Wolf Untamed by Alexis Calder

2

When the door opened again, I steeled myself for what was to come. If I was going to get out of here alive, and untouched by Tyler, I was going to have to give the performance of my life. Viki had been easier to fool, but I wasn’t sure anyone else would have accepted that I’d taken this path so quickly.

“They don’t trust you yet.” I recognized Kyle’s voice before I realized the silhouette approaching was him.

“How appropriate. I don’t trust them, either,” I said.

“You’re really going to go through with it?” He sounded surprised.

My brow furrowed and I peered into the darkness, trying to make out his expression. “Why do you sound so surprised? Isn’t this what you all wanted? You won. I lost.”

Even saying the words made my stomach lurch uncomfortably. I wasn’t planning to go through with it but the thought of giving in was almost too much for my mind to process.

“Sure, I suppose,” he said. “You know, when I heard you’d survived the cave, I really thought you had a chance at escaping.”

“Quit talking to me like we’re friends,” I snapped.

“You go through with this and you’re going to have to play nicer,” he said.

I forced my jaw closed and didn’t respond. Keeping up this rouse was harder than I anticipated.

“They sent me to get you to the bathroom. I was told to beat you into submission if you try to flee.” His tone was warning but fell a little flat.

“You don’t sound like you enjoy your position as much as you used to,” I said.

“You know nothing about me,” he said.

“I know a lot more than you think.” Kyle was weak. He followed whoever would give him the best chance at survival. Like me, he’d grown up in the trailer park, but after he’d gained Tyler’s favor, his family mysteriously inherited a home away from the trash I grew up with. “Tell me, Kyle, just what is the going rate for your loyalty these days?”

He growled and I could feel the tension filling the room. For a moment, it almost felt like my wolf was stirring. I hoped she was waking and ready to help me get the fuck out of here.

“When I untie you, you will not run. They have every exit blocked and they will take you to the brink of death so Tyler can complete the bond.” Kyle walked closer to me. “Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t run or the mate who supposedly cares about me will force himself on me.” I shook my head. “Am I the only one who sees the absolute insanity in this whole situation?”

“Believe it or not, Lola, you’re not the only one who had to make difficult choices,” he said.

“Yeah, your life seems real hard,” I said.

“Just stop talking.” His fingers worked the knots around my right ankle.

“You think you’re one of the good guys, don’t you?” I asked.

“I told you to stop talking.”

I scoffed. “Truth hurts, doesn’t it?”

He didn’t respond and I got the sense that our conversation was over. He freed my right ankle and moved to the left. It didn’t take long before all my restraints were off.

I swayed when I sat up, my head spinning as I got used to sitting again. Rubbing my wrists, I gave myself a moment to take a few breaths. I was grateful to be free and needed a shower more than I ever had in my life.

I could see Kyle better now that he was closer and I realized he had a new scar on his jaw and visible signs of a nearly healed black eye. That had to be very recent since shifters usually healed in a day. What had he gotten himself into while I’d been away?

“Here.” Kyle handed me a granola bar. “It was all I could grab.”

Since it was wrapped, I accepted it and tore it open. I hadn’t eaten since they tossed me in here. My stomach growled in response to the thought of food. I moaned when I took the first bite. My face heated. I hadn’t meant to do that but when you’re that hungry, anything tastes amazing.

Quickly, I finished the bar, then reached for the bottle of water Tyler had left on the nightstand by the bed. I washed down the food. “Thank you.”

“Come on. They’re waiting for you,” he said.

“They?” I bristled. “Great. Can’t wait.”

He walked toward the door and waited for me to follow. With a heavy sigh, I followed. My footsteps felt uneasy but I wasn’t about to let on how weak I felt. Between not wanting them to have the satisfaction, I also needed to fake it for myself. If I was going to get out of here, I had to have enough strength to follow through.

We walked down a well-lit hallway lined with photos of the Grant family. Tyler and his parents, baby pictures, first day of school, fishing, camping. All the photos you’d expect to see from a happy family. It was unsettling seeing it here. I knew how dysfunctional it all was, but they sure did put on a good show.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Viki. She’d settled to keep herself safe. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. I didn’t live through hell my whole life to give up now.

We reached a closed door at the end of the hall and I vaguely remembered that it was the bathroom. Faded memories of being dragged here, my arms bound, flooded into my head. So they’d brought me here a few times to pee but I hardly remembered it through the drug induced fog. At least that explained why I wasn’t wearing urine-soaked shorts.

You’d think that knowing I’d been using the restroom would bring me comfort. Instead, it made my chest tighten in fear. If the drugs they gave me had made me so out of it, I was able to walk to the restroom and not remember, what else had they done to me? I was alert enough to walk, but until we went down this hall, I forgot it even happened.

“Go ahead,” Kyle said. “I’ll wait here. There’s no windows in there.”

“What did they give me earlier?” I asked.

Kyle looked confused.

“The drug they shot me with,” I explained. I knew the answer, but I wanted confirmation. “What was it?”

“You know what it was,” he said. “Go. Before they come looking for you.”

Frustrated, I turned the doorknob and entered the bathroom. At least it was empty and I was alone. The problem was, as Kyle had mentioned, there were no windows. With Kyle blocking the exit at the door, there was no way I was going to get out unless I was ready to blow past him and take my chances.

I was still weak from my ordeal. It would be nearly impossible to get past him in my current state. Still, I knew I was going to have to try. It was my best chance.

Hoping the shower might help stimulate my aching and drowsy body, I went ahead and pulled my clothes off and stepped into the tub, pulling the curtain closed behind me.

The hot water was a balm on my aching body. I scrubbed everything, being gentle on the red marks where the bounds had cut into my wrists and ankles.

I hadn’t had a shower since the day I left Wolf Creek. Washing my hair with actual shampoo rather than just rinsing in a lake was a luxury I hadn’t realized I’d missed so much.

The water felt amazing and my body did feel stronger and more alert when I turned off the shower. I took a few deep breaths, going over the plan in my mind one more time.

I was going to dry off, put my clothes back on and then I was going to run. No stopping for anything. I had to get out of the nearest exit.

Now would be an excellent time to connect with me and shift, I told my wolf.

She didn’t respond.

Of course not.

As usual, I was on my own.

I pulled back the shower curtain and grabbed a towel from the wall. Quickly, I dried off, then hung the towel back up. Then my whole plan fell apart.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Where did my clothes go?

My pulse raced. They’d grabbed my clothes while I was in the shower and left me with nothing. Fuck me.

Did this mean they were intending on going right to the whole completing the bond thing? This was not my plan.

I had two choices. Run naked or run with a towel around myself.

I looked down at the mark on my hip. I’d nearly forgotten it was there, but I knew it wasn’t going to be overlooked by Tyler. Covering my mark with my palm, I recalled how Alec reacted when he saw it. Everything changed between us in that moment. Had he been planning to betray me the whole time or just after he saw the mark?

Had he been so threatened by a woman with the mark of the alpha that he’d turned me over? The hypocrite had a mark of his own that he did nothing with. He refused to rise up and take control and be the alpha he was born to be.

Was I doing the same thing?

No. We weren’t the same. I didn’t want anything to do with Wolf Creek. The Moon Goddess was wrong to give me this mark. It was some kind of cruel joke. Just like the fates when they’d placed me with Tyler. It was another way of punishing me for something I didn’t do. Maybe my family line really was cursed. Sure, I’d been able to shift once. But maybe that wasn’t the only piece of the curse. Maybe we were given the things we wanted least. For any other shifter, a true mate was a blessing. Shit, even the mark of the alpha would be welcomed by anyone. Sure, it didn’t happen for women, but a stronger woman would embrace it.

For me, this mark was a death sentence.

Ace would kill me on sight if he saw it. I was a threat, and I knew it.

So I’d run with the towel.

Wrapping it around me as best I could, I took a deep breath and set my hand on the doorknob. I was either headed to escape or things were about to get a whole lot worse for me.