Page 71 of Hunted

Abigail tried to move, tried to scramble away from him, but her chains kept her tied to the chair. Dammit, she must have shifted back to human while she was out, and they’d secured her to the seat before she woke.

“No, don’t be afraid of me.” His voice was soft. Almost gentle. “I won’t hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. All I wanted to do was make you see.”

Abigail found it within herself to speak then. “Why are you doing this?” Her voice was heavy and thick.

“Because you belong with me.” His smile was strange, and Abigail found herself fixated. She knew he was feral but had not seen it up close since his initial attack.

Now, she saw everything.

His eyes were a little too wide, his pupils fixed and unmoving. The left side of his face seemed askew, as though he’d had a stroke. The left side of his mouth stretched up further than the right side, and Abigail noticed right away that he was missing some teeth.

“You belong with me,” he continued.

Let him talk.

Keep him talking and figure out a way to get out of here.

“You know.” Christian pulled a cigar from his jacket pocket and clipped the end. “My son never truly appreciated you. He never saw your real, true beauty. He never allowed you to shine the way you should have.” Abigail froze, unable to even think as Christian spoke. “But with me, you’ll have everything you want. I adore you, Abigail. You are the light of my life. I can give you everything and more.”

“What are your plans?” she asked him, her voice still low. Her throat was painfully dry and the sharp pain in her head had become a dull ache. “If you want us to be together, I assume you’ve got plans.”

An ugly smile stretched across Christian’s face, and he somehow moved even closer to her. “You’re going to be my alpha mate. You’ll be mine. I’ll make you mine. And Luke and Dominic won’t be able to do a thing.”

Christian, paying no attention, was continuing to speak about his plans for them.

Abigail wriggled her fingers and found there was some give. While Christian’s mind wandered, she began to work at the poorly tied knot that was securing her. Her captor’s mind was unraveling, and now he was losing his faculties and competence at dizzying speed. The fact that he was feral became clearer with each word he spoke.

It was obvious when he stopped halfway through sentences, and then started new ones without finishing the first.

It was obvious in the way he wildly waved his cigar around before pushing it back between his lips and puffing on it, even though it wasn’t lit. It was obvious in the manic shine of his eyes, and the ever-present, ugly grin on his face.

Abigail scanned the room, and her eyes fell on the lamp that was sitting on the end table closest to her. Urgently, she worked the knot on her wrist some more. Yes! It unraveled, freeing her hand.

She was about to lunge for the lamp when Christian stumbled toward her, his arms out.

It was clear what he wanted when one of his hands went to her neck and the other went to her breast.

“You’re mine,” he whispered while smiling. “You’re all mine. You areall mine.”

He leaned down and licked her cheek while groping her breast.

Abigail’s blood ran cold and she froze in horror. She snapped out of it when the hand on her breast wandered lower.

“No,” she whimpered and began struggling.

She wasn’t tied down any longer, but Christian’s heavy, powerful body kept her trapped.

“Don’t fight it.” He breathed in her face, his stale breath forcing bile into her throat. “You know you want it. You’ve been mine from the beginning.”

She lifted her arms and swung her fists as if to hit him, then as he went to block her feint, she kicked out at him as hard as she could.

He howled with pain when she landed a kick near the groin, though she didn’t quite make contact with the family jewels.Dammit.

She vaulted herself off the chair and landed on her hands and knees.

Abigail immediately scrambled away from Christian, but he grabbed hold of her hair and yanked her backward. She turned and kicked him, and he howled again. She couldn’t help but scream when he clawed at her.

Abigail had relived the first attack by Christian over and over again.

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