Bound by Fate (Moon Bound Series Book 1) (33 page)

“
Beth!  I would never,” he began, quick to reassure her, but she was having none of it.  “I swear to you, I’m here to help.”

“
Help?” she whispered, as the darkness rose up to claim her.  “You can’t help me.  Nobody can.”

When she finally opened her eyes again, Donovan was gone.  She’d almost convinced herself that he’d been another figment of her drugged imagination when she found the water bottle, snugged tightly between the small of her back and the wall.  He’d obviously left that here when he’d surmised what she’d already told him.  He couldn’t help her. 
Why would he even try?  Guilt, perhaps or some form of rebellion against his psycho dad?

Feeling somewhat more her usual self – at least her vision remained steady, and her mind was clearer – she twisted herself into a half slouch, half sitting position and drank deeply of the water, replacing the bottle once she’d swallowed half of it.  She must hide this.  If she was right, and the drugs were in the water Bradley was providing, then this could be her only hope of escape. 

Evidently, Bradley had been to check on her also, and had left another bowl of stew and a pottery mug of warm water.  She sniffed dubiously at it, and the food, but could smell no trace of a sedative.  If it were anything like the tea she’d made for her Guardian back home, she wouldn’t smell it anyway.  This left her in a quandary.  If she chose wrongly, she’d end up drugged again, and she desperately needed her mind clear if she were to think of a plan of escape.

She smiled tightly – the chances of escape seemed so slim to begin with that she thought she must be crazy. 
Sometimes, a little crazy can go a long way,
she thought. 
If I can just think up a crazy enough plan.
  Just then, another problem arose.  She desperately needed to relieve herself. 

Think, she demanded of herself furiously. 
Just relax, and think.
  If she were constantly drugged and chained up, she would be forced to soil herself, and in fact would have no conscious knowledge of doing it.  Looking down upon herself, she realized she already had.  Grimacing, she accepted the only possible plan of action.  She needed to rid herself of that drugged water, but if she were to spill it to the ground, Bradley would know.  It was too cold, and the room too bare for it to soak in or dry up. 
Needs must,
she thought. 

First, she took the mug of water and poured it to look like she’d wet herself.  And then she did wet herself, tears once again burning in her eyes as shame overwhelmed her.  It was her only plan, it was even a good plan, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t ashamed of it. 

That accomplished, she ate half the stew, thinking that if the drugs were in the food, rather than the water, she’d still hold on to some of her faculties.  After what seemed like a tortuous wait, she was aware that her first instincts were correct.  The food was clean.  Her lips cracked again as she scooped the rest of the stew into her mouth, using her fingers as a spoon. 

With a full stomach, and some clean water to drink thanks to Donovan, Beth began to feel much stronger.  Perhaps not strong enough yet to shimmer.  She just hoped time was on her side.  Bradley didn’t appear to her the type of man who took his pleasures fast and furious - he seemed more the type to make it as long and drawn out as possible, prolonging his satisfaction.

The door creaked open slowly as Beth lay on her side, breathing deep and evenly.  If Bradley even suspected she wasn’t as intoxicated as she was supposed to be, she knew he’d kill her offhand.  So she lay there, letting a thin stream of drool escape her slack mouth, as she pretended to be unconscious.  The empty water bottle was still concealed between her and the wall, and she just hoped he didn’t take it upon himself to move her. 

“Wake up, bitch,” he roared.  “Time to play.”

He roughly grabbed her arm, shaking it like a dog with a bone, and she moaned, acting as though she were trying to come to, but not quite getting there.  “I probably should reduce your dosage,” he said thoughtfully, before letting her arm drop.  “I want you alert and terrified when I come to play with you,” he finished in a growl. 

Beth wondered why he didn’t already smell her terror.  Even though she tried as hard as she could to keep her pulse steady and slow, it still beat much faster than it should if she were drugged.  He seemed so lost in his revenge that he was ignoring blatant warning signs.  She cracked her eyes and seen him looming over her, a look of disgust on his face when he noticed her damp clothing.  “Not very attractive, my dear.  I’ll have to clean you up, first.  Maybe that will wake you up a little.”  He grinned evilly and rubbed his palms together slowly, the sound making Beth’s ears twitch.  “I’ll be right back,” he told her conversationally.

He left the cell, not bothering to lock the door behind him, and Beth realized this was it, this was her chance, probably her only chance.  She’d avoided his drugged water twice now, and though she was far from tip-top condition, she felt sure she could shimmer and run.  And that was all she needed to do.  Run.  If she could get back home before he caught her, she would have the protection of her pack.  Wouldn’t she?  The idea crossed her mind that they might turn her away, refuse to help her, tell her she wasn’t pack anymore and that her Alpha could do as he pleased with her, but she thrust those thoughts aside.  David would help her, if all others refused.  She was sure of that much.

It wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped, and at one point she did indeed think she was going to get stuck half way, but she finally managed to shimmer.  Her wolf-form broke the surface and her human body, with all its frailties slipped away along with the cuffs.  Wriggling out of her human clothes was just as difficult and she twisted a paw in the process when she got it caught in a strap, but she had done it.  She was free.  She was also fully alert and ready to run.

Sniffing as she slipped through the gap in the doorway, she determined that Bradley wasn’t far away.  A long corridor was laid out before her, doorways dotted on either side.  She heard a splashing noise up ahead, and saw that another door was slightly ajar.  Bradley was evidently preparing a bath for her.  Moving as quickly as she could while trying to remain quiet was aided by the fact that the corridor was covered in several layers of dirt and debris.  She paused as the splashing stopped, with her heart in her throat.  The bath was ready.  She could smell the aromatic oils he’d poured into the water, and could hear his footsteps scuffling around the room.

Darting ahead, she barely managed to clear the doorway before Bradley swept through it, whistling merrily.  Belly low to the floor, she stilled, and hoped against hope that he didn’t bother to look in her direction.  Her prayers were answered when he sauntered toward the only other open door in sight.  Her cell.  Before he reached the door, she’d crept up to the far end of the corridor and found a stairway to her right, leading up.  With her heart thumping a terrified rhythm, she took the steps as swiftly as she was able, scrabbling once as her paws slipped off the edge of a stair.

At the top was another door, and this one was closed tightly.  Mind in a whirl, she shimmered, finding it came easier to her this time around.  In a matter of seconds she was through the door and into the house beyond.  It was the Great House – not that she’d thought otherwise.  Where else would he have built his little dungeon only under the roof of his own home, the better to have access to whomever he kept in those rotting cells.  Her bare feet slipped on the tiled floor of the kitchen, as she made a bee-line for the back door.  Hearing an almighty roar echoing from the cells below, she knew she was out of time.  She had to get out of here, now. 

Once she was through the door, there was no reason to stay in human-form, so she shimmered and took off, setting a hard pace.  By the time she heard him crashing through the splintered remains of his own back door, she was zooming past the stream and entering the clearing beyond.  A growl alerted her to the fact that he was gaining on her fast.  As she swerved to avoid a tree stump, she caught him in her peripheral vision, no further than ten yards behind, his anger fueling his speed.  For her part, terror made her run fast, but it also made her stupid.  She stumbled on exposed roots, and tripped over a fallen log, crashing into the undergrowth in a pile of limbs.  She yelped once, loudly and heard Bradley howl as he closed even more of the distance. 

Regaining her footing, she took off into the woods, praying for the twilight to last long enough to help disguise her as she fled.  In darkness or light, her coat shone too brightly, but in the mixed up world of twilight, where everything seemed tinged with blue or lavender, she could blend in amongst the surroundings.  Eventually she had to rest, panting and over-heated.  She took a quick drink from the stream and tried to orient herself.  She’d been running flat out for at least an hour now, and the surroundings all seemed the same. 

Somewhere to the left a twig snapped loudly and she knew Bradley wasn’t far away.  Turning tail, she started to run again.  Having no idea what directions she was taking, only fleeing from every sign of pursuit, she was shocked to realize she was headed for that same fallen log she’d jumped over twice already.  Damn it, she’d been running in circles, herded like cattle, or prey.  She’d played directly into Bradley’s hands, and now, tired and despairing, he closed in on her. 

Please,
she prayed to the Great Mother,
let it be quick.

Bradley strode toward her, all black furred menace and anger.  Beth froze, unsure.  Should she keep running until exhaustion wore her down, or should she resign herself to her fate?  Shimmering, he towered above her wolf-form, unsmiling, his eyes snapping fire.  “Things could have gone an entirely different direction, had you just accepted me as your mate,” he whispered, tones of mock regret in his deep voice.

Beth growled, informing him in the only way she could, what she thought of that idea.  Even if she had mated with him, she had the unsettling feeling that it would end this way some day, when he’d had enough of one desire fulfilled.  She backed up slowly, her paws landing softly on the earth and sinking in the moist depths of moss and old bark.  The scents of the forest rose up around her, reminding her of home, and she whimpered softly.

“
I would say there was no need to be afraid, but I think we’re past that now,” he carried on, approaching her one slow step at a time.  “You should never have run from me, Beth.  It never works out well.”  Suddenly his face split in a delighted grin.  “But this time, at least I’ll get to finish you personally.”

Frozen to the spot, nowhere left to turn and with a tree stump behind her, Bradley in front and only light brush to either side, Beth growled deep in her throat.  This was it.  She was ready to die – she only hoped she could force him to do it quickly.  Her being in wolf-form and Bradley being in human-form gave her an advantage and meager as it might be, she’d take it.  Glancing at his manhood where it hung soft and vulnerable, she made ready to leap, tensing her hind quarters, hunching her shoulders, keeping her head low but her eyes always on her target. 

A split second before she could make her move, a giant wolf leaped over the fallen log and latched onto Bradley’s calf, tearing and ripping at the thick muscle.  The wolf’s black coat glistened in the near-dark as he savaged the Alpha’s leg, growling loudly as the man roared –
more in anger than pain,
Beth thought, shaken.  Bradley brought his huge interlocked fists down on the wolf’s shoulders, and the wolf, yelping like a pup released him, backing away warily. 

One minute the black wolf stood there, hunched – with eyes burning a hole in the Alpha’s face – the next moment a man emerged from his shimmer, naked but still hunched.

Donovan, covered in his own father’s blood, raised himself to his impressive height, although she noticed he was still a full head shorter than his father.

His eyes flicked to Beth for a split second before he spoke to his domineering father.  “I won’t let you do this,” he stated, voice cold and remote. 

“You won’t stop me,” Bradley replied amiably.  “You are my son, and I am your Alpha.  You’re not really going to sacrifice your place in the pack, your entire future, for…this?” he motioned to Beth with a dismissive flick of his eyes. 

“
There is no future in what you’re doing.”  The statement was final and Beth could tell by his entire stance that Donovan would not back down.

“
So be it,” Bradley announced, crouching.  “You should never have challenged me, Son.”

“
I’m not challenging you,” he replied quietly, sadness shining in his eyes. 

Both Beth and Bradley frowned, not understanding, until a voice called softly from the darkness, “I am.”

Beth’s heart leaped as Gareth stepped from the shadows, holding his rage close to him, nursing it like a day old cub.  Beth could smell it coming from him in waves, and she had no doubt that Bradley could too.  The fact that he took time to compose himself before he replied, spoke volumes.  “And you would be…?”

“I am hers,” Gareth replied, his gaze never leaving the Alpha Male before him.  “And she is mine,” he concluded.

Bradley’s face cleared of confusion and he laughed, a great booming sound that bounced from tree trunk to stream and back.  “Ah, I see.  Well I accept your challenge.”  He narrowed his eyes, sizing up the difference between himself and Gareth.  Where Gareth was lean and muscled, Bradley was huge and brawny.  It was like David and Goliath, and Beth knew what Bradley would say before he opened his mouth.  “Human-form.”