Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
My head hangs, my chin pressing against my chest as my bare feet slide along cold metal. I’m sitting on a hard surface, faintly aware that my hands are tied above my head. The sharp bite of metal digs into my wrists, and I jerk sideways as the room around me spins.
The air smells like sweat. There’s a slight whirring, too, but I can’t tell if the sound is coming from inside my head. It feels like my skull has been split open—it probably has—but I push past the pain and force my eyes open.
Adam is the first thing I see. He’s chained up across from me, maybe dead. He’s slumped sideways, his handcuffed wrists the only thing keeping his body upright.
We’re in a metal box—steel, maybe. A storage container, or perhaps the back of a truck. The whirring is the outside air hitting the frame.
How long have I been unconscious? How did HPAW manage to get this deep into the shifter lands without being spotted? Were they driving this truck?
My head lolls forward, and something drips into my eye. Blood, I assume.
I’m sure my head is fucked up.
Adam is the only other person here. Did HPAW not capture any other wolves?
Where is Caleb? I faintly remember him fighting alongside the shifters, his bright-brown eyes locked on me. I lost sight of him when Adam began running for the back exit, though. Did he see us getting taken?
Adam groans. So, he’s alive. That’s nice.
The pounding in my head makes it hard to focus, and it’s only a matter of time before I pass out. Blood is steadily pouring down my face, dripping over my eye before trailing down my cheek and dripping off the tip of my chin.
My head isn’t the only thing injured. My right shoulder is screaming, dislocated, and the entire right side of my chest is a ball of flame. Is my nipple gone? Fuck. Air hits my bare skin, so I know my shirt is torn open. I try to look, but I can’t see that far down.
“Evelyn?”
I meet Adam’s gaze. He licks his lips and tugs at the handcuffs chaining his wrists to the wall above his head. They don’t budge.
I let out a dry laugh. “I believe we’ve been captured.”
My words end in a pitiful cough. Pathetic.
Adam tugs on his restraints again, but with no success. The handcuffs aren’t budging.
“I can’t feel the lower half of my body,” he quietly admits. “Everything is fuzzy.”
I’m not surprised. He’s only chained by his wrists, and HPAW would’ve locked up every inch of his body if they were concerned about him breaking free.
“I assume they’ve drugged you,” I say. “A high dosage of xylazine is an effective, short-term way to paralyze a wolf and prevent them from shifting.”
Adam throws his head back, resting it against the metal wall. “What’s xylazine?”
I crack a smile. “Horse tranquilizer. It lowers your blood pressure and heart rate, and at very high doses, it causes shifters to lose feeling in their limbs.”
Xylazine is frequently used by HPAW doctors when they have a captured shifter they want to question. The drug doesn’t affect the mind, but it renders shifters immobile. Ideal for interrogation.
“How long have I been unconscious?” Adam asks. “I don’t remember anything after the wall exploded.”
“Neither do I.” I shrug. “I only just woke up.”
The vehicle jerks, and I cry out as my shoulder pulls. Adam looks me over, his gaze lingering on my chest.
“My nipple’s gone, isn’t it?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Your nipple is fine, but a giant piece of metal is sticking out of your chest directly above it.”
Well, that’s not good.
“Is it going to kill me?”
Adam grimaces. “Maybe if it got pulled out. I think you’ll be fine as long as it remains. It’s plugging you up.”
“Wonderful.” My voice wavers. “Do you have any life-threatening injuries I should know about?”
“Not that I know of.” Adam tugs again at his restraints, still with no success. He flexes his fingers and tries to wiggle his wrists through the metal, but that also doesn’t work.
Even if he manages to free his arms, he can’t fight. I doubt the man has enough strength in his legs to stand, let alone defend himself. HPAW will chain him back up and inject more xylazine.
I search for cameras. None to be found.
Adam continues to fight with his restraints. I busy myself with trying not to bleed out and die.
Is Caleb still alive? I imagine he’s on a rampage right about now. The pack is probably in chaos, and I hope not too many shifters were killed in the attack. I faintly recall seeing a few wolves shot down, but maybe the wounds weren’t lethal.
Doctor Greg is going to have a busy night.
I doubt Adam and I were unconscious for long, maybe five to ten minutes, and I count to keep track of the time. Shifters are fast, and I’m confident Caleb is on his way to us. It’s only a matter of time before we’re rescued.
I count.
And count.
And count.
Enough time passes that I’m certain we’re out of shifter lands. Caleb’s sure taking his sweet time getting to us.
Adam makes a pained noise. I look up, watching through blurry vision as he tries to stand. The xylazine must be wearing off.
His legs shake, his knees knocking together. I’m surprised he doesn’t crumble as he turns toward his marked hand. His forearm is covered in dried blood from where his handcuffs have torn open his skin. He brings his marking to his face.
“Adam?” I ask.
Is he going to try gnawing his way through the metal? He presses his lips to his mark instead, kissing the white design. I tilt my head, confused, before recoiling in horror as he opens his mouth and bites into his flesh.
A loud, pained whine slips from Adam’s throat as he sinks his teeth into his mark, ripping it clean off. Blood spews as he bites straight through muscle and ligament, the sight nauseating.
Adam roughly chews and spits the skin onto the floor. It lands with a splat between us.
I heave, staring at the mangled flesh as Adam’s knees give out. He collapses, blood continuing to pour from his hand. Adam is losing it. He’s been in this truck for a few hours and is losing his fucking mind.
“What…” I pause, unable to comprehend what the hell I just saw.
Adam stares at the ceiling, his breathing ragged.
“I don’t want them knowing who my mate is,” he says. “They’ll hurt her to get to me. I won’t let that happen.”
I swallow, my throat dry. “Will it heal?”
Adam clenches his jaw, then shrugs. “Probably not.”
“You’ll still feel the mate bond, though? Right?” My voice is laced with desperation, but I don’t think I could hide it even if I tried. I’m too exhausted, too injured, to hide my emotions.
Caleb said he couldn’t feel the bond once my mark went black, but that’s different than one being bitten off. It has to be. Adam has waited so long for his mate, and I know how badly he wants one.
“You still have a mate, don’t you?”
“I don’t know.”
I open my mouth, then snap it shut.
“Caleb is on his way,” I finally say. “He’s just waiting for the right moment.”
Adam licks his lips and spits out a mouthful of blood, several emotions flashing across his face. Doubt is the most prominent. He doesn’t believe me, but I don’t need him to. He’ll see I’m right when Caleb saves us.
“Do you really think Knox would wait to save you? That he’d sit around and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike?
” Adam’s voice is unnaturally soft, but I refuse to believe what he’s saying.
“You’re dying, Ev. If he were able, he’d have torn apart this vehicle and every HPAW soldier the first moment he could. ”
I turn away. “That’s not true.”
Adam doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I resume counting.
The vehicle eventually slows to a stop. I shoot Adam a look as the back doors are pulled open, ready for wolves to pour inside.
Three humans jump inside instead. They’re HPAW soldiers, decked out head to toe in tactical gear. They pay me no mind as they approach Adam, and the one in front pulls a needle out of his vest pocket.
Adam kicks at the man’s leg, his arms still uselessly handcuffed above his head, but the man easily sidesteps Adam and plunges the needle into Adam’s neck.
The drug takes only seconds to take effect. Adam falls limp, and the soldiers turn toward me. I make eye contact with the nearest one. His blond hair is greasy, and he pushes a stray strand out of his face as I flatten myself against the wall.
He caps the needle and returns it to his vest, then pulls another out of a separate pocket.
I groan. “No.”
The man grabs my chin, his calloused fingers rough as he sticks me in the neck.
There’s a sharp pinch followed by a burn, but it’s nothing compared to the pain in my shoulder and chest. I’m sure it’s a tranquilizer, probably a fraction of the strength of the one Adam was given, and I glare into the soldier’s dull, blue eyes with as much hatred as I can muster.
Fuck him.
“We’re almost there,” he says, his words clipped. “Try not to die before then.”
I’d spit on him if I could find the strength to move my lips.
My eyes flutter shut as the men retreat, jumping out of the back of the truck with near-silent movements. Gravel crunches underneath feet before the doors are slammed shut. Then there’s some metal clanging, probably a padlock being slid into place.
Well, shit.