“What did you just say?” Bree asked quietly.
Siri looked up at her, remorse painted across her face. “It’s not meant to harm you, or take them away forever! It’s a herb that commonly grows around here; the Alpha told me to give you some so that you wouldn’t be able to escape, or hurt me when I came to see you.”
“And you did it?”
“Of course,” Siri told her, looking a little confused. “It was a direct order from the Alpha.”
“Do you do whatever this Alpha tells you?”
“Yes,” Siri said, as though it were obvious.
Bree knew she wasn’t going to get anything more from the girl, considering that she apparently followed orders without thinking about the consequences at all, so she moved on. “How long will the drugs last?”
“A week,” Siri said. “The Alpha was hoping you would have settled in by that point, I think.”
Bree laughed, but the sound was humorless. “Yeah, right. If he thinks I’m ever going to accept being here, then he’s crazy. He might as well keep me drugged for good, in that case, because I will never stop fighting until I’m able to get out of here.”
Siri frowned at her. “I hope you change your mind,” she said. “Now that you’ve caught the Alpha’s attention, you probably won’t be leaving anytime soon.”
She gestured to the tray. “Here’s your breakfast. I’ll be back to collect the dishes in a little while.
And with that, she went out of the room, leaving Bree alone once again.
***
Bree spent the next two days pacing around her chamber, attempting to forcibly wrench her magic back from wherever the drugs had stashed it, screaming at no one, and trying to see if there was any other way to get out of her prison.
She tried the door, to see if there was any weakness in the hinges; she attempted to climb up to the window, but they were too high for her to reach, and there were bars on them besides.
When she couldn’t find any escape routes, she started shouting again, throwing herself against the door, hoping that someone would come and check on her.
No one did, except for Siri, who brought her meals. After the first time she had spoken to Bree, she refused to get into any more conversations with her, no matter how much Bree cajoled her to do so. She must have been scolded by the Alpha or someone, because she kept her head down and rushed through giving Bree her food and tidying up her chambers.
Bree felt slightly vindicated, but also very lonely, considering that Siri was the only person she had seen in a long time.
Then, on the fourth day, Bree woke up to a different feeling in the air.
She wasn’t able to tell exactly what she had noticed at first, but when she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she yelped, grabbing the blanket and clutching it to her chest.
Standing next to the door, leaning against the wall as though he were having a casual conversation, stood the man who had captured her.
The Alpha.
“What are you doing here?” Bree demanded. “Do you make it a habit to watch girls sleep?”
“Only the very pretty ones,” the Alpha said, smirking just a little.
His eyes were fixed on Bree with single-minded focus. Bree swallowed nervously, watching his pupils inflate, just slightly, as he drank in the sight of her. She didn’t like the fact that he had come into her room without her knowing, apparently for the sole reason of watching her.
“I came to make sure you weren’t trying to escape,” the Alpha said. “My servants have reported that you’ve been checking for weaknesses.”
“Of course I have,” Bree said, a little shakily. “I’m not staying here a minute longer than I have to.”
The Alpha didn’t look as though he believed her, and Bree looked away from him, trying to avoid his intense gaze.
As she did, though, her eyes fell on a suspicious lump in his front pocket. When he stepped towards her, Bree could hear a faint metallic clicking sound coming from within.
A keyring.
She looked back up, eyes widening as she saw the Alpha bearing down on her. She really didn’t want him to touch her again, but she didn’t know how to stop him.
Maybe, though, she could use this to her advantage.
Shoving her nerves down in her stomach, Bree let the comforter sag a little bit, revealing her bare shoulders and collarbone.
She always slept in a sports bra and shorts, and that habit had not changed. She knew that that much skin would be tempting to any man, especially one that seemed so interested in her.
“You just missed me,” she said, a hint of teasing in her voice as she tried to mask how nervous she felt. “You should have come to visit sooner if you were lonely.”
“I wasn’t,” the Alpha said, but his voice had turned husky. Bree felt a thrill shoot her as she realized that she had done that.
“Well, at least I know why you captured me now,” she said, letting the comforter fall all the way down to pool around her waist. “I’m not a very good witch—” At the word witch, the Alpha flinched, but Bree didn’t let that deter her. “—but I was known in my town for my looks.”
This wasn’t strictly untrue; there were plenty of pretty girls around Bree’s age, but they all used magic to enhance their looks, and, with Bree’s lack of talent, she hadn’t had that option.
“You don’t have to be shy,” she continued, slipping out of bed and padding softly forward, letting her hips say more than her words could.
The Alpha’s eyes tracked her every move, and Bree felt excitement rise within her, even though she didn’t really know why; this was all a trick.
Still, she had to make her performance convincing.
She thought back to what she had seen the other young witches do when they were attempting to flirt with warlocks. She stopped just in front of the Alpha, looking up at him through her eyelashes before she slowly reached her arms up, wrapping them around his neck and pulling herself in so that the front of her pelvis was pressing against his.
The Alpha took in a sharp breath, and the cool, collected look in his eyes flickered, just a little. Bree smiled at him, her lips twitching in satisfaction.
She looked the Alpha directly in the eyes, and then, in her lowest, most sultry voice, “This is how you kiss.”
And with that, Bree pressed her lips to the man in front of her.
At first, it was just like any another kiss; the Alpha’s lips were cool and dry, a little rough. He seemed surprised at first, but once he realized what was happening, his arms came up around Bree’s back, pulling her in closer.
He opened his mouth just a little, and Bree moved her lips to fit into his. It felt like they belonged there, like there was nowhere else in the world they should be.
She closed her eyes, turning her head so that she could access the Alpha’s mouth better, and when she felt his tongue asking for permission to enter her mouth, she obliged, allowing him to take the lead and move the kiss along. His hands came up to cup her face, and Bree returned the favor by placing hers on the Alpha’s hips, keeping him from pulling away.
She had almost gotten lost in the moment, but then she remembered what she was doing this for, and slid her hands down to the front of his pants carefully, as though she was looking to take things to the next level. Instead of fiddling with his belt, though, Bree’s fingers found the lump in the Alpha’s pocket that she had noticed earlier.
She slipped both hands into the front pockets of the Alpha’s jeans, so as not to draw suspicion, and when her fingers closed around her prize, she withdrew them again. She pulled them behind her back, and then abruptly broke the kiss, stepping backwards.
She gave the Alpha a dismissive look, which was honestly was the hardest part of the charade; the kiss had been anything but subpar.
“Well,” she said. “Try harder next time.”
The Alpha blinked at her in shock, seeming a little dazed from what had just happened.
Then he seemed to recover his senses. He turned around and stormed out the door, the lock clicking into place automatically behind him.
Bree wasn’t worried, however. Smiling slyly, she pulled her hand from behind her back, looking, pleased, at the key lying innocuously in her palm.
“Ha,” she said softly, chuckling a little. “Witch, one; werewolf, zero.”