3

SHADOW

One moment, I was in the elevator for a run, and the next thing I knew, I was drugged and found myself locked up in a solitary by the most arrogant, feral, and ruthless Alpha I had ever met. My last Alpha had no match to this son of a bitch, and I still didn’t know his name.

I felt like I’d been in this four-corner room for eternity. I lost track of time when I didn’t see the sun or moon but darkness.

The Alpha was true to his word. I was left without food and water to starve me to death and no lights. It wasn’t a problem, though. A werewolf could see clearly in the dark but not in a human form. And Kent trained me to control hardship and stress, but not against this man. He went beyond what I had prepared for.

I knew that Alphas were the last people you disrespected because their words were their rules, but his men took me forcibly, and I would be damned if they could force me to do what they desired.

Something about him made me want to bend the rules, get down on my knees, and submit to him. Maybe it was his voice, his command, or his unapologetic power oozing in his aura. And I must admit, he was more gorgeous up close, uptight, and dominant, which had me wondering if he was the kind who let his women kneel before him and do as he pleased before he took them to bed.

I started to feel the hunger. My mouth was parched. I felt dizzy as I tried to sit up. I also couldn’t help but think of Kent. He must be worried, searching for me.

I blew a deep breath before I stood up, ignoring the room spinning around me. My knees were shaky, and my breathing was shallow, but I managed to reach the door and bang it.

Moments later, the lights went on.

“Can I talk to anyone? I want to make sure Kent is safe. Please?” That was my first mistake, telling them my weakness and letting them know about my human adopted father, but it was too late to take it back. They already knew.

I leaned against the door and dragged myself on the cold, tiled floor. I could have just wolfed out and shown them what I was, but that was not an option.

They couldn’t know. No one should.

“Are you ready to answer questions?” It was the Beta talking.

“I answered your questions. I want to make sure Kent is safe. He’s human. He has nothing to do with the world we live in.” I licked my dry lips, dragging my breath.

“Then we can’t help you.”

“Is killing me softly will satisfy your Alpha? He could just snap my neck and be done with it. Then he can use this room for another rogue he wishes to torture because I’m telling you, I won’t submit to him. I won’t be forced to do what I don’t believe in.”

The door unlocked and pushed me forward, leaving me no choice but to sit down. I didn’t have to lift my gaze to see who just walked in. I felt his powerful presence and his annoying but delicious scent. Somehow, he gave me a little bit of his strength. And it just pissed me off.

“You will change your mind when you see this.” A mocking sneer was in place. His shiny, expensive shoes were the first thing I saw, and then the picture he dropped.

Swallowing hard, I picked it up with my shaky fingers since the white side was the one facing. My sight instantly blurred as the picture revealed. “No! No, no, no! What did you do?” My harsh tone was accusatory, and I had no intention of being sorry for it.

How did I stand up? I didn’t know, but my heart and body were filled with anger and rage, fueling me with enough strength. My eyes narrowed as I saw red. No matter how weak I was, I could still feel my wolf coming out. My fangs ached. My claws grew.

“Calm your wolf down, or you will get your wish in an instant.” He didn’t even move or flinch. He just met my glare because I was challenging him.

I drew a draggy breath despite my rage. I wanted to claw his eyes out and his handsome face, but I needed to know that truth.

“You hurt the only person I care about most in this world. For an alpha, that’s even low. You wanna kill me, do it,” I said through clenched teeth.

“I thought that image would motivate you, but I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t hurt a human if he didn’t do anything wrong to me and my clan,” he said in a forbidding tone. Clan? How many were they exactly?

“Who did this? Who would hurt him? This is not the work of a human.” I saw the patches, probably claw marks, on his chest. Kent was attacked, and they intended to show their true nature to a human, which was against the Werewolf Council.

“You are right. Who would hurt him? The people after you? And if they found out my men knocked them down three days ago, they would come after my pack. Tell me, who are they, Shadow?”

I slightly shook my head. “I’ve been telling you that I don’t have any idea. I walked out of that life a long time ago. It just happened I was with Kent in that hotel, and you were there as well.” I wiped my tears. I was not a crier, but I felt terrible for the only family I had left.

“Do you think your old pack will come after you?”

“If they did, they should have done it long ago. I don’t have any idea who would hurt him.” I met his gaze. He had no remorse. I couldn’t see humane in those icy gray eyes, or this was his way of intimidating a poor, helpless rogue to make him submit. “Please, just let me go. I wanna bring him home and take care of him.”

“No.” One word— just one word made my world crumble.

“What do you want from me then?” My tone was stern, but I didn’t give a shit right now.

“Who are those people?”

“I was tranquilized before I could even see their faces. I was in the elevator, about to go out for a run, before we left town. Do you think I wouldn’t tell you to be with Kent if I knew something? I would do anything for him. You should know that.”

“Let’s say I believe you. I will take care of Kent, but the payment is you will stay here until you pay your debt.” Tempting.

“How long would that be? How can I be so sure you would keep the end of the bargain.”

“I’m an Alpha of Night Stalker Pack, Shadow. I don’t break my words.”

I gulped, diverting my gaze. Everything made sense now.

“Alpha Califf.” I thought I mentioned his name. I only heard about him through my old pack, and he was ruthless, heartless, and torn a wolf apart without a blink.

“You’ve heard about me.” His voice toned down, which was calming.

“Yeah. In my old pack, Black Arrow.”

“That motherfucker is your alpha?” His voice was harsh and filled with disgust.

I met his gaze as anger filled my chest. His jaw locked hard. “Unfortunately, yes. Keane Locke.”

“I want you to identify the sketches of the men who grabbed you.”

“What is it for me?” I was still negotiating even if I had no hope of winning this.

“For Kent.”

“I wanna be out of here.”

“No.”

“Out of this hellhole? And I want to eat.” I thought I saw his upper lip curve up, or it was just me hallucinating with hunger.

He took a step forward, closing our gap. It had me gasping as his scent made my skin burn, made me crave his sweet touch, and I’d never felt this physical urge before, and he did, fisting my hair at the back of my head and giving it a hard yank as he cast me a disgusted look. “You will behave and follow my order and respect me just like everyone in my pack.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

”Yes, Alpha.”

”You will be under supervision. One wrong move, and you will be back here with silver bars.”

“Got it the first time.”

He groaned before he let my hair go and swore under his breath.

“Follow me.” He took me to the huge kitchen, like the one in the hotel where his omegas were preparing food.

“Come here.”

I followed him past through busy cooks. “I’m starving. I could barely walk straight and keep up.”

“Sit.” He didn’t have to bark orders. I was grateful he let me out.

I sat down before the long wood table. He sat to my left and handed me the sketches.

I only recognized one. “I went to college with him. He and his mate recruited me.”

“Name, Shadow.”

“Jag Powell.” As soon as the bread basket was placed on the table, I grabbed two pieces and took a huge bite. “He’s a scout.” I talked even though my mouth was full. I was so hungry and thirsty.

The next thing placed on the table was a plate of grilled chicken. I didn’t give a damn even if I sat next to the most powerful Alpha. I had to eat. He didn’t care, though. So I picked one thigh, and the guy from the kitchen placed a plate for me.

“I want water,” I told the man, and he just looked at me.

“Give her water and fruits,” Alpha Califf said.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said before he left.

“Slow down.”

“I’ve been there down for three days without food. Sorry, but I’m starving.”

“So Jag Powell is from Black Arrow?”

“Yeah. He was one of the men who grabbed me?” I looked like shit, probably with sauce all around my lips, but I had no time to be pretty in front of the handsome Alpha.

“Yes.”

“Was that picture you showed me real?” I was referring to Kent’s picture in the hospital bed with bruises and patches on his chest.

“Yes. He had claw marks on his chest. Powell and the rest probably tortured him to give up your location, but they didn’t kill him to send a message to you. The question is why Locke wants you back.”

“I asked the same thing the moment I saw Jag’s picture. I honestly have no clue.” I finished two pieces of bread. I bit another piece of lamb rib. As werewolves, we had strong appetites and consumed loads of carbs to burn up during shifting.

“Think, Shadow. You need to give me something.”

“Or you will leave my only family to be slaughtered by those dogs? I get it, but I couldn’t think of anything. Ask me again after an hour or tomorrow.”

“Is Keane your mate? Did you reject him?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Fuck no, but I would be glad to reject him if he was.”

“Language,”

”My apology,” I said with an eye-rolling.

”Were you two sleeping together?”

“It’s none of your freaking business, but no. We didn’t get to that point. The reason why I left was because he wanted to sleep with me. He may have been my Alpha at that time, but I still believed in finding my mate, and he was a useless alpha. He was only good at ordering people around but was reckless, greedy, brutal, arrogant, and only cared for himself.” I chugged down a glass of water. Damn, it felt good. “Unless he changed. What’s your deal with him, anyway?”

“He almost killed my men.”

My jaw dropped. “Well, shit. So we have a common enemy, after all. An enemy of my enemy is my friend. Isn’t that what they say?”

“Who killed your parents?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”