Why was he here? To torture me? To beat me like the others? Had he already visited my brothers? My muscles tensed at the thought as fear and protectiveness rushed through me, but then I realized I would have felt it through the bond, even in my nightmare.
My nostrils flared as I worked air in and out, over and over, until a forced kind of calm overtook me. If the military had taught me anything, it was that mistakes happened when you let emotions drive you to act impulsively. Control. Control was what mattered.
I gave Glen a flat look, revealing none of the turmoil I felt as I sized up my enemy. He was wearing a perfectly tailored dark purple suit, but his tie was crooked and there was a stain on his white collared shirt. His hair was stringy with grease, his eyes were red-rimmed, and his skin was sallow. He reached up and slicked his hair over to the side, patting it to ensure it stayed in place before his eyes left mine to dart around the room in a frantic series of glances.
And that’s when shit got weird.
“The little birdies think they can fly the coop? Fly, little birds, fly,” he muttered, pacing back and forth. “Little birdy won’t stay hidden for long. Back to her cage she goes.”
A deep unease settled in my chest as I silently watched him unravel, muttering about cages and collars.
Glen whipped his head towards me, as if suddenly remembering I was there. Shakily, he raked his hair out of his eyes again before smiling, showing both rows of teeth.
“You think she belongs to you?”
He kept his smile pasted on as he stepped slightly closer. Even in this deranged state, I saw him glance at my shackles, making sure they were still firmly in place. I resisted the urge to pull against them. I couldn’t show how much I itched to wrap the chain around his neck and pull it tight.
“She’s mine, you know,” he said casually. “Has been from the beginning. Why else would she perfume so sweetly for me? It was like her omega knew we were meant to be.”
A low growl began in the depth of my chest as my training slipped away to expose the alpha I had refused to become: possessive, aggressive, dangerous. The kind Josie feared. The chains shook, metal pushing against my wrists as I struggled to break free. No one touched Josie. No one but me and my pack.
“What. Have. You. Done?” I roared.
But he stood still, just out of reach, taunting me with that stupid smile.
“So fiery, so sweet, good enough to eat,” Glen said in a sing-song voice as he reached down to his groin, cupping himself.
“My Josephine. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Can’t wait to sink into her—cock, fingers, and teeth,” he chanted as if reciting some sick nursery rhyme. A fiery haze overtook my eyes as rage, stronger than I’d ever felt, consumed me.
Then Glen’s gaze sharpened, as if momentarily coming back to reality. “I waited until it was my turn. Watched and waited. And studied. No one knows that little birdy’s cunt as well as me.” He held up his fingers, admiring them for a moment as he mimed an unmistakable motion.
“You. Asshole.” I could barely form words. I strained against the manacles. My skin broke where the metal bit into my wrists, but I didn’t care. I was nothing without my Josie. Nothing if I couldn’t protect her.
“Where is she?” I shouted, even though I knew it was useless. Glen Jacoby was looking up at the ceiling, flapping his arms like a bird. This man before me was a shell of his former self, and through my rage, I wondered what had happened to break him.
“My little bird tried to jump out of the nest. Silly little bird. She fell and fell and I had to rescue her. She belongs in her cage where she won’t hurt herself anymore.” Glen tutted, wagging his finger like he was scolding a child. “Little birdy thinks she can fly free, but she’ll have the biggest fall of all. Little bird will have to be punished. She’ll find out what happens to bad little birds, and so will you.”
With those parting words, he sketched a bow and knocked twice on the cell door.
I barely felt the strain of the chains anymore or the blood that dripped onto the floor. Something popped—maybe my shoulder—but still, I roared and strained. I felt a shift in the chain connected to my right arm, and with a loud screech, it ripped free from the wall.
I swung the chain at Glen, but the guards had already opened the door. He turned around at the noise, his eyes widening with fear before the guards pulled him out of the cell unscathed. The chain hit the metal door with a loud clang, but I was alone.
Alone with my sadness.
My guilt.
Today was the first day of our trial, and just like Ellie, I knew I would never see my Josie again.
ChapterForty-Two
Josie
Iperched on the edge of the couch in Pack Turro’s living room, every muscle in my body screaming with tension. My eyelids were heavy after a series of haunting nightmares forced me awake—visions of my alphas bleeding out in front of me while I was helpless to do anything.
I jumped as Terrance entered the room with a casserole dish. He shot me a gentle smile, but his eyes were lined with concern. Everyone was up early this morning, and the sideboard was loaded with a breakfast buffet as if we were preparing for the worst movie marathon in the world. At least the weather understood my dark mood—it was a dreary, rainy morning.
Today was day one of the trial.
