“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You’re one of them!” She shouted. “What kind of people are you?”
He pressed his lips together and ran his tongue across his teeth willing his fangs to disappear. “No, I’m not.”
“You better not come near me!”
He stepped closer. “Sssshh…please. You’ll draw attention.”
“I’ll kill you!”
He tried to hold back his amusement. No woman had ever uttered those three little words to him. “I’m locked up in this cell with you. Do you really think I want to harm you?”
“Just stay right there.” She held up a hand. There was a jagged cut on the palm and her fingers were covered in blood.
From the scent of it, it was her blood and someone else’s. Someone familiar.
He wasn’t taking any chances; he didn’t want his blood added to the equation. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay back.” He took a few steps back.
The woman hugged her body with her arms in an attempt to cover up. She shivered as well. He figured the combination of fear and cold had taken over her.
He pulled his shirt over his head and offered it to her. “Here.”
The woman eyed him like a hawk, her gaze sliding from his face to the shirt he offered. Stepping forward, she snatched it, ran into her corner, turned her back, and pulled it over her. She sat down, bringing her knees to her chest with her bloodied hands balled into fists.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. Following suit, he moved to the other corner and sat down facing her. He wanted to go over to her and comfort her, but figured that wasn’t the wise thing to do given her threat to kill him.
“I was attacked. How can I not be afraid?”
“Of me, I meant. Don’t be afraid of me.”
She looked up to level her stare at him. “I don’t trust you.”
Her lips were pursed in fury. They were a perfect set of lips. Rosy in color and plump and sexy. Her feral gaze nearly hypnotized him.
He shook his head. “That’s okay. I’m a stranger. I know.” He studied her. Even in her state of distress, she was clearly a very beautiful woman. “My name is Nick.”
“Why are you locked up?”
“I was captured, and brought here for trespassing.”
She returned an ambiguous stare. “Me too. They brought me here and will not let me go.”
“How long have you been here?” He had no idea that Darius kept human servants nowadays.
“I was traveling to visit a friend when I swerved to miss an animal in the road. My car crashed off the main highway. I must have blacked out. Next thing I know, I woke up on a cot with Mr. Mangled Face staring down at me. It’s been a day or two, maybe.”
“Mr. Mangled Face?” His gaze dropped to her bloodied fists. “What happened to your hands?”
“I stabbed Scarface with broken glass.”
“Scarface?” Who were these people she was talking about?
“He attacked me. They called him Darius. He had the ugly, mangled scars on his face.”
Nick ground his teeth. The nerve of him to attack an innocent woman. “Are you alright?”
“No.”
“I can help.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she managed to shed not one of them. “This was a mistake. I want to go home.”
“I’ll get you out of here,” Nick said.
Hope filled her eyes, replacing the tears. “Hi, Nick. I’m Selene.”
“Selene,” he whispered.
“Yes, but not like the singer. Mine’s spelled with an S.”
He smiled. “Right. Pretty name.”
She shrugged. “It’s alright. My dad named me.”
The casual conversation seemed to calm her, so he carried on, all the while examining her slowly. “What would you rather be called then?”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s an odd thing to ask someone.”
Her eyes were a deep brown. Bedroom eyes. Eyes you could get lost in for hours on end.
“You have an accent. Northern and maybe Spanish?”
Selene cracked a small smile, and lowered her thick eyelashes. “There’s no disguising this accent. I’ve tried many times, but I always slip and most people figure it out.”
“I like your accent.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Since this afternoon, but it seems like forever.”
She scanned the room outside their cell, really observing their surroundings for the first time with a troublesome expression on her face. What had Darius done to her?
The only light in the room was from the moonbeams that snuck through a tiny barred window. It was dark inside, and if it wasn’t for his wolf eyes, he would not be enjoying how lovely she looked despite her distress.
“Do you have a plan to get out of here?” She asked.
“Yes.”
“How?”
She was relentless.
“The guards are sloppy. I’m just waiting for the right moment.”
“You’re patient, then?”
He nodded. “In order to defeat an enemy, you must know him thoroughly.”
“Makes sense.”
From across the room, Nick heard her stomach grumble. It wasn’t gas. Evidently, she was experiencing hunger pangs. “You haven’t eaten since you’ve been here, have you?”
She didn’t answer.
Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of jerky wrapped in a plastic. It was the last piece he had. He’d been saving it for tomorrow in case his plans backfired. He handed it to her, arms outstretched.
Surprisingly, she came forward and accepted it. “Thank you.”
He inhaled her scent again as her small fingers opened the package and extracted the jerky. She tore the dried meat in half and handed one to him.
He smiled and accepted his piece, eating it in one bite.
She sat beside him and nibbled hers slowly.
Her toes were painted a bright red, the same color as her nails. His shirt barely covered her and his gaze ran over long shapely calves and plush thighs. She was a light cinnamon complexion, just like her smell. It would be difficult keeping his eyes off of her.
After eating the jerky, she rested her head on the wall of the cell and yawned. “Talk to me some more, so I don’t fall asleep.”
“If you’re tired, why don’t you sleep?”
She glanced at him then, but her eyelids were heavy. “Because I’m scared.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you, but what about?”
“Anything.” Her speech slurred. “I love the sound of your voice.”
“Okay. I’ll tell you a bit about myself.” Nick swallowed. “I grew up in a very small town in Virginia. Near the mountains. A place where everyone knows everyone. My parents owned the supermarket where I worked until I was old enough to move out of their home. I then attended a nearby technical school and began my career as a welder. It wasn’t my dream profession. I dreamed of something bigger.” He frowned. “Something happened in my small home town. Things weren’t the same. Our close nit community began falling to pieces. I wasn’t the only one who could see that. If it wasn’t for Devin, my closest friend, I probably would have given up on my dreams…”
Nick stole a glance at Selene. He knew before he started that he wouldn’t get to finish is boring life story.
Her head had fallen on his shoulder, and she was fast asleep.
CHAPTER FIVE
Selene was jarred awake by the sound of a door slam. Her hands instantly went to her neck as pain shot through her spine. The tendons had become stiff as she slept on Nick’s shoulder through the night.
Nick’s body tensed beside her, and he turned in the direction of the door. “Patience,” he whispered. “We’ll get out of here soon.”
She hoped he was right.
As he stood over by the bars, she examined him further. He was built and tall. Hard around the edges, but yet he’d been so gentle, ensuring her throughout t
he night to stay calm. His voice was deep, soft…and eased her fears. If it wasn’t for him, she probably couldn’t remain in the right state of mind. She’d never been locked up in a cell like this and held against her will.
His bronzed muscular back rippled as he gripped the bars. His toffee colored skin complexion reminded her of the candies she had always loved as a child. There were tattoos on either side of his arms. They were symbols of some sort. His head had been shaved, as if with a sharp razor. He was nearly bald.
Two men came down the stairs. They weren’t the same one’s who’d thrown her in the cell last night. One of them carried a tray in his hands. He bent down and slid it under the cell.
Selene thought she heard a growl escape Nick’s lips.
“Do you think we’re stupid? It’s poisoned!” He used his foot to push the tray back under the cell. The blunt force caused it to crash into the opposite wall and the bowls of soup splattered across the walls and onto the guards’ pants.
One of them came to stand outside of the cell, meeting Nick in challenge. “It seems you can’t be contained by cell. Perhaps you’d like to be tied up again like the rabid animal you are?”
“Do with me what you will, but what did she do to deserve being in here?”
“Direct orders from Darius.”
“She’s a woman, for God sakes. Have respect.”
The guards gaze shifted toward her. Selene lowered her gaze to the floor.
“The bathroom. We need to use it,” Nick hissed.
“There’s a drain on the floor behind you.”
“You asshole! You’re no better than that sick crook who leads you.”
“If you really need to piss, that’s where you should go.”
“The woman…you want her to pee on the floor?”
The guard shuffled his feet a bit, as if unsure on what to do. “Alright. One at a time. The human goes first.”
Selene rose on shaky legs from her sitting position. She met eyes with Nick as she walked toward the open end of the cell.
“It’s okay,” he whispered, and then turned his attention to the guard. “If either of you so much as touch her, I’ll rip your throat out.”
The threat seemed real, but the guard leading her to the small bathroom stall never laid a finger on her.
“Quickly,” he ordered, and shut the door behind her.
The first thing she looked for was a way to escape. It was pointless. The windows were barred and someone had hammered a board over it from the outside.
As she hoovered over the toilet, careful not to touch the surface of it, she exhaled, releasing the water she’d been holding in her bladder throughout the night. She would have died from absolute embarrassment if she were made to piss in the drainage on the floor while Nick and the others watched.
The water in the faucet was icy cold, but she washed her hands of the dirt and blood anyway. Then she brought handfuls of water to her mouth, quenching her thirst. The mirror over the sink was old and clouded over with dust. She took the heel of her palm and cleaned off a corner of it. The reflection that stared back revolted her. She looked like one big hot mess. Like a wild woman.
She dipped her head and splashed water over her face and attempted to rub her face clean.
“It’s enough.” The guard rapped on the door. “Your time is up.”
“Okay. Coming.” Using just the water, she ran her fingers through her hair combing it back and out of her face.
Before she exited, she stuffed the metal key down lower into her bra. It was her last hope, but she still hadn’t figured out how she’d get away all by herself once she was free from the confines of the cell.
She was placed back into the open cell, and Nick followed the same man to the bathroom stall.
When Nick was gone, the taller one eyed her intensely, a smug grin on his face. “It’s a shame you won’t eat,” he drawled. “Our alpha has plans for you and you’ll need your energy.”
She shivered, and shook her head to rid her mind of what she’d almost been forced to endure the night before.
“I have no intentions of being part of his plans,” she said, keeping her gaze on the floor.
“Last night was your warning,” he said. “This is your cool down period. I’m not sure why he’d even spare you. I suspect you won’t be so lucky tonight.”
She glanced up. “Tonight?”
“You’ll get another chance…or be served your punishment alongside your cellmate.”
“Punishment?” Her heart seized in panic. “What do you mean?”
“He’s not too happy about you assaulting him before his business meeting.”
This time she laughed. “He’s saying that I assaulted him?” She stood up to face him with only the bars separating them. “He’s a sick bastard who tried to rape me.”
The man reached through the bars and grabbed her by the throat.
Her breath rushed out of her as he squeezed hard.
His teeth were barred, sharp and long. Like canine teeth.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the heel of his hand was pushed against her voice box.
There was commotion to the left of them as Nick emerged from the stall. The moment she blinked, Nick tore away from the one who escorted him and crossed the room.
“I warned you,” Nick growled, shoving her attacker violently, nearly ten feet across the room.
The man’s body slammed against the wall but he scrambled back up with malice etched on his face. This time his fangs dripped with saliva. He growled like a dog.
Selena’s gaze darted from her attacker to Nick. His expression was the same. Furious. With canines, fighter’s stance, clenched fists, and all.
They came together swiftly, flesh hitting flesh.
She screamed aloud, shattering her own eardrums and cowered in the furthest corner of the cell.
They fought like two pro wrestlers, pinning each other to the floor and trading punches to the face and chest.
The man standing off to the side barged forward, trying to separate the two, but he ended up on the ground with a busted lip for his efforts. He got up and retaliated, grabbing what looked like a broken off piece of long metal pipe.
Selene cringed when he swung at the fighting pair. Her heart settled only a bit when he missed, hitting absolutely nothing but thin air.
One would have thought two animals were fighting by the way they tumbled across the floor, oblivious to everything else around them with sharp growls and fervent snarls escaping their mouths.
The taller man caught Nick off guard as he recovered from a blow, held up a clawed hand, and slashed Nick across the abdomen.
Nick howled in pain, and she pressed her own lips together, mentally sensing the agony he must have felt.
The other man helped by taking the opportunity and hitting Nick across the back with the metal pole.
Nick fell to his knees right in front of her and the cell.
At that moment, their gazes met. His eyes were wild and savage. His fangs were barred. Her pulse tripped, and her heart nearly stopped as she stared at the man she did not recognize anymore.
“Nick?” She whispered.
His stare softened, but at the same time the pole was raised over him again by one of his attackers.
“Kill him,” the other encouraged, holding his hand to his bloody throat.
The man swung, delivering another blow.
Nick’s body lunged forward, face first onto the floor.
Her legs moved on their own accord and she rushed to help him. When the man lifted the pole again, she shielded Nick with her body.
“Please. Stop,” she cried.
“Move, you stupid waif, or I’ll swing,” he warned, his eyes bulging in anger.
They were going to kill him. She couldn’t live with the knowledge of someone dying trying to save her.
“I will do whatever you want. Tell your alpha I will do it,” she pleaded.
The stunt man lowered the bar, but only s
lightly.
Nick didn’t appear to be conscious as she pushed at his shoulder. She turned back to their attackers. “Don’t kill him…please.”
“It’ll be a while before he recovers.” The man lowered the bar. “I’ll tell our leader that you have acquiesced. We’ll be back for you.”
They trekked back up to the stairs. The injured one left a trail of blood behind. Even though they’d been left outside the cell, she heard the locks being bolted shut, barring them inside once again.
Selene shifted her attention back to Nick. Using all her strength, she turned him over in her lap.
His chest moved up and down slightly, but she still put her hand close to his lips to confirm that he still breathed.
“Nick.” She carefully touched the skin surrounding the bloodied gash in his side. The sight of blood had been something she’d never been able to tolerate. Her stomach grew queasy as the red fluid continued to slowly spurt from his side. “Wake up.”
The strong smell of copper wafted under her nose. There was also another underlying scent. A scent that was unique to him.
She shook him again, but his body felt heavy and limp on her lap.
When he didn’t respond, she eased him on to the floor and then rushed back to the bathroom stall. Using the sharp end of a metal shard she found, she tore the bottom end of her shirt and drenched it with water.
Selene dragged Nick across her lap again and gently pressed the cloth around the wound. She wanted to apply pressure to stop the blood flow, but didn’t want to inflict pain. Biting her lower lip, she pushed as firm she could onto his side. She wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead with the other end of the shirt as she kept the pressure applied.
She hadn’t really taken a good look at him before, but she couldn’t help but study his features now. His facial structure and jaw line were well defined giving him a clean edgy look. His lips were well formed—not too full and not too thin. He was far from the average male, and exceptionally handsome. He was nearly twice as big as her, but from what she could see of his arms and chest, most of it was pure muscle.
He wore some type of cologne, or maybe it was just the way he smelled. Almost like pine trees still wet from morning dew.
Wolf's Kingdom: (COBRA Coalition) (Caedmon Wolves Book 8) Page 25
