Chapter 26

Charlie's lungs felt like they were going to burst from the amount of effort she had forced into the scream. Bill had told her when he tied her to the chair, that it was pointless wasting her energy with trying to scream and shout through the rag in her mouth. He had said there was nobody around for miles, only wolves, but she had to keep trying.

"Sh… sh… she's in here, like you wa… wanted, Alpha," a man said.

"Thank you, Falcon. Make sure nobody goes to her unless they're with me. Understand?"

"I d… do. Yes, Alpha. Na...na… nobody."

Charlie froze as the lock on the door banged and was promptly followed by the sound of creaking of wood. She held her breath as footsteps thudded across the wooden floor. Something brushed the foisty fabric over her head then tugged at her hair sharply. Blinding light flooded her vision and she screwed her eyes shut against it.

"Our client was very particular in what he wanted. You were to be brought here unharmed and we were to bring the hybrid along, too. Unfortunately, he wasn't with you and he doesn't get the same treatment as you do, but that doesn't matter. We will find him by the time my client arrives. I hope Thunder and Bill weren't overly rough with you?"

Charlie squinted against the light as she opened her eyes and waited for her vision to adjust. Standing in front of her was the Alpha who had interrupted the fight between Aiden and Thunder. Turning her eyes away from him, Charlie took in her surroundings. She was in the corner of a large wood-panelled, windowless room that was completely bare except for the chair that she was tied to. A single lightbulb hung on a low drop in the centre of the room, just behind where the Alpha stood and the only exit was a small door at the opposite side of the room.

"Not much of a talker, eh? That's alright. I'll pass the time on and talk for the both of us, shall I? Mister Hernandez was very insistent about making you feel as comfortable as possible. Apparently, he has something special planned for you, not that I know what that is, mind you. I wouldn't normally do this type of work but he's offered quite a penny for you, you know."

Charlie tried her best to keep her face and eyes as expressionless as possible while she listened to the Alpha talk. She knew there was no way of escaping but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing how terrified she was.

"I haven't heard of this Hernandez guy before. He's American, though. Could tell by his accent. Must be some sort of billionaire or something, to have the millions that he's offered for you and that hybrid friend of yours. Where is he, anyway? He was so eager to defend you at the pub but now he's nowhere to be seen, the little runt. Mind you, I can hardly blame him. The guy can't even handle a runt like Thunder, let alone anyone else. It's always Thunder getting his arse handed to him but your little runt of a wolf might as well have been a kitten fresh from the nipple, for all the effort he managed to put in. Anyway, not that it matters now. He's going to be a dead kitten when Hernandez gets here. 'Dead or alive, one piece or many,' is what he said about your kitten. I've got a party out looking for him right now and when he is found, I'll bring him in here so you can say goodbye before I tell him to run. It's been a while since we've had a hunt," the Alpha said, cracking his knuckles.

Charlie made a grunting noise with her throat and tried to push the rag out of her mouth.

"There's no point screaming so don't bother. You'll only set the boys off and they're eager enough as it is, now they know there will be a hunt," he told her as he pulled the rag from her mouth.

"What do you mean by hunt?"

"The hunt, my dear, is where we got our namesake. I'll use your kitten as an example. It will make it easier for you to imagine if you have a star player that you know. So, we find Kitty and we bring him here to this room, or cabin, as we like to call it. We leave him tied up and blindfolded and on the stroke of midnight, he's unwrapped like a little Christmas present, all cute and ready to play. Little kitty is going to run like the world is ending because, I'll be honest, for him, it will be unless he makes it to the field that meets the edge of the wood. If he does that, he lives to purr another day. Your little kitty has a slight advantage in so much as he can shift, but even then, every single male within my pack is on that hunt and they never lose. I doubt tonight will be any different."

Charlie lost the battle of tears as they fell down her cheeks like silent waterfalls. She knew that Aiden wouldn't stand a chance against a pack of wolves that were all baying for blood. Nobody could.

"You don't even have him here so what makes you so sure it will be tonight?"

Her insides were churning as her mind flashed through images of Aiden being ripped apart, like a slow-motion horror movie but her voice somehow sounded strong and defiant.

"Tonight, tomorrow, next week. Who cares? It will happen at some point and I'm sure it will be worth the wait. I know Thunder is definitely looking forward to the hunt. I'm sure I heard him say something about keeping a paw as a good luck charm. If you ask him nicely, I'm sure that he won't mind finding a second one for you. It could be your keepsake to remind you of your little pet. You never know, he might even clean the blood off it before he gives it to you or you could always ask him for the heart, instead. That would make a nice fireplace feature if you popped it in a jar of vinegar."