21. Morgan #2
He does neither. He just sighs again, the weight of it almost suffocating. “Yeah,” he says eventually, sounding like the word is being dragged out of him. “They do.”
Jesus .
I can’t stop myself from asking, “Have you . . . ?”
“No.”
Silence stretches between us, the only sounds the hum of the engine as we’re driven who the fuck knows where. I don’t even know who’s doing the driving because the front’s blocked off from us entirely.
“They decide who fights,” Luke says, head leaning against mine. “And how far it can go.”
“What do you— Oh.” I feel sick. The pain of the change replaced by a growing dread of what’s waiting for me if Lynx and the others don’t find me in time.
And how can they? I didn’t hear the roar of bikes following us when we left, and I haven’t heard any evidence of them since.
If they’d managed to follow us, wouldn’t they have done something by now?
I’m not sure how much time passes—maybe I dozed, maybe I’m just in shock. But I realise with a jolt I haven’t asked Luke how he got to be here.
How do I know I can trust him?
I stiffen, and he must feel it or sense it, because he sits up.
“What’s wrong?”
Go with the truth or lie?
I figure at this point I’ve got nothing to lose. Will I be able to tell if he lies? Come to think of it, shouldn’t I be able to hear more than the rumble of the engine if I’ve got enhanced senses now? I’ve got so many fucking questions, but I bite my tongue.
First things first.
“Where did you come from?” I ask him. “I woke up and you were here.”
Soft laughter and a gentle shoulder nudge. “I wondered when you’d start to question things. To be fair, going through the change messes with everything.” He nudges me again. “I would’ve said something, but I figured you were dealing with enough without wondering if you had to worry about me too.”
Fair enough.
“You’ve still not answered me.”
“I tried to escape, but I got caught.”
“Escape from where?”
“Fight rings move all over the country. But they keep the fighters somewhere else until they’re needed.”
“Where?”
I feel him shrug. “I don’t know for sure. We get put in vans like these, where the front is soundproofed so you can’t hear them talking. We get out the other end and get put in cages until it’s our turn to fight. Then we get transported back.”
“Why?” I whisper, horrified. “Why do they do it?”
“Money. Although in Fox’s case, I think he gets off on pitting shifters against each other. Since the hunter council introduced all their laws, he couldn’t mess with us like he used to. So he had to find a new way.”
And that us now includes me because, thanks to Birch, I’m no longer human.
Christ. I’m no longer human.
What the fuck will I tell Ash? Or my dad?
I’m still stuck on that when we suddenly pull to a stop. “You think we’re at the place where you escaped from?”
The doors are yanked open before he can answer and my heart drops to my feet, because that’s a fucking cage. Standing outside with his hand on the door is Fox, with four others I don’t recognise.
“Shit.” Luke reaches for my hand. I squeeze it tight, fucking terrified.
“Get them in the cage and locked in. We’ll collar them before the fight,” Fox orders, then turns to me.
“Bet you’re wishing you’d gone with your dad, right?
” He grins, and I’m moving before I’ve registered it, a snarl ripping from me, but I’m grabbed and shoved to the floor before I get close to him.
My jaw throbs and my fingers ache, but I can’t see claws and my teeth feel normal when I run my tongue over them.
Fox leans down and grips my jaw, squeezing hard.
Fuck, that hurts.
“Tsk, tsk.” He grins in my face. “What do you think those cuffs are for?” He lets me go with a sneer and steps back so they can shove me headfirst into the cage.
I stumble and fall forwards, unable to catch myself before hitting the floor.
They toss Luke in next, and the sound of the lock sliding into place is the worst thing I’ve ever heard.
Fox taps the bars. “Get some rest. You’re gonna need all your strength for tonight.”
He turns and leaves, and it’s then that sounds seem to rush in and hit me from all sides.
I can’t even cover my ears because of the fucking handcuffs. I groan, and I feel Luke shuffle up beside me.
“It’s okay. Just breathe.” His forehead touches mine. “Concentrate on my voice. Try and block out everything else.”
“ Can’t .”
“You can. I know it’s hard, but you need to do this, Morgan. It’ll be a hundred times worse when you’re fighting later.” He grips my hands. “Pick one thing to focus on. Can be anything. Picture it in your mind and try to block out everything else. Focus.”
Lynx.
That’s who I picture in my head.
The way he looked at me in the forest behind their compound. That mix of hunger and possessiveness that I shouldn’t like but really fucking do.
“Good,” Luke encourages as my shoulders relax. “That’s it.”
I close my eyes and imagine it’s his voice whispering to me instead.
The noises slowly start to fade into the background. They’re still there, but not as overwhelming as they were before.
“Keep doing what you’re doing. It needs to be second nature by the time they come for us.”
Fuck. I start to lose it as panic seeps in. “I can’t do this.” I shake my head, but Luke grips my hands tight.
“You can, and you will.” He nods when I get it under control again. “There you go. It’s gonna be ok, Morgan.”
No.
It won’t.
I’m a fucking shifter.
Nothing’s going to be okay ever again.