Page 59 of Virgin for Next Door Wolf Daddy
“We know you are a shifter. If you try to shift and escape, we’ll just shoot you in the knees and let you suffer until he shows up.”
Talia fully believed what he said. This must have something to do with his mission. Does this mean he failed? He must be alive, though, because they are expecting him.
They fed her regularly and gave her water. They provided a bucket for her and at least gave her the dignity of being able to use it without them watching her. They finally gave her a blanket.
She alternated between sweating and shivering as fever ravaged her body. The coughing spells became even more common. Her body ached and felt so heavy.
They were concerned and discussed whether she was going to live long enough for Sebastian to rescue her. If she didn’t, their leader would be upset, and he would take his anger out on them.
The leader of the group came up with a plan. “If she dies, we’ll make it look as though we tortured her. When the man shows up, we’ll kill him and take the bodies back to General Sorn.”
Talia had no idea who General Sorn was. She’d have to do some research if she got out of this alive.
When I get out of this alive, she corrected herself.
Her main focus was on the baby. Talia talked to the baby aloud when she was alone and telepathically when she wasn’t. She didn’t want them to know she was pregnant because they might do something to make her lose the baby.
She was so tired, but there was no way that she was going to simply sit there and wait to die. A tiny ray of hope flickered inside of her when she found a flat rock she could use to unscrew the D ring from the wall. Talia winced when the chain jingled as she slid it out of the ring, but no one looked at her.
It was early morning, but the four men were already awake. They made some eggs and coffee and one of them brought her a plate of food and a cup of coffee. She sat in front of the D ring so they couldn’t see the chain.
Talia wasn’t hungry, but she forced herself to eat. She and the baby needed the energy. Her stomach churned and her throat burned, but finally she managed to choke down the meal.
The men sat around the fire, talking. They wanted to go back home and hoped that Sebastian would hurry up. Talia wasn’t sure that they were ever going to give her a chance to escape. After an eternity passed, three of them went outside, leaving one by the fire.
It’s now or never.
She shifted and discovered that her paw was just big enough that she couldn’t slip it out of the iron grip that wrapped around her ankle. Talia slowly crept toward the man. Before he could react, she ripped his throat out and ran, hating the sound of the chain that followed behind her.
Poking her head out of the cave, she quickly surveyed the area. None of the other men were in sight. She noticed that the sun was just starting to peak up over the mountain in the east and made a split decision to go south. Talia ran as fast as she could with the damned chain clanking behind her.
All too soon, she heard angry shouts. Desperately, Talia looked around and found a cave with a tiny opening. Hoping it wasn’t already occupied, she ducked inside. She shifted quickly and pulled some branches toward her, covering the entrance. Then, she shifted back, curled up in a ball hoping that either the men would give up searching for her and she could run or that Sebastian would find her.
Sebastian, I need you. Please find me. Small cave. South.
She tried to connect with him telepathically until she passed out from exhaustion, her body automatically shifting back to human form.
24
Sebastian
“What the hell do you mean she’s been missing for two days?” Sebastian roared into the phone.
“Savvy and Beth talk to her every day. The day before yesterday, neither of them could get ahold of her. I went over to her place. The door was wide open, the place was torn apart, and she was gone.”
“Why didn’t the alarm company alert someone from my office? Why weren’t the police called?” Sebastian demanded angrily.
“Somehow the alarm system had been bypassed. The cameras caught the four men going into her house and coming back out about a minute later, carrying her limp body.”
“What’s been done to find her?”
“Nightshade shifters and others have been all over the mountain and haven’t seen a sign of her,” Rory said.
“Could they have taken her to Chamman Mountain?” Sebastian asked. “It’s not as close as Miniry Peak, but it’s close enough.”
“That’s where we planned to go today. We were going to head out in an hour with daybreak.”
“Can you guys meet here in half an hour? I have an idea who might be responsible and why.”
