He turned, sprinting toward me, but at that moment, a huge arm reached down and gripped my wrist, lifting me up from my position beneath the embankment. I tried to fight, kicking and punching whoever had grabbed me, but it was no use. I tried to slash at them with my knife, but it was quickly wrenched from my grasp, bending my fingers backwards in the process. At once, multiple arms grabbed my wrists and bound them behind my back. Once I was secured, a swift kick to my lower back forced me forward and I fell to my knees with a pained cry.
Fuck. That had hurt a lot.
I struggled against my bonds, but they held fast. It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to be breaking out anytime soon.
A Vakarran knelt down beside me and took my knife from the ground. He then lifted it and slid the sharp metal edge against my cheek and I stilled. I refused to look at him though, staring at the ground and defying them to the very end.
“Bring her to me,” Nix said to the man holding me. To the others, some in the trees and others moving in from the ground, “Kill them,” he ordered.
I watched in horror as two dozen men surrounded my Vakarrans, but I didn’t have any time to react, because a hand reached down and roughly grabbed me. Sharp fingernails dug into my skin and I felt them begin to force me up.
I screamed as I was raised off the ground. I kicked and fought as much as I could, but the Vakarran holding me was strong. I could see scars of previous battles on his arms and I knew I was going to have a hard time. He threw me over his shoulder, but I wasn’t about to give in and go quietly. I felt strong and I was going to use that to my advantage.
He growled, but I continued to fight, slipping off his shoulder and kneeing him hard in the stomach. Grunting with anger, he grabbed his gun off his belt and lifted his arm high overhead. I tried to scuttle sideways, but a pair of hands grabbed either side of my arms and held me still. The Vakarran in front of me glared down at me and I kicked him hard, right in between the legs.
He hardly flinched and then I watched in horror as his arm swept down and the butt of his gun connected with the side of my head.
An explosion of fiery pain burst across my scalp and I screamed. Almost immediately, I slumped to the ground and my eyes rolled back in my head. Spots flickered in my vision and then, everything went dark.
* * *
When I finally awoke, I thought I was dead. It was so dark that I could only see a few inches in front of my face. I blinked and slowly, my eyes began to adjust to the shadows. I tried to figure out where I was, but I could only feel cold and the dank smell of mold and underground water. When my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, I began to make out small shapes, such as chairs along the stone walls and a window on the wall to the right. It was night, and not even the light of the moon and stars could reach me here.
I wondered how much time had passed.
It was then I remembered what happened and I struggled to move, only to realize that I was tied to some sort of thick cement pole. Rough strands of rope bit against my bare skin and I swallowed, coming to the conclusion that I was fully naked. Fucking hell.
Where the hell was I?
I wa
s alone. My Vakarrans were nowhere to be seen and despite everything within me telling me to hope for the best, I feared the worst. Nix had brought quite a force with him, which would be no match for the likes of my four Vakarrans, even as battle hardened and experienced as they were. They just didn’t have the numbers to defeat those kinds of military force. I closed my eyes, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. I didn’t want to think about it, but I couldn’t stop myself.
They were my Vakarrans. Mine.
Tavik, the born leader who didn’t follow the rules. Zane, a man who showed me that pain can also bring me to new heights of pleasure. Valdus, the icy one who brought out his heart just for me and Caleb, a friend I could count on to guide me when I needed and to dominate me in bed whenever I needed it. Right now, all I wanted was to return to their arms once again.
I knew now, without a doubt, that they were telling the truth. I’d seen the looks on their faces when they’d seen Nix. That kind of hatred couldn’t be an act. And if their tales of revenge were true, I had no doubt my sisters were alive and free too.
I wondered if I’d ever get to see them now.
Bound and tied to a pole like a sacrificial virgin, I was alone for the first time since they’d taken me captive. I thought about my Vakarran captors and with a harsh breath, I realized I missed them. As much as I wanted to deny it, I cared for them and in that moment, I could feel my heart breaking at their loss. It should be wrong. I knew what the rumors said. I knew all Vakarrans were supposed to be cruel and unforgiving. Slave drivers, who took women just to fuck when they wanted and for the sole purpose of breeding their spawn.
I shuddered just thinking about it.
But my four were different. I’d tried to hurt them with Kira’s trap. I’d almost gotten the four of them and myself killed when the trackers had spotted me. In the end, I’d only ended up with a sore ass and an extremely well-used pussy. They hadn’t really hurt me, nor had I hated them for it. Defiance, like I showed, was something that ultimately ended up punished by death, and they hadn’t even given that a thought. Instead, they’d just made me theirs in more ways than one. Just thinking about it made my thighs tremble with desire for it all to happen again.
I hung my head with sorrow.
Now, it probably never would. I’d never get the chance to tell them I believed their story and that I couldn’t wait to join the cause and help take down Nix and his cruel men. I was Nix’s captive now and even I knew that was a fate that was worse than death.
I’d never get the chance to tell them I loved them.
I choked on a sob and struggled against the pole. I tried moving my arms and legs, but the only thing I could wiggle was my fingers and toes. I was bound so tightly that I only really had room to breathe. The rope bit into my skin, scratchy and tough and I wondered if it was Vakarran rope. Caleb had mentioned it in passing once, describing how it reacted to Vakarran DNA in order to uncoil and release me. I wasn’t going to escape from this without one of them, or at least, without the help of a Vakarran.
In an attempt to quell my panic, I looked around, trying to take in details of where I was being kept prisoner.
It looked like I was in a room off the side of a parking garage of some kind. One of the walls was glass, and I could see faded paint on the pavement outside, marking parking spots as far as I could see. From what I could tell, I wasn’t underground, but either on the ground floor or above based on the window on my right. I wondered if Nix had brought me to Atlanta or somewhere close by. I hoped it wasn’t somewhere else.