Chapter 147

Alyx watched me with a mean smile.

I always thought I was a good judge of character, but clearly, I wasn’t. I’d believed he was a good person, and he was anything but. Every moment he’d spent helping me and being there for me after my breakup with Matt, was all a lie. He was just trying to get to me. For what, I didn’t know, but I had a feeling I was about to find out.

“Let me go,” I said, struggling against the restraints.

He eyed them with a slight frown. “Oh, those are there just for now. We didn’t want you to hurt yourself. You’re not used to your newfound abilities, after all.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His smile returned. “No? Can’t you feel it? Hear it? The heightened senses. That voice in your head telling you to shift, to give over to the wolf.”

“No.”

“You can lie to yourself, but not to me. You’re not as human as you thought you were.”

I looked at his brother, for what I didn’t know. Confirmation, maybe? He just looked back at me, his eyes tracing over my face, then down my body. I was suddenly grateful to still be wearing Matt’s baggy sweatpants and t-shirt.

“You’re not as human as I thought you were,” I countered.

He laughed. “Not so much.” His eyes flashed gold again, and I leaned as far away from him as I could. I didn’t know what he was capable of, but I didn’t want to find out. He’d already tried to force himself on me, then he kidnapped me. He didn’t seem to have morals of any kind.

I wondered if the rest of his brothers were the same, or if they had souls. Maybe the quiet boy had a conscience. Maybe I could convince him to help me.

I gave him a pleading look. “Please help me.”

He stared back at me for a moment, soaking me in. I tried not to shift under his scrutiny, but I couldn’t help it.

“She whines a lot,” he said.

Alyx sighed. “I told you.”

I turned my face away, tears pooling in my eyes. They were all the same.

“Don’t be sad,” the boy said, stepping forward. “We’re not going to hurt you. You’re meant for great things.”

“I don’t know what that means,” I said, my voice wavering.

Alyx looked positively gleeful. “Don’t worry, you’ll find out soon enough. My brother’s looking forward to meeting you.”

“I thought this was your brother,” I said, nodding at the boy.

“Oh, Jeremy? Sure, he’s my brother. I’ve got a lot of brothers.”

“He means our eldest brother, Ronan. He’s the Alpha.” Just the word sent a shiver down my spine. Something told me I would not enjoy meeting their Alpha. If they were this cruel, then I didn’t have much hope for their leader.

As I lay there, trying to ignore the fact that they were watching me, my brain started to piece everything together. They were in a pack. They had an Alpha. But I knew they weren’t Peacekeepers. The only other faction of werewolves I knew about were the Crescent wolves. The ones behind all the rogues.

“You’re Crescent wolves, aren’t you?” I murmured.

Alyx leaned forward, his eyebrows raised. “Not as dumb as she looks.”

The boy, Jeremy, took a step closer. “You don’t even know who you are. How fascinating.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I struggled against the bonds again, but to no avail. “Why am I here?”

“Well, you’ve finally fulfilled the prophecy. You’ve turned. It was time to bring you home.”

“Home?”

Jeremy frowned. “You really know nothing. How boring.”

“Or fun,” Alyx countered. “How great it is to be the one to tell you this. I don’t know what you know about your dear mommy, but she was one of ours.”

I shook my head. “No. She was a good person.”

“Ouch. Believe it or not, we’re not evil. Your mother was ours, and the Schreibers took her from us.” He snarled the name, and I couldn’t say I blamed him. “She was everything to our family, and then she was gone.”

“But now we have you,” Jeremy said, his dark eyes flashing,

Alyx nodded. “Now we have you. Frankly, I’ve never thought you were all that special, but it was my job to look out for you. My brother Ronan trusted me with you.”

I let out a low, dry laugh. “Look out for me? Is that what you call it?”

His eyes narrowed. The look on his face had a voice in my head suddenly shouting. Claws sprouted from my hands, and fangs descended. I snarled at him, and he leaned back, laughing.

“She’s got claws,” Jeremy said, his tone bored.

“Like I said, not so human anymore.”

I tried, but I couldn’t get them to go away. I didn’t know what to do to calm down. Matt made it all seem so easy, but I didn’t know how to control myself. I was new to all this, and he wasn’t here to help me. The thought of him had tears pricking at my eyes. I wanted to scream for him, and have his arms around me, and know that I was safe.

“It helps to breathe,” Jeremy offered.

I turned my face away from them and forced myself to take a few deep breaths, counting three in and five out until my heart rate slowed and the claws painfully retracted. When I was done, I collapsed against the mattress.

“Not bad,” Alyx said. “You learn fast.”

I didn’t bother to respond.

“Don’t worry, it gets easier. You’re not just any old wolf, after all. You’re special, just like your mother.”

“My mother could do things,” I said, remembering what my father told me. “A guardian.”

“She was,” Alyx agreed. “Then the Schreibers stole her and experimented on her. Somewhere along the way, she fell for one of them.” He said it with obvious disgust. “Had you soon after. Oh, your brother tried to hide you away. From the family, from us, but there was only so much Jack could do. He could only hide you from the world for so long.”

“Stockholm syndrome is so odd,” Jeremy added. “Very intriguing.”

“Jeremy likes a good psychological experiment.”

I tried hard not to shudder.

“The brain is such a fascinating thing, especially the brain of a wolf.” He smiled, and I didn’t like the look on his face at all. I started to wonder if he was more dangerous than Alyx. Quiet didn’t always mean nicer.

“You can’t just keep me locked away down here. I have family and friends. They’re going to wonder where I am. They’re going to look for me.”

Alyx grinned. “Oh, I hope they do. I hope Matt and Jack come looking for you.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

Jeremy took a step forward, now standing at the edge of the bed. He leaned down over me, his eyes alight. “Ronan’s going to like you, I think. He enjoys a challenge.”

A sick feeling pooled in my gut.

“Don’t worry,” he said, turning abruptly. “He’d never harm his little Maiden. You’re important to us.”

The way he said it didn’t make me feel better.

Alyx stood up, too. He waited until his brother was out the door until he turned back to me. He leaned down to undo the binds. I jumped up, trying to claw at him, but he was much too fast for me. He punched me in the ribs, and I fell back into the bed, struggling to breathe.

“We’ll bring you some food in a bit,” he said. “Try to behave.”

He gave me one last gleeful look before he left me alone, the door slamming shut behind him. A tear fell down my cheek.

How the hell was I going to get out of here?