Page 7 of Wolf's Endgame

“I’m thirsty.” The wobble in my voice was more than a lack of hydration—true fear gripped me.

Landon moved back to the bed where I lay unmoving. Once more, his hand stroked my hair. “I’ll get you some water,” he told me gently, “if you stop this silliness and show me that you can behave.”

For the first time in days, my stomach churned, and I feared I would vomit.

“Can you do that, Kezia? Can you behave?”

“I don’t know.” It was the most honest answer I’d ever given. But it seemed it was the right one as I heard a huff that was too far to be Landon.

“She’s broken?”

Landon’s fingers dug into my hair, and I tried not to wince. “Not yet, she’s smart,” he spoke in a low voice. “Give me time. She’ll see reason.”

Footsteps approached and I curled into a tighter ball. Bale stood over me. “She stinks.”

“Well, Dad, you won’t allow me to wash her.”

The sigh was long and loud. “Don’t let a pretty face and a warm cunt fool you.” A touch that was not Landon’s ran over my hip, and I shrank from the unfamiliar hand. “She’s poison, like her mother.”

Landon’s voice was calm and even as he spoke. “You’ve known Kezia since she was brought into this pack,” he told him reasonably. “She’s rebellious, but after this, she will understand, Dad. Trust me. This is the best plan. You said it yourself.”

“You’re letting sentimentality rule you,” Bale grunted in disappointment.

“Am I?” It was Landon’s turn to snort. “I coerced her to leave that fucker, Cannon. I got her here. She’s been chained to a wall with silver for three weeks. My sister is under lock and key too. Have I not done everything you have asked of me, Dad?” A sigh of disappointment followed. “Why do I still need to prove myself to you?”

“Because you still cling to this whore. She humiliated you.”

Landon withdrew his hand from my hair. “He was her mate. She had little choice.”

“And now he’s dead.”

Pain stabbed at my abdomen.

“And now he’s dead,” Landon spoke with a coolness that was chilling. “Kezia will remember that being my mate is what she wanted all along.”

There was a long silence, and I hardly dared to breathe. Landon’s words contrasted with his actions. Bale filled me with fear, and I could practically feel his hate surrounding me.

“Wash her. Feed her. Fuck her—see if it gets her out of your system. Then we’ll talk.”

“I’ll wait to have sex, Dad,” Landon said with a laugh that caused my churning stomach to roil once more. “I like a little participation, not an almost dead half corpse.”

Bale sniffed loudly. “Keep the cuffs on. If she’s no use, give her to the men. They’re strung tight waiting for the retaliation. She’ll give them some relief.”

Lurching to the side of the bed, I threw up all over the floor.

“Fuck!” Bale yelled. “Get the bitch washed and this room cleaned. She’s a disgrace to this pack.”

His footsteps faded, and when they were gone, Landon crouched beside me. Lifting my head, he forced my eyes open to look at him. His concern was genuine, but his voice was hard and brutal.

“You heard your pack leader! Get this shithole cleaned up,” he yelled to the corner of the room where the red light blinked incessantly. “You can’t run yet,” he murmured in my ear as he lifted me as if I weighed nothing. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

I never saw who came into the room, scared it would be a pack member I knew and liked. I couldn’t handle any more betrayal. Landon seemed to know that and skillfully kept my head turned into his chest. The cuffs fell from my wrists, and I gasped with relief.

“Don’t fight me,” he whispered. “I need you to act the part of broken.”

Act? I wish I were acting. I was broken. My heart was shattered, and my soul ripped open. Cannon was dead. My mate was gone, and I knew I had to fight. I knew I had to get to my brother. Hell, even Cass. But it was as if knowing Cannon was gone meant I was gone too.

Landon carried me down stairs that led to rooms that I didn’t recognize the scent of.

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