Page 19 of Mated By the Pack
“If they find anything, they’ll whip us,” I say. “We have to fight. Focus on the slavers. I’ll deal with Frank.”
It was a decent plan in theory. Now, with Frank watching and Carl bearing down, it feels flimsy. Even if we win… we’ll be alone. Alone in The Tangle, without a lion hybrid to keep the monsters at bay.
Carl jams the key into the lock and turns it. The cage door groans open.
“Come here, bitch,” he snarls, grabbing Nara’s ankle and yanking her forward.
She responds immediately by swinging the hammer. It lands on his shoulder with a dull crack. He jerks back with a shout, giving her room to kick him hard in the chest. It barely fazes him through the leather armor.
“Fucking bitch has a hammer!” Jeb yells, lunging forward.
Fiona follows Nara out, syringe in hand. She jabs toward Jeb, but he catches her wrist and throws her. She crashes to the dirt and the syringe goes skittering.
“They’re armed,” Carl snarls. “Careful! Watch for needles!”
I hurl myself out of the cage next, no weapon ready, just momentum. I slam into Carl, sending him stumbling. Jed comes at me fast, but the chaos gives Tansy and Brenna an opening. Brenna smacks Jed across the face with the belt, the prong slicing his cheek.
“Frank! Deal with these bitches!” Carl roars.
But Tansy is already in motion. She slams a syringe into Carl’s neck. The needle snaps off under his skin.
“Damn it!” Carl stumbles, gagging as the sedative rushes through his veins.
Frank advances with a low growl, gaze locked on me. I raise a syringe in one hand, the other hidden.
“Don’t kill them,” Frank snarls to the others. “Just get their weapons.”
He sees my right hand and hesitates. My heart should be pounding, but it’s not. I’m calm. Collected. Ready for a fight that I probably can’t win. But I have to try.
“Put it down,” Frank says. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Better to lose an arm than be sold,” I say, and lunge.
He blocks me easily, but he pulls the punch. That’s all I need. I strike with my left, but he launches over me, rebounds off the wagon, and slams into my chest shoulder-first. I fly through the air and hit a tree. The impact blasts the air from my lungs.
“I warned you,” Frank growls, turning away.
I gasp and try to sit up, but I can’t. I watch helplessly as Frank, Jed, and Jeb subdue the others. Clothes are ripped away, leaving them bare and vulnerable with no weapons to defend themselves with.
“We’ll whip every one of them,” Jeb snarls, hauling out the whip.
“Damn right,” Jed agrees, ushering the girls toward the cart and wiping the blood from his cheek. He narrows his eyes at Brenna. “Especially you.”
Frank checks Carl. He’s out cold, twitching from the sedative. The girls cry out as Jed and Jeb line them up, naked and trembling.
“W-wait,” I gasp, forcing myself to my feet. “It was me. I opened the cage. Whip me. Not them.”
“She has a key,” Frank snaps. “Search her.”
Jeb grabs me. I don’t resist. The key pulses and suddenly it moves, slithering out of my pocket, up my side, and wraps itself like a vine bracelet around my wrist.
Jeb curses as he strips me. I stand there, exposed, heat burning my skin, but I keep my chin high.
“I can’t find a damn key. Maybe Carl just left the cage unlocked,” Jeb sighs, his hands roaming across my breasts so much I can’t help but squirm.
“You’re going to have scars when we’re done,” Jed sneers, yanking out rope. “Tie her to the cage.”
Jed and Jeb each take an arm. The other girls look horrified, but I keep my head held high. If I have to take a beating to save themfrom one, I’ll take every lash the bastards give me. Jed slams my right arm to one of the bars and coils the rope around my wrist.
