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After a few deep breaths, I calm down enough to look for a way out. Feeling along the wall, I make my way to the door, using my fingers as my guide.
There’s no handle on the inside of the room, and no hinges to pry from the wall either. It doesn’t leave me a lot of options and doesn’t help that my head is pounding worse than ever.
Heavy footsteps echo beyond the confined space, coming closer with every footfall. My heart races as I brace myself for the inevitable arrival of the alpha, my mind going wild with ideas of what he might have in store for me.
The metal click of the latch unlocking precedes the door swinging open to reveal the silhouette of a giant mass of a man—the alpha werewolf.
I shield my eyes as the lights come on, and blink to absorb the drastic change in light level. When my vision adjusts, I take another look at the man who holds my fate in his hands.
The alpha may stand on two feet, but his features speak more of his beast. The ebony of his pupils has expanded until his eyes are nothing but emotionless black voids. His teeth are long and sharp, his body covered in hair thick like fur, even in his human form.
As he enters the room, his massive frame casts a shadow that engulfs me. I try to keep my breathing steady, but my fear is palpable—especially to a werewolf.
He enters the room and towers over me, his presence filling every inch of the small space. The door closes behind him and another wolf looks in through a small slot in the door that he slides open for a front-row seat to my fate.
I force myself to stand and square my shoulders. I don’t intend to make myself appear more vulnerable than I already am and refuse to show weakness.
Even if my scent betrays me.
“What do you want from me?” I demand, meeting the wolf’s gaze with a steely glare of my own.
The Alpha doesn’t answer me right away. He just stares at me with cold, calculating eyes. “Josephine Dumont of the famed Dumont Sun Witches.”
How does this wolf know who I am?
“When I was told of your return, I didn’t believe it. Yet here you stand.” He gestures to me as if he still can’t believe it.
I shrug. “You seem to know me, but I don’t know you. I’ve made a running list of douchebags in my life, and I definitely would remember one as big as you.”
A growl comes from the other side of the door. “How dare you disrespect Egan?”
The Alpha holds a hand up, and the growling cuts off abruptly.
“You’ve got him trained well.” I shift my gaze to the piercing glares on the other side of the door and take it as a win when the underling wolf bares his teeth at me.
When everything else in life is in the toilet, it feels good to know that I’m at least under someone’s skin.
It’s the little things.
“How stupid are you to come back to New Orleans?” Egan takes a step closer, drawing my attention. “I let you live once, but I’m not inclined to make the same mistake twice.”
I don’t know what he’s talking about, but he seems to love the sound of his own voice, so I don’t get the opportunity to ask.
“Why did you come back?” he goes on, taking a step closer. “Maybe to recover what you took from me?” And another. “Did you think enough time had passed that no one would recognize you? No one would care that a Dumont witch waltzed back into town?”
My back collides with the wall as Egan closes in on me and I instinctively reach for my magic, only to be met with the nauseating block. Distantly, I note that I’m doing a terrible job of hiding my fear.
Stay strong, I remind myself.
His hateful gaze bores into mine as he waits for some kind of answer. But now that he’s given me the floor, I’m more confused than ever. I don’t know how to respond.
I stay silent, assessing Egan as he assesses me. He leans in so close I can make out the freckles peppering his cheeks. It’s about the only thing that makes him seem human.
Everything else is pure animal.
Eventually, he backs off and I draw a steadying breath.
“You look remarkably unlike your mother,” he says with a sneer.
