It hadn’t always been a prison.
No one would spend this kind of money on something a bunch of little frat shits were going to trash. It was someone’s home, and they wouldn’t have built it leagues away from town. A home like this is for entertaining. There was a ballroom, for Christ’s sake.
I wrung my hands. I couldn’t care less who dumped me here. Right now, I just needed to get somewhere safe.
And then I heard it.
A call—a howl—above me. I stopped, my blood freezing. Tipping my head up, I followed the sound as it drifted from my left to my right, my pulse skipping a beat as the floorboards above whined with weight.
Simultaneously. In several places.
They were upstairs, and there was more than one. Taylor saw me run this way. Why would they be upstairs?
And then I remembered what else was upstairs. Aydin.
Taylor spoke of him like he was a threat. Were they going to him first?
An echo of a voice traveled down the hall, and I trained my ears, the window behind me beckoning.
Another cry echoed farther down, possibly from the foyer, and then another howl somewhere around me.
I twisted around, dizzy. What the hell was going on? The nerves under my skin fired, and I forced myself to swallow as bile churned in my stomach.
They were spreading out.
Wolves. I paused, remembering the howls outside. It was like wolves. A pack separates to surround its prey and test for weaknesses. They flank the sides and the rear.
Tears hung at the corners of my eyes, and lifted my chin, pushing them away. Will.
How long had he been here? Where were his friends? Did he have me brought here as revenge? What the hell?
I told him not to push me all those years ago. I warned him. This wasn’t my fault. He got himself put here.
I dove into a billiards room, grabbed a cricket bat off the wall, and crept back out, hugging the walls with my back and darting my eyes all around for any sign of them. Chills spread up my arms, and despite the cold, a light layer of sweat covered my neck. Training my ears, I listened as I took one quiet step after another.
A thud hit the floor above me, and I sucked in a breath, shooting my eyes to the ceiling again as I trailed behind the stairs.
What the hell was going on?
A blue hue, like moonlight streaming through a window, lit the dark marble floor down the hallway, and I followed it, heading to the back of the house.
I inhaled, a sting hitting my nose. Sterile, like bleach. Taylor said the cleaners and staff just left.
My knees shook, and my heart hammered in my chest. I felt like I was already walled in, and I didn’t even know it.
“Here!” someone shouted.
I gasped, flattening myself to the wall as I slipped around a corner.
Peering back around it, I spotted shadows moving along the wall as they found my open window.
“She’s running!” one of them shouted.
I exhaled, fisting my hands. Yes. They thought I crawled out the window.
Their footfalls pounded across the floor, racing back toward the foyer, hopefully, and I clasped my hand over my mouth as they faded away.
Thank God.
I didn’t wait another moment. I ran and ran, finding the kitchen in the southwest corner of the house. Leaving the lights off, I dashed for the refrigerator and swung it open, racks of fruits and vegetables shifting with the motion.
I looked around, gaping at the size for a moment. It was a walk-in. I thought Taylor said they had to hunt for their meat. There was a shitload of food right here.
I stepped inside the space, the immediate temperature change making me shiver as I scanned the shelves of food, all looking freshly stocked. Cheeses, bread, deli meats, butter, milk, carrots, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, bananas, mangoes, lettuce, blueberries, yogurt, hummus, steaks, hams, whole chickens, burgers…
And this wasn’t counting the pantry they probably had, too.
Why would they have to hunt?
Wasting no more time, I grabbed the netted bag hanging inside and dumped out the produce it stored, quickly stocking it with two bottles of water, an apple and some cheese. Maybe I should bring more, but I couldn’t take the weight right now.
Diving back out of the fridge, I tied the bag closed and raced to the window, inching up on my tiptoes and seeing flashlights dance across the vast lawn.
I almost smiled. I had time to find a coat or sweater and get the hell out of here before they got back.
Spinning on the ball of my foot, I took a step, but then I saw him standing right there, a dark form leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, staring at me.
I halted, my heart leaping into my throat.
At least I thought he was staring at me. His face was hidden in shadow.
My lungs froze, aching.
And then I remembered…wolves. They surround you.
All except one. He came at you from the front.
“Come here,” he said in a low voice.
My hands shook, knowing that voice. And those exact words he’d said to me that one night.
“Will…”
He stepped into the kitchen, moonlight casting a dim glow on his face, and something inside me ached.
He was big in high school, but now…
I swallowed, trying to wet my dry mouth.
A light spatter of raindrops glimmered on top of his messy but trimmed head of chocolate hair, and I’d never seen him with scruff on his face before, but it made him look harder—and more dangerous—in ways I didn’t realize would look so good on him.
His chest was broader, his arms in his black hoodie thicker, and he brought up his hands, using a cloth to wipe off blood that coated his fingers. Tattoos adorned the backs of his hands, disappearing up the sleeve of his sweatshirt.
He didn’t have any tattoos the last time I saw him.
The night he was arrested.
Where was the blood from? Hunting?
I backed away as he slowly advanced, but he wasn’t looking at me as he approached, just gazing at his hands as he cleaned them.
The cricket bat. Where was it?
I blinked long and hard. Shit. I’d set it down on the fridge floor when I packed the food.
I flashed my eyes to the refrigerator, gauging the distance.
Searching the counters, I spotted a trio of glass apothecary jars and reached out, swiping one onto the floor between us. It crashed, shattering everywhere, and he paused a moment, a smile in his eyes as I continued to back away, making my way for the fridge.
“This won’t end with you in my sleeping bag this time,” he warned.
I grabbed another jar and shoved it to the floor, backing up some more and closing the distance. If he charged me, he’d slip on the glass.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I taunted. “You’re still not the alpha.”
The dark eyebrow above one of his eyes cocked, but he didn’t stop, continuing toward me.
The pulse in my neck thumped, my stomach swimming, but…as the glass crunched under his shoe and his gaze held mine, the pulse between my legs throbbed, and I almost cried.
“Do you know why I’m here?” I asked.
“Have you been bad?”
I locked my jaw, but I remained silent.
A wicked smile spread across his face, and I knew this was it. I didn’t think it would happen like this, but I always knew it was coming.
“You know,” I said. “Don’t you?”
He nodded. “Don’t you want to explain?”