Chapter 54
SKY
I groaned and rolled over on the cold tile floor, my body sluggish as I pried first one eye open, then the other. Bright white light poured in. I blinked, then squinted.
Where was I?
I pushed myself up, so that I was sitting and looked around the barren room—a familiar prison cell of white, white, white. The fluorescent lights blazed overhead.
My heart thumped unsteadily in my chest as panic climbed up my throat. No. No, no, no…
It all rushed back to me then, like being struck on the head with a hammer.
The forest. The knife. Dr. Thompson’s threat to drag me back to hell.
He made good on that promise.
Something inside twisted, sick at the pit of me. My hands flew to my stomach, feeling for my baby. My pulse rushed between my ears as I held my breath and waited for a kick, for a nudge, for something—anything—that told me that Thompson hadn’t hurt her.
Blessedly, it came. She kicked against my palm. She was okay. Tears stung the corners of my eyes. I gasped for breath, staggering to my feet despite the fact that my legs felt unable to hold my weight.
I paced the floors, my hands rubbing at my belly through the papery hospital gown I was now wearing. The tile was cold beneath my bare feet, reminding me of the floorboards at home in the morning.
Fletcher… I’d never see him smile again. Never hear him laugh. Never feel Adam’s lips on my forehead, his warm fingers on my cheek.
I went to the door and began pounding on it.
“Hello?” I cried out, the sound escaping me before I could bite it back. “Help! Help me! Adam! Fletcher!”
I screamed as panic flooded me, my fingers digging into grooves carved by claws so many years ago. Made by a younger version of myself, clawing so desperately until my fingers bled, screaming and pleading until my voice went hoarse.
“Please! Someone! Anyone! Help me!” I screamed, but it was futile. No one was coming to save me. I was back in my nightmares for good this time.
I collapsed on the floor near my cot and wrapped my arms around myself, sobbing as my heart broke open.
Did Fletcher and Adam wonder where I went when I never came back? When they arrived home from work and I was gone? Were they worried about me?
And Fletcher… He’d lose his chance at finally having a baby, a family, because of my foolishness.
I cried harder. I cried until exhaustion took over, until my heart felt like a shell and my body went limp from grief. Then I curled up on the cot, wishing I had a blanket from home to cuddle with.
I was just drifting off when the door swung open. I jerked awake, sitting bolt-upright. Two people in medical coats came in.
A woman with her hair slicked back in a severe bun pointed at me. “Get up. Dr. Thompson wants to see you.”
The man didn’t wait for me to move. He came over, grabbed my wrist, and yanked me to my feet. I stumbled after them, pushed along like cattle. Just like always.
I knew better than to fight them; they were armed, both with weapons and with sedatives, and I could only imagine what Dr. Thompson would do to me while sedated.
It wasn’t me I was worried about, though. My hands fell to my belly, and a tendril of fear wrapped its way around my heart. If Thompson hurt her, I might lose my mind.
We came to a large room with various medical machinery in it. In the center was a metal examination table.
“Get up there,” the woman instructed, but when I did, they started strapping my legs and arms down.
I panicked. “N-No! Please!”
They said nothing, but worked fast. Leather straps whirred, fastening around my wrists, locking me down tight. I struggled, but to no avail.
They turned and left, leaving me alone to my pounding heartbeat. My breath came unevenly, tears brimming my lashes. I was trapped. Helpless.
It wasn’t long before Dr. Thompson strode in, his blond hair slicked back away from his face with styling gel. In another life, he might’ve been considered a handsome man, but I saw him for what he was—a monster.
“Sky, Sky, Sky…” he tittered, coming to my side. I went stiff as he lifted the front of my gown, baring my pregnant stomach, rife with fresh stretch marks. He shook his head slowly.
“Such a shame. I finally bring you home, and you’ve tainted yourself.” Our eyes met briefly before he walked over and retrieved something from a metal tray. When he returned, I saw what it was.
A scalpel.
I whimpered. “No, please!”
He chuckled and ran the blade over my bare skin. The metal kissed my flesh, cold and sharp and promising disaster.
“Please what? Please don’t cut the unborn child from your womb?” he asked, as if it wasn’t painfully obvious. “But it’s of no use to me, my darling specimen. That womb has much greater potential. I promise I’ll make it quick.”
No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. I yanked on the shackles, struggling anew. “Please!” I cried, my voice pitching as the shiny blade drew closer to my stomach. “Dr. Thompson, please, I’ll do anything! Just please don’t hurt her. Please…”
The bastard raised a thin eyebrow. “Anything?”
I realized that I’d walked right into a trap, but it was too late now. I needed to save my baby.
I nodded hurriedly. “Yes. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be good. I’ll behave. Just let me carry her to term. Let me give her to her father so he can raise her in a loving family. Please…”
“And how, exactly, can you help me, Sky?” Dr. Thompson drawled back. “What can you give me that I can’t already give myself?”
“I…” I swallowed, already hating myself. “I’ll help you catch river. We need him, right? I can lure him out, drug him… Just, please…”
I hated myself in that moment, but it was the only advantage I had.
“You don’t think I’m capable of hunting your pain in the ass brother down?” Dr. Thompson sneered, and my heart twisted.
“No!” I cried. “No, you are, but he’s surrounded by pack. It’ll be easier if we draw him out alone.” I hated my voice for shaking, for betraying me. I drew a deep breath. “Please, Dr Thompson, I—”
“And even if we catch River, what makes you think I’ll keep my word?”
My heart froze, then sank, because he was right. There was nothing I could do to ensure that. He could easily use me to snag River, then kill the baby anyway.
But an idea came to mind.
“A contract,” I said softly.
“Hmm?”
“We both sign a contract, promising that you will have my baby delivered to Fletcher and Adam once she’s born. And I will do whatever you ask of me from then on. Just please…” My hands fisted in the straps. I could feel my baby kicking, as if she knew she was being threatened.
Finally, Dr. Thompson chuckled. “Fine. I suppose my experiments can wait a couple more months. It will give me the chance to prepare,” he said. “I’ll sign your contract, wolf, but listen to me when I tell you this.”
He leaned in close enough that I could smell the wintergreen on his breath. “If you try to stab me in the back? I will rip that child from your womb with my bare hands and I will make you watch as I tear her to pieces right in front of you. Don’t fuck with me. Do you understand?”
My breath hitched on a sob. “Y-Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now listen closely. This is what I want you to do...”