Page 54 of Brutal Mate

When the corner of his lips twitched upwards in a smile and he ran his fingers through golden-brown hair, Miley cringed away as he leaned forward.

“Hello Miley,” he said, smirking at her openly when her mouth practically fell open.

“H…how do you know my name?” she gulped, her throat constricting even harder than before.

The man sneered with laughter, looking her up and down and finally answering, “We’ve been watching you.”

Nausea threatened to overwhelm her.

“Why?”

The man looked to the two men standing just behind her, each of them with a hand on her shoulder.

They laughed along with him, but when his gaze returned to hers, they were immediately silent.

“I am Christopher, but you can call me Alpha,” the man said, and another cold shiver ran down Miley's back. To her human self, the word alpha meant very little, but to the beast growing inside of her, it was something far more powerful. The urge to growl a challenge was so odd and unexpected that she almost made herself bleed biting her lip to stop herself.

“I'm sorry, what?” Miley asked, blinking innocently. Whoever these guys were, she wasn't about to make life easy for them.

Keep them talking, she thought, remembering all the films she had ever seen of hostage situations. The longer captors were kept talking, the more likely help came in time. She didn't like to think about the fact there was very little chance of anyone bothering to come to her rescue.

Kane had said it himself. She had been nothing but trouble to him from the moment they met. Why would he come? Whoever this Christopher was, it appeared he had done Kane a favor.

“You heard me,” the man said, growling low in his throat. He leaned even further forward. “Since my brother’s violent and untimely death, at the hands of your friends, I am the alpha of the pack you find yourself in. And it is me you have to thank for your gift.”

He gripped hold of her chin then and forced her face up to his, looking deep in her eyes as if he were searching for something.

Miley, feeling her beast rise to the surface, glowered back at him, braver than if she had been alone.

It was oddly comforting to know that within her was all the company she needed, all the strength she needed. Surrounded by men as she was, human Miley alone might have already been crying. Though Miley felt scared and confused, tears were the least of her concerns right now. If anything, she was angry.

“What gift?” she snapped back at him, yanking her chin free of his grip.

“The beast inside you,” Christopher announced, “Your wolf.”

Miley scoffed. “I don't want it. Take it back.”

Christopher threw back his head and laughed so hard it made Miley’s over sensitive ears ring.

“I'm afraid it doesn't work that way,” he said, leveling his eyes to hers again. “You're mine now, and if the transition doesn't kill you, you'll be a part of the army that will finally wipe out that pathetic Nightstar pack for good!”

Miley's eyes widened momentarily before she managed to regain control of herself.

“K…kill me?” Miley asked, shivering. It wasn't the first time she had heard mention of the transition killing her, but it was the first time it really sank in. When Kane had mentioned it, it had sounded far less likely, far less threatening, but now that it was coming from this man, a man she barely knew, it was terrifying.

Again, Christopher laughed with unbridled amusement. “Are those pitiful wolves so useless they didn't even explain the change to you?”

Frustration, anger and fear welled inside Miley, and she felt the sensation in her gums and nail beds that had begun to grow all too familiar.

Just relax, she heard Kane whispering in her ear as if she was standing back in the open field with him at her back, be calm.

It was exceptionally difficult to do so, but what other choice did she have? How could she risk turning here and now?

Anything might happen. Yes, if she managed it successfully, she might stand a fighting chance, but what if it took a while? What if they attacked her during? What if it killed her?

“I think the words 'you're a werewolf' are pretty explanatory,” Miley barked back at him, glowering now. She didn’t like this Christopher one bit. He was cocky, smirking and speaking as he was. He was loud, laughing like that. He was arrogant and violent in how he and his men were treating her. And he even smelled wrong—not in a bad smelling kind of way, but in a gut instinct kind of way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

“Try telling that to the poor fools in the barn,” Christopher scoffed, and Miley’s jaw clenched.

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