Chapter 9
NINE
NATALIE
Vlad Vostik doesn’t say anything else. No, he secures the oxygen mask to its rightful place and waves me off how one might swat away a gnat.
I stand and walk to the doors, keeping my movements slow.
The last thing I need is to make a breakaway and accidentally awaken the monster in hibernating within him.
Before I can open the door, the knob twists and it swings open, nearly knocking me over onto the expensive Peruvian rug at my feet.
The terror I felt in my stomach shifts into an uncomfortable rage at the sight of him.
I arch my head and peer up at the sadistic animal that made sport of kidnapping me and murdering my best friend.
And here he is now, casually strutting around his fucking house like it’s just another Tuesday.
Viktor glances down at me and speaks, his voice dripping with venom. “Have a nice chat?”
I narrow my gaze at him, fighting the urge to slap his smug face. “Why bother asking? I know you heard everything.”
He takes a step forward, his barrel-sized chest getting inches from my nose. “My father enjoys his privacy.” Viktor peers around the room. “Soundproof. Even to me. Guess it’ll be your little secret.”
A hiss of air. “Viktor. Stop playing with your food,” Vlad demands, and his words, no matter how rough or choked out they are, make me seethe further. “We have things to discuss.”
Viktor nods, his piercing silver eyes never leaving mine. “Sergei!”
The hallway floorboards creak as he limps forward, stopping behind the animal blocking my path.
“Take my brother’s pet back to her kennel.”
Sergei says nothing and lowers his head. The things this entire pack must put him through, it’s easy to see why he takes orders with the obedience of a cocker spaniel.
Viktor steps to the side, leaving just enough room to squeeze past him.
Nikolai was wrong. His brother doesn’t only care about himself.
Viktor only cares about tormenting everyone around him.
But until the red moon, I’m off-limits. They’ve made that much clear.
So if he thinks I’m going to let him taunt me the entire lunar cycle, he’s sadly mistaken.
“There’s a nice portrait of your brother downstairs,” I say, my tone sharper than his teeth. “The one right next to the rest of the alphas.”
Tremendous heat radiates from him, and I don’t have to look up to know my jab landed exactly where I wanted. His fucking ego. A thick growl rumbles in his throat, and when I think he’s going to grab me by my neck and lift me to the ceiling, he pauses. Viktor does something much worse.
Viktor wraps his large hand over Sergei’s head and slams him into the wall. Thumpf. Drywall and debris spit from the cavity, misting the air with a chalky-white powder. A disgusting laugh replaces his snarls and the sound echoes throughout the hallway as Sergei falls to the floor with a hard thud.
“Sergei!” I shout and rush toward him but stop when Sergei lifts his trembling hand in my direction.
If they see you helping me they will— I remember what he said on the staircase, how afraid he was to even accept my arm.
But there’s something else I remember, too.
Weakness is never tolerated, not when the survival of the pack is at stake.
Nik’s words fill my head, his voice accompanying it.
I turn toward Vlad as Viktor’s laughter reaches a more sinister pitch.
He hasn’t moved from his plush chair. No, he’s done little else than stare at the three of us intently.
Sergei is already seen as a weakness to the pack.
If I help him now, I might as well sign his death certificate while I’m at it.
Sergei manages to get to his feet, slouching over in obvious pain.
He cups the side of his head and bright red blood trickles between each finger.
This is my fault. One more thing added to the list of horrible things I’ve caused.
Him. The dozens of people locked in that cage going another day without water. Courtney …
“Get her in the cage and clean up this fucking blood,” Viktor says.
I wait for Sergei to stand upright, well, as upright as he can, and start walking toward the staircase without another word. The doors close behind us, stifling Viktor’s laughter behind them.
“Are you okay?”
“Da,” Sergei says with a nod and continues. “Can I ask a question?” His accent is thicker than before.
When we reach the staircase, I scan from the hallway to the foyer, ensuring we are alone. I don’t even ask this time. Hooking my arm into his, I help Sergei down the first step, using the guardrail as leverage. “Yes,” I say, my voice waning.
“Your friend in cage. Blond girl. She said same thing you did when she first got here. Nikolai would come for her.”
I roll my eyes and ready myself for the next step. “I’m sure she thought so.” He’s remarkably heavy for someone with such an underfed appearance. I’m sure the Medical Journal would love the chance to dissect a werewolf and examine their substantial bone density.
Sergei winces at the pain of the next step, doing his best to stay standing. “I knew she was a liar. But you …”
We stop mid-flight, and I wait for him to finish, staring into the faint glow of his eyes.
“You say Nikolai is with the rest of the alphas in pictures. You know of the bloodline? What Nikolai’s to become?”
“Da,” I groan as we manager another step.
Sergei smirks despite obvious pain twisting his face.
“Viktor’s never said that before, you know.
Nikolai’s pet. He has been tense lately.
Ordering double guards on gates. Almost like he’s afraid his big brother might come home,” he says, his eyes brighter than I’ve seen.
It’s easy to notice the flicker of hope he has at the mention of Nikolai’s name.
I lean Sergei against the wall and give us both the break we desperately need. Panting, I glance at him again, raising a brow. “Can I ask a question now, Sergei?”
“Ask.” He tilts his head, showing a certain amount of discomfort he couldn’t hide if he wanted to.
I swallow hard, hoping what I say next won’t expedite my head being mounted as a trophy in Vlad’s study.
Natalie, the plaque would read. Incapable of keeping her intrusive fucking thoughts to herself.
At the end of the day, he is a part of the pack.
Sworn to serve the Vostik wolves despite the horrible way they treat him.
All I know is I can’t wait for Nikolai to save me, if taking on his family to get me back is even on the itinerary.
But I won’t sit in that cage waiting for a blood moon, counting down the hours until Viktor gets his grand prize.
“Will you help me?” I finally ask.
Sergei doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to.
With one glance at his conflicted features, I have my answer.
The silence is even more uncomfortable as I help him take me back to Vlad Vostik’s cage.
And when the frail wolf locks us in and limps to the staircase, he pauses at the first step, staring back at me for a moment before making the climb.
I can’t help but watch him struggle the entire way.
A man marches forward through the crowd once the door slams shut, his large head moving like a shark fin in small pond of people. His narrowed eyes fix on me, and each brow slumps together at the bridge of his nose.
“What in the hell was that about?” he asks.
Everyone turns their attention first to him, then to me as blood begins to suck out of my lower extremities and find home at my now burning cheeks.
Every pair of eyes focus on me, bright faced and back against the cool metal bars.
For the first time since I woke up in the compound, I feel smaller than the mice I’ve seen from time to time.
I wrap my arms around myself, inching backward. “He wanted to meet me…” I don’t say his name. At least, not out loud. The last thing these people need to know is the name of the alpha orchestrating their slaughter. Not that they’d believe me, anyway.
“You?” the man says, spittle flying from his mouth. “Why would he want to meet with you?”
“I—I don’t …” I stammer and fight back tears. And it’s in that moment I realize I am no safer in Vlad’s study than I am in his fucking cage. Veronica, the only person I’d even consider to be in my corner slowly steps back and disappears among the faces glaring in my direction.
“What are you planning with them?” Those final words come out coarse.
Sharper than a pair of canines. More captives rally behind him, some nodding their heads as this firing squad closes in on me.
Planning? He’s seen how the pack has treated me since I woke up here.
Worse than anyone else in this fucking cage.
How could I possibly be planning something with them?
Thud.
Dust shakes from the ceiling, raining down on me and the other prisoners, drawing our attention.
We all pause and exchange confused glances except the man leading this mob.
No, he stays idle, his callous and bloodshot eyes never leaving mine.
My blood runs cold, not because I’m trapped in a room of people that think I’m a threat, but for the uneasy feeling settling in my gut.
That wasn’t a door slamming closed. It was one being forced open.
Muffled voices break the silence above the cellar.
One notably thick and vicious while the other is barely above a whisper.
Everyone tilts their head to the stairwell, everyone except me.
I know who it is. Even when sleep doesn’t come easy in this prison, I hear his words blaring through my head on all stations.
I am the next alpha. He. Can’t. Fucking. Save. Anyone.
Viktor.
Only the bottom of the door is visible from the cage, and as it rips open, I can almost smell his human flesh burning, begging to melt away and show the true animal hiding beneath it. Viktor drags his claw along the wall down the entire staircase, dusting each step with powdered cement.