“Leave me alone!Idon’t care about your stupid laws.Justlet us go,”Icried.“Wewere going to leave together—let us go and you can have the town and thePack.Wedon’t care!”
“Let you go without punishing you?Idon’t think so.Wesaw what you two was up to, girly,”Harrissneered.
He held up the digital camera, the small screen glowing in the dark room.Onit, frozen in the blinding flash, was a crystal-clear, horrifying image—me straddlingKor, my face contorted in pleasure, his hands on my hips, our bodies joined in the most private of acts.
“And pretty soon, everyone in thePackand everyone in the town, is gonna see.You’refinished.Bothof you,” he told me.
Terror, cold and absolute, washed through me, drowning the last embers of heat and pleasure.Thiswasn’t just a home invasion—this was humiliation—utter ruination.Apermanent stain on my name andKor’sforever that would follow us to any otherPackwe might want to join.
Harris shoved me toward the shattered door.
“Come on, let’s get this trash out of here,” he snarled at the otherAlphas.
AsIwas forced to move, stumbling and naked, my bare feet scraping on the splintered wood of the doorframe,Itwisted my head for one last look.
Two of theAlphashadKorby his arms, dragging his limp, unconscious body.Hishead lolled sickeningly, his feet trailing behind him like a ragdoll’s.Theyturned, hauling him toward the dark maw of the back stairs.
Harris shoved me again, a hard hand between my shoulder blades, propelling me forward, toward the front of the house, the opposite direction.
“Stop!”Ibegged.“Whatare you going to do to him?”
“Oh, you’ll see,”Harristold me.“Don’tyou worry,LadyJamison—both of you are gonna get what’s coming to you.”
The last thingIsaw beforeIwas pushed out into the dark, cold night was the sight of the manIloved, helpless and being dragged away into the darkness.
AndIhad no idea in the world ifIwould ever see him again.
FORTY-SIX
VIVIENNE
The day seemed to stretch on forever.
I had no idea what time it was because there were no windows in the shed where they had put me—only narrow cracks between the weathered wooden slats that let in thin strips of sunlight.Thefloor was dirty and smelled faintly of mildew and old motor oil.Rustedtools hung from nails driven into the walls and broken equipment was piled in one corner beneath a layer of dust.
It was cold too.Notfreezing, but cold enough thatIcouldn't stop shivering, especially considering thatIwas still naked.
EventuallyIfound what looked like an old canvas drop cloth tossed beneath a workbench.Itwas stained with splotches of paint and smelled musty, butIwrapped it around myself anyway.Atleast it covered me and trapped some of my body heat.
I sat with my knees pulled to my chest and tried not to think about the wayHarrishad dragged me fromWolvertonManorthe night before or the sight ofKorcollapsing after being hit with the tranquilizer dart.
Every timeIthought about it, my stomach twisted.
Where had they put him?Washe hurt?Washe frightened?Didhe know whereIwas?
I had no answers for any of my questions, andIthought the worst part of this terrible situationIfound myself in was not knowing.
Around noon, the lock rattled, and the door opened just enough for someone to slip inside.Iscrambled to my feet immediately, my heart pounding with hope.Forone foolish secondIthought it might beKor.
Instead, it wasJimmyTurner.
I recognized him instantly.Heworked as a bagboy at the grocery store in town and had carried my groceries to my car more than once over the years.Hecouldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty and he looked profoundly uncomfortable standing there holding a bottle of water and a protein bar.
"Jimmy?"Isaid."Whatare you doing here?"
He shrugged awkwardly and held out the food.
"Harris told me to bring you this.Saidyou need to keep your strength up."