Chapter 3
Dark…it was too dark. I could hear the soft summer breeze moving through the trees, kissing my bare skin.
Why was I so exposed?
Clothes. Where were my clothes? They were tight in the wrong place. Tangled around ankles and pushed out of the way.
My head held no gravity. My brain could move about in my skull of its own free will.
I could smell them but they weren’t here anymore. I was alone now. Footprints in the dirt and the pain in my body were the only evidence of what they had done…
I struggled awake, bleary-eyed and sore-headed. Old dreams of old memories still taunting me as I moaned at the throbbing pain.
Arms enveloped me. Someone was nuzzling my cheek.
A gentle growling reverberated through my body and all pain faded into the background.
An easy warmth spread through me, easing my nightmares away.
I opened my eyes and found a pair of green ones staring back at me.
With a rush, everything came flooding back.
I recoiled and kicked at Kole. He grunted but didn’t budge.
“Get off of me!” I moved to punch him but found my hands were tied. The restraints didn’t hurt. They were a soft material, fastened to the side rails of the bed and even gave me enough leeway to lift a drink to my mouth if I needed, but that gave me no comfort.
I yanked on the restraints again and with every tug, my panic began to rise. I’d been kidnapped. I was tied to a bed. With a strange man. This couldn’t be happening. But it was. The sounds and sensations were too vivid for it to be another nightmare.
Tears threatened, hot, fat frightened tears but I refused to let them fall. Instead I focused on turning my fear into rage. “You tied me up?” I glared up at him, his intense gaze staring right back at me.
“You’re at our clinic. You’re safe. You’ve only been out a little while.
” To my relief, Kole rose from the bed, giving me some space.
I scrambled into a sitting position, taking mental stock.
I was still wearing my clothes, dirty as they were.
At least they hadn’t stripped me while I was unconscious.
My boots, jacket, phone, and car keys were nowhere to be seen though.
I wasn’t going to bother asking where they were.
These people were holding me against my will.
They weren’t about to give me access to a phone.
“I don’t suppose my car survived?” It would be a miracle if it had, the thing had been on its last legs already.
“No, you totalled it.”
“I totalled it?” Before Kole could retort, the door opened and Kara walked in wearing a white medical coat. I guess she hadn’t been lying about being a doctor.
“Iona, how’re you feeling?” She offered me a tentative smile.
“Pissed off. Untie me.” I held my bound wrists out to her. As far as the restraints would allow anyway.
“That’s not my call, I’m afraid.” She approached with a tiny torch, looking to Kole.
“May I?” Kole nodded and I scowled. Shouldn’t Kara be asking me for permission?
She shone the torch in my eyes, instructing me to follow her finger as she moved it from side to side.
“Any dizziness? Loss of vision?” I shook my head and winced.
“A little pain is normal. I can give you something for that.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Alright. Memory check. Full name?”
“Iona Anne Murphy,” I answered.
“Date of birth?”
“None of your damned business,” I snapped, earning me half a smile.
“Do you remember why you’re here?”
“I wish I didn’t,” I muttered, staring down at my bindings. It was a handcuff knot. Relatively easy to undo if you knew how. Now wasn’t the time though. Both of them watched me expectantly. I sighed. “You’re werewolves. You think I’m his mate.”
“We know you’re his mate. It’s alright for you to take time to adjust. We expected you would.
” She wrote something on my clipboard, probably stating I was fine, just in need of an attitude adjustment.
“We X-rayed your elbow while you were unconscious and it isn’t broken, just bruised.
It’ll probably be sore for a few days. If you need anything, press that button there.
” She nodded at the assistance button next to me before heading for the door.
“I need you to untie me!” I shouted after her retreating form. With Kara gone, I was left to focus my rage back on Kole. “Since when do doctors ask for a man’s permission to perform a medical exam on a woman? Did we just regress a hundred years? Do you guys live in a time warp?”
“She was asking my wolf’s permission, not mine. He’s unpredictable right now.” His eyes bored into mine in the most unnerving way. He looked like he was starving and that wasn’t a look I liked seeing on a man who was part wolf.
“If you’re so unstable then maybe you shouldn’t be left alone with me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he answered quickly. Too quickly.
“Doesn’t mean I won’t get hurt.” I tapped my bruised head. “When do I get out of here?”
“You’ll be spending the rest of the night here at the clinic, then you’ll attend your hearing tomorrow. The council and I will decide where you will go from there.” His words made my blood run cold.
“Hearing?” I asked. “As in, a trial?”
“You assaulted two members of my pack – the acting Luna and the Alpha’s sister. That can’t go unpunished.”
“It was self defence,” I argued.
“You’ll get to say your piece tomorrow.” His words did little to comfort me. I swallowed my rising panic.
“Am I under arrest?” I asked, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice.
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
His eyes held mine for another moment before he turned and strode from the room, leaving me alone in this cold, clinical place.
I passed the night badly, sleeping in short bursts.
I tried to escape. Of course I did. I’d had enough experience escaping from places.
The knots were easy enough to untie but the door was locked and a nurse caught me trying to get it open.
My failed escape attempt was the reason I was now wearing handcuffs instead of ropes.
Kole never returned, but every few hours a pair of nurses arrived to take me to the bathroom, hands cuffed and under their watchful eyes.
At least they both had the decency to turn their backs as I relieved myself.
I wondered if they were wolves too, but of course they had to be.
I didn’t think the Maclays would be stupid enough to leave me with anyone they couldn’t trust.
The next morning, I was brought breakfast and fresh clothes. I ate and had my cuffs removed so I could change, the nurse kept her eyes averted.
I was just pulling my boots on when the door opened.
“Morning, trouble,” Konnor grinned.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m your day guard. Kallum will be taking the night shift. You’ll meet your other guards later.” Excellent. A whole pack of watchdogs. “Are you ready?”
“Do I have a choice?” I stood, holding my hands out for him to clip my cuffs on. He did so and my eyes narrowed when he pulled a thin chain from his back pocket. “Is that what I think it is?” He at least had the decency to look guilty as he clipped the chain to my cuffs.
“Bright side? Play nice and you’ll have these off in an hour.”
As much as I hated to admit it, he might have a point. I couldn’t fight my way out of here. I had to be smart. But playing nice had never been my strong suit.
So, I’d start the way I’d learned to survive every shitty situation growing up – by observing my surroundings and the people in them.
Learn what made each of them tick. When I knew enough about the weak points of my captors and of the place they were keeping me, I could attempt an escape. But only when the time was right.
“By the way, the police never showed up last night. My best guess is that the connection was too bad for them to hear you.” His words floored me and I tried not to let my pain show. “I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
“For you, yeah. For myself, no.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” I snapped, covering my bitter disappointment.
I followed Konnor out of the room and out a back entrance, grateful he spared me the embarrassment of being led through a clinic in handcuffs. A Land Rover was parked out front and he helped me in.
The clinic was like a miniature hospital and seemed to be situated at the head of a town square.
I took in my surroundings. Right now, it was 8am.
The day had barely begun and there wasn’t a soul around, but I imagined this place would be a buzz of activity later.
The square was a ring of shops and other businesses with a garden in the middle.
I could see a hair salon and another building with a hand carved sign over the door reading, ‘The Closet.’ There was a bakery too. It was…cute.
It didn’t comfort me though, it terrified me. They had a whole town. “Is everyone here…”
“A wolf? Yeah. We told you we had a pack, there are thousands of us here.”
I swallowed, trying not to puke. “How does no one know? No one human, I mean.”
“We’re sneaky.” He winked at me.
Not that sneaky, I thought. Kidnapping a human had to draw some attention, or at least it would if I was any other human. The only person that knew or cared where I was, was Patricia. Patricia. I’d told her I’d call her in a few days. When I didn’t, she might try to find me. She might…maybe.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a breath. I couldn’t think about that now, I had to focus on my first battle. My hearing.
Konnor drove us out of the square and down a back street until we arrived at what looked like a town hall, big enough to fit a thousand or more people.
“You know we could have walked here, right? That drive took like three minutes.”
“Alpha didn’t want you walking too much in case you still felt ill from your head injury.”
“How considerate,” I muttered but from Konnor’s chuckle I knew he’d heard me. Heightened hearing. I needed to remember that. These guys probably had heightened everything. That was going to make an escape more complicated than I’d thought.