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Fortunately, Audrey didn’t rise to the bait, which was completely out of character. Instead, she remained seated, almost what I would’ve called passive, staring at their feet as she held herself still and pressed her lips into a thin line. With how hard she was biting the inside of her cheek, I was surprised I didn’t smell her blood. For Audrey, not telling this asshole to go fuck himself had to be a trial of epic proportions.
He was taunting her to act out. “Oh, now, come on, you pathetic monster. Don’t you want to come and play with us? I’m positive we can show you a real good time.”
The darker-haired one cooed and chuckled, enjoying the show before he started in, too. “Don’t you monsters like pain with pleasure? I’ll happily give it to you. I’ll have you screaming in no time.”
Both assholes sneered as they laughed, but Audrey continued to sit, her shoulders stiff, not giving them any reaction. Clearly, they were itching for one.
My wolf growled low, the sound escaping from my throat. I bared my teeth, hoping to draw their attention from her to me, but these fucking sorry excuses for humans merely laughed at me. If we were on an even playing field, they wouldn’t be laughing for long. But I’d bide my time. I’d get my opportunity.
“What’re you gonna do behind that silver cage, you filthy beast?” The dark-haired one smirked at me. “Nothing. Stop trying to act like you’re some hot shit. If you were so badass, we wouldn’t have caught you so easily.”
“Hey, mutt. If you sit and beg, I’ll give you a treat,” the blond one taunted me, and they burst into laughter again.
“I thought you monsters were supposed to be such tough shit,” the blond continued, “but look at you. You’re fucking nothing. It was so fucking easy to snatch you up.”
If I ever got a hold of that little prick, I was going to tear him apart, limb from limb.
“Oh, look. The big guy is getting mad. You gonna bark at me, mutt?” He stepped closer. “Just wait for it, puppy. This is just the start. I can’t wait to watch you break. We have some special shit planned for you.”
The growl reverberated deep in my gut as my wolf took stock of the two hunters. I made sure to imprint them and their scents in our memory because when we got out of here—and we would be getting out of here—we were going to find them and kill them without a moment’s hesitation.
I bared my teeth and snarled as the hunters continued laughing. It was a lot to take from these pieces of shit, but I’d heard worse over the years. Bad threats. Ridiculous men acting like children on a playground. It’d been done before. Over and over.
The door opened again, and another hunter walked in. I kept one eye on the two imbeciles and the other on the newcomer. Something about his scent was familiar, and the feeling that I knew him from somewhere caused the hair on the back of my neck to rise. I struggled to place his scent, but I needed to figure it out.
He was younger than the other two, but from the way they instantly shut up and stood to attention, their smiles vanishing as they gave the hunter a nod, told me he was of a higher rank.
“Knock it off and stop acting like morons.” He stared them both down until each man lowered his head. “Go to the dining hall.”
They nodded and quietly left the room. Oh, yeah. Whoever this fuck was, he was definitely of a higher rank. If the hunters had rankings, this guy was probably a lieutenant.
I didn’t know and didn’t really care. All I could think of was his scent and why the hell it was so familiar.
When the door clicked shut, the tool made his way to my cell, his hands clasped behind his back. I looked him up and down while he looked me up and down. I was going to kill him. There was no fucking doubt about that. He continued to stare as I stood rigidly in front of him. Neither of us showed any sign of backing down as we stood our ground.
It wasn’t just his scent that was familiar; it was his dark eyes and hair as well. It bothered me that I couldn’t place him, but I didn’t let it show. It would come to me.
From the way he carried himself and demanded submission with nothing more than a cock of his brow or a tilt of his head, I had no doubt if he’d been born a shifter and not a hunter, he would have been an alpha.
Alphas, I understood. I’d come across a few alphas in my time, and my gut instincts urged me to treat him in the same manner. The same respect, the same rules and codes still applied. It didn’t matter what species we were—an alpha recognized an alpha. Even though I had no idea if he was going to extend the same courtesy, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to show a modicum of respect.
But treating this hunter as a fellow alpha also meant not backing down or capitulating, so our glaring contest continued. As much as I wanted to issue threats and demand to know what they’d done with Tori, I didn’t. Not yet. But if he touched one hair on her head, he’d have to answer to me. There was no doubt about that. I’d have my answers in due time. I always did, so I waited.
The hunter scoffed as he either tired of our battle of wills or didn’t want to afford me the same respect I was willing to give him. He looked away, tossing a roll of bandages into my cell. “Wrap your injury before you bleed out. You’re useless to me if you’re dead.”
I didn’t look at the bandages. Instead, I watched him, my gaze locked on his every move. I couldn’t get past the idea that I knew him somehow.
Without waiting to check if I’d comply, he stalked across the room and observed the others as closely as he could without opening the bars.
“Why is that one not awake yet?” He jabbed a finger toward Diana but wasn’t harsh or demanding in his question. His voice didn’t raise in volume, his tone didn’t change, and he didn’t appear annoyed. His face remained carefully blank, hiding whatever he was feeling or thinking.
Leave it to Audrey to sass him, though. “According to your men, we’re just beasts, so how on earth do you expect us to know? You’re the one running this archaic operation of murderers, so maybe you should tell us what the fuck you did to her.”
She stood up, lifted a brow, crossed her arms, and tapped her foot. Now she was the one scoffing at him. I watched him for a reaction, surprised when none came.
“You’re not a very effective leader if your men are double-drugging captives without your knowledge and then not reporting back to you. You really need to discipline your soldiers better and instill more fear in them to win their obedience. Of course, they probably don’t respect you because you’re what, twenty? Twenty-one? You’re far too young to really intimidate anyone.”
She cocked her head and smirked. No fear.She’d done so well biting her tongue with the two Neanderthal idiots, but any sense of self-preservation had deserted her. She’d made a mistake by opening her mouth to taunt the one she should’ve feared the most.
