash on her forehead where the chair had connected. Hopefully it would scar, and she’d have something to remember me by.

She grabbed me by the hair again, dragging me across the room. “It’s time to show you what real pain is.”

I’m still here with you, Cait. It’s not time for you to stop living,the voice from before whispered through my mind.

Except this time, her words brought no hope. I’d accepted my fate, and I was ready. I just prayed the torture didn’t last long.