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Caden cleared his throat. “Last year, it finally died.” He scrubbed at his face and shook out his arms before continuing. “I used it to drive around and visit different packs. I was pretty much over the idea of joining one for good after the shit I had gone through. I’d just stay for three to six months and then move on to the next place.”
“Why didn’t you just settle down outside of a pack?” Quinten asked.
“I’m not sure,” Caden said slowly. “I had thought about it a couple of times, but…” He rubbed at his chest. “My jaguar was restless, driving me to move on like he was searching for something.”
Quinten wanted to ask if his jaguar still felt that way, but then he’d have to punch himself in the face because he knew that was a loaded fucking question. Whatever was happening between them, it was temporary. It had to be.
Despite what had happened to him and what Caden had said, it was obvious he would thrive in a loving and supportive pack. One with a good alpha who didn’t see the members as commodities or wastes of resources if they couldn’t contribute enough.
Caden could never be truly happy with a packless human and a handful of shifters.
“So you kept moving,” Quinten said softly.
“Yeah. I ended up settling with this pack down in Arkansas almost a year ago. It was mid-sized, which I preferred. The alpha was nice enough, so I stayed a little longer than I usually would.” Caden hesitated, twisting his fingers in his lap. “A few months ago, I got invited to the alpha’s house. It was strange but not completely unusual. It hadn’t happened in that pack before, but other times, they would want to check in, see if I was planning on joining the pack or would be moving on. This was a little different because I was invited for dinner.”
His eyes were distant as he remembered what had happened. Quinten’s gut started to twist, a bad feeling growing inside him.
“When I got there, the alpha was already sitting at the table with a couple of men I’d never met before. I was sure they weren’t pack members.”
“Shifters?” Quinten asked.
Caden nodded. “Yeah, one was a bear, and the other was a jackal.”
Quinten raised his brows. Bears were a dime a dozen, but jackals were pretty rare. He tucked that bit of information away.
“I joined them, and dinner was served not long after. For a while, we just kind of chatted. Nothing important. The alpha didn’t introduce the strangers to me, which seemed rude, but I just kept my head down, answered questions that were asked of me, and waited for it to be over.”
“What kind of questions were they asking you?” Quinten interjected, already knowing the answer.
“Nothing suspicious,” Caden said, shrugging. “The alpha asked how long I’d planned on staying, if I was considering joining, which was typical. They asked if I had family in the area or if something else had brought me there, how I was liking the pack, if I’d made any friends. Stuff like that.”
Quinten cursed under his breath. “Goddammit.”
Caden jerked his head up. “What?”
“Those weren’t innocent questions, Caden.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were trying to find out if you had ties to the area, if anyone would notice if you went missing.”
The color drained from Caden’s face. “Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He shook his head. “Goddess, I can’t believe I didn’t figure that out before.”
Quinten sighed. “It’s my job to see the worst in people. You see the best. Don’t feel bad about that.”
Caden stared at him for a long time, not saying anything.
“Caden?”
He shook his head, glancing away. “Dinner was almost over, and I was relieved I would finally be able to leave. When one of the strangers got up and excused himself to go to the bathroom, I didn’t think anything of it. I was so focused on the plate in front of me, of how uncomfortable the conversation was—the entire meal, really—that I didn’t notice when he came back into the room. I definitely didn’t notice when he came up behind me. I felt the smallest prick of pain in my neck, and that was it.”
“They drugged you,” Quinten verified.
“I guess? One minute, I was sitting at the table, and then next thing I knew, I was waking up somewhere I didn’t recognize. It was like a jail cell, with a barred door and no windows. There was a tiny bunk bed, but nobody was ever in there with me. I-I was chained to the wall, but it was magicked so I couldn’t break it.” Caden’s voice grew unsteady, and Quinten almost said they should take a break, but he plowed on before he could get the words out. “For a long time—it had to have been at least a week—nothing really happened. Somebody in a mask would walk past and slip some food through the door, and that was it. They didn’t talk to me. They wouldn’t tell me why I was there.”
Jesus. That had to have been terrifying. Quinten focused on keeping his emotions locked down, not wanting to distract or make Caden feel worse. When he was alone, he’d let his rage boil over and beat the shit out of his heavy bag down in the gym.
“And every once in a while,” Caden said, voice softer, “I would hear doors open, but I couldn’t get close enough to mine because of the chain to see where they were or who was there. Sometimes at night, I’d hear people crying, but nobody answered when I called out.” Caden smiled ruefully. “At first, I was frustrated. Why wouldn’t they just answer me? But after I was there longer, I understood.”
