Chapter 23
Kaylee
The shivers had long since stopped coming sporadically, and were now a near-constant stream of tremors.
Landon, Merric, and one of his enforcers had shifted and were sleeping soundly, while the other remained in his human form and kept a resentful watch over me.
I was beyond exhausted, but the cold, hunger, and discomfort of my bound wrists kept me awake.
That, and the terror. This ‘collector’ Landon had sent Jake to meet sounded like bad news, and if he was powerful enough that the old alpha was desperate to impress him, then I sure as shit didn’t want to find myself in his hands.
Though why Landon thought he would be interested in me was mystery.
I was just a null, and—as Rook had discovered—one who couldn’t even cook and wasn’t much good at cleaning, either.
But it didn’t matter what he wanted with me, I’d already been traded like some kind of prize once, and I couldn’t—wouldn’t—let it happen again. I had to find a way to save myself.
I shifted my weight, testing the ropes again. My wrists screamed in protest, the skin rubbed raw hours ago, and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out. There was no way I was getting the ropes off by myself.
The enforcer rolled out his shoulders as he held out his hands, warming them by the small fire that I hadn’t been allowed close to.
He was loyal to Landon, I could see it in the way he watched me, in the faint sneer pulling at his mouth every time I so much as twitched.
But there was something else in his expression, too.
Exhaustion. Frustration. Maybe even doubt.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” I said, my voice scratchy from thirst. His gaze snapped to me, his sneer sharpening into a scowl.
“Shut up,” he barked, but I pressed on.
“Landon doesn’t care about you, you know that, right? He’s just using you. The same way he’s using me.”
“There is nothing the same about us,” he snarled. “Alpha Landon trusts me. Respects me. You’re just some filthy omega.”
“He trusts you?” I arched a brow. “He hasn’t even told you where we’re going, has he?”
“It’s not my place to question the alpha,” he said, his eyes flicking briefly to the sleeping form.
“That’s a no, then. He hasn’t even told you what I am, otherwise you wouldn’t be calling me a filthy omega.”
“Got ideas above your station, do you? I remember you begging for scraps in the pack.”
“Yeah, I remember, too,” I said, my voice icy. “And I won’t be forgetting. Luka, isn’t it? Yeah, I’ll remember that.”
He laughed. “Where you’re going, it won’t matter what you remember.”
I tensed. No. He didn’t know where Landon was taking me, he’d already admitted it. He was bluffing. He had to be. And either way, I didn’t plan on sticking around to find out.
“Sure,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. “You just keep telling yourself that. Landon’s already keeping you in the dark, you think he’d tell you the truth about why I’m so important? He doesn’t trust you not to steal me, but the moment we make the meet, you become expendable.”
His eyes narrowed, a faint flicker of doubt shadowing them before his scowl deepened.
“You think you’re clever?” he demanded, closing the distance between us. “You think I won’t put you in your place?”
I stared up at him as he loomed over me, hatred rolling off him in waves. My heart hammered almost painfully, but I didn’t freeze. Instead, something inside me stirred, low and hot, like a spark catching dry kindling. Let him come closer. Let him make the mistake.
“Go ahead,” I taunted. “Show me how strong you are. Oh wait, you can’t even think without someone telling you how. You wouldn’t know what to do.”
“You want to see what I know, omega?” he snarled, leaning down, his face inches from mine. “I’ll show you.”
I yawned. “That won’t take long.”
He snarled and lunged for me.
Time slowed. I didn’t think. I moved. My bound hands shot up, slamming into his chest with a force that surprised even me. He staggered back, his eyes wide with shock, and I lashed out with my foot, tripping him and sending him crashing back onto the ground.
“You little—” he snarled, but I was already twisting, leaping to my feet.
I yanked hard on my rope as I bolted for the cave entrance.
Heat flared in my chest in tandem with the pain in my wrists, but I refused to give in to it.
The rope gave way with a snap, but I didn’t have time to worry about how or why as I ducked through the vines and started running, my cramped legs burning with every step.
Shouts of alarm went up from within the cave, and then a snarl ripped through the air.
Shit. Shit. Landon and the others were awake.
I pushed myself harder, moving as fast as I could through the dark woods, ducking under branches that loomed in the darkness, and hurtling over fallen logs that my eyes picked out at the last possible moment.
My foot slipped on some damp leaves and I jolted forward, just getting my hands up in time to protect my face but not much else as I smashed into a tree trunk.
I bounced off it, just about keeping my feet under me, and darting onwards.
Another snarl, low and menacing, echoed through the trees around me, and panic squeezed my chest. I couldn’t let them catch me. I had to move faster. I had to find a way to lose them, I had to—
My foot caught in a root, sending me crashing to the ground.
I bit back a yelp of panic and another of pain as I hit the ground hard, knocking the air from my lungs.
I wheezed, fighting to get a breath of the cold night air, desperately willing my legs to move from under me, to get me back up before—
The shadow fell across me, and I stared up at bared fangs as a growl ripped from between them.
Before I could move a muscle, a second shadow joined it, this one in human form. Landon. Fuck.
I dropped my head back to the wet ground with a groan. While I’d been running for my life, Landon had time to shift and get dressed before chasing me down. I’d never stood a chance…and the smirk playing across his face told me he knew I knew it.
He squatted down next to me. “Try that again, and I’ll break both your legs and have the enforcers drag you. Clear?”
I nodded mutely, glowering up at him. Asshole.
“Good. It’d be a shame to damage your value, but I’ll do it.” He rose to his full height and turned to the other three; the enforcer I’d escaped from in his human form, and the other two still wolf. “Shift back, and get her tied up again. We’re making for the border. Now.”