Page 28 of Defeated

“Tomas’s dad once told me that you never turn your back on fate. It invites bad luck,” Harlan says, talking over me.

Yes, it does. Dad told me once when I was young. I’d forgotten it until now.

Harlan must have gone to speak to him about rejecting me, and the old alpha’s words still carry plenty of weight. Harlan would have listened.

He suddenly stops. I peer through the trees in the forest to discover the reason why.

It’s just us here. No one but us.

He drops his hand from my arm. Quick. Like he’s touched me long enough and can’t bring himself to do it any longer.

“Strip.”

My brow furrows in confusion. “Why? I don’t?—”

Pain explodes across my face and my head cracks against a tree. It’s still ringing when Harlan demands again, “Strip. Now.”

Lifting a shaking hand to probe my throbbing cheek, I stare up at him.

I debate whether I should reject him on the spot and run away. My eyes settle on his clenched fist. He’s fast. I’d get two words out before he knocked me unconscious. I hadn’t even seen him move, and I was on the ground.

So I get up and step out of my sneakers. I strip out of my jeans, my T-shirt, and I stand shivering under the night sky.

He points his chin at me, eyes focused over my shoulder as if he can’t bear to look at me. It’s like being smacked in the face all over again. “Panties off.”

Before he can knock me down again, I strip out of my panties, placing them on top of the rest of my clothes.

I straighten, and his hand is like a manacle around my left arm. He slams my back against the tree I nearly knocked myself out on, and when I spot what’s lying beside it, it’s far too easy to ignore the pain radiating up my spine.

He must have planned this out.

Maybe it was something he intended to do later, or even tomorrow, but something compelled him to do it now.

He picks up a length of thick rope.

My eyes dart to the brightly lit house in the distance.

“If you think you can make it to the house before I catch you, by all means go.” He even backs up a step, gesturing toward the house.

As if I don’t see the dark amusement in his eyes. As if I can’t guess exactly how that would go for me.

I can’t make it. He knows it. I know it. More importantly, I know when he catches me, I’ll regret having run at all. That’s if I survive it.

So I stand still as he ties me to the tree.

If it were anyone but Harlan, I’d have risked kneeing him where it hurt or punching him in the face before making a run for it. But he’s the future head pack enforcer, trained to keep the alpha—and the pack—safe. There’s no surprising him.

It doesn’t take him long to loop the itchy, thick rope around me, so tight it digs into my ribs. I take a series of shallow breaths until I’ve learned how to breathe in a way that doesn’t make me feel dizzy.

He ties off the end and gives me a long look. “You will stay out here tonight. I’ll be checking on you in two hours. If you’re anywhere but here, you’ll regret it.”

Then he scoops up my clothes and walks away, leaving me naked, bound to a tree.

No explanation about why he’s punishing me this way, or what I did to deserve it.

Because it is a punishment. There is no way this can’t be him punishing me.

I don’t feel the cold at first, unsurprising when we shifters burn hotter than regular humans.

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