Chapter 26

door after him. I wanted to yell for him to stop, to not leave me alone with these psychotic killers, beg him to take me away but instead, I stood still. The click of the door echoed ominously in the large room as the sound of the roars from the hallway was completely shut out. I shuddered as the air around us suddenly dropped a few degrees, leaving my exposed skin feeling hyper-sensitive and hyper-aware of its surroundings.

They watched me with unwavering eyes, Kole and James's flashing gold while Alex and Marcus's darkened as my terrified gaze moved between them. And no matter the sheer anxiety that they instilled in me; I couldn't deny the attraction I felt towards these men. Their unholy good looks wreaked havoc on my body as the warmth began to quickly spread, making me ache from deep within.

But as each minute passed in agonizing silence, I was slowly beginning to lose my mind. The initial worry I had felt came back in full force as my mind conjured up the worst possible scenarios. What were they waiting for? Was this it? Where are they going to rape me? Kill me? Or fuck me before they kill? Did wolves eat humans? One question after another raced through my head as my heart reached levels of speed that I didn't know it was capable of.

I jumped as my eyes locked with Marcus as he suddenly plunged the knife he had been holding into the desk. His eyes flashed gold as an arrogant smirk appeared on his face, his features showing delight at my distressed state.

"Calm down little mate. We are not going to kill you." His lips gave way to a dashing smile before he whispered in a sinister tone, "... not yet"

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, the adrenaline fuelling my system as my body forced me to run, to flee. Instinctively, I took a step back, the fear urging me to keep well away from these predators who were eyeing my every move with an insatiable hunger in their eyes.

Marcus tsked as he moved forward, a glint of amusement shining through his deadly orbs. "There's nowhere to run if that is what you're planning little one. We do enjoy a chase but right now, all we want to do is talk"

Talk? That was definitely not what I was expecting. I watched him turn around and pull a file off the desk before beginning to read in a monotone.

"Mia Sutherland. Born: October 15th, 1997. Birthplace: Tampa, Florida. Birth parents: Unknown. Adoptive Parents: Michael and Susanne Sutherland. Michael was a police officer and died of cancer when you were 14 and Susanne was a teacher at an elementary school and is currently still alive. The two of you have been estranged ever since you ran away from home at 18. Held odd jobs while you studied before landing a role in Manhattan with Ranford. Not many friends and not much of a social life. Their last known boyfriend was Matthew Hayes who is an aspiring law student. Broke up nine months ago. No known kids or husbands. Met my little brother Thomas about a month ago at your meeting with the board. Which finally brings you all the way to Portland... To us."

Shutting the file, he threw it on the floor at my feet before he continued in a condescending tone, "Did I miss anything?"

My blood boiled at how the details of my life were laid bare in such a belittling way. Memories of my childhood surged to the forefront. Good ones, bad ones, and painful ones. All my achievements, hard work, and sacrifices. All sounding twisted and pathetic coming out of his mouth. My jaws clenched as I forced myself to not retaliate, my anger raging intensely at the violation I had suffered at their hands, both physically and mentally.

Suddenly, a loud whimper came from the direction of the sofa, shifting my seething attention away from Marcus to Kole and James. Kole's eyes were darkening as another whimper sounded from him. His gaze locked with mine as his look conveyed a sense of deep regret and sadness that he was feeling at my anger towards them. How can I feel what he's feeling?

I yelped in fright as Alex smashed his hands against the desk in front of him before bellowing in Kole's direction. "For fuck's sake Kole! Pull yourself together!" I watched in confusion as James immediately jumped into action, grabbing a hold of his brother beside him, as Kole gritted his teeth and bared his canines at Alex. James suddenly yelled, his eyes narrowed towards Alex while his hands were busy trying to restrain Kole, "He needs another shot!"

I turned to see Alex reach into a drawer and pull out what appeared to be a syringe, filled to the top with some green liquid. He threw it at James who caught it easily before plunging the needle into Kole's arm.

I gasped in shock as Kole's body twitched, his nerves turning black as they bulged to the surface, a loud growl issuing from his lips before his body went completely still. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes which were back to his piercing blue and he seemed to appear normal. But for some odd reason, I felt like something was missing. Like a part of him was subdued or locked away. What was it?

Marcus cleared their throat before looking around at his brothers. "Well we know Kole felt it but did everyone else feel her emotions?" There was silence in the room as each one's eyes turned a foggy grey before returning to their normal color. What the hell!

I looked back at Marcus as he clapped his hands while turning in my direction with a sarcastic smile on his face. "Hmm. It looks like you won this round little mate. Which leads us to the next part of our test and since Kole and James have already confirmed it, that just leaves Alex and me."

And as soon as he finished that sentence, he vanished before suddenly appearing in front of me. I gasped as I looked into his blue-grey eyes. I felt something shift in the deepest parts of my soul as I continued to drown in them. Goosebumps began to erupt as my breathing sped up in anticipation. Embarrassingly, I felt my nipples harden pushing through the tight top. And as I tried to back away, I found myself being pulled forward and crushed against a solid chest. A whimper of fear left me as he lowered his face to my neck and began to inhale deeply.

"Exquisite."

My heart quickened its pace with his every breath on my skin, but I couldn't tell if it was due to the fear that I was feeling due to the excitement growing in my gut or a torturous mix of both. His hands slowly rubbed my arms before encircling my back and as much as I wanted to resist and push him away, I couldn't. Somehow, with all four of them in the room, I felt like my determination would have withered into nothingness.

Tingles were bursting in every part of my body, the sensation crippling the last bit of rationality that I was desperately clinging onto. Marcus's hands trailed everywhere before landing on my ass, squeezing the cheeks hard and groaning in pleasure as I whimpered and moaned at the same time. Something was happening and I had no idea why or how to stop it. Some part of me felt guilty for enjoying this with someone who wasn't Thomas but the other part of me acted on instinct, telling me all this was natural.

I gasped as the heat began to build in my core, my pussy slick with need as Marcus's lips roamed my neck testing each spot with his lips and canines. And as he hit that weak curve, my body jolted forward as if it had been electrocuted. My hands immediately grabbed him as my back arched into him, annihilating the distance between us. As our lower halves connected, I realized that I wasn't the only one having a hard time controlling my impulses. Marcus's cock was rock solid, its impressive length proudly prodding against my thighs as he growled in pleasure.

"That's enough Marcus!"

Suddenly Marcus grew still, his body detaching itself as his face rose out of my neck to meet my eyes. His eyes were black and he was panting as if he had run a mile in a full sprint. Before I could understand why he had stopped, he pulled away and turned to the side to face Alex who had stopped him.

My eyes floated over to James and noticed that he was up on his feet, looking at me with his hand shamelessly rubbing the hard bulge over his pants. I cringed, the sight eliciting both disgust and arousal at the same time. And as my eyes moved over the rest of the room, I noticed that Kole had moved to the chair behind the desk and was facing away, as if not wanting to witness what was happening behind him.

My attention returned to Marcus as he spoke to Alex. "James and Kole were right. I felt it. Everything. The tingling feeling, the call of the bond... everything. Now it's just you that needs to confirm it, brother"

Alex and Marcus looked at each other for a few seconds before Alex turned to face me, his face unreadable as he slowly made his way to where I stood. My mouth slightly fell open at how effortlessly he pulled off the dangerous and the regal look, all at the same time. My breath hitched as he stood just an arm's length away, my body automatically responding to his proximity. My legs pushed forward to close the gap between us as I watched his blue eyes flash gold. And just as I raised a foot off the ground, a resounding slap echoed throughout the room as I grabbed my cheek in shock and pain.

"What the fuck Alex?"

"Why did you do that?"

"She could really get hurt. Have you forgotten that she's human?"

Voices were swirling all around us, everyone just as shocked as I was at what had happened. Alex had hit me. Looking at him now as he stared back with a smug expression, I was pretty certain that it was him who had slammed my head against the door. The bastard!

A deviant smile broke across his lips as he spoke, his eyes never leaving my face. "I definitely felt the tingles just then. It was.... how can I put it?....exhilarating."

Silence reigned in the room at his words. Marcus, James, and Kole were all stood looking at me carefully as I clutched the side of my face hoping to ease the sting while trying hard not to burst into tears at the same time.

"What's next James?"

James broke his gaze from me to look at Alex before landing back on me once again, concern and worry written all over his face. "I don't think we should let her face Thomas's wolf. It's hurt and injured and won't hesitate to lash out in its vulnerable state. I'm not sure if it will recognize her as its mate. Maybe we should-"

Alex snapped, his fists clenching as his eyes flashed dangerously. "What?! It was your idea in the first place! You wanted us to see how far the mate bond had grown and that is exactly what we are going to do. Let's go"

I had barely caught the end of the conversation when Alex was dragging me by the arm and slamming the door open as he yanked me through it by force. The roaring sounds were back as we stepped into the hallway. Unable to shield my ears, I winced with every sound, my ears genuinely ringing as we neared the big vault door.

Marcus, Kole, and James followed close behind, as Alex punched in a few numbers before the door opened with a loud woosh. I gasped as my eyes took in the prison-like setup. There were large cells covered on all sides with bars that stood next to each other. Although the space between each bar could easily fit a small human, the cells themselves looked like they were built to imprison something much larger. All of the cells were empty except for the last one which had a wolf pacing side to side and growling menacingly.

I froze. The wind was knocked out of me as I recognized the silver fur on the wolf. It was the same one that was in the room, bleeding on the floor. Although its face looked a bit crooked around the muzzle, it looked to be fine. How was that possible? I suddenly remembered Liam's words when he explained how they shifted into wolves to heal serious injuries. Is that what had happened? So, this was Thomas? And as that realization struck me, my body flooded with relief. He was alive and he was alright!

Another yank at my wrist and I yelped out in pain. Suddenly the room fell silent. The wolf stopped growling as its gaze zeroed in on our group, its yellow eyes staring at everyone before finally landing on me. I shivered as I felt its gaze penetrate my very soul, a mixture of emotions passing through me all at once, none of which I could accurately pinpoint. These emotions didn't feel human. It was something more primal. More animalistic.

A full minute seemed to pass before it bared its teeth and rose on its hackles. Its fur appeared to rise making it seem larger than what it already was, its canines extending threateningly as Alex moved us closer.

"No, please! Stop!" I began to panic. The wolf didn't recognise me by the looks of it and Alex didn't seem too bothered as he continued to drag me along. I hit at his hand and scratched it but nothing could loosen his deadly hold. I screamed as another roar came from the wolf, more lethal this time.

And then I felt my world stop.

I went flying to the floor beside the cell with a scream as Alex shoved me towards the charging wolf which had its teeth bared and froth flying out of the corners of its mouth. I screamed for help and panicked even more as I heard Alex order his brothers not to intervene. Before my panicked mind could switch gears and think of running, the wolf had reached me and let out a furious snarl, pushing its muzzle through the bars before snapping its jaws near my face. I screamed as I closed my eyes, awaiting the moment it would sink its teeth and rip me to shreds but instead, it whimpered loudly.

I was sobbing at this point unaware of the silence that had joined the room. My body and mind had given up, surrendering to the fate which I felt that I was never going to escape from. And just when I thought all was lost, I gasped as I felt something wet slide over my hands that was covering my face. Afraid that this was the moment I was going to feel its teeth, I sobbed harder until I heard another whimper, louder this time, and a muzzle nudged the side of my face.

Slowly lowering my hands, I gasped as I faced the familiar silver eyes that radiated the same warmth every time it fell in my direction. The eyes that belonged to the man I love.

Thomas Carson.

My world felt right again. Made sense again. And just as a smile crept into my face, I heard footsteps walking away in the background. Turning around, I saw Alex, Kole, and James walk toward the door while Marcus stood at the same spot silently looking at Thomas's wolf and then at me.

A small smirk appeared on his face as he whispered before turning to join his brothers.

"You win little mate"