Page 128 of Pretty Little Prey
Her excitement was short-lived. Because she was now a prey—with no super strength or healing ability—caged in a mystery location.
“Ah, she’s awake!” a male voice announced happily.
Luna followed the voice, standing on shaky legs, and wrapped her hands around the metal bars. He stood in the shadows, but she knew his voice was unfamiliar.
“Let me out,” Luna shouted, trying to shake the metal bars, but they did not move.Weak.
The man chuckled at her demand, as if it was preposterous. “No.”
She bit back a curse, attempting to get a hold of her anger as she tried to figure out her new situation. “Why is there a tag in my ear?”
“Because you are cattle.” Cattle. The slanderous slur for prey farm-animal shifters.
Something about this sounded familiar, but she just couldn’t remember.
“A little cattle shifter,” the man muttered under his breath. She cringed at the awe and excitement in his blood-chilling voice. “You have no idea how rare you are.”
“Oh, people have told me enough,” she replied haughtily.
“Ah, but do you know the amount of money your wool goes for on the paranormal market? Or, you must know, some predator shifters love the taste ofreallamb.” The man stepped out of the shadows to appear in front of her seven-foot-tall cage.
By his crinkled eyes and the streaks of silver growing along with the black hair of his goatee, he had to be in his mid-fifties. The man’s body was lanky, no big muscles like Luna saw on most predator shifters. Yet, something about him was intimidating. Threatening. Maybe it was his sunken beady eyes.
“Some simply like to havepets,” he added in a suggestive manner that made Luna’s skin crawl.
“Let me go,” she demanded. “My mates are the kings of the shifters. I am queen of the Light Ones.” Technically. Potential queen.
The man waved away her words, peering at her through the bars. He licked his lips as his creepy gaze perused her. Something he saw piqued his interest.
She glanced down and found that she no longer wore her fancy green gown. Someone had dressed her in a thin, tight white tank top—her nipples clearly visible—and matching white short-shorts. She quickly crossed her arms, trying to cover herself.
“Yeah,” the man hummed. “You’ll make me a pretty penny.”
“I’ve heard of you,” she shot back. “You’re the farmer. The one injecting prey shifters with some type of obedience serum.”
“You’ve heard of my little concoction?” The man preened, standing taller, his smile glimmering with pride. “Did you know it could keep you in animal form for the rest of your days? Unable to shift back to human. Just an obedient little pet.”
Shit. She swallowed and took a step back from the bars, suddenly happy to have the barrier between them.
“But you need to shift into animal form first for the serum to keep you that way.”
A breath of relief escaped her.
“So, why don’t you go ahead and shift for me?” The man gestured for her to begin.
She scoffed. “How about ‘no?’”
The man laughed off her protest and waved for her to get started.
She narrowed her eyes on him. “Why would I shift if you’re just going to inject me with some kind of serum?”
He replied like it was absurdly obvious, “To avoid the pain.”
Another nervous swallow. “Pain?”
The man dipped back into the shadows. Luna stepped forward, trying to see him in the darkness as metal clinking sounds and a rush of air pressure echoed around the underground cell. When he reappeared in front of the cage, he held a large hose, the metal circle end pointed at her as he gripped the switch on it.
“Wait, what—”
