Ten miles away from Arik’s camp, Shadeau pulled over and climbed into the back of the van. “It’s time.”
Jasmine kissed his lips softly then turned and placed her wrists together behind her back.
“I hate this.”
“I’ll be fine. I can take what is dished out.”
Shadeau whispered a curse as he picked up chains and bound her wrists. A sour knot formed in his stomach. The way he’d have to treat his mate to make this work made him want to throw up. “I should have never agreed on you coming.”
“Did I give you a choice?”
He didn’t have to see her face to know she was smiling. A growl escaped his lips as he wound the chain higher to encircle her elbows. “Does this hurt?”
“Well it’s not supposed to be comfortable.”
“Stop being a smartass.” He clicked a padlock into place.
She turned and looked at him. “You know I can’t go into that place with the chains all loose and falling off. You’re going to have to be rough with me and I know that.”
“Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“Does that mean we can’t take the chains home to play with?”
He frowned. “Maybe I should gag you.”
She laughed. “Come on, lover. Let’s get this thing done.”
Once she was secure he left her alone in the back and took his place in the driver’s seat. Each mile they covered had the tension in his body climbing. They rode in silence. Time ticked by faster than he liked. His emotions twisted into a violent storm as he crossed over into Arik’s territory.
He wanted to reassure her but he didn’t know what to say. The words
I love you
came to mind, shocking him even more. Did he love her? He had to push the thought away as he parked the van and spotted Arik marching his way with two of his soldiers at his side. It was show time. He exited the van without a word.
* * * * *
Jasmine sucked in a breath and gave her best pissed-off look when Shadeau slid open the door on the side of the van. They’d arrived more than ten minutes ago. She could only assume he’d been talking with Arik.
“So this is your contribution?”
Jasmine fought Shadeau as he gripped her arm, pulling her from the back of the van as she stared at the man who spoke. This wasn’t her first look at the asshole Arik. She remembered his face well from the clearing near her old den. The night he’d come for Julie, Luken’s mate. She growled at Arik as she struggled against Shadeau’s hold.
Shadeau gave a hard jerk to her arm that made her stumble into him. Once she regained her balance she glared up at him.
“She has a lot of fight in her,” Shadeau told Arik. “But she went into heat a few days ago, and I figured you wouldn’t want to waste an opportunity so I fucked her.”
Arik laughed. “I’m glad you did. Between the two of you, that babe should make me a fine soldier.”
Jasmine tried not to vomit as she thought about this asshole anywhere near her child. If she had a child. Time would tell. She didn’t want to think about that now. With a shout, she stomped hard on Shadeau’s foot and tried to make another getaway. She couldn’t stop the cry of pain as he released her arm and fisted his hand in her hair at her nape, turning her to face him. Beneath the strands the others wouldn’t be able to see how he gave a quick stroke to her neck with his little finger. She knew he was trying to reassure her, but those types of risks would get them caught. Time to prove she wasn’t a wilting flower.
She spit in his face and snarled. “I wouldn’t call what you did to me fucking.”
Others around them laughed. Shadeau reached up with his free hand and wiped the spit from his cheek as he laughed.
“Maybe I should give you a repeat performance. I’m sure I could fuck you more soundly a second time.”
“Oh yeah? This time unchain me and we’ll see who gets fucked.”
“Misha.”
Jasmine turned her gaze to see a brawny male with shoulder-length blond hair stride forward.
“Take the woman and put her in with the rest of them.”
Shadeau’s hold tightened and Jasmine had to pipe down her own panic. But she couldn’t let him betray them with any possessiveness on his part. Shadeau had expected to take her to the cell himself. But she didn’t know what to do to get him to release her to this other wolf. She shot him a look of annoyance hoping he would get the meaning.
It worked and he shoved her in the direction of the other wolf. Beefy hands sank into upper arms and steadied her. The man didn’t say a word as he released one arm and gripped the other tighter, guiding her across an open area toward a metal door that was set down low to the ground like a storm cellar.
Other buildings encircled the clearing they were in. Some were only temporary but others were getting the finishing touches from construction crews. Arik apparently had been busy over the last couple of months. Towers had even been built and people with guns could be seen perched in the tops of them. Shit. Escape was definitely going to be sporty.
She marched in silence next to him, shoring up her courage so she could face what lay on the other side of that door. So many different images went through her head, from mild to grotesque.
Misha produced a set of keys from his jeans pocket and she had no choice but to lean over with him as he unlocked the door. The metal swung open wide on well-oiled hinges, revealing a dimly lit interior. Cement steps led down into a hallway.
Misha grabbed a handful of the back of her shirt and pushed her forward. She took the steps quickly. At the bottom the space opened up to a long hallway. She could hear sobs and an occasional shout. Two men patrolled the hall, and they both looked shadier than a tree.
The blond male pushed her down the hall, his fist still in her back. She wanted to be brave, but she couldn’t help the slight shuffle that started in her feet. His hand dug a little more into her skin as she leaned back into his fist. Jasmine knew she had to be locked up in here, but she sure as hell wasn’t in any hurry to have him toss her into one of these cells. The first metal door they passed looked like something tore it up from the inside as if trying to escape. The latch no longer worked and it hung on its hinges at a slant. What in the hell had happened in there?
A door three up on the left opened and a female wolf exited, capturing Jasmine’s attention. Her red head was bowed low, displaying unruly curls and Jasmine picked up a familiar scent coming from her as she passed, as well as the scent of desire. One of the guards locked the door she’d come from and continued his patrol.
None of these men seemed to comment or react to the smells. For a moment Jasmine found it odd. She stopped worrying about their reactions and concentrated more on the familiar scent as they passed that door. Recognition hit her.
Javin
. He must be behind that door. And the good news was he was alive. And apparently he was still working his charms on the ladies. She wanted to roll her eyes. Only Javin would be trying to hook up while he was a captive somewhere.
Jasmine wanted to do a double take at the woman who’d passed, but that was impossible with the big blond man steering her forward. It still struck her odd that these men didn’t react to the scent of desire coming off her, or at least question it.
“Were you born a wolf? Or are you one of Arik’s twisted experiments?”
“Shut up,” Misha replied.
Apparently she hit a nerve. But she had an answer to her question. These wolves were young and were still figuring out scent patterns. And being around females in heat probably made it even more difficult. She decided to press him and see if he’d admit it. “What? I figured you’d be proud of your new posts as rapists.”
He jerked her to a stop and spun her to face him.
Yep. Definitely hit a nerve this time.
He glanced down the hall and spotted the other two guards near the end of the corridor then focused on her.
A trickle of fear ran over her nerve endings as he put his face right in front of hers and whispered through clenched teeth.
“You don’t know a fucking thing about me.”
Before she could respond, he spun her back around and resumed their former position. He walked faster now, pushing her down the hall toward the metal door at the end.
He made quick work of the lock and pulled the door open. Five females were huddled together in a corner. Misha pushed her inside. She stumbled but she didn’t miss the hopeful look that crossed one woman’s face. There and gone before anyone else seemed to notice.
Jasmine didn’t have a chance to turn and look at her jailer again before the door closed with a metallic boom at her back. Her eyes adjusted to the low light coming from one yellow bulb in the high ceiling. She pulled against the chains binding her arms and wanted to groan. Shadeau still had the key. So far this wasn’t working out exactly the way they wanted it to.
Many scents assaulted her nose at once. A few of these females were in heat, and she could smell other male wolves in the mix as well. Her stomach knotted and she choked back the nausea that threatened.
None of these women looked familiar, but there was that same hint of pine she associated with the alpha Brock. The bitter scent of fear also hung thick in here. It made her want to howl.
No one said anything for a few minutes. The blond man’s heavy booted footfalls could be heard receding down the hallway. Each face in the room turned her way and the women started to move slowly away from the corner of the room. Jasmine inhaled a surprised breath as she noticed that one of the heads she’d counted as a woman was actually a teenage girl.
Dark hanks of hair covered her pale face, but Jasmine could see her bright-green eyes through the curtain. Physically she was developed. Womanly curves adorned her body, but Jasmine figured she couldn’t be very far out of puberty. “How old is she?”
A dark-headed woman on the right answered. “Eighteen.”
Jasmine turned to look at the woman who’d spoken. Her chin-length hair was matted in knots, and her clothes and skin were testament to her treatment since arriving in this hellhole. Not wanting to think what this woman might have endured, she scanned the women in the room. “My name is Jasmine.”
“Piper.” This came from the woman with short dark hair.
“Chandra.”
Jasmine turned and nodded toward the petite woman with long dark hair and light-green eyes. She’d been the one who for a second had seemed to be happy to see the man who escorted her here. She wondered what was up with that, but decided not to inquire about it now.
“Cindy,” a curvy redhead called from the left.
“Sharron.”
Jasmine studied the blonde woman who spoke through gritted teeth. She had a feeling Sharron was only pissed at the situation and wasn’t meaning to sound like a hardass. At least that’s what she told herself. She didn’t need to provoke a fight with any of these women and definitely not while her arms were chained.
“Selena,” the young girl spoke softly in the back.
Jasmine’s heart sank. Could this be the Selena whom Kendall called mate? “Are you Brock’s niece?”
She pushed her hair away from her face and her eyes widened. “You know my uncle? Does he know where I am? Is he coming? They have Kendall too, and—”
Piper approached Selena. “Calm down. You don’t need to have another breathing problem.”
Jasmine raised a brow in question.
Chandra answered. “She hyperventilated when one of the men came in here threatening to take her for…”
Jasmine’s pissed meter reached a new level. “But she isn’t in heat. She isn’t really even old enough to go into heat.”
Chandra swallowed hard. “He didn’t care.”
“But he didn’t take her.”
Jasmine turned to look at Cindy as the redhead began telling the rest of the story.
“When Selena started screaming and yelling for Kendall an awful ruckus erupted down the hall. We think it was Kendall.”
Selena started crying. “It was him, but I haven’t heard him since.”
Jasmine remembered the mangled door and her eyebrows shot up as shock entered her body. Had Kendall done that?
Dayum
. She approached the young girl. “It’s okay. I’m sure he’s fine. Kendall is pretty strong and I’ve heard Luken talk about him. He has alpha potential, so don’t worry.”
Selena’s shoulders shuddered with a muffled sob as she nodded her head.
Jasmine panned the room with her gaze as she spoke softly to the group. “I’m actually here to do recon.”
A couple ladies gasped.
“It’s difficult to explain, but if things work the way I hope they will, we may be out of here in a few days.”
“Why are you giving them false hope?” Sharron bit out.
Jasmine directed her stare to Sharron. “I’m not.”
“We’ve been stuck here for days without anyone coming for us. What makes you think that is going to change? Why haven’t our alphas come for us?” Sharron demanded in a raised voice.
Cindy placed a hand on Sharron’s shoulder. “Calm down. This woman has nothing to do with what is happening to us here, so don’t take it out on her.”
Sharron cast a cold stare at Cindy. “Whatever.” She marched to the corner and sat down.