Feeling groggy and like my body refuses to listen to me, I wonder just what has gotten into me. I want to go back to sleep, but instinct screams at me that something is wrong. I definitely had been drugged again, that much I can tell just from how I feel, but it isn’t wolfsbane coursing through me. Someone grips me tighter to them, forcing me to bolt up in the bed I lay in. The arms holding me let me go and I look to find Alpha Viren looking up at me with an amused smirk while I try to sort out what happened. The last thing I remembered was us talking over lunch in his office. He went back to work while I decided to read a book but my eyes felt heavy and then nothing. The food! The drugs were in the food!
“You fucking drugged me again!” I yell, pushing myself off the bed to distance myself from the man who has held me hostage.
“You promised me you wouldn’t do that!” I continue, eyeing him with hatred as I reach for the link Asteria and I share, nearly sighing with relief when I realize I can still touch it.
“No, I promised not to dose you with wolfsbane. A sleeping drug is fine.” Alpha Viren chuckles out, slowly climbing from the bed like a predator chasing its prey. He walks towards me, a smile on his lips but I am quick as I rush to the bathroom and lock the door. I hear him growl in frustration as he bangs on the wooden barrier and I shiver.
“Brynlee, open the door!” He demands but I growl back, allowing the power of my blood to seep into it. The banging continues as a roar sounds from the other side but thankfully the door holds steady. I know I won’t be able to hide here forever but instinct tells me that Alpha Viren doesn’t plan to keep his promise of getting to know me properly.
[Asteria!] I reach through the link, frantically looking for a weapon to use. I won’t be able to shift into wolf form yet, the sleeping drug amplifying the effects of the minute amount of wolfsbane running through me.
[Thank the Goddess you are alright Brynlee.] Asteria responds back in seconds as I manage to pry the bar hanging over the shower-tub combo. I test the weight of it and decide it will do if I need to fight my way out. I ready myself as I sense changes coming from the other side of the door and wait patiently. Something is happening.
[Asteria, what do you mean by those words?] I ask, catching the relief and anxiety in her voice.
[What I mean is where the hell have you been! You were supposed to check in with me yesterday but I got nothing. I screamed into the link but you never responded!] She shoots back and my eyes widen. I had been asleep for over twenty four ours.
[Long story short, Alpha Viren drugged me again. Not wolfsbane but some sleeping drug.] I explain curtly as the sounds of the door being beaten down catches my attention.
[I don’t think I have any time left though.] I admit as the center of the door splinters. I hear Alpha Viren bark orders as Tobby’s and Garret’s scent seep into my small safe space. Without a second thought, I use the pole like a spear and inwardly cheer when I hear a pained yelp as the semi-sharp end stabs into someone. Pulling my make-shift weapon back, I smile as I see blood coating the tip.
[Just hang in another hour Brynlee. Rune, Tristan and Tristan’s men should be there soon.] Asteria orders, her voice both commanding and soothing. I go to say something but my focus shifts to the door being broken down with an ax this time. I try my spearing technique to hinder the ax wielder but it seems my attackers expected it as they jump back. Before I can pull the shower-bar back, it is snatched by Garret, a glint shining in his eyes as he pulls it out the hole in the door and pulling me with it. I release my makeshift weapon when I realize their goal is to pull me forward and watch as Garret falls back. Something shatters from the man falling and the scent of blood fills my space. It seems he miscalculated his move and has wounded himself.
[I don’t think I can make it an hour.] I shoot back as Asteria lets out a string of curses. The link dies for a moment while I reach for the nearest object I can throw, finding glass bottles that I quickly lob at Tobby as he reaches in to unlock the door. The bottle shatters on his hand, the glass cutting deep and the perfume entering the wounds. He lets out a growl of pain and backs away while I move towards the window. It will be my next option of escape if need be, but even I know that the risk of me injuring myself is high.
“Brynlee!” Alpha Viren roars, his face appearing in the hole made by the ax.
“I suggest you be a good girl and come out this instant!” He demands, rage radiating off of him. I turn to snap back but find my eyes focusing on the wound in his shoulder. I wound I inflicted on him with the pole they took from me.
[He is wounded.] I tell Asteria as I open the window, aware that Alpha Viren is working to unlock the bathroom door.
[I got him with my make-shift weapon and he is too angry to focus on healing.] I continue, focusing on turning my nails into claws and raking them along the mesh screen that is the last barrier to the window.
[That’s good to know! I will tell Rune this.] She praises. The sound of the lock clicks and I look back to see the door open. Without a second though, I climb out the window and allow myself to fall to the ground four stories below me. Alpha Viren snarls in frustration as he barely misses grabbing me before ordering Tobby out of the room with him. With their speed and my predicted injuries, I will have a two minute head start.
Wolves watch as I fall to the ground, not bothering to help me as the ground meets my body with such a force that it knocks the breath from me. My ears ring as I push myself off from the ground and take off running. Luckily for me, I did not break any bones in my legs or feet. Unluckily for me, I fractured my right arm and maybe broke a few ribs from the burning pain I feel as I take off towards the forest.
“Stop her!” Alpha Viren shouts, his words imbued by an Alpha command. To my horror, the wolves that stood by while I fell straighten like toy soldiers, a look of hate and reluctance on their faces as they follow me. With urgency for my own safety, I push myself to run faster, feeling my sore and tired body protest while I race to the trees. If I could just get to them, I will be able to loose my pursuers. Unfortunately for me, I find my body being tackled to the cold hard ground as soon as I am within reach of the safety the forest would have provided. Five males hold me down, a look of silent apologies on their faces as a powerful aura radiates towards us and growing stronger. Before I can do anything, Alpha Viren is above me, his hands moving fast that all I feel is a needle pricking the back of my neck.
“What the hell did you just do?!” I demand, thrashing and trying to get free from my captors.
“You will find out soon enough Brynlee.” Alpha Viren growls out, a look of triumph mixed with the anger that radiates from him.
“As soon as that serum courses through your body, you will be nothing more than a wanton whore for me to mate and mark.” With his explanation done, he orders his men to carry me back to the pack house. I try to reach out to the bond Asteria and I share but nothing comes back. It’s like what ever the serum was made for blocked any bond I may have with my family or pack mates. For the first time since I woke to find myself captured by this deranged man I feel fear.
As much as I hate him for hurting me the day after my birthday, I pray that Rune makes it in time before I am marked against my will.