Page 2 of Noah

She could still feel the hands gripping her arms and realised that she was being held against her will, and there was no escape in sight.

Fear crept in as she realised the seriousness of her situation. She was completely powerless. Overwhelmed and confused, her body shook as she tried to make sense of it.

There was no way she would be able to fight them. They were too strong.

She was just over five feet four; she was much shorter than them. Even though she could probably duck under their arms, she wasn’t a fighter and certainly wasn’t a professional wrestler. Her muscles were as small as a pea compared to those of the two goons who refused to let her back out and stood guard at the door.

As Adrienne faced the room where she had been thrown, she swallowed hard. She’d struggled so hard that her shirt was crumpled. Standing there, she felt helpless and wanted to cry as she desperately searched for a way out but was met with solid concrete.

Many thoughts were running through her mind. Was she going to be sold and made a slave?

Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for whatever was to come.

After straightening up on her knees, she was ready to push herself to her feet when she was stopped by another rumbling growl. Her heart raced as she thought it could very well be the end for her.

The growl was so loud and intimidating that it scared her, causing her to still and freeze in fear.

Her attention was caught by the archway in front of her. An angry, menacing, and unhappy atmosphere filled that room.

When she saw a large shadow in the room, she stayed where she was and didn’t move.

She felt her heartbeat increase. She was certain it would be visible through her shirt. Fearful her breathing became shallower.

Her knees hurt and she heard a growl as she shuffled back.

It was against her instincts to shout and scream or draw attention to herself, but instinct and terror had her shouting. Screaming, she ran to the door. “What am I doing here?” She banged on the door.

There was a sudden shadow in the archway. Adrienne saw wide shoulders, what looked like a human with claws and fangs, a lot of wild hair, and a face she instantly recognised.

She whimpered and tucked her head into her chest. Unable to believe what was happening, she wrapped her arms around herself and rocked.

Roaring in her face, his big body bumped into hers.

Adrienne couldn’t control the sound that came out of her. The sound was pleading and fearful.

He was a Number. What was he doing in the warehouse? It didn’t matter. There was no doubt he would kill her; he looked feral, wild.

As one of the freed genetic experiments, he should have been living in Moon the land gifted to the Numbers.

Inspecting her bent head, the wild Number sniffed at her golden-coloured hair, lifting it in rough tugging motions. His nose rubbed along the side of her face and down her neck.

Why had they placed her in the room with him?

“Please,” she whimpered.

Her cheek twitched when his fingers touched them. He paused in his sniffing.

She instantly stilled when he growled. If allowing him to explore would stop that frightening sound, she could do so.

Keeping still while he pulled out her lower lip and poked a finger into her mouth, she blinked owlishly at him.

Her hand came up to pull out his finger, but his other hand encircled her wrist, and he growled a warning. In response, she whimpered and closed her brown eyes, allowing him to explore.

The moment he poked at her teeth; she understood what he was trying to see. Attempting to shake her head, she was stopped by his fingers still exploring her mouth.

When he picked up her arm and stroked along the sensitive skin of her inner elbow, she tried to speak around his finger. “What—”

Taking in his features, she tried to figure out what was going through his mind.

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