Another female joins us and helps Heidi, but she’s glowering at me. “What do you know of our problems? You’re a wolf shifter. I don’t even know why they put you here with us.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. As far as I know, there aren’t any wolf shifters in Ellnesari besides Karl, and hopefully, he’s far away from this place. I wouldn’t put it past that old creep to force me to procreate. He probably wants to use me to fight shadowbeasts too.
“Where do they keep the males?” I ask, thinking about Ronan.
Heidi trades a look with Lana.
“What is it?” I ask.
“There aren’t any males here,” Lana replies.
Fear spears my chest. “What do you mean? Where do they keep them?”
“What she meant,” the female helping Heidi interjects, “is that there aren’t any malesleft. They’ve all died.”
“Died how?” I force the words out.
Heidi shudders. “Shadowbeasts.”
Twenty-Seven
RONAN
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
The guards escort me to a bare room without any windows. Illumination comes from blue fire lamps hanging from the walls. We’re no longer on the same level as the pit, but the walls here are made of dark stone too. There’s a simple bed pushed against one of the walls and a wooden tub in the middle, filled with water already.
“Undress.” One of the guards pushes me forward.
“Leave the room and I will.”
The guard sneers. “We have no desire to see you naked, vampire, but we’re under orders to keep an eye on you.”
“You can simply wait outside.”
The two idiots remain rooted to the floor, their expressions unyielding. They aren’t going to leave.
Pick your battles, Ronan.
Resigned, I take off my clothes. They’re filthy, covered in mud, blood, and sweat. The water in the tub is warm and a blessing to my tired body. I try to relax, something that’s hard to do with two Nightingale hooligans watching me and when I don’t know what happened to Cheryl.
“Where did you take my friend?” I ask without any hope that I’ll get an answer.
But the shortest male of the duo replies, “She’s with the other females.”
“Other females? What other females?”
The door opens inward, and the Nightingale female from before enters, making me tense in an instant. She changed clothes to something much more revealing—her neckline plunges almost to her navel, and half her breasts are exposed. The fabric is sheer, and when it hits the light, I can see her nipples and the fact that she isn’t wearing undergarments. Her scent is also different, more alluring. It toys with my senses, clouding my mind. I splash water on my face, hoping it will clear my head.
She turns to the guards. “You can leave now.”
Both males bow and reply in unison, “Yes, my lady.”
Fuck me. This can’t be good.
The door shuts with a resounding clang, leaving me trapped with the blonde female, who watches me with clear desire glimmering in her eyes.
“What do you want?” I ask roughly.
