Chapter 19
Sienna’s face is rigid, showing no fear, but deep within her big brown eyes I see it. The two men drag her into the center of the circle as the five werewolves shift, readying to attack.
“You can’t do this!” I try to stand, but Kole throws his arm across my body to stop me. “Thane!” I cry out, but he keeps his back toward me.
The ten-second countdown appears on the screens, and something in me snaps. I grab a hold of Kole’s arm, biting into his flesh as hard as I possibly can. He yanks it away from me, and I use the opening to lunge at Thane as the metallic taste of Kole’s blood coats my tongue. Thane whirls around, catching me by the throat before I can even register his movements, a ferocious snarl ripping from him as his grip tightens just slightly.
“You have to stop this!” I demand with a pleading cry.
“Then submit.” His eyes dart to the screens behind me. “Seven seconds, Grey.Six—”
“Okay!” I scream with so much desperation that it’s almost a whimper. “I surrender! Please, just end this!”
Thane shoots away from me, and I fall to my knees as the fight in me disintegrates.
How did I let this happen?
I’ve kept a cage around my heart for as long as I can remember. I’d been hurt by so many people in my life that I vowed I would never allow anyone else to hold that kind of power over me. And yet, after only a few weeks, I had given that power to Sienna. It’s not even like I’ve spent much time with her. Shit, I don’t even know her middle name.
But she’s the only one who has shown me kindness. Kindness even humans failed to show me. For once in my life, I didn’t feel so fucking alone, and some deep part of me that had been hidden by layers of defenses I had built over the years yearned for companionship. Maybe I’ve just grown desperate in my years of solitude, but she was like a breath of fresh air. Someone I didn’t always have to have my guard up around.
Pathetic.
I hardly know her, and here I am begging for her life like I’ll die if she’s taken from this world. Is this what years of isolation does to a person?
“This feels too easy,” Thane announces from the middle of the pit where Sienna is standing. The countdown has stopped at one second, and my body falls limp with relief. “Five against one doesn’t seem like much of a challenge, and if you’re going to serve by my side, then it’ll take more than just physical strength. It will take mental fortitude to make the tough decisions and to endure the difficulties that come with being a territory leader.” The five wolves howl their agreement as they accept the change in rules. “Do you all want a show?” Thane turns in a circle, eyeing the crowd that is now on their feet inanticipation as his lips curve into a menacing smirk. All of a sudden, traps spring from beneath the sand, snaring each of the five werewolves as their yelps are muffled by the roar of the crowd. “The first wolf to free themself from the trap will become my new territory leader.”
Thane grabs Sienna by the arm and speeds off into the tunnel we had come out of when we first arrived. Not even ten seconds later, he’s standing over me, radiating dominant energy. He reaches down and pulls me up by the chin.
“You do as I tell you, and she’ll remain alive. If there’s even a hint of defiance from you, that all changes. Understood?” I nod my head. “Say ‘Yes, Alpha.’”
I swallow back my insurmountable hatred as bitterness coats my tongue. “Yes, Alpha.”
“Good girl. Now, sit.” I turn back to my seat and catch Kole’s eyes flicker away from me. “Not there.”
Thane moves to his chair and pats his thigh, calling me to him like a dog. My body physically hurts as I settle onto his lap without putting up a fight. I quickly turn my attention back to the pit, hoping it will somehow distract me from the ball of disgust welling up inside me.
All five of the wolves are struggling against the traps that have clamped down on one of their legs. Two of them have one of their front legs caught, while the other three have one of their hind legs caught. Looking at each of them fail to free themselves, it doesn’t seem like there’s any kind of advantage when it comes to which leg was snared.
“They haven’t figured it out yet, but there’s only one way out of those traps,” Thane breathes into my ear. His hand slowly slides up my thigh, and I fight the urge to push it away. “You see, in order to free themselves, they’ll have to bite off their leg.”
“What?” I gasp, whipping my head around to look at him.
“They’ll be able to heal themselves back to normal in a month’s time, but this…” He taps his temple. “This is the real challenge.”
“You’re sick.”
He grabs my face and pulls me so close that his lips graze mine. “And don’t you forget it.”
A shudder runs down my spine right before heat sprints through my veins. As the prickle of energy rushes all the way up to my scalp and down to my toes, my body falls still. Thane pulls me into him, sinking his fangs deeper into my neck while he caresses my hip with one hand and fists my hair with the other. I can feel the lust beckoning me, urging me to give in, but after everything that just happened, there’s a torrent of hatred inside me that seems to be fighting back.
Unfortunately, the resistance quickly slips away, and my eyes roll back when Thane releases a seductive moan, tightening his grip. Suddenly, it’s like there’s a fog in my mind, keeping me from remembering why it is I even despise him.
He feels so good. So right. I need to be closer. I need to feel his skin against mine. I need to taste his kiss and—
When his fangs withdraw from my neck, a wave of clarity comes crashing into me, but before I can make a move to put some distance between us, Thane pushes me off his lap.
“Get her out of here.”
