Page 21 of Sold Wolf Slave

For a brief moment, I debated whether to actually talk to Will, to tell him the truth and ask for his help. It crossed my mind for the span of a second before I squashed the idea. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him about Morgan. I didn’t care what he said or what he claimed about his intentions. I had seen him in the fighting pits. I knew how brutal he could be. He had won me and taken me here without a single hesitation. If he found out about Morgan, I didn’t know what he would do, and I was too afraid to find out. If I put her in even more danger by telling him, I’d never forgive myself.

He didn’t kill the other fighter, though,a voice in my head pointed out.He could have, but he let him live.

I knew enough about the pits to know that one fighter sparing the other was a rarity. But that didn’t change any of the other facts. I couldn’t trust Will. Not now, not ever. He had won me. To him and everyone else in this damn place, I was nothing more than property. A few nice words didn’t change that.

Which meant I would have to save Morgan on my own.

I paced back and forth in my room as I tried to come up with something that might generously be called a plan. The rumors from other slaves about the back entrances into Cain’s home typically suggested they were underground, connected via tunnels you could access near the palace.

Once again, almost without realizing I had even made the decision, I threw open my window and glanced down at the ground below. It wasn’t too far. It might not be the most pleasant leap, but I could make it. The street was empty. Glancing behind me once more to make sure that Will wasn’t following me, I crawled onto the sill and jumped.

My feet landed on the ground. Before moving, I glanced around, making sure no one saw me. If anyone noticed me, I’d be stopped and asked where my master was and whether I had his permission to be out. I could probably come up with a believable lie, but they might just drag me back to Will, and I would have wasted my chance at seeing Morgan.

Keeping my head low, I shuffled through town. The only clothing for women in the entirety of the Underside was the skimpy outfits like the one I wore now. The cool air brushed against my midriff.

After some time, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled with unease. I slowed. Someone was watching me.

My heart thudded. I was just about to turn when a strong, calloused hand grabbed my wrist. I opened my mouth to scream, and a second hand clamped around my mouth. Flashes of memory back to that fateful day years ago flared up. I was back in my old house, struggling against the men who grabbed me.

Panic raced through me as I flailed, screaming into my captor’s hand. Despite my own fear and desire to fight, my wolf didn’t seem to have the same reaction. She seemed almost content, reassured in a way that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t until I registered the scent filling my nose, that of a gentle mix of sea breeze and cedar, that I stopped screaming as Will dragged me across the street and into the nearby alley.

Will glowered at me, his eyes burning with anger as he stared me down. I remained motionless, his sea breeze and cedar scent wafting over me. Counterintuitively, the smell comforted me, made me relax. When he was certain I wouldn’t scream, his hand slipped from my mouth.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he snarled.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t tell him about Morgan. I couldn’t trust him. I didn’t know what he might do with the information, but I wasn’t about to give him that sort of leverage. One slaver had already used it against me. I wasn’t going to give another person that same chance.

He waited for me to answer. When I remained mute, he let out a low, irritated growl. “I’m trying to help you here,” he snarled.

Once again, I stayed silent. After a moment, he let out another low rumble. “Come on. We’ll talk about this at the house.”

Without giving me a chance to argue, his hand wrapped around my wrist and dragged me back down the street. His facewas impassive, almost bored, but I could feel the anger radiating off him.

He didn’t say a single word as he dragged me back to the house, his hand never relinquishing my arm until he ushered me back inside, that fury in his eyes signaling an ice-cold rage that honestly chilled me for a moment.

He slammed the door behind us, clicking it shut with a lock. He rounded on me, his eyes burning with anger as he stalked forward.

“Are you out of your mind?” he growled. “Do you have a death wish?”

I stayed silent, folding my arms and staring back at him. “How did you find me?”

“I know your scent. It’s been stuck in my head since we met,” he growled. Before I could even parse that out, he had moved on. “Did you even think about what would happen if someone other than me caught you?”

Honestly? No, not for a moment. Not when Morgan’s life was on the line. Now that I knew how much danger she was really in, I couldn’t let her stay there. Still, I kept my mouth shut. I tried not to think about the casual way Will had mentioned that he couldn’t get my smell out of his head.

“At least tell me why,” he said. When I didn’t, he grumbled again. “I figured a slave I have openly told I am freeing at the soonest possible moment wouldn’t be this fucking stubborn.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” I retorted.

He growled, shaking his head as he glared at me, one finger running through his long hair. “You’re going back through the portal the instant we get the chance,” he said. “If you’re goingto be wandering around, trying to escape, you can go ahead and do that when you aren’t in a place as dangerous as this.”

Now that I knew the danger Morgan was in, there was no way in hell I was leaving. “You can’t do that,” I protested. Just the thought sent my wolf into a frenzy, pacing and bristling.

He marched forward, his body close enough that it would have been easy to pull him toward me. “You want to bet?”

A traitorous part of me thought about that brief kiss at the ceremony and wondered what it would be like to have those arms wrap around me, to hold me against him. But I wouldn’t. I would let that happen.

“Have fun trying to make me,” I said. “I’m staying right here.”

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