TobyMy head snapped back, waking me. I blinked my eyes, trying to get rid of the bleariness. My arms ached from being tied over my head for so long. I pulled on them, but the metal only dug into my skin again.
I steadied my legs underneath me, using them rather than the chains, to keep me standing upright. If only I had something to lean against. Or to drink. I was parched.
How long had I been in the dark dungeon?
Over to the side of the room lay a human skeleton, still in chains.
That didn't offer me much hope. The only thing I had going for me was that Brick, Sal, and Jet knew I'd gone into the club. But was I even still there? Surely this room wasn't advertised in their brochures.
My right eye throbbed, reminding me of the beating I'd received after being chained. The owner had sucker punched me a few times before unleashing a couple of his men on me.
I coughed, which only made sharp pains shoot out from my ribs. At least all the pain distracted me from the hunger and thirst.
The doorknob jiggled.
My head shot to attention. Was I in for another beating, or would they give me something to drink finally? The door opened, and in walked the owner. He looked at me and laughed. "How's it going?"
I clenched my teeth, refusing to give him the pleasure of an answer.
"The strong, silent type, are you? We'll see how far that gets you. If you want any water, you better answer my questions."
I groaned involuntarily.
He laughed again. "That's what I thought. What were you doing inside my building?"
"Looking for answers."
"More specific." He punched me across the face. Blood gushed from my nose. It dripped down my face and onto my bare chest. Instinctively, I tried wiping it, but the chains stopped me. Sharp pains shot through my shoulder.
"Why were you here?"
"Victoria."
"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." A slow, sly smile spread across his face. "My son had a nice make out session with her last night."
I lunged at him, not that it did any good.
"I've got the video to prove it." He pulled out a phone and slid his finger around the screen. "One of these days, Carter will find out about the cameras I have everywhere and be pissed." He chuckled. "But what can he do?"
I turned away from him, ignoring the shooting pains in my neck.
"Here we go. Look at this."
"No," I grunted.
The jerk grabbed my face and forced me to look at the screen. It showed Victoria with the guy she'd been eating with the night before. They sat at a candle-lit table surrounded by plants, just talking.
"Wait for it."
Carter turned to my Victoria and ran his hand along her face. She then kissed his fingertips.
I closed my eyes, refusing to watch anymore.
My captor made a noise in his throat and then something wet hit my eye. "I said to watch," he growled. "Should I turn the volume on?"
I opened my eyes and glared at him through the spit hanging on my eyelashes.
He squeezed my chin and shoved the screen closer to my face.
Carter ran his hands through Victoria's hair. She had her hand on his arms as he flexed. From the expression on her face, she was enjoying herself. My stomach twisted in knots. The wolf inside me raged, eager to escape. I averted my eyes, unable to watch.
The fingers around my face tightened. I brought my gaze back to the screen.
Now Carter kissed her face. Her neck. The look of enjoyment on her face made me sick.
"What have you done to her?" I demanded.
He laughed. "I didn't plan on this—but it worked out nicely. Carter was just supposed to keep an eye on her. I didn't expect a jaguar to fall for a lowly wolf, but I'll take it for now."
I lunged at him, not caring about the metal digging into my flesh.
"Watch the show." His fist hit my temple with a sickening crack.
On the screen, my captor's son passionately kissed my love. His hand went for the zipper on the back of her shirt and he started unzipping. The screen turned black.
"You've seen enough. I suppose you've earned a sip of water. I'll let someone know. Have fun imagining what's on the rest of the video." He smirked and left the room, slamming the door behind himself.
Bile rose from my stomach as I tried not to think about the rest of the video. Had that sleazy jaguar...? I couldn't even finish the thought. Victoria and I had decided to save ourselves for marriage—back in those days, there was honor in such a decision. Images from the video replayed over and over in my mind. The harder I tried not to think of them, the more vivid they grew. I thought of Victoria's sweet scent, her soft hair, those supple lips...
And now that jerk knew them as intimately as I did. Maybe even more.
Vomit rose into my mouth and I threw it up onto the floor until my stomach could only dry heave. Once I escaped, I would tear that conniving, greedy bastard to pieces—in front of his father. They would both pay. Heavily.
I fought against the chains as my flesh ripped all the more. Fresh droplets of blood dripped down my arm. I shouted, allowing my wolf to release all his anger along with me.
Once my throat was raw, I stopped. I'd exhausted myself.
A few minutes later, the door opened again. A different jaguar came in carrying a glass of water. "Finally quieted down, I see." His face turned green. "It reeks in here. What did you do?"
I stared at the drink, longing for even just a sip.
"What did you do?" he shouted.
"Only what's natural, given my circumstances."
He gagged. "I'm glad I'm not on janitorial duty tonight."
He plugged his nose and walked around my vomit. "Disgusting."
"Maybe you shouldn't lock people in here."
"Like I have any say." He shoved the glass to my mouth. "Hurry up before I puke all over you from the stench."
I drank as quickly as I could. The water had a funny taste, but I didn't care. I just wanted to quench my thirst and get the horrible sourness leftover from vomiting out of my mouth. He yanked the glass from my mouth before I'd finished it. "I can't do this." He ran out of the room, gagging.
The inside of my mouth felt better, but I was growing dizzy. Everything spun around me. Maybe that was a good thing. At least it kept me from thinking about Victoria and that jaguar making jaguar-wolf hybrid babies.
Everything turned black.