A Wolf's Oath (13 page)
Pain made time blur, seconds becoming minutes and minutes
days. Her world had narrowed down to the room she was kept in, the
silver shackled chair she was trapped against and the silver blade.
Agony was her constant companion and her life before this room and
these people seemed like a distant dream. Even in sleep she was
unable to escape the pain inflicted on her body. Her tormentors
found it amusing to see how much pain they could cause her sleeping
form before she was forced to wake. Their cruel laughter flooded
her ears when she woke and followed her when she tried to escape
through dreams. She wasn’t sure how long she had been kept here but
each second that she remained trapped seemed like an eternity. She
could hear the door to her room open, the distinct shuffling of
feet telling her that her tormentor was now with her. Her body
tensed, the instant she realised who it was, anticipating the
inevitable moment when more pain would be heaped on her battered
body. His hands were surprisingly gentle as they touched her,
checking the state of her injuries.
He wants me alive not dead. I suppose he just doesn’t want me
to bleed to death. God I wish I could simply bleed to death.
However morbid her new death wish was, it was the
truth. Her body couldn’t die from the pain inflicted at the hands
of the hunters. The wounds they caused had healed instantly when
they had first started damaging her body. As time dragged on
however, her body had become slower to heal, exhausted from
overuse. Her captors refused to feed her, hoping to starve her into
submission and her famished body simply couldn’t gather the
strength to heal anything that wasn’t life threatening.
Her eyes widened at the glint of the dreaded silver knife her
captors used as their main instrument of torture. The beatings, the
burning and the almost drowning she could handle, the silver blade
however inspired stark terror within her. Her tormentor didn’t
disappoint her expectations. As soon as he was certain that she
wasn’t going to die if she wasn’t given more time to heal, the
knife was stabbed viciously into her shoulder. The skin around the
wound immediately began to burn. She could practically feel the
blood within her body began to thicken, moving sluggishly through
her system. Weakness overwhelmed her and she slumped forward in the
chair.
“
How are you today?” Her captor’s voice was unnervingly cheery
for someone who had just stabbed another living being and seemed to
be taking great pleasure in their suffering.
He doesn’t see me as a person so maybe that explains why he’s
so unmoved by my suffering. I’m less than an animal to this
bastard.
She groaned aloud in response to
his pointless question.
Her reaction apparently unsatisfactory, he cupped her chin,
forcing her head up until their eyes met. Her vision was partially
obscured by her long hair. Once shiny and sleek it was now sweaty,
dirty and matted with her own blood. Her tormentor moved her hair
from her face, tucking the strands behind her ear in what under any
other circumstance would have been a comforting gesture. Erica
however, knew what was coming. He backhanded her hard across the
cheek and her ears began to ring from the impact.
“
Are you feeling any more talkative today?” The knife embedded
into her shoulder was twisted maliciously and she screamed as more
pain tore through her. “I swear I will end all your suffering if
you just tell me where your clans are. It is all up to you. As soon
as you give me the word the pain will end.”
Even if I die I can’t tell him where to find Dylan, Wyatt….
Sebastian.
Her mate’s name came unbidden to
her thoughts but she couldn’t find it in herself to deny him a
place among them.
“
Please just let me go.” She knew the request would be denied
the moment the words left her lips, but the hope that she would
somehow escape her current predicament had never died despite the
abuse.
“
I’m not going to let you go out into the world and wreak
havoc.”
“
I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this, we’re
peaceful people. I’ve never killed a person in my life.”
Though if through some miracle I manage to get
out of this, you will be number one on my new hit list.
Her tormentor’s scent was firmly lodged in her
mind so that if she ever were to be freed, she would easily be able
to track him and change that fact. Her hands would be stained red
with blood should that day ever come and she knew she would enjoy
his death.
“
Why exactly would I believe you? There isn’t anything you
wouldn’t say to get out of this situation. I know for a fact that
you freaks are violent monsters. I had an uncle that was maimed by
a werewolf. He would have been killed if my father hadn’t come
across him and shot the wolf. Besides if you were so peaceful, then
why exactly is your history littered with murder?”
Her eyes locked with his, anger coursing through her veins.
“Stupid human myths! If one of my people tried to kill one of your
people then the idiot deserved it. We don’t kill without a
reason.”
“
Myths? If that’s all they were then this wouldn’t hurt would
it?” He turned the blade within her shoulder and she screamed in
response. “I don’t think so. Besides even if the tales were myths,
which as I just demonstrated clearly isn’t the truth, are you
trying to tell me that a member of my family deserved what that
monster did to him?” She immediately realized that she hadn’t done
herself any favours with her last statement. “He was mutilated by
your kind. He probably would have been better off dead,” he ranted.
Her tormentor stepped away from her, his chest rising and falling
quickly as he struggled to calm himself. “Are you going to tell me
what I want to know? Tell me where I can find your clans.” He
stepped forward, gripping the arm rests of her chair as he leaned
into her and his hot breath feathered over her face.
“
You know I’m not going to tell you. I’m not going to just let
you slaughter my family. Why don’t you just kill me and get it over
with,” she sighed, resigned to her fate.
Better me than them,
she reasoned,
refusing to back away from her captor’s intense gaze.
“
You will tell me, trust me. I’m going to make all this seem
like a day at the park and when you’re bloody and battered to a
pulp I want you to remember that you forced me to do
this.”
*****
Three days had passed since Sebastian had arrived back at his
mate’s cabin and there was still no sign of her. The first two days
had passed without him worrying but as time continued still with no
sign of her return he became increasingly concerned. Ryan had
chosen to remain with him at the cabin until the person who lived
in it returned, anxious to see who could produce such intense
emotions in his usually calm brother. As night fell once more
Sebastian began to pace across the small living room. Lying back
against the sofa, Ryan watched him pace for the first ten minutes
with mild amusement. However as time flew past and Sebastian
continued to walk from one end of the room to the other and back
again, trying to rid himself of the nervous energy that filled him,
Ryan became increasingly agitated with his brother’s repetitive
movement.
“
Will you stop pacing?” he groaned as he sat up. Sebastian
stopped though he looked distinctly confused as though he hadn’t
realized exactly where he was. “You were going to wear a hole in
that carpet. Just relax.”
“
I can’t Ryan, she should be here by now.”
“
I don’t understand what you’re so agitated about. So the woman
decided to add another few days to her holiday. Dylan and Wyatt are
good kids, but exhausting. It’s no wonder she decided to take
advantage of your generosity and stay away from here a little
longer. She’ll be back soon enough.”
“
Erica isn’t like that Ryan,” Sebastian groaned, falling onto
the sofa next to his brother. “She’s practically their mother, she
wouldn’t just leave them behind like this. She should be here by
now.”
“
Well she’s not and there isn’t anything that all your worrying
is going to achieve except for annoying me. I don’t even understand
why you’re so worried about this Erica woman Sebastian. It just
isn’t like you.”
“
Ryan, what I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room. It has
to stay just between us. Do you understand?”
Sebastian rarely sounded so serious and when he did it
usually was over something very important so Ryan nodded
enthusiastically. “Of course Sebastian. I’m really good at keeping
your secrets. Mother and father still don’t know who burnt down the
greenhouse when we were younger now do they?”
He chuckled despite his anxiety. “No, they don’t,” he
admitted before sighing, “Erica is my mate Ryan.”
“
Your mate? You lucky bastard, you found her already.
Congratulations.” Ryan grinned, clapping his brother on the back
before a thought occurred to him. “Is that where you were when you
asked me to come here and look after these kids? You were claiming
her? My brother and my cousin both claiming their mates under the
same full moon, what are the odds?”
“
That isn’t exactly what happened,” Sebastian murmured. “Erica
refused my claim the first night I met her. That’s why I wasn’t at
the estate, I was trying to convince her that she should accept
me.”
“
Why on earth would she refuse you? Are you sure you were
interpreting the situation correctly? Was she just playing hard to
get? It doesn’t make sense for a female wolf just to out and out
reject her mate.”
“
That’s what I thought as well. I found out that Erica has some
issues when it comes to trusting the males of our species. Her
father practically committed suicide after the death of her mother
and she didn’t want to have a mate in case he did the exact same
thing.”
“
And what did you tell her?”
“
I gave her my word that I wouldn’t do such a thing should
anything happen to her.”
“
An oath between mates shouldn’t be broken Sebastian,” Ryan
commented, his voice serious.
“
I’m aware of that. I don’t intend to break it. My wolf on the
other hand has other ideas, but we’ll work that out between
us.”
“
So what happened between you on the full moon?”
“
She left me a note.” Reaching into the pocket of his jeans he
pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper and handed it to his
brother to read. “She just needed more time. We’d only known each
other a few days and that really wasn’t enough to overcome a
lifetime’s worth of fears. I understood that, my wolf on the other
hand did not.”
I still don’t understand it,
the wolf
grumbled.
“
Erica knew that I’d come for her so she ran away and I tried
my best to give her a head start. My wolf ran for her throughout
the nights and I ran in the opposite direction all day. She managed
to escape me, but she should be back by now. Erica wouldn’t just
leave Wyatt and Dylan behind. They’re part of the reason that she
refused my claim in the first place.”
“
Then what are you doing just sitting here?” Ryan yelled. “Your
mate is out there. If she should have been back by now and she’s
not then something isn’t right. You have to find her
Sebastian.”
“
I know.”
“
Look, you can’t hide the fact that you’re mated for long.
Here’s what we’re going to do. I’m taking Dylan and Wyatt to the
estate, mother and father should still be there and they’ll look
after them.”
“
Ryan, Erica doesn’t want people to know that we’re mates,
especially her brother and sister.”
“
You aren’t helping your case by not telling anyone. Besides,
she might really be in danger and if that’s the case then we have
to do everything that we possibly can, even if that means not
listening to what she wanted while she was safe. Or are you trying
to tell me that her safety isn’t that important?”
“
You know that isn’t true.”
“
Well then, as I was saying, mother and father can look after
the children. You, in the meantime, are going to track your mate.
I’ll follow you as soon as I can, if something really is wrong then
you might need some support. I’m faster than you anyway so I should
be able to catch up,” Ryan stated. “What are still doing here?” he
snapped when Sebastian failed to immediately move into action to
implement the plan. “Get going.”
“
Thanks Ryan.” Sebastian smiled before running to the door,
intent on finding his mate.
I’m close.
The thought flitted
through Sebastian's mind as her scent became stronger. He ran
faster, determined to reach her. He could hear his brother running
beside him and the sound of both his paws pounding against the
earth and his harsh breathing reassuring him that he wasn’t alone
in his search for his mate. Ryan had been unusually quiet since he
had joined him from the estate. Though aware that something must
have happened in the brief period of time that he had been there,
thoughts of Erica pushed out all concern for events not concerned
with his mate.