GINAThere are a few seconds of silence before a soft whisper on the other end of the line says my name.“Gina? Are you there?”“Yes, I’m here. Who is this?”“It’s Karli. I only have a few minutes before the security guard comes back.”“Karli?! Are you alright? Silas didn’t hurt your for helping me, did he?”“No, I’m fine, he just kept an extra close eye on me for a couple years, but he’s finally loosened up a bit.” She laughed but her tone didn’t hold an ounce of humor, “Listen, Silas and Quinten have gone a little crazy since you’ve been locked up. They have expanded our pack and done some things that look really good to everyone else, but I have a bad feeling about the direction we’re headed.”“Let me guess, everyone is so pleased with the pack growth that they remain willfully ignorant to the shady things that are happening?”“Exactly!” She shouts.“Why are you telling ME about all this? I can’t do anything to stop him. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m still locked up like
GINA Over the next several days, I’m brought delicious, gourmet meals to my room. I’m indulged with bath oils, skin care products, and makeup. They even had someone come in to give me a facial, manicure, and pedicure. Silas must be crazy if he thinks this pampering is going to make me forget the last 5 years and make me compliant, but I also know that he is trying to make me look presentable before I meet with Rieka, so my appearance doesn’t raise any alarms for her. In any case, any bit of cooperation that Silas gets out of me will be strictly self-serving. If doing what he wants can benefit my situation in any way, then I’ll do it. I refused to be used by him for a moment longer without getting anything for myself. Despite all the attention and special treatment I receive, the days seem to drag on. I’ve never been into the girly stuff, so rather than feeling like a relaxing spa vacation, it feels more like torture. I would much rather spend my day in the gym, and out on the
JERICHOWhen Karli first reached out to me, through another wolf named Matthias, wanting to help after Giovanna had been locked up, I didn’t trust her. I thought she had betrayed us and that was part of why I’d lost my mate again. I’d convinced myself that she was trying to win back her alpha’s trust by further betraying me and my mate, but she was persistent and kept working to prove her loyalty to us.Unfortunately, Silas had removed her from the patrols, and was keeping a close eye on her after her previous betrayal. She promised me that she had found a couple others who wanted to help, but I still didn’t trust her.Everything changed after I saw Silas hit Rieka.There was a new desperation and sense of urgency to get my mate away from this monster, and since I hadn’t been making any progress on my own, I finally decided to take a chance and trust Karli. We set up a new drop location for passing messages back and forth. Matthias was one of the patrols that passed by my house a
GINA As soon as we returned to the pack house, Silas instructed his men to take Rieka somewhere while he escorted me back to my room. There was no discussion of the events that happened. Immediately after walking into my room the door swings closed and I hear the locks clicking into place. Without giving it much thought, I step into the bathroom and turn the shower to the hottest setting. I feel disgusted with myself for the betrayal against Rieka, and it makes me feel physically dirty. I get in the shower and start by soaking and washing my hair. I scrub every inch of myself from the top down, but once I finished cleaning my feet, I realize that a shower isn’t going to make me feel any better. Turning off the water, I step out and wrap myself in a large towel. Water drips from my hair and skin leaving a trail behind me as I walk through the room to the closet to find something to wear. Since I have nothing else to do today, I dress comfortably in a pair of leggings and an ov
GINA The room cleared out quickly and I was immediately flanked by my guards, Perry and Samuel, as they ushered me back into the stairwell that led to my gilded cage. Surprisingly, we didn’t ascend the stairs, but just stood in the stairwell like we were waiting for something. I roll my eyes at the guards, “What are we doing here?” but they don’t respond. They are definitely the muscle without the brains. It seems like they are just the ‘yes men’ who do as they are told without question. The slip of paper hidden under the waistband of my leggings feels like a burning piece of coal against my skin, and my fingers are itching to pull it out and read it, but I won’t risk letting these two buffoons see it or take it from me. “I need to use the bathroom,” I twist my hands together nervously in front of me to help sell the lie. Neither guard looks at me, but one of them grunts in annoyance. “Are you going to let me use the toilet, or do I need to squat right here in the stairwell?”
GINAWith my guards just outside the door, I quickly unfold the paper to read the note. I don’t recognize the handwriting, and whoever wrote it didn’t sign their name. I’m sure that was intentional, so they wouldn’t be caught if somehow Silas saw the note.My hands shake as I begin reading:“You won’t be going back to your room.Silas will not let you go, despite what he promised your mate.We’re working on a plan. Be patient and remain vigilant.”Silas made a promise to Jericho? I didn’t know anything about this, and who has a plan? I wish I knew who this letter was from. I can only assume they are connected with Karli. What am I supposed to remain vigilant for? How will I know if I can trust some random wolf that might approach me?There wasn’t nearly enough information in this note.A loud bang on the door makes me jump, “Silas needs you back in the meeting hall!”Opening the faucet to mask the sound, I tear the note into small pieces and drop them into the toilet, destroyi
JERICHO On my way back to meet with Silas I picked up a note from Karli’s team confirming that my mate had been taken to the location they found out about several days ago. This gave me a small sense of peace that so far everything was going according to plan. Silas wasn’t nearly as upset as I expected when I told him I was unable to get close enough to the kids to take them. This only further confirmed my suspicion that it was just a task to keep me busy and he never actually expected me to get them. Before I could turn and leave Silas stopped me. “I need one last thing from you to complete this deal we have.” “Why am I not surprised,” I roll my eyes while crossing my arms waiting for him to explain my next task. “You will be escorting Rieka to the meeting tonight,” he taunted, “I can’t have some grand rescue mission from Alpha Aleksandr messing up our negotiations.” The glint in his eye showed is pride. This could be an opportunity for me to rescue Rieka myself and redeem m
GINA After a 20-minute drive, we park on the side of the road, and I am forced out of the car with Samuel and Perry. As soon as the doors close and we step away, the driver takes off leaving us stranded. I turn and follow my guards as they trudge into the woods. We make our way through the forest for several hours. It would’ve been a faster trip if we shifted into wolf form and ran, but they apparently thought this would be easier to keep me under their control. They’d be right if my wolf was at full strength. Under normal circumstances she is so powerful in wolf form, that I could easily take both of these guards. Unfortunately, she’s gotten weaker in the time I’ve been away from my mate. I’m not sure that I could take them on in my current condition. I hate that my wolf is affected by this mate thing. I never asked for a second chance mate, and it’s unfair that we are affected by it. We finally arrive at our destination, and it’s a cave on the far side of the forest. Thi