Luminous

by Noelle Marie

  “Tell you what,” Gerard said after a moment, voice practically dripping in faux understanding, “since you’ve had a rough go of it the past few days, I’ll give you another chance to apologize... but let me be perfectly clear. If you don’t co-operate, you will be sorry when I ease this boot off your face and violently introduce it to your belly.” He paused. “Do you understand?”

  Katherine felt her heart fluttering in her chest at the threat. The baby kicked her in the abdomen, like it was urging her to agree. She nodded as much as the uncomfortable position she’d been forced into allowed.

  “Well then?”

  Katherine forced herself to swallow her pride. “Sorry,” she bit out between clenched teeth.

  Gerard literally tisked at her. “Like you mean it,” he reprimanded, “and call me alpha.”

  Katherine took a deep breath in through her nose, stamping down the angry humiliation she could feel threatening to creep up her face in the form of a heated blush. “I’m sorry, alpha,” she managed to force out more respectfully.

  “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Gerard taunted her, removing the pressure of his boot off her face.

  Katherine hurriedly pushed herself back into a standing position. She nearly lost her balance, however, when as soon as she got to her feet, Gerard took her roughly by the chin. Katherine instinctively jerked away, but Gerard just grabbed at it again, this time painfully enough that she winced. “Let me look at you,” he demanded, and she withheld the urge to punch him in his smug mouth as he proceeded to turn her face this way and that, hungry eyes roaming her features. He fingered the faded scar on the left side of her face.

  Lukas hesitantly spoke up from behind Gerard after a few minutes – but what felt more like a few hours to Katherine – of his invasive inspection. “Is she to your tastes?” he asked, sounding nervous and hopeful at the same time.

  Gerard finally let go of her chin, taking a step back out of her space. Katherine released a gust of air she hadn’t even been aware she was holding.

  “She’ll do,” Gerard said, turning to refocus his attention back on Lukas. “I must admit, your competence surprises me.”

  Lukas’s face lit up like Gerard had just pronounced him heir to some imaginary throne instead of having offered him a lukewarm compliment. He bowed his head. “Thank you, alpha.”

  Katherine nearly jumped out of her skin when Gerard’s eyes suddenly flashed yellow, and one of his hands shot forward, wrapping itself around Lukas’s throat and squeezing. She watched in subdued horror as hair started growing on Gerard’s hand, his nails lengthening until they were long and sharp enough to pierce Lukas’s throat if Gerard willed it. “But next time,” Gerard instructed in a deceptively calm voice, “bring my property back to me in one piece. I prefer any marks she wear to be my own.” He released Lukas, shoving him backward as he shook his head. “Honestly, nearly outsmarted by some little bitch.”

  “Yes, alpha. Of course, alpha. I’m sorry, alpha.”

  Gerard waved off the apology. “You can go,” he dismissed Lukas. “You too, Serena,” he added, addressing the woman who, with all of the commotion, Katherine had forgotten was still in the room. “I’ll finish fixing her up.”

  Serena seemed reluctant to leave, her body language practically radiating shame as she stood quietly in a corner of the room. Katherine stared at her, imploring her with her eyes to somehow intervene, but the woman couldn’t even bring herself to look at Katherine as she handed Gerard the cloth and fled.

  She was alone with him.

  Katherine stood stiffly in the tense silence that befell them as Gerard dipped the rag into the nearby bowl of water. He strained the cloth of excess water with his hands.

  His hands. Katherine watched them carefully, the scene she’d been privy to mere minutes before replaying in her mind. She didn’t know if his partial shift into a wolf spoke of impeccable control or none at all.

  Katherine forced herself to remain absolutely still as he brought the rag up to her face, wiping at her mouth and chin with a deceivingly gentle touch that had her on edge.

  “What’s your name?” he asked, as he once again dipped the rag in warm water.

  Katherine clenched her teeth together, refusing to answer.

  She didn’t want the man to know her name; she didn’t want him to have that power over her.

  Gerard smirked at her non-compliance, abandoning the rag in favor of touching her face with his bare hands. He trailed his fingers down her neck in a soft caress that sent shivers down Katherine’s spine, before resting his thumb gently over her pulse point. “You know,” he whispered softly, leaning forward and speaking into her ear, “we can do this the easy way... or the hard way.” He pressed his thumb harder into her neck. “And I do so love the hard way. It’d be foolish to tempt me.”

  “Why do you care?” Katherine demanded after a moment.

  He increased the pressure of his thumb on her pulse point, digging into it until Katherine was sure he could actually feel the erratic beat of her heart, fluttering against his finger like a trapped butterfly pinned to the pavement.

  Katherine protested the only way she could under the circumstances. When she opened her mouth, she lied. “Mallory,” she blurted, spitting out the name of her high school rival. It was a risk, Katherine knew, to deceive him, even with something as inconsequential as her name, but she did it anyway. She didn’t want her name – the name her parents, her pack, and Bastian called her – coming out of Gerard’s foul mouth.

  “Mallory,” he drawled, raising both eyebrows as he slowly released her. “It doesn’t quite suit you.”

  Katherine couldn’t tell whether he was being sarcastic or if he somehow already knew she was lying – Melanie certainly knew her name, after all, and presumably Lukas, as well. Either way, Katherine wanted to retch.

  “Well, Mallory,” he repeated the name once more, “I trust Lukas explained to you why you’re here... or as he failed me in that regard as well?”

  Katherine shifted uncomfortably, playing with the slightly too long sleeves of her coat with her fingers. “He said something about you wanting an heir,” she muttered.

  Gerard grinned. “That’s right.”

  Katherine stiffened, and she forced herself to remain absolutely still when he took a step forward into her immediate space and unzipped her jacket, pulling it slowly off of her one sleeve at a time. He stared at her belly, which was much more prominent without the jacket on. “And I think it’s pretty clear you know exactly how one goes about making one.”

  “It’s also clear that I have a mate,” she snapped back before she could think better of it. “He’s the head alpha of our colony, too. He’s strong, smart, and stupidly protective. When he finds me – and believe me, he will find me – he’s going to rip your head straight off your shoulders.”

  Gerard raised his eyebrows at the tangent, seemingly unimpressed by the threat she ended it with. “If you’re really that bothered by the idea of betraying him, I can certainly have him taken care of to ease your conscience. Now, what was that you said? Head alpha?”

  Katherine stiffened, immediately regretting the way she’d just ignorantly spewed information at him. A mix of fear and anger tore at her stomach.

  “Best you forget about him, lovely,” he said, voice dripping in condescension as he took in her reaction. “Mate or no mate, you happen to be in possession of the most fertile uterus in all the land. The worthless women of this pack are as barren as the damn desert. Really, I’m stuck with you just as much as you’re stuck with me.”

  Right.

  “Now,” he continued, taking a seat on the make-shift mattress stuffed with the feathers of game birds that Katherine assumed served as his bed, “come lay with me.”

  Katherine knew the order was coming – some variation of it, anyway. It’d been made clear to her precisely what she was there for, after all, but that didn’t mean she was going to make it easy for him. She took a step away from the man, ste
eling her resolve. “No.”

  Gerard froze. For the first time since she’d opened her mouth, her defiance seemed to actually bother him rather than merely amuse. “No?” he repeated softly, standing and stepping into her space.

  Katherine held her ground, jutting out her chin as she crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You can do what you want to me. We both know I can’t stop you. But I will never willingly submit to you. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I just lay there and take it as you...” Katherine paused, swallowing around a lump in her throat. As he rapes you, her mind whispered viciously, refusing to shield her from the harsh words. “As you try to impregnate me with your child,” she finally settled on. “I’ll fight you every time until you regret the day you ever even thought of using my body this way.” Katherine was out of breath by the time she had finished the rant.

  Gerard smiled, showing all his teeth. “You will do as I say.”

  Katherine didn’t bother to respond, merely snorting in disbelief.

  What made him think that-?

  “Do you know why?” he continued softly, boldly palming her belly. Katherine froze, a fear greater than any she’d felt before slamming into her like a tsunami crashing onto a shoreline, crushing her resolve much like such a storm would rip trees from their roots, tear buildings to the ground, and generally destroy anything worthwhile in its path. “Because if you don’t, I’ll cut this babe from your body, and perchance he survives that, I’ll drown him in front of your very eyes.” He paused. “But, if you’re a good girl and cooperate, I might not only let the little bastard live, I’ll let you keep him.”

  He was using her unborn baby as leverage against her.

  And there was nothing Katherine could do about it. The worst part was that she knew it wouldn’t stop when the baby was born. Theoretically, Gerard could hold the threat of harming her child over her head forever.

  Katherine wasn’t even aware of the silent tears trailing down her cheeks until he condescendingly caught one with his finger. He patted her cheek. “Don’t cry, lovely. It’s not a good look on you. Now,” he sat back down on his bed, “lay with me.”

  Katherine had no choice but to obey. She approached the bed with jerky steps, tensely sitting on the downy mattress before lying back.

  Gerard didn’t touch her; he just stared. It was unnerving, and she somehow tensed further when he ran a hand through her disheveled hair.

  “Just get it over with,” she snapped.

  “Get what over with?” he mocked as he leaned forward and dug his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent.

  “You know what,” she accused, fighting the urge to lurch away from him.

  Gerard laughed, pulling back enough to once again observe her. “You think I’m going to take you with another man’s bastard in your belly? What’s the point? There’s hardly room for my seed to grow in there, is there?” His eyes gleamed in the firelight as he leaned forward, lips brushing her ear as he spoke. “No, I think I’ll wait. After all, the anticipation will make it all the sweeter when the time comes to finally claim you.” He flashed her a perverse grin before flopping back down on his side of the bed, where he lay, serving as a barrier between her and the door. “Sweet dreams, Katherine,” he added, offering her one last smirk before turning his back on her.

  Katherine’s breath hitched at the sound of her name coming out of the uncouth man’s mouth. He had known it all along. Lukas must have told him it before they’d even walked into his hut.

  But what was the point of making Katherine tell him it, then?

  Because the power he lorded over her gave him some sort of sick thrill, obviously.

  Tears filled Katherine’s eyes at the thought, hands clenching protectively at her belly as the man beside her settled in for sleep. The tears were as much of relief as they were of fear and frustration. Gerard had granted her a reprieve, after all. In a surprise twist of events, the baby inside of her was protecting her from harm as much as she was trying to protect him or her.

  Katherine couldn’t help but think of what would happen, though, when the time came to give birth, and they could no longer afford each other any sort of real protection. She sniffled quietly, hoping the man beside her had surrendered to sleep and didn’t hear her sniveling. She could only hope that Bastian and the pack found her before it came to that.

  It was with that thought in mind that Katherine closed her eyes and prayed. Not to any deity that may or may not have been watching over her, but to a man who she believed in more than any of them.

  Hurry, Bastian. Please.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  He didn’t come for her. Not in her dreams, and certainly not in real life.

  Instead of waking in Bastian’s warm embrace, his limbs wound snugly around hers, Katherine woke in the same strange hut-like habitation she’d somehow fallen asleep in the night before. At least the bed she’d woken up in was empty – cold where Gerard had slept the night before.

  She sat up and glanced around the hut. It didn’t look much different in the daylight. It was difficult to tell it was even morning – there were no windows in the crude dwelling. She only knew the sun had risen, in fact, because of the rays of light that snuck in under the animal skin flap that served as a door.

  Inspecting the room, Katherine’s eyes roamed over bare walls before taking in the furniture she’d been too distressed to notice last night. There wasn’t much of it, just a crudely built wooden table and two matching chairs. There was also a large clay basin filled with water near the fire pit. The blaze from the night before had been reduced to red and orange embers, only a thin trail of smoke rising up towards the small opening in the ceiling. The smoke smelled strange – different from the night before. It made Katherine’s nose wrinkle, and she wondered if some sort of incense had been added to it.

  The hut was also vacant save for herself and Serena. The woman was sitting on the floor near the fire, weaving what looked like a basket of sorts in her lap. Her eyes widened when they flickered up and met Katherine’s. Serena instinctively stood, wiping her hands on the dirty apron-type garment that covered an equally dirty dress. The dress was collared and may have once been a bright yellow color, but had dulled with age. It looked like it was from the seventies. It probably was.

  “Good morning.”

  Katherine stared. “Yeah, it’s a great one,” she deadpanned after a moment, pulling the furs off her lap. She didn’t remember being under any covers when she’d fallen asleep, and it disturbed her to think Gerard had placed them over her sometime during the night. The idea of his hands anywhere near her while she was unconscious made her stomach twist in revulsion.

  Serena bit her lip at Katherine’s obvious sarcasm, but offered forth no rebuff.

  Katherine ignored the woman – girl, really, she wasn’t much older than her – as she threw her legs off the bed. Her bare feet landed on the pelt covered ground, the plush fur soft beneath her toes. Katherine frowned. Bare feet? She could have sworn she’d had her boots on last night when she’d fallen asleep.

  She eyed the girl near the fire. “Where are my boots?” Katherine searched the ground for them, as well as the coat Gerard had stripped her of the night before. “And my jacket?”

  Serena didn’t immediately answer, but her eyes flitted towards the fire pit.

  That strange smell.

  Katherine’s eyes widened as realization dawned. She rushed towards the nearly extinguished fire. Inside she spotted her boots – or what used to be her boots, anyway. They were burnt – charred nearly beyond recognition – covered in black soot with their rubber grips melted. They’d been rendered useless, but Katherine’s couldn’t resist her gut reaction to reach forward and snatch them from the fire.

  Serena grabbed her by the wrist before her hand got too close to the hot embers, tugging her backward. “What are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself!”

  Katherine raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “What am I-? Hurt myself?” H
ysterical laughter bubbled up her throat. “Is that how you think this happened, Serena?” she demanded, gesturing furiously at her bruised face. “I hurt myself?” She shook her head. “What am I supposed to do without any shoes? Or my jacket?” She assumed that had been destroyed as well. “How am I supposed to-?” Katherine cut herself off before she could blurt out the word “escape”. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in through her nose before opening her mouth again. “How am I supposed to go outside without any shoes?” she asked as calmly as she could manage.

  She couldn’t leave the hut with bare feet; at least, not for any substantial amount of time. The western colony was stationed somewhere in northwest Canada. Katherine didn’t have to go outside to know that not only was the temperature well below freezing, but that every inch of the ground was covered in ice, snow, or a mixture of both.

  A frown tugged at Serena’s mouth. “You’re not,” she confessed quietly. “It’s a preventive measure. Gerard wants to make sure you don’t get any ideas.”

  He wanted to-? That was... he was positively conniving.

  Katherine only had a vague idea where they were geographically, but knew it was safe to assume that the western colony was located somewhere in the vast wilderness, with nothing – and nobody – around for miles. Werewolf or not, if she made a run for it, she’d get frostbite, and possibly – probably – lose both her feet well before she could reached anyone who could help her. Katherine pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes in an effort to hold back frustrated tears.

  “I’m sorry,” Serena offered softly.

  “You’re sorry?” Katherine demanded, ripping her hands from her face. “If you’re so sorry, then go get me some damn shoes. Better yet, give me yours and point me the hell out of here.”

  Katherine was tempted to just wrestle the girl to the floor and take her shoes. They weren’t heavy duty snow boots, but the ankle-high, fur-lined moccasins would more than do. She felt she stood a good chance of coming out on top in a squabble with Serena, too, despite their size difference. The girl seemed fairly reserved, and Katherine was a scrapper. But she didn’t know what or who was waiting for her beyond the hut’s door, and Katherine wasn’t quite desperate enough to take such a risk. Not yet, anyway.