AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 15
The world returned in muted sensations before anything else. A cold breeze caressing her face, followed by pain wrapping around her wrists and sliding up her arms. A sharp stabbing agony piercing her head with every breath.
A groan spilled out of her mouth as her eyes fluttered open. Everything remained dark for a moment, then she realised her vision was blurred. After a minute, the haze lifted at the corners, morphing from black into grey, before more colours appeared. It seemed a lifetime before the world appeared in focus.
Twilight had descended, transforming the sky into a brilliant kaleidoscope of purples and blues. The tops of the trees reached across it, as if searching for a long-lost lover. Something scurried in the underbrush and an owl hooted, no doubt searching for that night’s meal.
“What the hell …?” she moaned, twisting her head to the side.
Thick rope encased her wrists, stretching her arms outward. Her eyes followed the length of it, finding the ends tied to a strong looking branch. The air caught in her lungs, her pulse quickening as she realised she’d been tied up.
“So, you’re finally awake,” came a gruff male voice.
Lacey’s head turned sharply in its direction, and instantly wished she hadn’t. Pain bloomed across the back of her head. Blinking against it, she lifted her gaze.
Terror froze her in place as she watched Baseball Jerk quickly materialise in front of her. He wore baggy combat pants which had faded with years of washing, and a red t-shirt emblazoned with the tour dates of another country band. What the hell was it with these rapists and country bands? They were going to give country music a bad name. Scratches lined both sides of his ugly chubby face, his small, narrowed eyes blazing with hatred.
Lacey swallowed. “Get me down from here,” she ordered, wishing her voice didn’t tremble as much as it did.
Baseball Jerk rose his arm and for the first time, she noticed the gleam of a weapon. A hunting knife, fat, glistening in the limited light, and promising a world of pain for whoever it came across. “Now why would I want to do that?” he said, his voice deadly calm.
“Why wouldn’t you?” she asked, trying to swallow down the fear that rose in her chest like bubbles.
He shook his head, his eyes darkening to the colour of hatred. “Because I have plans for you.”
Eyes widening, Lacey started testing the strength of the rope holding her in place, but found it fixed securely. There wouldn’t be getting out of it any time soon.
Please don’t say you’re here to finish what you started with your friends.
He took a step forward. Shadows danced across his face, but they couldn’t hide his rage. “We’ve been on those wolves’ trails for weeks and you came in and fucked things up. Bruce and Wayne are dead because of you, bitch.”
Lacey moved her feet, but it didn’t help. “Look, it wasn’t my fault. You were going to rape me, and the wolf just came out of nowhere. Just untie me and we –“
“Shut up. Just fucking shut up, you goddamn filthy bitch whore!” he screamed, his face a mask of murderous intent. “You took our kill. You destroyed all the fun we planned. And now you’re going to pay for it.” He waved the knife under her face, the sharp edge close to her eyes.
Lacey couldn’t her gaze away from it. The metal gleamed dangerously. “What are you going to do?”
Ignoring her, he slashed the knife against her bare upper left arm, quickly mirroring the same on the right. Pain burned across her limbs and a cry ripped from her mouth at the suddenness of it. Then he sliced the weapon over her abdomen, the blade slicing through the thin material of Mason’s t-shirt. Hot blood cascaded over her skin, dripping onto the leaf-covered ground, the copper scent assaulting her nostrils and coating the air.
Tears spilled over her cheeks with it all. She was going to die. She’d never get to warn Mason that Sam and the others were coming for his sister. Karis would be dragged back to Washington and forced to marry a man she didn’t love. She’d bear his children, just for one selfish man’s love of power.
And it was all her damn fault.
Baseball Jerk stepped back, admiring his handiwork. “Since those wolves seem to have a taste of blood, you’re going to be my bait. When they come for you, I’ll finally kill them and avenge Wayne and Bruce.”
Anger burned alongside the pain at the stupidity of his words. Lifting her gaze, she caught the flash of something grey emerging through the gap of the trees. The familiar trickle of energy coursing through the rapidly darkening air. Hope surged in her chest.
A strained smile tugged at her lips. “The only one dying here tonight is you, asshole.”
A growl tore through the air. Low and menacing, it echoed within Lacey’s ears.
He’d come for her.
Mason.
Her mate.
Slowly, Baseball Jerk turned around and gripped the hilt of the knife tight, panic creeping into the edges of his features.
