When the door opened again, I steeled myself for what was to come. If I was going to get out of here alive, and untouched by Tyler, I was going to have to give the performance of my life. Viki had been easier to fool, but I wasn’t sure anyone else would have accepted that I’d taken this path so quickly.“They don’t trust you yet.” I recognized Kyle’s voice before I realized the silhouette approaching was him.“How appropriate. I don’t trust them, either,” I said.“You’re really going to go through with it?” He sounded surprised.My brow furrowed and I peered into the darkness, trying to make out his expression. “Why do you sound so surprised? Isn’t this what you all wanted? You won. I lost.”Even saying the words made my stomach lurch uncomfortably. I wasn’t planning to go through with it but the thought of giving in was almost too much for my mind to process.“Sure, I suppose,” he said. “You know, when I heard you’d survived the cave, I really thought you had a chance at escaping.”“

My whole body tensed like a spring as I threw the door open. Without thinking, I exploded forward, expecting to have to run through Kyle. I only got a few steps before I slammed right into Tyler’s broad chest and fell to the ground.“I thought you’d try something like this,” Tyler said. “Told you taking her clothes wasn’t enough to stop her. Though I have to admit, I thought you’d be streaking naked down the hall.”I clutched the towel tighter around me and tried to regain some of my dignity. “You know I don’t want this. Why keep pushing me? Just let me go.”“We’ve been through this, Lola. And you’re out of time. I will claim you as mine tonight. I’d much rather you agree to it. I think you might even enjoy yourself.” He offered his hand and I turned away from him.Pushing myself from the ground, I held the towel tight and glared at him as best I could. “I will never stop fighting you. Even if you managed to complete the bond, you’ll never have my heart or my submission.”“Tyler, can’

Six grown shifter males seemed like overkill. Or maybe it was a compliment. Either way, with that many outside my window, I wasn’t taking that exit. With an irritated sigh, I backed away from the window. There had to be another option.I walked to the door and crouched on the ground to look under the crack. Details weren’t clear, but there was obvious movement and shadows indicating people guarding the door.They weren’t taking any chances of me getting lucky enough to get by them. I knew I had two choices: accept my fate and yield, or find a way to fight.Giving up was easier and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t contemplated it. Thankfully, the pity party hadn’t lasted long. Thinking of the look on Alec’s face when he saw me alive was enough to push me. I needed him to know that he wasn’t successful at getting rid of me. I was going to get out of this. Without a mating bond.I dumped everything from the drawers, I checked in the closet, I even crawled under the bed. The room was f

The seconds dragged by, turning into the longest minutes of my life. I didn’t have a clock in here, but I was pretty sure it had been nearly a half hour already.Shit.I’d totally been played.I shouldn’t have believed Kyle. What was wrong with me? Why was I constantly seeking allies when I knew everyone was just going to let me down in the end?The door opened and I spun on my heels to face the newcomer. Kyle’s hair was a mess, his eyes were wide, his cheeks flush.“What happened?” I had planned on asking more questions, but it was clear by his disheveled appearance that something was going on.He pressed his finger to his lips, then bolted for the bed, sliding under it and pulling the comforter down over the edge to hide him. Before I could figure out what was happening, the door opened again and a huge, bald shifter male peered in. His nose looked like it had been broken a few times and his bushy eyebrows made his eyes look like tiny specks on his squishy, pink face.Baldie stomped

“Where exactly are we headed?” I asked from the back seat. I’d happily declined the front. It was too close to Alec for my comfort.“Camp,” Alec replied.“You can’t be serious. That’s the first place they’ll go looking for me,” I said.“I don’t think so,” Alec said.“They know you came back for me. Why wouldn’t they try looking at your camp? Even if not to find me, to ask for information.”“I’m glad you finally acknowledged that I came back for you,” he said.“That’s what you got out of that?” I scoffed.“I got myself caught,” Alec said.“He made them think he had a recipe for the toxin so they went after him,” Kyle said, his tone giving away his disbelief. “Somehow, they think you gave it to him.”“Wonder why they’d think that?” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.“What am I missing?” Kyle asked.“My grandfather, the one who was cursed, is the same asshole who invented the toxin. Turns out the thing that Wolf Creek uses to maintain its dominance is the same thing that cost me a ch