Marissa jerked awake to find herself slumped against a thick tree-trunk. She couldn’t remember sitting down, far less falling asleep, but exhaustion must have finally overtaken her. But if the way she was feeling was anything to go by, she hadn’t slept long. Her eyes stung with weariness as she rubbed them with the back of her hands, stretching her legs to ease her aches she wondered what woke her. Her thoughts a jumbled mess of what must’ve been a dream, visions of a huge dark brown Wolf, with a silver streak on its chest, tumbled through her mind leaving her feeling . . . unsettled and dare she admit . . . aroused.
Her beast yipped an alarm in her head at the same moment terror invaded her body, overtaking the feelings she’d experienced on waking. All thoughts of her dream fled as she sprang to her feet, the threat to her safety all encompassing: her father was near.
“Damn it!” Marissa started to run then stopped, realizing she may just be running straight toward him in her haste. She tried to calm herself, no mean feat when his presence filled her with dread, and sent out every sense available to her. Even her family link, which caused nausea to roll through her belly and a cold sweat to break out over her entire body, quickly followed by her father’s voice slinking into her brain.
“I can feel you. Don’t think you can escape.”
“Fuck!” Marissa cursed when she comprehended just how near he was. But now she knew he was south of her position so she turned and took off in the opposite direction, heading deeper into the woods. Her legs pumping as fast as they could, using every part of her speed to race through the unknown land, looking for a hiding place for her belongings and then she’d transform. Hopefully she’d lose her dad, and anyone with him, then be able to return for her meagre possessions.
If she survived.
The odds of that were low. Marissa wasn’t an idiot. She was aware that if her father caught her then her chances of surviving weren’t good. Not when she was going to fight him tooth and nail because she was not going to allow him to return her to the hands of her Alpha to be nothing more than a sex slave. Not happening. Not while she had a breath left inside her and the will to fight.
At least she’d die a free Wolf. Not a slave to her dad or the Pack that treated women as badly as hers did.
Marissa saw a large oak tree ahead, her eyes catching sight of a large hollow at the base. The perfect place for her to stash her things, so she veered toward it, already pulling off her jacket. Adrenaline pumped through her system as her blood rushed through her like a tidal wave, the noise almost deafening in her ears as she slid to a stop. She threw her backpack into the hole, struggling with her jacket, almost getting it off but she’d been so focused on escaping her father that she’d failed to search her surroundings for any other Shifters. A large bear of a man appearing from behind the tree and grabbing her around the neck, his arm so tight it cut off her oxygen.
Her feet left the ground, kicking futilely as she scratched at his hands. His foul breath washing over her as he snarled at her ear. “Caught you, bitch.”
And he wasn’t alone. Two more men appeared, their eyes lingering on her for too long as they raked up and down her body. Oh shit. No. She couldn’t go back. She just damn well couldn’t. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over to run down her cheeks. Despair, anger and fury rampaging through her. Determined to die before returning to a life of hell she made the decision to transform the moment she could.
She’d rather go down fighting than go anywhere with these filthy mutts.
“Don’t let go of her,” one of the men in front snapped. “She’ll change if you do. Who’s got the silver?”
Marissa snarled, her heart sinking further at the mention of silver. Shit, if they managed to get any on her then it was game over. She’d never be able to transform if they subdued her with that poisonous shit. She started to struggle for real, throwing her head back with every ounce of her strength. The resulting crunch and shout of pain from her restrainer gave her a little consolation, especially when his hold relaxed enough for her to draw in some much needed breaths.
“I’m gonna kill you.” He shook her around in his massive hands, his voice nasal, thick and full of menace.
“Good,” she snarled back, kicking his shins over and over, hoping he’d carry out his threat.
One of the others bent over, laughing. “You can’t even take care of one girl.”
“She’s a fucking bitch,” he answered, shaking her again.
“Yeah, you’ve said,” the other replied.
Marissa realized she should know their names, they were from her Pack, weren’t they? But her mind wasn’t working properly for some reason, and she just couldn’t put a name to any of their faces. Why? Fear? Shock? Adrenaline? She wasn’t sure, all she knew was her brain could only focus on one thing: fight or flight.
“Stop choking her, you dimwit, you’re going to kill her. She’ll be no use to me, or the Alpha, if she’s dead.”
The voice slid over her like a snake slithering up her body, snaking inside and coiling in her belly. Marissa’s blood turned to ice and for a split-second she thought she was going to lose control of her bladder. The all-consuming terror of her father’s presence did things to her she was ashamed of, her beast whimpering instead of growling, her fight slowing, ebbing from her as he came into her line of sight. The man who should look after her, take care of her, and be the one she ran
