Chapter Seven #2
When Dante moves to pick up his own steak and rip into it, Frankie growls, curls her arm around her plate, and drags it closer.
She hunches over it, a tiny snarl curling her lips.
Glaring at each of us, she defiantly shoves another bite of food into her mouth, her cheeks puffing up alarmingly until I fear she might choke.
Appetite lost, I shove my untouched plate gently toward her.
She stops mid-chew, her wolf staring at me with narrowed eyes. Her attention flicks toward the plate, then back toward me. Almost faster than I can track, she lashes out and snatches the steak with her claws.
My heart fucking cracks.
Memories I long since buried resurface.
For a shifter, you would think food wouldn’t be an issue. Just shift and hunt, right?
Wrong.
Shifters own almost every inch of land. If you’re caught hunting in their territory, you either die…
or you’re forced to work off your debt. You become nothing more than a slave, willing to do anything to survive.
Every day, you accrue more fees for room and board, the vicious cycle trapping you into a lifetime of servitude.
The desperation to belong to a pack is a pull that is nearly irresistible.
I’ve done horrible things to survive, things that still haunt my nightmares.
I won’t allow the same thing to happen to Frankie.
She’s safe now, and I’m determined to keep it that way.
FRANKIE
It’s only when my stomach is near bursting, my plate clean of even the smallest scrap, that I become aware of the silence in the room. Maybe I should be embarrassed by the way I devoured my food like a feral wolf, but the rest of me is just pleased to be full.
Food in Kyperian is limited, the choice meats offered only to the chosen few. Most shifters are lucky if we get scraps of meat three times a week—only enough to keep us from turning feral and going on a killing spree. It wouldn’t do to have us healthy and able to fight back.
When I first stepped into this realm and saw all the food offered, I thought I was dreaming. Unfortunately, food costs money, and I nearly starved before figuring out how to earn cash. I’m not proud to admit that I stole from a couple of houses in the first few weeks.
I was so hungry that I shoved as much food as possible into my mouth, nearly choking as I swallowed it down.
It didn’t take long for my stomach to churn, and I threw it up a minute later.
I couldn’t figure out what they did to their food to make it taste like cardboard.
After that, I became more picky about where I ate.
As much as I craved to shift and hunt, I didn’t dare, afraid to draw attention to myself.
Something about Tyler preparing food, specifically for me, sent my wolf into a tizzy.
It smelled so fresh, and tasted even better.
After the first bite, the only thing that mattered was shoving as much of it into my face as possible. It’s been weeks since I smelled or tasted anything that wasn’t synthetic or so processed that it barely tasted like food anymore.
I glance down at my empty plate a little mournfully, then sigh and shove it away.
“Did you want more?” Garth leans his arms on the island, studying me so keenly that I barely resist the need to squirm.
I brace myself for his cruelty, maybe a demand that I pay him back for the food I consumed by sucking their cocks, but his blue eyes are sincere. I shift uncomfortably, disliking the way my insides flutter at his concern.
The last person who worried about me ended up dead.
I vowed never to let anyone get close again, unable to bear the heartbreak, but something about these guys has my resolve wavering.
Turning away from their too penetrating eyes, I focus on his question.
For a hot second, I’m tempted to ask for another steak, my mouth watering at the thought, but my stomach gurgles in protest, and I reluctantly shake my head. “No. Thank you.”
Though I know I should leave, I’ve lingered too long already, I can’t make myself go.
At least, not yet.
For the first time since Gramps was killed, the urge to run and keep moving is gone. In its place is sheer exhaustion. The three of them created their own little pack, a place where they belong, and the yearning to have that very thing is nearly crippling.
That doesn’t mean the men are not without their own troubles.
Garth’s beast is almost feral, Tyler’s fox is nearly pushed beyond his endurance, while Dante…
Well, there is no cure for being an asshole.
The least I can do is answer a few harmless questions.
On the off chance that the Orion manages to track me here, the information I give them will send them on a wild-goose chase.
“To answer your question, I’m only passing through town. I stopped for gas when I saw Foxy being bullied.” I push my plate away and rest my arms on the table, glancing between the guys. “What else do you want to know?”
“Who’s after you?” Dante doesn’t even hesitate to go for the hard questions.
Not intimidated by his domineering attitude, I lift my brow back in challenge. “A meal does not earn you my life story. Next question.”
His slate eyes narrow, his lips pursing slightly, but the stubborn glint says he’s not giving up that easily. “If you’re in danger, we can help.”
I nearly snort at the thought of them facing off against a team of Orion. They would be slaughtered in a heartbeat, and a twinge in my chest is so sharp that it steals my breath.
“You’re wasting both our time.” I look away from him, refusing to allow him to see my fear, and I glance at the other two. “I’ll give you five more questions. Make them count.”
“Where are you heading?” Foxy blurts out before the other two have a chance to open their yaps.
“I’m not sure yet,” I answer honestly, and I mentally sigh when a furrow appears between each and every one of their brows. I quickly interrupt before they can demand more information. “Four questions left.”
The guys are more cautious, maybe realizing that I’m serious, and a pang goes through me that I only have minutes left with them before I need to leave.
They glance at each other like they’re having a private conversation.
Foxy nods grudgingly, Dante rolls his eyes, while Garth leans forward with a determined expression.
“Do you have anywhere you can go that will be safe?” A little growl rumbles in his chest, and I’m not sure if it’s the thought of me in danger or the thought of me leaving that upsets him most.
Forced to keep my secrets hidden my whole life, I excel at dodging questions and giving nonanswers. My wolf allows me to master every aspect of my body, preventing my eyes from dilating, my heart from skipping a beat, and my skin from perspiring.
Gramps put me through numerous interrogations, some of which lasted for days.
I’ve even learned to deal with torture, starvation, and sensory deprivation.
Then there are the magical torture, alpha bark, and other supernatural methods designed to break a shifter.
More than once, I nearly cracked under the pressure, my mind threatening to shatter, but my secrets never tumbled from my lips.
It would be easier if I could lock the information away with magic, but spells can be broken.
It’s only sheer willpower that keeps me safe, and I can’t ever waver.
When you live with fae, you learn early how to deceive without actually lying.
The secret is to actually believe your lies.
As for the torture, pain is irrelevant.
I will endure anything to prevent my freedom from being taken away. I will not be used as a mindless slave for the lore’s desperate attempts to gain more power.
So I shrug at Garth’s question. “Is anyone ever truly safe?”
“That’s a no,” Dante mutters, clearly annoyed at my evasiveness.
I lean back, bringing up my arms and stretching them in preparation for another long night of driving. “Three questions left.”
“It’s late. The sun set over an hour ago.
Will you at least think about staying the night?
” Foxy asks, clearly not consulting the others, if their scowls are any indication.
Before I can answer, he does his best to convince me.
“You’ll be safe here. You can get a full night’s rest. No one will disturb you.
You can start fresh in the morning with a hot breakfast.”
My automatic rejection sticks in my throat.
Staying would be a horrible idea, but the temptation is nearly impossible to resist.
My wolf loves the idea of spending more time with the men, desperate to bask in their attention for just a little bit longer. I don’t remember a time when no one expected anything from me.
It’s…nice.
I wait for the others to protest the invitation, but they don’t say anything, not even Dante. While Foxy looks eager, anxious even, as he shifts from one foot to the next, the other two have their expressions locked down tight.
It’s not smart to stay, definitely not safe, but the thought of leaving them is abhorrent.
Would it really be so bad to take what I want for once? What could it harm? Since leaving Kyperian, I’ve rarely stayed more than three days at any one location, and only when dealing with a difficult job.
The Orion haven’t caught up with me yet.
A time or two, I swear I felt their hot breath bathing the back of my neck, their fangs just short of clamping around my throat. Trusting my instincts, I immediately crawled into my car and left, never sticking around to find out whether I was right.
Curious to see if I could sense if any danger was near, I cock my head and push my awareness through the night air…then I pause when I catch a dozen wolves running through the surrounding forest, the pack heading right for our location.
They’re not Orion, but they radiate ill intentions.
“You have trouble incoming.” I snatch my bag from where it’s resting near my feet, grab the dagger nestled at the bottom, then shoulder the backpack. “About a dozen wolves heading this way fast.”
All three men launch to their feet, taking me at my word.
Dante inhales deeply, as if trying to sense the disturbance.
Garth closes his eyes and tilts his head in a mannerism that reminds me of his wolf.
It takes only a moment before a snarl fills the kitchen, his beast eager to come out and play.
“They’re about a mile outside the wards. ”
“Fucking Simon,” Foxy snarls, his hands curled into fists. “He must have complained to the alpha about what happened today.”
I grimace, a pang of regret twisting my insides that my actions will have consequences for them. “I take it that they’re not the welcoming committee?”
Dante snorts at the ludicrous comment, twisting his head from side to side, the snap of his neck cracking like a gunshot in the room.
He throws open the cupboards, pulling open the drawers, tossing canned food into a duffel bag.
“Why don’t you head out, kitten? This is our mess. It has nothing to do with you.”
“Nothing to do with me?” My eyebrows rise, and I glance at the other two in disbelief. “If I hadn’t interfered, your pack would still be safe.”
“Or I would be dead,” Foxy says, his expression grim.
He flings open the pantry door and pulls out three already packed bags full of supplies—go bags.
He looks up at me as he sets them on the island.
“Dante is right—they were just waiting for an excuse to attack. The coming confrontation was bound to happen eventually. It always does. It has nothing to do with you.”
The wards around their house ripple in warning…then they fall, rebounding like the snap of a rubber band. Dante barely flinches as they collapse, a muscle ticking in his jaw, his eyes never once leaving mine.
To fight or flee?
Hounds bay in the distance, and I clench my teeth against the need to snarl at the challenge. My wolf claws at the ground, snout pulled back in a snarl, pressing against the underside of my skin with the need to shift.
That’s when I feel it—the sensation of something breathing on the nape of my neck. The temperature in the room drops, the ground rumbles, and a ripple of magic saturates the air.
The Orion has found me.
Fuck!
Fear grabs me by the throat, threatening to choke me, and I clench my jaw to keep from bolting. That’s what they want—me to panic and run right into their trap.
I won’t make my capture easy for them.
If I stay and fight, it might be enough of a distraction to escape and live another day.
I glance at the men in the room, but none of them move, as if waiting for me to leave so they can cover my tracks. Protecting me. It’s been so long since anyone has bothered that my heart squeezes painfully.
“My car is out front. The keys are in the ignition.” I grab a small red capsule from the corner pocket of my backpack and shove it into my pocket, then I toss the bag into the collection on the island.
“Put the supplies in the trunk. It might look like a piece of shit, but the engine is pristine and able to outrun anything. When I give the signal, stop whatever you’re doing, get to the car, and go. ”
Dante stalks toward me, his brows furrowed in confusion. Garth crowds me from the opposite direction, looking ready to toss me over his shoulder and drag me somewhere safe. Foxy stares at me over the island, his expression hardening, aging him ten years. “Frankie—”
“Trust me,” I beg, holding my hand up, very aware of the wolves prowling ever closer. “It’s the only way that we’re all going to get out of this alive.”
That has their attention.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a chance to say anything else when a wolf lets out a vicious snarl that sounds way too close. Not a second later, a wolf crashes through the back door, nearly ripping it off the hinges in the process, then the time to talk is over as more creatures pour into the house.