TAKEN

The morning light shined through the half-closed blinds, slicing right into my skull. I groaned, rolling over on what felt like the world's most expensive sheets. It was soft, cool, and definitely not mine. My mouth tasted like I'd licked an ashtray, and every heartbeat sent fresh waves of nausea rolling through me. Whiskey. Way too much whiskey.

I opened one eye. The room was unfamiliar but luxurious: dark wood, sleek furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a city skyline I vaguely recognized as downtown. Then the memories crashed in like a freight train.

The club, Clara's grin, the twins…their hands, their mouths, their teeth.

My fingers flew to my neck. Two tender, swollen spot…one on each side…throbbed under my touch. They were bite marks, it was deep, deliberate, unmistakable. My wolf stirred lazily inside me, smug and sated, purring like she'd finally gotten what she wanted.

"Oh God," I whispered, sitting up too fast. I clamped a hand over my mouth, bile rising, and barely made it to the attached bathroom before I was heaving into the toilet.

When the worst of it passed, I slumped against the cool tile wall, forehead pressed to my knees, trying to breathe through the pounding in my temples. My body ached in places I didn't know could ache, my thighs, hips, lower back, and especially between my legs. Every movement reminded me exactly how thoroughly those two had taken me.

I dragged myself to the sink, splashed cold water on my face, and stared at the stranger in the mirror. Hair a tangled mess, mascara smudged, lips swollen, and those two angry red bites glaring on either side of my neck. I quickly took my bath and changed to a clean dress I had seen draped on a chair. 

My phone buzzed violently on the nightstand back in the bedroom. I shuffled out, wincing with every step, and picked it up.

Twenty-three missed calls. Forty-seven texts. All from him.

The last one, sent at 6:14 a.m.:

**Where the fuck are you? Get your ass home. Now.**

My stomach dropped harder than it already had.

I typed back with shaking fingers: **On my way.**

 There was no sign of the twins, it was just a note on the dresser in neat, masculine handwriting:

**Had to handle pack business. We'll find you soon. Stay safe. —T&X**

T and X. I didn't even know their full names yet.

The ride-share driver gave me one look in the rearview mirror and wisely kept quiet the whole way home. I spent the drive with my head against the window, sunglasses on, praying the world would stop spinning.

When I finally pushed through the front door of the house, the smell of stale beer, burnt toast, and his cheap cologne hit me like a slap.

He was sprawled in the living room recliner, still in yesterday's stained T-shirt and sweatpants. His feet were up, a half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey dangling from his fingers. The TV blared some sports replay he wasn't even watching. His bloodshot eyes flicked up, landed on me, then zeroed in on the marks.

A slow, ugly smirk curled his lip.

"Well, well. Little princess decided to come home after all." He sat up slowly, bottle clinking against the side table. "And look at you. Marked up like a street bitch in heat."

I flinched, but I didn't back down. Not today.

"I—"

"Save it." He waved a hand, sloshing whiskey onto the carpet. "I don't give a shit where you were or who you spread for. But you better believe the pack elders are gonna hear about this. You think you're hot shit now that you've got some random wolves' teeth in your neck?"

Knock Knock

 

The knock sounded through the walls of the room, interrupting my stepdad.

“That could be them.” He informed. He moved towards the door and opened it without even checking. A part of me prayed it wasn't them.

“Avena, it's them. You can come out now” he said loud enough for me to hear. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I was shaking in fear but eventually I stood up and followed them. If I ever thought nothing bad could happen to me again…I was kidding. Because this is worse than everything that's happened to me.

They guided me to the car and just as we reached the car they shoved me inside I was intimidated.

It was intimidating to stay in the mist of them. I was shaking, my teeth chattering. I was a mess. They were all dressed in black like it was cult and plus it was a Black SUV they were using which screamed wealth.

“Yes Alpha. We got her” one of them confirmed. Wait there was only one set of creatures that use Alpha_werewolves. Could that mean I was back to a pack. I just hoped that this pack was gonna be different and not like my old pack.