Chapter 3 3

"Oh, hell no! I'm not giving you my friend, you fang-faced bastards!" I shouted, spraying the contents of the bottle right into the man's face.

At first, he inhaled through his nose with exaggerated calm-but within a second, he clutched his throat and dropped to one knee, still holding his burden.

The people behind him stirred, and without wasting a moment, I turned and sprayed them too.

None of them expected that kind of reaction from an ordinary spray. Of course they didn't.

I'd been hiding from werewolves for almost two years now-my defenses were designed for them, not for humans.

The first one was already coming around from the tranquilizer, so I didn't wait. I grabbed my friend off his shoulder.

The man snarled, rage flashing in his eyes, and the first signs of partial transformation rippled across his arms.

That wasn't good.

Dragging my friend a few steps back, I tried to throw her over my shoulder-but the world tilted.

A second later, I was hanging upside down over a broad, muscular shoulder.

The bottle of precious liquid slipped from my hand and hit the pavement with a sad clink.

Clenching my fists, I started kicking and shouting every curse word I knew.

They shoved me into a black SUV.

How surprising that no one on the street even noticed-no one stopped a group of men kidnapping two women in broad daylight.

Two burly men boxed me in on the back seat. The car started moving.

The man who'd forced me inside sat next to the driver. I didn't dare make a sound.

A quick glance around confirmed what I already feared-werewolves.

Every one of them was big, muscular, radiating danger.

"What do you want from us?" I finally managed to say.

The man in the passenger seat turned around and gave me a long, assessing look-from head to toe.

For the first time, I could actually see him clearly: dark eyes framed by thick lashes, a straight nose, full lips slightly flushed, and a shadow of stubble along his jaw.

He looked a lot like the one who'd grabbed my friend-but younger.

Relatives, most likely.

He smiled lazily and said,

"Judging by that mystery spray you used on my brother, you already know our world exists. Your friend-she's the true mate of our Alpha."

Oh, perfect. Maya really hit the jackpot this time. The Alpha himself. She'd never get rid of him now-not in a hundred years.

Lost in my thoughts, I started planning our escape-where we could run, how to hide.

The man kept watching me the whole time.

"So tell me, sweetheart," he said with a grin, "how do you know about werewolves? You smell human-but not quite."

I met his eyes, choosing my words carefully.

"I've met your kind before," I said evenly. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."

The glare I gave him didn't seem to bother him at all-if anything, he looked even more amused.

"Why did you take me?" I snapped.

"For company. Once we're sure you won't talk, we'll let you go."

"And if Maya doesn't want to stay-will you let her go too?" I asked, feigning innocence.

He chuckled. "Didn't you say you knew our world? How many Alphas do you think let their mates walk away?"

"I won't let you hurt her," I said firmly, my voice edged with threat.

He threw his head back and laughed.

"Hurt her? No one's going to hurt her. The only thing she has to worry about is too much pleasure. Trust me-Kirill knows how to handle a woman's body."

My cheeks burned. I looked down at my lap and fell silent.

The car filled with uncomfortable quiet. It didn't last long.

"What's your name, beautiful?" he asked again.

That smug tone of his was infuriating. I had to bite back something rude.

"Vera," I said curtly, turning to stare out the window.

We drove out of the city into a suburban area-rows of expensive cottages flashing past.

Then the SUV turned into the woods and stopped in front of a massive two-story house surrounded by a high fence.

They locked me in a small guest room and told me to sleep.

All my attempts to ask about Maya were ignored.

Outside, I could see several large werewolves patrolling the grounds.

Escape? Not happening.

There was a shower in the room, so I cleaned up and lay down.

Sleep wouldn't come. Every tiny sound made my body jolt.

Sometime past midnight, I got up and crept to the door.

To my surprise, it wasn't locked.

I turned the handle slowly, peeking into the hallway.

Empty. Quiet.

Barefoot, I padded down the corridor. Voices drifted from ahead.

I stopped, straining to listen. It was them-the werewolves.

"Tell me," one voice said, "why are you here drinking with me instead of... studying your mate's body?"

"I didn't want to scare her. My story already shocked her enough, so I gave her a sedative. Let her rest.

But you-you just brought us another problem. Why the hell did you drag that second girl here? The guys could've buried her in the woods and saved us the trouble."

My heart dropped to my feet.

They really had planned to kill me.

God, how I hated them. Werewolves always played by their own rules, and humans never mattered.

I clenched my teeth, shoving my anger deep inside.

Lost in thought, I didn't realize the voices had stopped.

Then, right next to my ear, a low voice murmured,

"Aren't good girls supposed to be in bed right now?"

My whole body jerked. I turned slowly-and met glowing yellow eyes in the dark.

A shiver ran down my spine.

"Want me to walk you back?"

Before I could answer, he gripped my arm above the elbow and led me back to the room.

This time, he locked the door behind me.

There was nothing left to do but lie down-and pretend to sleep.