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She cried out through the gag and rocked the chair from side to side. Anything that might give her a new
position, a chance to escape. She grunted, pulling at the bindings at her wrists and ankles.
No use. She was too weak after so many draining hours.
She jerked her gaze up. A sudden scratching noise meant she wasn t alone anymore. Her heart pounded
as she searched the cavernous, decrepit space the years had not been friendly to for the millionth time.
Beyond the circle of light surrounding her, darkness impeded her vision.
There. From that corner filled with what looked like decades old crates. She heard it again, like a
footstep on the dirt-ridden floor. She felt him watching her, waiting. A match lit up the shadows and then
the glowing red butt of a cigarette cut through the darkness like an evil eye, taunting her.
She whimpered. How could anyone stand there and not care? What kind of beast was he?
She knew. Deep down inside, she knew she was about to become another victim of the man Daniel had
talked about. He d warned her so many times. Stay close to me always, my mate. Oh, God, what had
he done to Daniel? Killed him? No, he was still alive, she felt him in her heart. He was looking for her.
The whole pack would be looking for her.
It would be too late, though.
After what seemed like an eternity, her tormentor dropped the cigarette. In the silence she heard him
grind it out with his shoe, crushing the demonic red dot. He would come for her now.
Her attempted scream sounded more like a moan through her overused vocal cords and the fabric
forced between her lips. Her head fell forward in hopelessness. A curtain of dull, greasy black hair that
had somehow been left out of the gag swept forward, shielding her gaze. She was glad for that at least.
The man laughed, the sound exploding through the dark spaces and bouncing off the metal walls,
mocking her with its repeat. Her spirit fell even further.
With a heavy, obvious tread, he walked toward her in slow deliberation. She promised herself she
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would not look at him, would not let him see any more of her terror. She failed. Out of the corner of her
eye, she watched him approach. He swaggered toward her. Not drunk, but God, preening. A ball cap
cast a shadow over his face, obscuring his features.
He stopped in front of her and reached out to her face, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. A
pathetic whimper escaped her. She looked down her nose, her eyes nearly crossing, her breath heaving
through her runny nose. There was a strange mark on top of his arm, at the wrist, peeking out from
beneath his watch. She sobbed at his horrible, gentle touch. With wild eyes, she stared back at him.
Pleaded with him. Begged.
One corner of his mouth curled into a snarl. Her stomach rolled with a fresh batch of tears. His hand
moved to tangle in the mess of her hair and jerked, forcing her to look up. He sneered at her as he
stepped to her side.
There was a hissing sound at her ear. She grew lightheaded from fighting to breathe and imagining what
he would do to her. The metal glinted, catching the light from the one bulb he d somehow rigged in this
shitheap of a warehouse that otherwise hadn t seen electricity for more than twenty years.
Her panic multiplied a million times when he held a wicked-looking knife above her face, making sure
she could see the jagged edge of the steel blade. She cried out, squirming and pulling at the hair fisted in
his hand.
Things will be so much better when I ve taken over, he rasped. He lowered the knife and used the
razor-sharp edge to caress her cheek. We won t have this problem when I am Prime.
Eyes wide with shock, she inhaled sharply at his implication. He smiled and pressed the cold metal to her
exposed throat.
She fought him, screaming and jerking, even as he pricked the delicate skin.
Her whole body shook with great uncontrollable convulsions. An arc of red spurted in front of her as he
shoved her head forward so she could see the damage he d invoked.
Her heart thumped once. Twice. Her eyelids grew so heavy she couldn t hold them open and yet her
body seemed to dance still. His laugh erupted in an evil howl, his eyes glittered a feral golden brown.
Daniel.
Tieran bolted upright in bed, her chest heaving as she fought the dream off. Her head swam from the
suddenness of her movements. Predawn shadows cast a gray tint over the unfamiliar room and the
curtain in the open window fluttered with the slight breeze.
She glanced around at her surroundings before remembering where she was. Caelan must have opened
the window sometime during the night. She hadn t been kidding when she d said she was tired.
With a shaky hand, she scraped back the damp hair clinging to her face and away from her eyes, trying
to erase some of the disorientation that often clouded her memory after a vision.
What is it, baby? Caelan mumbled, reminding her that she wasn t alone. He rolled to his side next to
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her and settled an arm across her thighs. His fingers gently squeezed her hip, calming her a fraction,
before his soft snoring announced he d already fallen back asleep.
As soon as the rotation in her brain settled, her stomach took over, sending bile rushing up her
esophagus then dropping back down again.
Damn it. Tieran threw a hand over her mouth and stared opposite her at what she remembered to be the
bathroom door. She hoped to hell she made it to the toilet before she puked in front of wolf-man. The
last thing she needed was for him to hover like a mother hen again.
Right now she needed privacy, not overbearing protectiveness.
It s his job as your mate to protect you, Tullabelle.
I can t imagine what in the world I need protecting from here in his bedroom.
You will soon, Tulla. Keep him close.
Tieran snorted and looked at Caelan s arm draped across her lap. He couldn t get any closer than he
was. Well, he could, had, but she wouldn t go there. God forbid her grandmother start spouting stories of
her and Pawpoo again. She shivered with the sweat beginning to dry on her nude body, and eased out
from beneath the muscular limb pinning her to the bed. She didn t even recall getting undressed.
Her feet tangled in the sheets. Doing her best not to disturb him, she fought her way out of them, her
awkwardness making her even more clumsy. Finally free, she stood beside the bed. Caelan was now
planted on his belly, his arm outstretched where she had been.
Tieran angled her head and stared at his broad hand. Palm down, the tops of fingers were sprinkled with
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