Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Harlow
I must doze off at some point because I wake to the sounds of Bree talking on the phone. She sounds frustrated. I hear Corbin’s voice on the other end, and my blood runs cold.
“The entire mountain is being watched. I can’t meet you at the gas station. It's too risky. You need to use the tunnels,” Corbin tells her. Bree growls angrily. I sit up to see Vadum light a smoke.
“Someone better be at the tunnels to unlock the gates,” Bree says, hanging up.
Seconds later, the door I am leaning against is ripped open, and I nearly fall out.
Vadum catches me easily, tossing me over his shoulder.
As soon as the breeze hits me, my canines elongate.
I try to force the shift, only to feel a sharp pinch in my neck.
Vadum smacks my ass, and my entire body tenses and spasms painfully as I see Bree pull a needle from my neck. “Did you think we weren’t prepared, Sis?” she chuckles as I feel my limbs become heavy.
My body turns slack. Tears prick my eyes as the feeling wraps around my limbs.
I am officially powerless. She stole even the ability to run from me.
My tongue feels thick in my mouth, and my body sways as Bree and Vadum start walking through the forest. All I can do is stare at Vadum’s back, completely paralyzed by whatever Bree injected me with.
It feels like hours pass as they trudge through the forest, yet I know that can’t be right because the sun is only just starting to come up.
The little light it offers allows me to see my surroundings.
I hear the creak of something metal, just as Vadum jumps down.
The air in my lungs leaves in a puff as he lands in what appears to be some sort of storm drain.
“Finally! Take her. She’s making my back ache,” Vadum snaps at someone.
“I swear, Corbin. If you’ve hurt him—”
“You’ll what, Bree? Don’t fucking threaten me,” Corbin snarls. A whimper escapes me when I feel Corbin’s menacing aura envelop me as he takes me from Vadum and cradles me in his arms.
“Hello, there, beautiful,” he says, bringing his face to my neck.
“Now, we just gotta take care of these marks,” he purrs, and a feral snarl erupts out of me.
Corbin chuckles, paying me no mind and stepping back into the tunnels.
Darkness swallows us. I hear the gate close and lock.
His footsteps echo, and it feels like he’s walking up an incline.
The deeper we go, the colder it gets. Finally, I see a glimmer of light up ahead.
As he steps into what appears to be a huge library, I wonder if we’ve entered a haunted manor.
The door we come out of is not a door at all, but a sliding bookshelf.
The bright lights make my head hurt, and I take in my surroundings.
I hear someone groan as I’m unceremoniously dropped onto a chaise.
My breath hitches when my eyes land on Talon.
Bree shrieks as she comes in behind us and rushes over to him. Talon is handcuffed to a chair, his face so bloody, I can barely recognize him. He has slash marks down his chest, and one arm is broken. The bone juts out of his skin in a gruesome display.
“You fucking bastard. You promised me, Corbin!” Bree screams, turning on her uncle. He backhands her before she manages to even lay a finger on him. At the sound of her voice, Tal tries to lift his head.
“I said I would let him leave. I never promised anything about the state he’d be in!
” Corbin snarls at her. Bree glares at him while Vadum walks in, closing the bookcase and wandering around like he owns the joint.
He makes it all of two steps before Corbin suddenly snatches a stake off the desk behind him, plunging it into his heart. Vadum’s shock is evident as he gasps.
“Why can I smell you all over her?” Corbin asks, twisting the stake. Vadum’s eyes go wide. He shakes his head, but Corbin plunges the stake in deeper. Vadum goes completely immobile, and his features go slack. Corbin growls menacingly, letting him go, and I watch as Vadum hits the floor in a heap.
“Chuck him in the incinerator. Make sure he is dead,” Corbin snaps. Only then do I see the other man in the room as he steps away from the door. He is much more menacing than Corbin because of the horrid burns that cover an entire side of his face.
He smirks, his face looking crooked as he moves toward Vadum. He grabs his arm and starts dragging him away.
“Oh, and Sawyer, tell the rest of our mates to come meet their new toy,” Corbin tells him, making my breath hitch. Corbin slowly turns to me with a sadistic grin on his face. “You, my pretty, are about to meet your Alphas,” he chuckles.
Bree whimpers as she lifts Tal’s head, forcing my attention back to her.
“Bree?” Tal chokes out, his voice raspy.
“I’m right here. I’m so sorry,” Bree murmurs to him.
“How?” Tal coughs out. He repeats the word before his head snaps up, as if jolted with electricity.
“What have you done, Bree? What did you trade?” Tal demands.
“I had no choice,” she whispers. “It’s either her or you.” I watch their exchange as Bree fusses over him. She turns slightly and Tal’s eyes slip to mine. He sucks in a shuddering breath and shakes his head.
“No!” he screams in her face, making her jump.
“Well, the deal is done. Your debt is paid, Tal. Feel free to take your leave,” Corbin laughs. “Besides, I have an Omega to mark,” he states, wandering over to me. I try to wiggle back in the chair, but my limbs are still too heavy.
“Now, let's get you cleaned up, Omega. I’m not fucking you while you still reek of that leech,” Corbin purrs. Tears prick my eyes as he scoops me into his arms, lifting me from the chaise.
Tal goes manic trying to get out of his restraints. “Corbin, you piece of shit, let her go! Let her go, you fucking bastard!”
Corbin only laughs, walking away when Bree speaks up.
“The keys?” she asks.
“Lost them!” Corbin chuckles, not bothering to stop as he walks out of the library.