“No, sir.”
He straightened himself and turned around.
“I really must be on my way,” he informed Dorian.
“You won’t stay for our festivities?” Dorian offered, hoping to make a bond with the Enforcer.
“I’m afraid I have a lot to do, the old Enforcer left me with my work cut out. You were my last pack in the area to visit.” The Enforcer turned to the men who traveled with him and gave them a curt nod, which propelled them to start the cars again.
“Well, you are certainly welcome in our territory, Theo. I hope to see you again soon.” Dorian stuck his arm out, and Theo grasped it strongly.
“Thank you, Dorian.”
The Enforcer turned slightly, nodding at the painting. His men came and gathered it, and loaded it into the back of a vehicle.
“Oh,” the Enforcer turned, looking smug. It was the first time his face changed from his stone exterior. “The human girl comes with me, as well.”
My hearing drowned out, one ear at a time. It sounded like ringing, like a loud siren going off right next to me, and my vision went out of focus. I looked to Caddy, shaking my head slightly, grabbing onto his forearm.
“Theo,” Dorian reasoned. “You would have no use for a human girl. Allow her to stay in our territory. We will care for her.” Caddy put his hand over mine, warming it slightly. He was always warm.
The Enforcer grinned. “No use for her,” he chuckled and wandered over towards me. He sauntered around my body and Caddy’s since I was latched to him. “I’ve never met a human girl before. She intrigues me.” He continued circling and stopped behind me, lifting, and sniffing my hair.
I ground my teeth together, cringing as his fingers skimmed my neck.
“I wonder how long it would take to make her scream.” His lips grazed the curve of my ear. I whipped my body around, wanting his hands off me and glared at him.
“Oh,” he purred. “She has a backbone after all.”
“I’m not going with you,” I ground out. I knew the consequences for what I was saying, but I would’ve rather died than allow him to take me back with him. I would surely be torn apart like my mother. I was too young then to do anything, but I was older now, and I wasn’t going to stand silent.
“You are.” He smiled back at me calmly.
“I’d rather die than go with you.”
Caddy cursed my name behind Theo. He was shaking.
“That’s enough, little one,” the Enforcer scolded and grabbed my arm again in his strong grip. He began walking us towards his cars. I jerked and fought against his grip; unlike Caddy, who was afraid to bruise me, this man wasn’t.
“Caddy!” I screamed, turning around to look at him. Caddy was shaking, his arms being held behind his back by Dorian and another guard as he screamed my name. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my hair flew around violently.
The Enforcer grabbed my other arm and pushed me to the car door. I refused to go in willingly and threw my legs on either side of the door, pushing off the frame with my feet. Another man inside the car grabbed my ankles and pulled me in as the Enforcer shoved my body in the rest of the way.
He climbed in after me, and a moment later, the car jolted to life, and we rolled away from my home. I struggled out of the hold of the other wolf and climbed over the Enforcer to place my fists on the dark window and beat on it. The wolves looked shocked, not upset, apart from Caddy, who was mid-shift as we pulled out of the driveway.
The Enforcer’s hands came around my waist in front of him and pulled me back to sit in his lap. I wiggled and threw my body around aggressively, slamming the back of my head into his nose roughly.
“Little one,” he growled in my ear, grunting as he wiped the blood away from his nose. I froze, squeezing my eyes shut and allowing the tears to fall down my freckled cheeks. “You will be much happier here if you don’t fight me.”
I slumped my body over, trying to get off his lap. He allowed me to move freely in the spacious back. I curled myself in a corner, away from the Enforcer and the other wolf, and hid my face in my hands.
He stared at me for most of the ride. I think he expected me to lash out again, but I kept silent, wary of him and the other shifter. Once my crying stopped, I leaned my head against the seat and stared blankly at my shoes.
The once white sandals Caddy’s mother had given me were caked in dirt and grass and mud. I counted the blades of grass. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. That didn’t distract me long enough. The ride was long, hours long, and eventually, we stopped and allowed the other wolf shifter to change cars, leaving the Enforcer and me alone in the separated cavern.
“Are you tired?” the Enforcer asked after some time. I glanced up at him confused, after all that time, that was the question he had wanted to ask? I shook my head and continued to play with the hem of my dress. “Hungry?” Again, I shook my head. I lost my appetite the moment I looked into his eyes.
Finally, we stopped, sometime in the morning near a large house in the forest. I didn’t move when the doors opened.
"Margo,” the Enforcer called out, his legs outside the car, but his head was looking back at me. “Come along.” I remained frozen. “I will drag you out of here if I have to. Just come inside, and I will explain everything to you,” he threatened. It didn’t faze me; if I was going to die, why did it matter where it happened?
His hand came around my
