My entire body shook uncontrollably and tears and blood streamed down my face. Reaching up, I touched the gash on my forehead and winced from the pain. There was a cut on my right arm and my pajama pants were torn. Remembering the reason for the accident, I tried to find Adam. What was he doing in the middle of the highway? And how had he gotten up here so quickly? Smoke rose from the hood of the truck, but just beyond it I could make out the silhouette of a body. A breeze swept the smoke away giving me a clear view of Adam. His jaw was set in stone, and he walked with purpose towards me, a sickening smile transforming his face from beautiful to sinister. I swallowed around the lump in my throat, afraid of what he’d do. I couldn’t fight back, not after tumbling around in my truck like clothes in a washer.

Adam stopped in front of me, his eyes regarding me with anger. I watched him, speechless and afraid. The man who stood before me wasn’t the same man I’d slept with. Gone was the loving gaze and in its place was ugliness. As I opened my mouth to say something, Adam lifted his hand and swung. His fist connected with the side of my face, the impact knocked me over the guardrail and then it was lights out.

*

I came to with a nasty headache and dry mouth. When I opened my eyes, I was shrouded in darkness. My arms were above my head and I couldn’t move them. The rattling of chains echoed through the room with each movement I made. The cold metal bit into my wrist, not giving an inch of space.

It took my eyes a little longer to adjust to the darkness; my head still throbbed. Adam had stripped me down. I didn’t wear underwear or a bra to bed, so I was naked. With my foot, I felt around on the floor that was made of lose dirt. Inhaling, I tried to capture the scent of anything that might give me a clue where I was. Mildew, rodents, and blood hung in the air. Looking to my left, there was a sliver of light piercing through the darkness underneath what must be a door. Footsteps sounded behind it. I fought against the chains, but to no avail.

The door swung open hard, causing me to jump. Adam stood in the doorway, that same sickening smile on his face. This had to be a nightmare. There was no way this man and my Adam were the same person. Wake up…wake up! I repeated the mantra over and over in my head, but my pleas went unanswered. Stalking into the room, Adam flicked a switch on the wall and the room lit up with dim light. I closed my eyelids; even the subtle light hurt my eyes. The clang of the door being shut urged me to open them again. Adam paced in front of me, his hands tucked behind his back as he kept focus on my naked body.

Oh how I hated him and myself. How had he fooled me so cleverly?

“I bet you’re confused,” he said, smiling as if there was some inside joke I wasn’t privy to.

I stared, too angry to engage in a conversation with this monster.

“The fact is, I’m a purebred, and you’re beneath me in every way. Packs used to kill your kind—when times made sense. Now, packs are full of half breeds…mutts,” He said half breeds and mutts as if they tasted bad on his tongue. “The only thing you’re good for is a fuck every now and then.” He stopped pacing, his eyes dropping to my bare breasts.

I cringed under his insinuating stare, my stomach nauseous from learning the truth of who I fell in love with.

“Did you really think you were worthy of an alpha?” He laughed. “So naïve.”

He paced back and forth, his eyes regarding me with hatred. Well the feeling was mutual.

“Eve,” he called. The door opened and in stepped the other person I hated, Eve. Her short auburn hair was perfectly styled, her face made up, and she wore black cotton shorts, a white tank top and red heels. It didn’t look like she’d been attacked by a werewolf. What in the hell?

“Now this,” Adam continued, holding out his hand towards Eve. She grasped it and stepped into his embrace. “Is a woman worthy of an alpha. She’s beautiful, ruthless, and fucks like an angel.” They shared a seductive laugh before their lips found each other and kissed passionately. I closed my eyes to shield myself from the pain. I may not have been able to see them, but I could hear them. Moans and the rustling of clothes beat against my eardrums. It was my nightmare coming true. Please don’t let them have sex.

“I warned you,” Eve’s voice replaced the smacking sounds, and I opened my eyes. She wiped her mouth with her thumb, a smile on her red lips. “I told you to stay away from him, but like the whore you are, you just couldn’t help yourself. I can’t blame you, though. He is tempting.” She glanced at Adam and he winked.

“Now, here’s what’s going to happen,” Eve said, stepping towards me and kneeling down so we were eye level. “We’re going to keep you alive for a day or so and have some fun with you. After that, well, use your imagination. We’ll tell the leaders we caught you feasting on another human, and in our attempts to subdue you, you fought against us. We had no choice but to put you down. The case will be closed and the leaders will leave.” She smiled, her eyes alight with excitement. “I thought for sure the leaders would kill after finding the blood on your face.” Eve shook her head, annoyed. “Looks like I’ll have to do it myself.”

None of this made any sense.

“You won’t get away with it,” I bit back.

“Did she talk back to me?” Eve asked, turning to speak to Adam.

“She did,” Adam answered with a smile. “Maybe you should show her what happens when mutts get mouthy.”

“Gladly,” Eve grinned.

My head snapped back against the stone wall as Eve slapped my face, hard. My cheek burned, tingling in the aftermath of her assault.

“You know how long I’ve wanted to do that?” she asked. “Please say something else. I dare you.”

I glared, but kept my lips sealed. When I didn’t respond, Eve frowned.

“Fuck it,” she growled, landing another slap against my face.

“Easy,” Adam said. “We don’t want her too bruised for when we give her body to the leaders.”

Eve’s fingers flexed against her knee, itching to land another blow. I released the breath I’d been holding when she stood back up.

Walking over to Adam, Eve hooked a finger in his jeans and tugged him closer. “Come on, you know how violence gets me horny.” They shared a seductive look and without another word, left the room, flipping the light switch off as they went.

I leaned my head against the brick wall, overwhelmed and panicked. Were they planning on torturing me before they killed me? That’s what it sounded like. How in the hell was I going to get out of this? My mind was numb, to full of deception to think straight. Adam and Eve had played a good game. My arms were sore. I didn’t know how long I’d been chained up before I came to. There weren’t any windows in the small room. It could have been hours or days, time didn’t exist here. I tried, in vain, to fight against the shackles, but the metal bit deeper into my flesh the more I struggled. What kind of person has a torture chamber just waiting to be used? A sick bitch like Eve, that’s who.

Giving up, I became lethargic and my eyelids heavy. Moans sounded from somewhere, floating into my room and abusing my ears. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and let sleep take me away from the painful melody.

Chapter Twenty-four

“Wake up,” someone ordered. Frigid water splashed across my body. I fought myself back to reality, shaking my head to fling the water off of my face. Adam stood in front of me, an empty bucket in his hands.

“Dinner time.” He smiled, nodding towards the right. Looking in the direction, a dog bowl sat filled with what looked like wet dog food. I wanted to scream and cry, unable to believe someone could be this heartless. But I held the emotions inside, not allowing Adam the pleasure of seeing me break.

“It’s a little hard to eat with my hands bound,” I told him. He dug in his pocket, pulling out a small silver key and holding it up. This was good. All I needed was my arms free and then I could shift and fight.

“How long have I been here?” I had to keep talking to make him think I wasn’t plotting my escape.

“Three days,” Adam said, grabbing my chained wrists and inserting the key. “You’ll be happy to know your friends are searching for you. It’s a pity they won’t find you…alive.”

Once the shackles were unlocked, my arms dropped to my sides like wet noodles. Adam stepped back, putting space between us. Reaching behind him, he produced a glock and aimed it at me.

“One false move and these silver bullets will find a home in your heart, got it?”

Well shit. That took care of my escape plan.

“Eat,” Adam ordered, leaning against the wall.

I stared at him, studied his face and noticed a few oddities. His hair wasn’t as blond as before and his eyes, what little I could see of them, were a greenish blue, not the dark sapphires I’d lost myself in before. My eyebrows furrowed as I noted each difference.

“What in the hell are you staring at?”

“Can I see your palms,” I asked.

Adam laughed, a harsh sound that had nothing to do with joy. Holding out his hands, my mouth dropped open when I saw smooth flesh.

“You didn’t think I’d keep that mark did you?”

“How?” I mumbled, too befuddled to think of anything else.

“Melted the skin. The scar slid right off,” Adam turned his palm to study it. “It was painful as fuck, but worth it. Like an alpha could ever be bonded to a mutt. Disgusting.”

A lump the size of a golf ball lodged in my throat, making breathing a chore. Disgusting. That’s what he thought of me. The tears I’d been hiding from him filled my eyes and fell against my cheeks. I dropped my head, hating myself for showing weakness in front of Adam.

“Aw.” His voice was closer than before. I looked up through my eyelashes, and he was bent down in front of me. His finger tilted my chin up so he could see my whole face. “It wasn’t all bad,” he admitted. “You were a good fuck. We had fun, didn’t we?”