Page 14 of Freed Wolfsbane

Without the brown stone around Ryker’s neck, I get shocked as I pass through. It feels like a thousand hammers are striking all over my body for the brief moment I’m in contact with the spell. When I land in a heap on the floor, I have to bite my cheek hard enough to bleed to keep from whimpering in pain from the thousands of volts that just coursed through me. My muscles continue to spasm as I lie there panting.

“You might be thinking to yourself, well that wasn’t too bad,” Ryker starts. I meet his gaze as I struggle to my feet. He clearly hasn’t been electrocuted by the circle because that so wasn’t what I was thinking. “But the spell is only one way for you. Should you try to escape, you’ll be trapped in the electric field until I decide to free you.”

Lovely.

“I. Can’t. Shift,” I growl at him, wanting him to get it through his thick skull that what he wants is impossible. Even though I’m a hybrid, the suppression field still seems to work on my wolf side.

Ryker tsks and shakes his head before pulling a wicked-looking knife from the back of his belt. “That’s a pity. I didn’t want to hurt the whelp, but you’ve forced my hand.” He unsheathes the weapon and presses the sharp silver tip to Annabel’s bare arm. She struggles to get away from the blade, but Ryker easily holds her in place.

“Wait!” I scream, desperation causing my voice to break. Ryker keeps the blade pressed up against Annabel’s arm but doesn’t make any move to cut her. I reluctantly admit through clenched teeth, “My energy is still low. Will only a full shift count?”

Ryker’s lip curls up as he shrugs. “We’ll have to see what you come up with. I can’t make any promises.”

I don’t want to take my eyes off Annabel but closing them is the only way I can focus on my magic. “It’ll be okay. I promise,” I tell her, trying to infuse a confidence I don’t feel into my voice.

She gives me a tearful nod before I squeeze my eyes tight and look for the small blue flame in my chest.

Since I can’t feel or find my wolf, shifting is definitely out. So, I need my magic to make it look like I’m partially shifting. Making Ryker believe I can fully shift seems like a bad idea. I don’t want him to think he has all the answers and doesn’t have a need for me or Annabel any longer. While my mage power is usually an uncooperative bastard, I’m hoping it will work with me for Annabel’s sake.

Picturing what I want to happen, I wait to look at Ryker until I feel my magic buzzing through me. After what I think is long enough, I blink open my eyes, hoping against hope they’re the signature amber color of shifters.

“Holy shit. How is that possible?” one of the guard whispers from near the door.

I keep my eyes on Ryker to make sure he sees that I’m trying to call my wolf. When I’m sure he’s noticed my amber eyes, I let my magic go and slump like I’m exhausted. I need him to believe that I’m doing everything I can to comply with his orders.

Ryker dismisses me as soon as my magic fades and turns to the same scientist from yesterday. “Clark, anything useful from that?”

“Yes, sir,” Clark replies quickly, not wanting to draw Ryker’s ire. “There was a massive magic spike for the duration of her demonstration.”

Ryker’s brows furrow. “What does that mean for the suppression spell?”

Clark shakes his head as his gaze remains fixed on the machine in front of him. “I don’t know. I would need to see it repeated enough and have time to analyze it before I can draw any conclusions.”

“Shift again,” Ryker demands.

Blowing out a breath, I turn my eyes amber again and again and again until I really am worn out from all the magic usage. I must do the same thing at least twenty times over an hour and a half.

By the time the scientist speaks up, I’m considering just lying on the cold, hard floor with how wiped I am. “We’ve got what we need!” Clark tells Ryker excitedly. “I need a day or two to analyze the data, and then we can test our conclusions.”

“Stop yapping and get to it.” At Ryker’s lack of praise, Clark deflates. He hangs his head as he and the other scientists walk out of the room through the door by the two-way mirror. I don’t feel particularly bad for him because he’s cool with Ryker hurting a child to further his experiments.

I give Annabel a half smile when she glances up at me from her spot on the floor. She has her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest protectively. After I changed my eyes to amber the first time, Ryker stopped holding her, much to her and my relief.

I’m so focused on Annabel that I don’t notice Ryker striding over to me until he’s standing right next to me. He backhands me across the face, whipping my head to the side. My lip doesn’t split this time, but my cheek throbs angrily. I cup my face and turn to glare at him.

I bite my tongue so I don’t ask himwhat the actual fuck. I just did what he asked. Why is he slapping me around?

He can read the question I don’t voice on my face, apparently. “As a reward for following directions, I won’t hurt the whelp. However, I can’t have the other shifters thinking you get special treatment, can I? I would eviscerate anyone else here for daring to ask for me. Since you’re so crucial, I’ll go easier on you, but I still need to send a message. I’m sure you understand.”

I’m pretty sure he can do whatever he wants, but I don’t get a chance to respond because Ryker grabs me by the shoulders and shoves me down onto the knee he’s aiming at my gut. The blow knocks the wind out of me. I drop to my knees, which slam into the tile with a crunch. I only barely keep from crying out at the pain zinging through my kneecaps.

When I’m sure I have my expression under control, I lock eyes with Annabel and try to force a reassuring smile. “I need you to do something for me, sweetie. Close your eyes and cover your ears with your hands. Do you remember that song I was humming?” Ryker hauls me up to my feet by my hair, and a few tears leak out at the fiery pain searing across my scalp. I don’t look at him as I keep my gaze on the terrified little girl watching me and nodding. “Hum that and keep your eyes closed until I come get you. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” she whispers so faintly I have to read her lips to know what she was saying. I give her an encouraging smile as she closes her eyes.

Ryker chooses that moment to take out his knife and cut a stripe down my left arm. I do whimper as the serrated blade tears through my skin, sending blood gushing out of the mangled wound. Giving me a vicious smile, Ryker does the same on my other arm and pulls back the blade to cut me again.

Retreating to the often-used corner of my mind that helped me get through Patrick’s beatings, I let the numbness wash over me as Ryker breaks my body much the same way my stepfather used to.

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