Page 159 of Sawyer

It feels like we stand in this moment of stasis forever. Each of us refuses to look away from the other as Freddy becomes limp. I force myself to break eye contact with Sal and watch as Freddy takes his last breath.

I owe him that much.

He wasn’t a great man. He was obsessive, and he was watching me without my knowledge, but he didn’t deserve that. No one does.

“Aren’t you happy, Sawyer?” Sal kneels in front of me, reaching for my hands, the knife clattering to the floor. “I did this for us, so that there’s nothing between us as we start our new life.”

Sniffling, I nod, knowing I need to play his game and feed into his delusions just to survive. “Thank you.” The words feel wrong and thick on my tongue.

A smile stretches across his face. “Perfect. Tomorrow, I have another gift for you.”

Please, no more. “I can’t wait.” I lick my lips. “Take me to my room?”

“Of course, you must be exhausted.” Sal pulls a key from his pocket, unlocking my chains and then massaging my wrists before he drags me up.

For a second, I want to grab the knife and slide it into his stomach, but the delta at the door observes me.

I only have a short window to make this right and get out of here.

Sal whistles again as he drags me back through the mansion. My mind is a million miles away as we head to our floor. There are blood smears where he touches me that my mind removes, pretending it doesn’t exist.

“Sal, darling?” I ask as he brings me to his room. “Who are my other gifts?”

“So eager, my sweet?” He settles his hand on my lower back, ushering me inside his room. The door closes, and the lock clicks, echoing through my soul. “We should wait. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

The surprise. The words roll around in my head as I walk toward a chair in the corner and sink down. I struggle to breathe.

“I’ll be just a moment, Sawyer.” He turns to the bathroom and steps inside. “Oh, and Sawyer, there’s a delta outside my door, so don’t even think about leaving me. I’ll be right out, and then I can make you mine forever.”

His door closes with a finality I feel in every ounce of my body.

My fingertips press against my lips. I can’t even call for help because I’m no longer in my room. I run my hands under my glasses, trying to wipe away my tears. My glasses fall to the floor with a thump.

Reaching down, I slide to the floor, feeling defeated. My fingers wrap around my glasses when something shiny catches my attention. Pushing the frames up my nose, I reach for the shiny thing, and it nicks my fingers.

Heart pounding, I look at the bathroom door, and then I look under the end table, where a single mage blade glares at me from its taped prison.

No fucking way.

I rip it free and rush to the bed, slipping it under the pillow as the bathroom door opens, and then I flip the blankets down, so it looks like I’m crawling into bed, even though the sun is just setting.

“My eager princess.” He wags a finger at me. “I promised the doctor that I wouldn’t fuck you so soon, but how about a taste? I’ve been dreaming of where I will put my bite.”

Feeling a sliver of hope, I smile at the alpha who stole everything from me. “I can’t wait to find out.”

Because I will kill you when you are at your most vulnerable—mid-mating bite.

Sawyer

Sal stalks toward me like prey, but he doesn’t realize that the sliver of hope I feel has the potential to completely turn the tables even though I feel weak. He’s denied me water, I can’t recall my last meal, and fatigue haunts my every breath.

I’m not strong, but I don’t need to be strong as long as I remain smarter than him.

I can outmaneuver him.

“The doctor told me you could go into a heat at any moment.” Sal unbuttons his shirt, tossing it to the side, where it lands in a heap on the floor. “All you need are alpha pheromones.”

Heat?

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