Panic surged within me, but before I could question her, a strange sensation crept over my skin, and my wolf howled inside me, urging me to run. I couldn’t leave Mom behind, so I ignored the overwhelming instinct.
“Mom, we’ve got to get out of here,” I said, my voice trembling as I tried to maintain control. My wolf’s instincts were screaming at me to protect her, but the human part of me was struggling to understand the seriousness of the situation. I glanced toward the door, expecting to see Dominic charging in to help, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Please, Mom, you need to stand up. We have to leave now.” I wrapped an arm around her waist, careful not to hurt her with my strength. With a strained grunt, I managed to pull her up, her legs wobbling beneath her.
“Okay… okay,” she said, her face pale and her eyes clouded with pain. She leaned heavily on me as we made our way toward the back door, every step feeling like an eternity.
“Wait, where’s Dominic?” I asked, suddenly realizing he hadn’t followed me inside. Bile seared my throat as I helped Mom, desperation clawing at me.
When we finally reached the back door, my worst fears were realized. Dominic lay sprawled face-first on the ground, his large frame unnaturally still. My panic surged to an entirely different level.
“Oh, gods!” I cried out. Who in the hell had taken out an ex-alpha?
“Gotcha!” someone sneered from behind me, making me spin around. A man—no, a monster—stood before us, holding a bloody steel bar. His rotten teeth flashed in a sinister grin as he approached, and I instinctively stepped between him and Mom.
“Let’s make a deal,” he hissed, his eyes gleaming with malice. “You come with me, and I won’t hurt anyone else.”
“Stay away from her,” Mom growled, but her strength was waning, I could see it in her eyes.
“Or what?” Before I could react, he grabbed Mom, pinning her against him with his claws at her throat.
“Please,” I begged, clenching my fists at my sides, my wolf snarling within me. “Let her go.”
“Come with me, and I promise not to hurt her.” A wicked smile played on his lips. “Or anyone else, for that matter.”
“Let her go!” I shouted, barely able to contain my fury, but even as I tried to hold back my transformation, my instincts screamed that I had to do something, anything, to protect my mother. At the same time, I didn’t want to lose all control and inadvertently harm her.
“Give me one good reason why I should,” the man taunted, smirking cruelly as he tightened his grip on Mom.
“Because if you don’t, I swear I’ll rip your throat out,” I warned. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to shift right then and there.
“Big words for someone who can’t even control her own beast,” he sneered, his disgusting breath washing over me like a toxic cloud.
“Let her go,” a new voice ordered the man holding my mom hostage. “She’s not going to be any trouble. Look at her, she’s half-dead already.”
“Fine.” The man smirked and released her.
“Mom!” I cried out, rushing to catch her before she hit the ground. I was too late. Her limp body hit the ground with a thud.
“See?” the second voice taunted. “No fight left in her. Pathetic.”
“Shut up!” I roared. My wolf snarled just beneath the surface of my skin. At that moment, all my restraint vanished. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I was going to make them pay for whatthey’d done. The fucking kidnappers wanted proof that I was different? I’d give them what they wanted.
My fury unleashed as my body shook from unadulterated rage. Before I could transform, a sharp pain lanced through my neck.
A burning sensation coursed through my veins, and the world around me faded into darkness.
95
LIZA
My eyes slowly fluttered open as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. Trying to roll over proved to be much harder than it should have. I shifted from my side to my back, my body unnaturally heavy. What the fuck? Had someone tied weights to my limbs?
I opened my mouth to yell for help, but it was dry and felt like cotton. I pushed myself upright, grunting from the effort. Slowly, I looked around the room. Fuck. The memory of the kidnappers came rushing back. Dominic lying in the grass outside my parents’ home, my mom falling to the ground, the fury running through my body like lava erupting from a volcano, and the sharp pain in my neck...
At the thought of it, the delicate skin a few inches below my ear twinged. I reached up and touched the spot, which had formed into a tiny bump. I’d been drugged.
With every ounce of effort, I pushed myself out of the bed and glanced around the room. It didn’t look anything like a cell or holding room for a prisoner. The walls were painted a light gray, the ceilings were tall, and a beautiful chandelier hung in the center of the room. The bed was a four-poster, and every bitof fabric was a bright white. There was even framed artwork on the walls.
