Page 23 of The Alpha's Chosen Fate

She sniffed and curled into a ball, ignoring me.

I tugged at the ropes, testing their strength.They held fast, the wolfsbane sapping my energy, preventing me from shifting.

The truck hit a pothole, jostling me roughly.I bit back a curse, pain lancing through my battered body.Every inch of me ached.

I shook my head, immediately regretting the action as the world spun.I needed to stay sharp.

For now, all I could do was wait and watch, biding my time until an opportunity presented itself.I lifted my upper body as far as I could in an effort to look out the window.

Baylor's dark eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, catching my gaze."Hello, Ivy.Your body burned through those tranqs quicker than I anticipated."

"I won't go back," I rasped, my mouth dry and throat raw.

"You don't have a choice.Briggs wants you returned, so returned you’ll be."

"Why?He rejected me so he could mate with … with someone else."

My cheeks heated.I was too emotional to even say her name.Too weak.

Baylor's jaw clenched, his hands tightening on the steering wheel."The Alpha's reasons are his own.It's not my place to question them."

"Of course not.You're just his loyal dog, aren't you?Following orders like a good little soldier, retrieving an unwilling female so your Alpha can do who-knows-what to her."

His eyes narrowed, a muscle ticking in his cheek."It won’t help you if you act like this with your Alpha."

“I don’t have an Alpha.”

“Fortunately, you do.Brigg’s is a good Alpha and you should be thankful for that.You have no idea what it’s like living under a tyrant.None.”

Baylor hadn’t been born into Darkwood.If he’d lived under a tyrant before he joined us, I didn’t care.

“I’ll be thankful when I rip out his fucking throat.”

Baylor slammed on the brakes, sending me tumbling to the floor.Before I could recover, he was on me, his hand wrapped around my throat, his face inches from mine.

"Listen closely, because I will only say this once," he warned, his breath hot against my skin."Never threaten Briggs McClellan’s life in front of me again.Understood?"

I met his gaze, refusing to back down.My lips curved.“Will you promise to kill me quickly if I do?To put me out of my misery?”

His face blanked, releasing his hold as though I’d burned him.

With little effort, Baylor slid his hands underneath me and lifted me up onto the backseat of what I assumed was his giant pickup truck.

He looked me over.“You’re a mess.”

“Come talk to me when your true mate rejects you in front of your pack for someone else, someone likeher, and tell me again how thankful I should be.”

He stared down at me for a long moment then returned to the driver's seat.My eyes opened when I heard the distinct sound of a zipper.

Without warning, he pointed a tranq gun and fired a dart into my thigh, his aim flawless even without looking.The sharp sting of the needle pierced my skin, followed by a burning sensation as the drugs flooded my system.

“This will make it easier on you, Ivy.It’ll also help if you try losing some of that hatefulness while you rest.”

I snarled, fighting the effects of the tranquilizer, but it was a losing battle.The drugs were too strong and I was too weak.

My limbs quickly became heavy and unresponsive.The last thing I saw before I surrendered to oblivion was Baylor's watchful eyes in the rearview mirror.

Maybe I’d have to kill him, too.

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