His face twisted, and for a second, I thought he was going to strike me. Instead, he broke into an ugly laugh and shook his head. “Oh, you think you get a say? That’s fucking rich,” he laughed. “You can’t tell an alpha no.”
His eyes flashed red, and fear surged back up into me, my wolf screaming at me torun. I struggled again, but I was held fast against the wall. He leaned forward and jerked my plain white shirt to the side, exposing my neck. My heart pounded against my chest; I knew exactly what was about to happen, and I was powerless to stop him as he offered me a wolf’s grin andbit.
It wasn’t a love nip. It was a bite meant to damage. It was meant to hurt. His teeth sunk into my skin and I shrieked. I clamped my mouth shut a moment later, trying not to give him any further satisfaction, even as blood dribbled down my skin.
It felt like an era before he drew back and said, “What the fuck?”
I opened my eyes at the sound of his confusion. I couldn’t see my own skin, but he was staring at the spot he’d just bitten.
“You can’t resist me forever,” he snapped, poking at it. I growled, but even I could tell it had already healed over some. He hadn’t made a successful claim.
His eyes flashed red again, and I looked away as he pushed my head to the side roughly, biting me even more forcefully the second time. Again, I couldn’t help my shriek before I bit down on my tongue. My wolf screamed alongside me, thrashing wildly with the pain. My leg twitched as I tried to kick him, but I was held fast. He pulled away once more, growling something unintelligible.
Before he could assault me again, the door opened. “What are you doing?” Dr. Brenner snapped.
The guard stepped away at once. I couldn’t believe it, but for once, I was actually relieved to see the man.
After yet anotherround of tests, Dr. Brenner returned me to my cell. I fell asleep almost immediately, and I had no idea how long I’d been out when a commotion in the hallway made me stir.
I blinked, sitting up. I could see motion outside the window; it had been left unfrosted. Adrenaline washed away any lingering tendrils of sleep, and I got to my feet as quickly as I could without getting lightheaded again.
I recognized a pair of shifters outside. I’d seen them before. As far as I could tell, they were a mated pair — or at least a couple — but I had no idea how long they’d been there. No one had addressed them where I could hear. They also had a little girl with them. I could only assume she was their child.
My heart twisted every time I saw the little family. I loved children, especially when they were that young. They were still so curious about everything, asking the sweetest questions.
I had no idea if I wanted my own, but they always touched a soft part of my heart. Seeing a whole family in here made my chest feel three times too small. I couldn’t imagine being trapped in here with a child; it was hard enough keeping myself alive, being afraid of what they might do to me, but a child? I snarled softly.
I already knew Dr. Brenner was a monster. After all, he’d tortured a woman to death just to watch how I reacted, but the depths of his depravity really knew no limits. He wasn’t just experimenting on shifters; he was experimenting onchildren,too.
This man has no soul left at all, does he?
As I watched them, I realized the woman was carrying the little girl, and after a moment, I realized they weren’t accompanied by any guards. My brows furrowed.What are they—?
The man’s eyes caught mine and he paused, hitting a button on the wall. The door sprung open a moment later and he hurried inside, reaching for my neck. I flinched momentarily before I realized he was undoing the latch that held the chain to the collar that held me to this terrible place.
“What are you doing?” I hissed, almost too stunned to move.
He grabbed me by the wrist and began leading me out the door. I stumbled after him. “Hurry,” he hissed back.
“What are you doing?” I asked again, moving my feet as quickly as I could, trying not to slow down the family. “You don’t know me from a hole in the ground.”
The man glanced back at me for just a moment, not letting go as he pulled me along with them. “I heard one of the guards talk about you. They’re afraid of you,” he replied, eyes already scanning the hall ahead of us. “Seemed wrong to leave you behind if we’re going to bring this place down.”
Before I could ask him what he meant by that, the overhead lighting changed to a bright red. Alarms began to sound, the decibel levels so loud that they were painful. I faltered, but the man kept tugging me along, even as his daughter began to sob in his mate’s arms.
We rounded a corner, only to be confronted by several guards running down the hall. The man all but threw me forward towards the other two. “Go!” he commanded, pointing down a third hallway. His mate only gave him a long look before she took off, her arms still wrapped tightly around their daughter.
I hesitated for half a second before following after her, my heart in my gut. I hated leaving the man to his fate, but if I tried to help him fight…I would just be a hindrance, not a help. I silently wished him luck and raced after her, barely able to keep up as she dodged through hallways and around corners. I was starting to suspect they’d been here for months, at least, if she knew so clearly where to go.
I would have asked, but all I could do was keep my breath. Keep breathing. A snarl escaped her as she rounded another bend, and as I raced to meet her, three more guards were there to meet us. We couldn’t defeat them, not as tired and worn as we were, but if we could just get past them…
The little girl sobbed and kicked out at anyone who got too close while her mother did her best to shield the girl as the guards tried to grab her away. I hissed and swung, knowing I was at an eighth of my usual strength at best. Someone had a knife, and I whined as I was slashed, but the pain in my arm was nothing compared to the feral need torun.
I threw my weight into one of the guards and the other shifter was able to break through, stumbling towards the door. I threw one last kick, nailing one of the guards in the junk before chasing after her.
We’d only just gotten through the door when she collapsed, barely able to keep herself from falling over on her daughter. A second later, I fell, too. Electricity pulsed through my body, and the only thing that kept me from screaming was the fact that the shock had locked my jaw shut. The entire world went black around me.
No, no, no!