Dread seeped into my stomach, sickening me. He didn’t let me see her, blocking the door with his body and smirking down at me. I didn’t hear a peep from my bondmate. That was concerning. The bond was oddly silent too, and I shivered.
“My little sister didn’t know how to control herself on the ride over,” Tobias said. “I didn’t want to deal with her snivelling omega bullshit, so she’s taking a little nap.”
My eyes widened and I snarled, jumping up ungracefully from the mattress. With my hands bound in front of me, there was little I could do, but I was slowly undoing the ties. I’d rubbed my wrists raw on the rope, trying to get it to loosen.
“Calm down, she’ll be awake soon. We need her for the Ashby pack.”
“She’ll never belong to the Ashby pack.”
She never should have been caught and brought back here at all—what had happened? Ambrose and the guys should have known she would be at risk of running off to find me. They were smart enough to realize. They should have stopped her.
“She already does, and so do you.”
The door pulled closed as he left, all those locks being turned again. This time, however, a small slot in the door was propped open. I hadn’t noticed it when I’d first been tossed in here, but it was thin, only wide enough for a plate of food.
Kiara’s scent wafted in through it, making me groan. Her heat was affecting how she smelled, the coconut chocolate infinitely more tantalizing than usual.
Tobias had flicked that small hatch open on purpose, knowing I would slowly work myself up higher and higher into a frenzy until I was the animal he claimed I was. He was holding myomegacaptive now, not just me. It took a lot to break my grasp on my more collected nature, but that would do the trick.
I avoided going to the door and looking through that small hole, barely.
If I saw her, I wouldn’t be able to be calm. I needed calm. I needed to slowly wrestle my wrists from these stupid bindings, so I had a chance to save her.
For what felt like ages, I inhaled shallow breaths of her scent, trying to forget where we were.
Remember better times.
The times we never had, even. More banter with Dash, comfort with Ambrose, and affection in the form of overprotectiveness from Mercury. A heat without her being in danger and without me getting kidnapped.
I sat in those memories and made up scenarios, confident that I would be able to stay calm.
Until I heard her.
A low groan came from the other room, then some shuffling. The groan morphed into a whine, and when I opened myself up to our bond it was once again full of her. She was panicked and scared, and I tried to push calm through the bond. Manufactured calm, because I wasn’t truly feeling it anymore.
“Where’s Leighton?” Kiara asked, her voice muffled by the walls separating us.
I gave in and went toward the door, trying to catch a glimpse of her through the tiny gap. People stood in my way. Guards, Tobias, and the Ashby pack all circled where she sat, drawn in by her wakefulness.
“She’s in your room, sis. Where else would I have put her?”
My bondmate’s fear spiked. She projected it to me through the bond, and it was so strong it soured her scent as well. I growled, drawing attention to me.
Tobias looked over his shoulder, grinning when he saw me peering uselessly through the slim gap.
“Looks like she’s ready for the show, too. Cordian, you’re up.”
Cordian had a blank expression on his face, his movements stiff. He stepped toward where I knew my omega sat, and the shift gave me the tiniest peek at her.
There was blood matting her hair.
I dug my fingernails into my palms, fighting more vigorously to get the restraints off me. It was the first step to getting through this door. To giving Tobias what he deserved.
This was one of very few situations that warranted violence over finesse.
“Tobias, I don’t think it’s necessary—”
Cordian’s complaint was cut off by a short, barked laugh from Tobias.
