Wolf's Promise (Caedmon Wolves) (3 page)

She took a deep breath.
“Look, Mister…” when Scarface
didn’t give a name, she continued  “…I don’t know you. I had a very bad accident. I’m in pain, and I don’t understand why I’ve been tied up.”

“Why were you trespassing?”

“Trespassing? I was driving on a
damn
public high
way when I ran off the road
.”

He frowned. “That mouth of yours is foul.”

“I didn’t ask to be here.”

Her captor shrugged, a nonchalant expression riddled his face.
“You’re right. But do you know what happens to those who trespass on our lands?”

“On your land?”
What was this idiot talking about?

“You crashed on our land.”

S
he huffed. “I was trying to prevent
running over a wolf.”

“Too bad. You’re now my prisoner.”

“Prisoner!” She gawked,
and
then struggled against the ropes again.

Her c
aptor moved swiftly, rushing
to stan
d over her
. He grabbed her forearm, and she grimaced.

“Listen to me, human,” he hissed into the side of her head. “You will listen to me, and do as I say. Should you do anything sly, the next time you wake up you just might find yourself six feet under.”

She gasped, and held her breath in. His threats seemed real. This wasn’t a game.

He jostled her. “Do you understand?”

She bit her lip, holding back a protest. “Yes.” What had she gotten herself into?

“My maid will assist you in getting cleaned up. If you cooperate, there will be food.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she searched his expressionless face. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this. You don’t have to do this. I’ll give you anything you want. Money? What is it?”

His gaze darted back and forth over
her. “You’re not being held
for money.”

The nameless
scar-faced
man
turned to leave.

“Wait.” She swung her
bound l
egs
clumsily over the bed
. “What is it
that you want
?”

Her captor continued toward the metal door. “I’ll return tonight.”

He slammed the door shut. S
he heard keys rattling
,
and the
n the
sound of a lock being turned.

Her breathing became uneven as the reality of her predicament set in.

***

It felt like she was in a prison cell. No, this wasn’t a prison cell. This was some kind of dungeon. No
windows. Cement floors. A steel door. Metal
furniture. A
n
uncomfortable cot for a bed
.
What had she done to deserve this? This was not the hotel she’d made reservations at.

Selene glanced down at the white silk gown the maid had given her. It was tasteless, and barely covered her breasts. Her
legs were bound once again
and the ends of the lace reached only the middle of her thighs.

She’d been allowed a shower, but it was granted under the watchful eye of the maid who ignored every one of her questions
. This time, her feet had been
tied to the bed post.
Her hands were free, but s
he felt like a creature in a zoo being kept hostage this way.
Not only that, she was scared for her life.

Selene cringed as she heard slow footsteps approaching. She pulled the quilt over her shoulders, attempting to cover herself up.

When her captor e
ntered the room, she avoided making eye contact with him.
“Why won’t you let me go?”

Scarface
pulled up a wooden chair and came
to sit at the foot of the bed. Letting his posture slump as he sat, he observed
her with a mischievous expression laced across his face.

“Selene Moore
. From Tennessee.
Never married. No children.
A counselor at Domestic Peace Group
. You’re practically a nobody,
” he said. “What business do you have here?”

Selene’s eyes wid
ened in surprise. The lunatic had
searched her belongings. “I’m visiting someone in the area.”

“A relative?”

“Yes,” she whispered, examining the crisscross pattern of the quilt.
Anything to avoid
his menacing
stare.

“Liar!” He bolted upright
in the chair.

“You tell me why I’m here
—
tied to this bed
,” she shot back.

“I did you a big favor.” He interlocked his fingers, and rested back in the chair. “Now you will do me one.”

“What favor are talking about?”

“I could have
left you to die on the highwa
y in your mangled car.
”

She didn’t know how to answer that one
. Was
dying any worse than being held captive like a slave? “People will come looking for me when I don’t report to work.”

He clucked his tongue and shook his head
. “They’d have a hell of a time finding you. Something tells me no one knows you came all this way.”

She swallowed. He was right. She was on a two week vacation from work. Everyone thought she’d taken a
trip to the beach like she’d told them.

He laughed. “I can see that you’re not very good at lying or hiding your emotions.”

“What do you want?”

“I saved your life, now you will give me a life.”

“What do you mean
?”

“You’re a young female of breeding age.
You will
become a surrogate
. And produce an offspring for me
.”

“
Offspring?
Are you
insane?”

His expression remained serious.
“I’ve been asked
that many times.”

“What you propose is called harassment
.
Rape.
You will go to prison
.”

“I’m not bond to follow the rules of the humans.”

Why did he keep saying humans th
at way? As if he hated the word
.
Wasn’t he human? “Are you
nuts?
”

“You will be compensated.” He paused, as though he were trying to read her expression.
“Based on the account balances in your checkbook, it seems you can use some funds.”

“No amount of money will change my mind.
You’re a sick freak.
”

He rushed at her and grabbed up her wrists. “Then you will do it for free. If you wish to ever be released, you will cooperate.
I saved your life, now you will lend me your body.
”

Selene jerked, but to no avail. “You want me to have a child?”

“
Yes. My mate
cannot have any.”

He averted his gaze as
if he
was
ashamed
,
but she didn’t
feel the least bit sorry for ass
.

“That’s your
damn
problem.” She frowned. “Not mine.”

He
jumped up, and
snatched
a handful of
her hair
. “Obey or die.”

“I’d rather die,” she hissed, her heart nearly exploding from fear.

He gripped her neck, squeezing tight
against her larynx un
til she couldn’t breathe
.

“I could kill
you right now.
You humans are so fragile.” He smiled.
“
It would take half a
second.
”

He sounded like an animal.

She couldn’t speak. Couldn’t stop him for her hands were bound. Couldn’t kick him for her legs were tied. Her body responded on impulse, producing tears that she’d held for hours. She didn’t want hi
m to know that she was scared. W
eak.
Helpless.

Right when she thought she would pass out from lack of oxygen, he released her.

She panted rapidly, trying to catch her breath again. “What
…What will you do to me?”

“I’m going to fuck you.”

Her eyes widened
, and she swallowed. “No.”

Just then there was a knock at the door.

He jerked away from her, appearing alarmed at the interruption.

The maid that
assisted with cleaning
her
up
stepped inside. “Darius.
Your orders are needed urgently.
There has been
a
breach.”

Darius
. Scarface’s real
name.

His gaze whippe
d away from the maid back to Selene
.
He produced another rope and tied up her wrists quickly.
“Prepare yourself. I will return, and you will take my seed.”

She shivered as a slight breeze whipped against her bare skin when he snatched away from her.

Sitting here waiting for someone to come to her rescue wasn’t working. Her captor wasn’t playing nicely. He had no remorse, and had saved her and brought her here for his own motives.

Selene looked about the small clammy room for a weapon.
Nothing usable was in her reach. She needed something that would inflict immense pain. She might not escape
here
alive, but she was not about to let an irrational stranger steal her innocence.

She spotted the glass of water
sitting on the table by her bedside.
Looking down at the ropes tied around her wrists, she
tried to squeeze her hands out.

It was an expert knot. Her captor knew exactly how to impede her escape.

This was a disadvantage, but s
he promised herself that she wouldn’t make it easy for him.

Nick struggled against the
chain used to bind his hands behi
nd his back. It seemed that
resistance encouraged his attackers
to pull even tighter.
He knew he should have stuck with the first set of mountains, but he just had to climb the highest one. An adventurous escape was what he was looking for when he came out here, but now it had gotten him captured. For what…he did not know.

As they all
moved across the rough terrain, he sized each one of them up. Three of them. It had taken three men to subdue him. They’d caught him by surprise as he stopped at a waterfall to fill his canteen
s. The cowards had jumped him, catching him off guard.

He refused to show
any
w
eakness
, but when he was free
these motherfuckers would pay for tying him up like a bitch.
They’d purposely bound him in chains and all in the right places to ensure that if he did try to shift, it would be painful.

Nick threw yet another
sideways glance at one
of his capturers.
The wolf returned a sneer and tugged on the chain
wrapped
around his neck.
Nick
returned the threat, growling as the metal squeezed at his throat.

He
knew them all. They were once loyal members of the Caedmon Pack. Now they were
known
followers of Darius, the most recently banished member.
There was talk that Darius may have still been in the area, but none of them had anticipated any
opposition after the fight
and verdict
on the night of the Blue Moon.

Maybe the coward should have been executed. Clearly,
the idiot wasn’t acting in his right state of mind. Greed certainly led people to do some foolish things.

Nick ground his teeth in an attempt to subdue his irritation,
and looked up at the late afternoon sky. B
y its position, it
was nearly four o
’
clock. He should have been on the top of the mountain by now w
aiting for the beautiful sunset, but no—that had been ruined for him.

Their boots crushed frozen leaves and bramble as they walked deeper into the mountains. Occasionally, Nick would trip on a
stone stuck
in the gravel
, but he held his balance.