Page 132 of Sawyer

I can handle this, but images of Sawyer going through this almost make me see red. The only reason I can restrain myself is knowing she is safe in that cave.

Didn’t he mention seeing my mate?

Gritting my teeth, I wash my body as he watches me.

“Excellent, now we can begin.” He looks at his watch. “A few more minutes. Sal, turn it off.”

Sal listens, which surprises me, but he aims the hose at my kidney before he turns it off. Sadistic bastard.

“Now I believe you have a match.” This man looks at Sal.

What are they talking about?

“Doc?” Sal looks almost hesitant, as though he wasn’t ready for that slip of information, but he adjusts easily, turning to me. “I do.”

“Now, I’ll have to perform a full evaluation before you leave with her, and there are a few other loose ends we need to tie up,” Doc says.

“Of course.” Sal smirks at me like he has a secret and wants nothing more than to tell it, yet he keeps me in the dark as he walks out of the room, leaving me alone with this man. “Oh and, Bryn, this isn’t over. You will tell me everything the monarch knows about this place. I think you just need the right motivation.”

He walks in front of me, daring me to reach out and hit him. All I do, though, is watch as he slowly walks in front of me with a shit-eating grin on his face. My fingers clench because I do want to hit him. I want to watch as he bleeds out before me, his blood trickling down to the drain. That’s what I need, but it isn’t what I do. I’ve taken many lessons in restraint over the years, and one alpha who believes he can hold something over me won’t get under my skin.

No matter what secrets he holds.

As the door clicks shut, the doctor slowly claps, a manic look on his face. “That was, wow…” His shoulders shake with amusement as he applauds me. “Impressive. That was impressive.”

I glare at him, refusing to give this man or any of them an ounce of my carefully crafted control.

He wags a finger at me. “All right, let’s get started, shall we?” He already knows the answer to that question. “Now, I don’t think you’ll need clothes for this next part.”

I tilt my head at him. What game are they playing?

“I’ll be back.” He’s oddly giddy as he walks out of the room, locking me in.

The swelling in my eye reduces enough so I can see. The elixir helped, but Sal went to town on me enough that I need more than one if I want to return to my former healthy state.

I stand in a glorified ten-by-ten box with a mirror and cameras. The torture chamber doesn’t even feel like that. It feels like—

The lights dim, and a hissing sound begins overhead. Fog falls over me, filling my lungs, and sweetness rolls over my taste buds, faint, oh so faint, but there.

I don’t hold my breath. Curiosity, more than anything, keeps me breathing.

A countdown begins on the wall, and I slowly turn in a circle. This is what he wanted me ready for. Whatever this is.

Keeping my breaths even and slow, I watch the clock until it hits zero, and the mirror in front of me becomes transparent.

A woman stands in another room, wearing an odd jumpsuit. Honey blonde curls frame her face, and there’s excitement in her blue eyes.

What the hell is this?

She inhales deeply just as fans turn on.

Trepidation slides through me. Something about this is wrong. Off. I back away until my back hits the cold wall.

This time, I hold my breath as I watch the woman.

There have always been moments in my life when I knew something was going to reroute me from my planned course. I’ve learned to trust that intuition because it’s kept me alive, especially when some targets know I’m after them.

Right now, my intuition screams at me that something is detrimentally wrong.

---