Page 43 of Bullied Wolf Mate

I went to grab something from the nightstand drawer and slipped it into my waistband. Then, I walked over to one of the windows in the bedroom. I had found out after Mark had stopped holding me captive that if you did it just right, you could climb down the storm drain right outside. I hadn’t thought I would need to use it, so I hadn’t thought much of it since then. Now, however, it would likely save several lives.

Night air brushed against my skin as I opened the window. Clambering out, I reached toward the storm drain. The handcuffs gave me just enough mobility to grasp either side. My heart pounded as I glanced down. It wasn’t as far as I had thought, but my heart still thudded in my throat as I began to slide down.

My feet touched the ground. Taking a deep breath, I tried to get my bearings. I didn’t know Brixton that well, but I was fairly certain the meeting point was north of here. I trudged in that direction, looking upward at the rising moon, wondering just how much time I had.

My heart pounded. I knew what I was doing was risky, but if this was the only way to save my friends, that was what I was going to do. I wouldn’t let them die because of me.

Eventually, I reached the clearing. Looking up, I saw the moon almost directly overhead. My stomach twisted itself into a knot. I waited, my hands still cuffed in front of me as my eyes swept across the clearing. The only sound was that of rustling leaves.

For a moment, panic took over. Had I been wrong about the meeting place? Or maybe I had missed the deadline, and all of this was for nothing.

I closed my eyes, trying not to scream in frustration, my anger at Mark bubbling over again. How the hell could he have done this to me?

A branch crunched behind me, breaking me out of my anger. I spun around, expecting to see Mark or Jameson or Declan. Instead, the spindly figure of Orin stepped into the moonlight. He studied me up and down, his eyes lingering on my wrists.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

I nodded.

Either he didn’t take my word for it or wanted extra precaution. Either way, he uttered an incantation. I felt the magic crackling around us as a barrier encircled us, blocking us from the outside world. No one else would be able to get in.

Or, most everyone.

A portal appeared in the middle of the clearing. Inara stepped through, looking as though she had just won the grand prize. She eyed me hungrily, avarice glinting in her eyes.

“So good of you to come,” she purred. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come to your senses.” Her eyes went to my wrists, and she giggled. “I see someone wasn’t too keen on the idea of you coming here, were they? That shifter of yours a little too protective?”

“Let the others go,” I said, ignoring her. “You’ve got what you want.”

“I do,” agreed Inara. “Or almost. But I can’t just let go of my biggest bargaining chip. For all I know, this is a ploy to get my guard down. No, I’ll let the shifters go once you’ve opened The Trove for me, and not a second sooner.”

I folded my arms. “No dice.”

Her eyes flashed dangerously. “I would suggest you cooperate, Lorelei,” she warned. “Unless you want to meet a rather unpleasant end. You’re already here, after all, and I’m betting that none of your little shifter friends know you’re here. You’re alone.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please stop with the threats. You’re not going to kill me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And what makes you say that, dear? Maybe I don’t have any interest in The Trove anymore. Which means all your leverage is gone.”

“You’re still interested. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have shown,” I pointed out. “Even if you did somehow find a way to get in, I have something else you want. We both know that.”

She tilted her head, a slow smile crawling over her lips. “I suppose I did play my hand a little too openly when we last spoke,” she mused, then shrugged. “But the point stands that I have no intention of letting any of my captives go.”

“If you don’t let them go, I’m not going to help,” I said. “Let them go now. I’ll open the portal, and you’ll still have me and the baby as leverage.”

“Leverage over the shifters, certainly. But not over you.” She grinned. “Isn’t that what you said was my biggest problem last time? There wasn’t anyone you cared enough about for me to hold over your head and convince you to help me? Based on the fact that you’re here, I can only assume that’s changed. Am I right?”

I didn’t say anything. My mouth had gone dry.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“You’re changing the terms of the deal,” I accused.

She gasped in mock surprise. “I suppose I am. You really should have expected as much.”

Fear started seeping into me, starting at my feet and rising, chilling me as it moved. I’d miscalculated. I tried to keep my expression neutral. If I held firm, maybe I could still get them out of this, even as I saw my chances of that dwindling.

“Let them go,” I said.

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