Jimmy shrugged.
"AllIknow is he says he has some kind of plan for you andKorwhen the moon rises."
A cold finger of fear slipped down the groove of my spine.
"What…what kind of plan?"Iasked, my throat so dryIcould barely speak.
ButJimmywas already backing toward the door.
"I don't know.Honest,I’msorry."
"You must have heardsomething,”Ipressed.
He shook his head.
"LadyJamison,Ireally don't know."
And beforeIcould ask another question, he slipped outside and shut the door behind him.Amoment laterIheard the lock slide back into place.
ThenIwas alone again.
The hours after that seemed endless.Iate the protein bar becauseIknewIneeded the energy, but it sat like a lump of sawdust in my stomach.Thebottle of water was gone far too quickly and after thatIhad nothing to do but sit and think.
Unfortunately, thinking was exactly whatIdidn'twant to do.
As the afternoon wore on,Ibecame increasingly certain thatIknew whereIwas being held.Thesounds drifting through the walls gave it away.Everynow and thenIheard voices.OnceIheard the distant bark of a dog.LaterIheard a truck engine and the slam of a car door.Bythe time the sunlight filtering through the cracks began to fade,Iwas almost positiveIwas locked in the equipment shed on the edge of theMoonGladewhere thePackgathered every full moon night toShiftand hunt.
The realizationwasn'tcomforting, but it did give me a small sliver of hope.
TheMoonGladesat roughly halfway betweenWolvertonManorandBlackridge.IfIcould somehow get out,Imight be able to make it back home.Itwouldn't be easy—Iwas barefoot and wrapped in a dirty canvas drop cloth andIhad no idea how manyPackmembers were nearby.ButifIcould get free,IthoughtImightstill have a chance.
The problem was thatIcouldn't leave withoutKor—even ifIsomehow escaped,Icouldn't abandon him.
So instead,Isat there in the growing darkness and worried.
My thoughts kept circling back toHarrisMurdochand what he might be planning.ThemoreIthought about it, the more frightenedIbecame.Harriswanted power more than anything.Hewanted to bePackLeader.HewantedWolvertonManor.Andat one time, he had wantedme.
What if he still did?
The thought made me feel physically ill.
My greatest fear was that he would somehow win theAlphaChallengeand claim me for himself.Icould imagine him standing before the entirePack, declaring that he had earned the right to take me as hisOmega, then breeding me in front of everyone to prove his ownership
I didn’t thinkIcould stand that.I’dspent twenty miserable years withCarterforcing me every month to try and get an heir.Ididn’t thinkIcould bear having the same situation—or an even worse one—withHarrisMurdoch.Iliterally didn’t know if my mind could take it.Imight snap and go crazy and try to kill him or myself.Thatwas how muchIhated him…how desperateIwas never to let him touch me.
And if that was what he had planned for me, what wasHarrisgoing to do withKor?
The question filled me with dread.Iloved him andIhad no idea where he was or what they were doing to him or whatHarrishad planned, butIwas sure it wasn’t anything good.
Outside, voices grew louder—more people were arriving.
The full moon would rise soon.
My pulse quickened asIlistened to the sounds drifting through the rickety walls of the shed.Laughter…footsteps…car doors slamming.Thelow murmur of dozens of voices gathering in anticipation of something.
Or someone.
Then, just as the last traces of daylight vanished from the cracks in the wooden walls, the lock rattled again.
