Chapter 7: "The Rescue That Wasn't"

Maya

My head felt like someone had split it open with an axe. The throbbing pain behind my eyes made everything blur as I slowly opened them, expecting to see the familiar stone walls of the Blackwood castle or maybe the forest where I'd been grabbed.

Instead, I was staring at a ceiling so white it hurt to look at. Everything was white, the walls, the floor, even the thin blanket covering me. The air smelled like disinfectant and something else I couldn't place. Something chemical and wrong.

I tried to sit up, but my body felt heavy, like I was moving through thick mud. My arms were weak, shaking as I pushed myself upright on what felt like a narrow bed. That's when I noticed the restraints around my wrists, not chains or ropes, but thick leather straps that looked medical.

"Ah, you're awake. Good."

The voice made my blood freeze. I knew that voice. It had haunted my nightmares for years.

Alpha Marcus Wells stepped out from behind a white curtain, and seeing him in this sterile room was somehow worse than seeing him in my house with my father. He was still the same tall, lean man with graying hair and cold blue eyes, but here he looked different. More dangerous. More in control.

"Marcus?" My voice came out as a croak. "What... where am I?"

He smiled, but it wasn't the kind of smile that made you feel safe. It was the smile a wolf gave right before it ate you.

"Welcome to my private facility, Maya. I have to say, you're much more interesting than I originally thought." He pulled up a metal chair and sat down across from me, close enough that I could smell his cologne mixed with something medicinal. "Tell me, how does it feel to be mated to four alphas?"

My heart stopped. "How do you…."

"Know about the mate bond?" He chuckled. "Oh, sweet girl. I've been watching you for much longer than you realize. Your scent changed the moment it happened. Any wolf worth his rank could smell it on you."

I pulled at the restraints, but they didn't budge. "Let me go. The Blackwood brothers will come for me."

"Will they?" Marcus leaned back in his chair, looking amused. "That's interesting. You hate them, don't you? They were going to hurt you, use you, and yet you're counting on them to save you. How... complicated."

"I don't need them to save me," I snapped, even though my voice shook. "I can save myself."

"Can you?" He stood up and walked to a small table I hadn't noticed before. On it were several folders and what looked like medical equipment. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look pretty helpless."

Rage flared in my chest, hot and fierce. My wolf stirred for the first time since I'd woken up, sensing the threat. But something was wrong. She felt... distant. Muffled.

"What did you do to me?" I demanded, trying to shift but finding nothing but empty space where my wolf should be.

Marcus turned back to me with a syringe in his hand. The liquid inside was a sickly green color that made my stomach turn.

"Just a little something to keep your wolf quiet. Can't have you shifting and breaking my equipment, can we?" He set the syringe down and picked up one of the folders. "Now, let's discuss why you're here."

"You kidnapped me!"

"Rescued you," he corrected. "You see, your father didn't just sign one contract with the Blackwoods. He signed two contracts. The first one, selling you to those boys for fifty thousand dollars. But the second one..." He opened the folder and pulled out a document covered in official-looking seals. "The second one was signed three days earlier, promising you to me."

The room started spinning. "That's impossible."

"Is it?" Marcus walked closer, holding the paper where I could see it. My father's signature was right there at the bottom, messy but unmistakable. "Rick was desperate, Maya. He owed money to a lot of people, not just the Blackwoods. He came to me first, begging for help. So I offered him a deal, twenty-five thousand dollars in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage when she came of age."

"No." The word came out as barely a whisper. "He wouldn't..."

"Oh, but he would. And he did." Marcus's smile grew wider. "The Blackwoods think they own you because of some supernatural mate bond and a newer contract. But legally, according to pack law, the first contract takes precedence. You belong to me, Maya."

I stared at the paper, reading my own name written in my father's handwriting like I was a piece of property being sold. First for twenty-five thousand, then for fifty thousand. He'd sold me twice.

"You're lying," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew he wasn't. This was exactly the kind of thing my father would do. Sell me to the highest bidder, then sell me again when he needed more money.

"The Blackwood boys are probably tearing apart the forest looking for you right now," Marcus said, setting the contract aside. "They'll never think to look here. By the time they figure it out, it'll be too late."

"Too late for what?"

Marcus picked up the syringe again, holding it up to the light. The green liquid seemed to glow.

"You see, Maya, the Blackwoods want a Luna. A mate. Someone to stand beside them and look pretty and give them strong pups." He walked closer, and I pressed myself back against the bed, trying to get away. "But I have very different plans for you."

"Stay away from me." My voice was getting higher, panic making it hard to breathe. Without my wolf, I felt completely defenseless.

"You're special, Maya. More special than you realize. A mate to four alphas? That's never happened before. The power that kind of bond could create..." His eyes gleamed with something that made my skin crawl. "The Blackwoods want a Luna, but I need something more, something really brutal and dangerous."

"A weapon?" I pulled harder at the restraints, feeling the leather cut into my skin. "What are you talking about?"

"There are things you don't understand about pack politics, sweet girl. Wars are coming. The old ways are changing, and only the strongest will survive." He was right beside the bed now, looking down at me like I was a science experiment. "Your mate bond makes you incredibly valuable. The right manipulation, the right enhancements, and you could be unstoppable."

"You're insane."

"Am I?" He grabbed my arm, and I tried to jerk away, but the restraints held me in place. "Your wolf is already stronger than it should be. I can feel it, even suppressed. And with four alpha mates feeding power into that bond..."

The needle was inches from my arm now.

"Don't." Tears were streaming down my face, but I didn't care about looking weak anymore. "Please, don't do this."

"This won't hurt," Marcus said softly, almost gently. "Well, not much. Think of it as... an upgrade."

The needle pierced my skin, and I screamed. Not from pain, but from pure terror. The green liquid burned as it entered my bloodstream, spreading through my body like acid.

"What is that?" I gasped, already feeling strange. My vision was getting sharper, but everything else felt wrong.

Marcus pulled the empty syringe away and smiled down at me with something that might have been pride.

"The future," he said. "The Blackwoods want a Luna, but I need a weapon. And now, my dear Maya, that's exactly what you're going to become."