Goddess above, I sound delusional even in my own head. Maybe it was the lack of sleep. Maybe I was trying to see something that wasn’t even there.
Or it was the isolation and fear finally getting to me.
The familiar sound of a baton being dragged against bars drew me out of my own head long enough to look up. The demon had himself a small army of soldiers behind him as he made his way down the corridor of cages, club in one hand and a gun in the other.
I stiffened at the sight of the weapon, my blood chilling. So far, it was one of the few things he hadn’t pulled out—no one had. I had a feeling it was because of Dante, that he told everyone to hide their guns from me. Because I’d let my imagination run a little too wild about stealing his and shooting him.
But seeing one drawn now, held loosely and without need, made me lock up with fear. I hadn’t forgotten the last soldier who’d warned me that if I tried to fight them, any punishment that would have been mine would be unleashed upon the shifters.
Bile rose in my throat when the demon and the other soldiers stopped by my cage. His attention wasn’t on me, though the soldiers took their time dragging their dark stares over my body. My disgust surged from what I saw in their eyes; lust as they looked me over, disgust over who I was, anger with maybe the desire to hurt me.
Each stare made my heart pound harder—faster. My skin prickled with awareness, with the feeling that danger was close, and I needed to either fight—or run.
And I could do neither of those things.
So, I froze under the weight of their stares and did nothing, waiting for the demon’s next move.
Was he here for me? To drag me back to Dante for another one of his tests?
Or was he here for someone else?
My eyes flickered to Greer’s mates in the cell nearby. They were alert, watching the demon and soldiers. None of them looked at me, though it was obvious they were waiting for the same thing. I allowed myself to look at the bear, too, and found his eyes not on me, but on the newcomers.
I looked away from him to take the soldiers in; they were a mix bag of different creatures. The vamps were red eyed from bloodlust, dangerously skittish as they scented the air. There was enough spilled blood to send them into a feral craze, so it was a wonder they were allowed down here at all without feeding.
Unless that’s the point, I thought, staring at the three males. Zephyr was nowhere in sight, though I had a feeling he was high enough up that he wouldn’t be starved.
Neither of my other mates were present, either. That probably meant Hawk was with Zephyr somewhere else, doing Goddess knew what. And the Primal…I hadn’t seen him since he took the shifter away, though I wished to. Just to make sure I hadn’t made up the moment with the charm.
The demon put his baton and gun away, clapping his hands. “Our King needs the bitch chained and taken to med, so get her out and take her up. We need to transfer 56 and 92 to holding cells for insemination and bring 72 back down from isolation. Understood?”
My heart sank at his words, at the quick agreement from the soldiers. My gaze darted to the bear, who appeared far more alert now.
Breeding?Vomit churned in my stomach, bile rising in my throat. It shouldn’t surprise me, and yet horror slammed into me. It didn’t matter what world you were in, somehow there was no escaping women’s bodies being used against them by men.
I’d hoped that wouldn’t be the case here. That not even Dante would go that far. I could maybe handle what he was doing to me, but not that.
Before I could react, the door to my cage opened. Icouldn’t move; there was nowhere to go, no way to get away from the soldiers. I hadn’t noticed it before, but two held the chains that would connect to my collar. Panic tightened in my chest at the sight of them.
“Get up,” one male hissed, reaching out a hand for me. He wore gloves all too similar to the ones Ry wore.
I flinched away from his touch, but the male took hold of my upper arm, his grip firm as he dragged me to my feet. I made a sound in the back of my throat, almost a whimper as his fingers tightened enough to leave bruises.
The other soldier grabbed me by the collar and pulled me close to his face. Up close, he had a smattering of freckles along the bridge of his nose. He didn’tlookevil, not with the boyish way his lips seemed to naturally turn upwards or with how his lashes framed his light brown eyes.
But there was a definite darkness in him, one I could very obviously see now that he was close.
“Pathetic,” he spat, saliva hitting my face. I flinched again, but that didn’t stop him from pulling me flush against him. To my horror, he had an erection, which I felt against my stomach, and he was not shy about it.
My stomach turned when he decided to sniff me. “You haven’t pissed yourself yet,” he said, pulling back. “You aren’t afraid enough.”
I grimaced, saying nothing as the chains went on. The other soldier clipped them to my collar, clamping cuffs around both my wrists. I kept my mouth shut, which just seemed to piss them off more.
As they pulled me from the cell, I noticed where the others had gone. To my surprise, they had one of the foxes and what looked like a polar bear being carried out, both unconscious. Both bodies were taken to an elevator I hadn’t noticed before in the corner of the room.
I wasn’t guided to their hidden elevator. Instead, the two soldiers, plus two of the rabid vamps, guided—no, more like dragged—me towards the stairs leading up to the balcony overlooking the cages.
“Get ready,” the second soldier said, breath hot as it brushed my ear. “The King told everyone you’d be coming out today. And they so badly want to see the bitch Queen.”
