Alpha (34 page)

"You really shouldn't have done that." He said it so coolly that it scared me.

"It's a good thing I don't need to shift into my wolf form to teach you a lesson," he told me in a deadly calm tone as he walked to me and picked me up by my arms.

Even though he couldn't shift, he was still strong enough to tear me apart limb by limb and there was little I could do to defend myself.

Fuck!

But even in a situation where the odds were stacked against me, I wasn't going to lie down and take it. I was going to fight with every last breath I had.

His fist connected with my mid-section and I stumbled backward. The next hit to my face, which connected with the back of his hand, sent me stumbling backward, making me lose my footing and I fell. I landed on the floor, winding me of the breath in my lungs. My back ached from the hard landing and I rolled onto my chest to try and get to my feet before he landed another blow.

I didn't see his foot until it connected with my stomach and I screamed as pain exploded in my abdomen. I rolled onto my back, clutching the damaged tissue.

"I will break you and then I will build you up again. You will do as I say or you will face the consequences," he said as he picked me up again and set me down on unsteady feet. There was no doubt in my mind that consequences meant death.

"Fuck you," I spat at him. His eyes darkened with anger.

His fist hit my stomach and I bent over gasping, my arms across my abdomen. As I lifted my determined gaze to his, he backhanded me and I landed on the floor.

I tasted blood in my mouth as I groaned in pain. None of my training had prepared me for the absolute ruthlessness of this monster.

My eyes landed on the still form of Keri. Had he broken her to build her back up like he was trying to do to me? Realizing how evil Victor was I couldn’t help feel a little sympathy for Keri even though she’d betrayed us.

"Have you had enough?" he taunted as he took pride in surveying my injuries.

Somehow, I rolled onto my hands and knees and I pulled myself up again.

"You should have stayed down," he said with a sigh as he stepped forward.

My stomach hurt so bad I couldn't stand up straight and my face throbbed with pain but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of staying down.

I thought about Cade and how much I loved him. I prayed that he and the rest of my loved ones were safe.

I was no match for Victor but I couldn't bow my head to him to save my life. I couldn't let him take me because I would never survive. I made the decision there and then to go out fighting.

"Was that the best you could do?" I taunted at him.

I hoped that it would be over soon. His eyes darkened as he took a menacing step closer.

"No...I can do much better than that," he promised with a cruel smile as his hands tightened into fists.

The sound of a groan stopped him and he turned to look at Keri as she started to come around.

"Get up," he instructed a dazed Keri but he didn't offer to help her up.

She blinked a couple of times before she sat up. She was still a little wobbly as she stood up with her hand against the wall for support. I tried not to feel guilty at what I'd done to her. I had to remember that despite my feelings of sympathy she was the enemy.

Her father gave her a disappointed look before he turned to fix his gaze on me.

"There is no escaping. This is your destiny," he ranted on. I wiped the blood that dripped from my nose. My face hurt and I tasted my own blood on my tender lips.

This guy wasn't playing with a full deck of cards. At that moment another guy entered the cell. He was built like Hank, big and bulky. His gaze didn't waver as his eyes passed over me briefly before he looked to Victor.

He seemed unperturbed by the scene in front of him.

"The helicopter is ready," he informed his boss.

A helicopter!

I began to panic. I couldn't let them get me into a helicopter. Who knew where they would take me.

"Get everything we need together and start loading the helicopter," he told the guy. The guy turned and left to do what he'd been ordered.

"Help him," Victor instructed Keri in a stern voice. She bowed her head slightly.

"Yes, Father," she replied obediently. Her eyes flickered to mine briefly just as she turned to leave.

I was alone with Victor. I tried not to show the fear that I felt when his eyes met mine. My face and stomach throbbed. I took a tentative step back as he approached me. I felt like a wild animal he was trying to corner to capture.

"Have you finished fighting me?" he asked mildly as he surveyed my beaten form.

"I'd rather die than go with you," I spat at him.

He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a moment.

"There are worse things than death," he replied in a deadly tone and I felt fear begin to build up further inside of me.

What is worse than death?

"I can show you a new level of pain that will make you beg for death," he revealed with a glint his eye. I had no doubt that he would enjoy every moment of it.

I was on my own, there was no one coming to help me. Everyone would be too busy fighting for survival. It wasn't in me to just keep my mouth shut and do as I was told, so there was no way I was going to go quietly.

I believed Victor when he told me he could keep me in so much pain I'd beg for death. My only option was to force his hand by making him angry. If I made him lose his temper maybe he'd kill me quickly.

I didn't like to believe I was giving up. I looked at it more like I was going out fighting a battle I couldn't win.

"I won't go with you," I told him with all the determination I could muster. More blood dripped down my face and I wiped it away with the back of my hand.

"I can make you," he told me calmly. "Besides, I've got grand plans for you."

He is crazy.

"The first time I saw your mother I knew I had to have her. There was no alternative. It didn't matter that she was already mated to your father," he explained. I felt pain in my heart at the thought of what he'd put my parents through.

I didn't have to imagine how that felt because he was going to do it to me. He was going to take me by force irrespective of the fact that that I was already mated to Cade, the one destiny had chosen for me.

"You will take the place that I wanted your mother in. You will become my mate and you will bear my children," he informed me. I nearly threw up at the thought of what he was saying.

"I have a mate," I replied defiantly. I felt proud of the man fate had chosen to be my mate, Cade. I couldn't imagine being mated to this crazy nut.

"He won't survive the attack. For all you know he could be dead right now," he replied with a cruel smile. His voice was level but I could see his jaw clench slightly. He was calm on the surface but anger simmered beneath.

Was it enough anger to make him lose control and end it quickly for me? I thought about Cade and my heart squeezed at the thought of never seeing him again. All I could do was hope he was safe.

"And I'll fight you every step of the way," I assured him as I fisted my hands and took a fighting stance.

"I warned you," he said in a resigned tone.

His first swing I managed duck away from but the second connected with my stomach. I felt my feet lift off the floor with the force of the blow and I landed on my back with a thud, knocking the breath from me.

I groaned as I tried to roll onto my stomach to get back up.

"I can make this go on forever," he said as he stepped closer. I believed him and that's why I was going to push him to end my life. My body could only take so much before it gave in. Even now the pain in my stomach was excruciating and my face throbbed with pain.

For a moment I closed my eyes and thought about my parents. He'd taken their lives and he was going to take mine. If nothing else, I would find peace with them.

I leaned against the wall for support as I lifted myself to stand.

"You're just like your mother," he murmured as he watched me. "Defiant until the end."

Pride swelled up inside, knowing that my mom had fought against him just like I was. She hadn't just given up.

"Even your father fought hard to save your mother's life," he continued. From the time they'd been murdered, I'd always wondered which one had died first.

"Your mom died first and I made your father watch," he said with pride and I felt my heart break.

"He begged me to take his life instead," he sneered at me. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sting of tears at the thought that my dad had done everything he could and it still hadn't been enough. He'd been forced to watch my mother die.

That was horrific.

My temper snapped as he smiled at my reaction. Hank always said that with speed I'd be able to fight. Although I was injured I managed to take him by surprise. I got a hit to his face but it was like hitting a brick. He retaliated by grabbing me by the arms and throwing me against the wall. I felt the impact on my body and I screamed in pain. I landed with a thud on the floor.

"That wasn't very nice either," he said to me as he wiped the blood from his mouth. Even in my haze of pain I smiled at the fact that I'd made him bleed.

Lying on the floor unable to get up, I rolled onto my stomach. It hurt to breathe. I wiped more blood from my face as I groaned in pain. It felt like I'd been hit by a truck. I wanted to stay where I was because everything hurt, but giving up wasn't an option.

I looked up. I noticed the empty syringe on the floor and then it struck me.

Bloodied and in pain I could barely get onto my hands and knees to try and stand up. But in that moment I knew I had another option.

It was an option that could save me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Scarlett

I closed my eyes briefly for a moment. Nothing happened.

Fuck!

Pain exploded in my side as Victor kicked me. The force of it flipped me onto my back and I screamed out in pain as I clutched my stomach. I couldn't take much more. I had to do something now.

"I will break you," he assured me arrogantly as he stood over me. Through my haze of pain I watched as a cruel smile spread across his face. He was enjoying this.

I had to try again before it was too late. My body had already taken a serious beating and I didn't know if I had enough strength to do what I had to. Even in the pain I was in, I got to my knees and I lifted myself onto my shaky legs.

"No you won't, asshole," I spat back and his eyes darkened in anger as he reacted to my provocation. His smile disappeared from his face as his eyes narrowed at me.

In the instant he stepped forward to hit me again, I closed my eyes and this time something happened.

I shifted into my wolf form. The change was excruciating with the added injuries but I remained on all fours. Victor stopped, taken slightly aback at the sudden change. Anger turned to surprise on his face.

I saw the moment the realization hit him that he wasn't in control of the situation anymore. The balance had tipped in my favor. Through my wolf eyes I glared at him as I growled a warning.

He took a step back. I watched as he tried to shift into his wolf form but the wolfsbane I'd injected into his leg earlier prevented him. Fear crept into his features as I took a step closer and growled again.

That injection had been meant for me; the wolfsbane had been wearing off. Without that dose, the existing wolfsbane in my system was negligible and I was able to shift into my wolf form.

His eyes flickered to the door, the only escape out of the room, but before he could try and run I jumped in front of the open door. I could smell his fear in the air as I stepped forward slowly cornering him like he'd done to me only moments before.

The injuries from the beatings were forgotten as adrenaline began to pump through my veins. Victory was within my grasp. My wolf senses fixed on the target in front of me.

"You don't have the stomach to kill someone," he taunted me with a confidence that he clearly didn't feel. The perspiration beginning to form on his forehead and the nervous flicker of his eyes were telltale signs that he didn't believe it and that he was afraid.

I'd never killed anyone before but he was different. He wasn't some innocent person whose death would bring me lifelong guilt. He was the ruthless murderer of my parents. His death would be the justified revenge for what he'd done to my parents and to countless other people.

Payback is a bitch.

I let my eyes take in the sight of the monster one last time before I lunged forward and attacked him. He raised his arms to ward off the attack but in wolf form I was stronger. I knocked him to the ground. Desperately he tried to stand up again but I jumped against him and he landed on his back with a thud as he hit the floor again.

His arm stretched out and his fingers closed around the empty syringe. I wanted to laugh out loud. What damage did he think that would do against me?