Page 101 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

I couldn’t help what happened next. I burst out laughing. A long, heavy belly laugh. Tears sprang to my eyes from the force of the laughter. He had to be delusional. There was no way I would ever agree to that, and he had to know it. Along with the strangely morbid and terrifying hilarity I felt at the situation, I also felt a twinge of bitterness. I’d helped this asshole with his fertility issues. Had I known his true plan, I’d have told him to go straight to hell.

Eren, looking less than pleased with my outburst, glared at me until I got myself under control.

“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping tears from my eyes. “You are out of your mind if you think that little fantasy is going to happen.”

His lips pulled back in a snarl as he bared his teeth. “You, Kirsten, appear to have misjudged the situation here. I have you. Jace doesn’t. I”—he jammed a thumb into his chest—“am the only one who knows where you are. For all intents and purposes, you belong to me. The sooner you realize and accept that, the sooner things get easier for you.”

Rather than breaking me, his words only served to piss me off more. I had the urge to tell him that I could use my magic to fry his ass at any time, but I held off. Maybe if he thought I was coming around, he’d give me some information. As revolting as the idea sounded, I decided to try to catch flies with honey rather than vinegar.

Letting my shoulders slump in defeat, I shook my head. “Okay, I get it. I’m yours. I was wrong to think that Jace cared for me.” I did my best to lace resignation into every word.

Eren’s glare slowly morphed into a grin. “Really? That easy? I thought you’d put up more of a fight. Seems you’re not as loyal to the Crestwood prick as I thought you were.”

“What’s the use?” I shrugged. “You stole me fair and square. That alone shows how much stronger an alpha you are compared to Jace. Why would I want to align myself with a man who can’t even protect his woman?” Forcing down the vomit that rose in my throat from saying that, I continued. “A witch should be with the strongest possible mate.”

Eren’s body relaxed. For a single instant, I thought about jumping up, ramming my shoulder into him, and trying to flee. That thought was quickly drowned out by my realization that I had no idea what awaited outside the doors. His massive beta Poli might be ready to tackle me if I ran. Hell, there could be dozens of shifters from Eren’s pack in this building to stop me. And although I had learned some of my powers, I was far from an expert yet. Most of what I’d done had been by accident, with help, or unconsciously.

The alpha came closer and sat beside me, the cot creaking under our combined weight.

“I knew you were smart, but I didn’t realize you were this quick on the uptake,” he said, putting his hand on my thigh.

Suppressing a shudder of revulsion, I nodded. “It’s nature. Survival of the fittest.” Don’t puke, don’t puke, I warned myself before speaking again. “Nature says that a female should mate with the strongest male, and it looks like you are it.”

Eren leaned close, his warm breath cascading across my neck, his hand sliding up my thigh. It was all I could do not to scream.

“Mmmm,” he moaned. “I like that. You know, I bet that mouth can do more than just say sweet words, can’t it?”

I forced a girlish giggle from my mouth, hoping he didn’t hear any of the disgust I felt. “Maybe. If you’re lucky, you might find out.”

“I’ve never had a witch before,” Eren said as he nuzzled my neck. “I can’t wait to hear you scream my name.”

I suppressed a shudder. “So where is this place, anyway? If you really want me as your mate, you’ll need to let me out, right? Show me around?”

Eren’s body tensed, his hand stopping just below my breast. He let out a long sigh of frustration before leaning away from me. When he caught my eye, I could see that I’d pushed too far, too fast. Stupid. I should have drawn it out more. But I’d gotten the feeling he was about to try something, and there was no amount of acting in the world that would have allowed me to go any further than I already had. I’d overplayed my hand and fucked up in the process.

“That’s disappointing,” Eren said as he stood. He grabbed his crotch, adjusting his erection. I looked away in revulsion. “You almost had me believing you. It looks like you need a bit more time alone to come to your senses. A few days or weeks here will have you ready to cooperate.”

Without another word, he strode out the door, slamming it behind him. I heard the snick of the lock and let out a shuddering moan. Was I happy to still be locked up? No. But was I happy to not be staring at Eren’s quivering little penis? Dear God, yes. There were probably women who could have gone the whole way with the act. Who would have done whatever they needed to do and whomever they needed to do to get free. But that wasn’t me. Not in a million years. I’d have to find another way to free myself.

After an hour of boredom, I began pacing the room. There were no windows, and the clock that tick-tick-ticked was broken. The hour hand was slightly bent and stuck on the number six. The second and minute hands continued to spin, but there was no way I could figure out the time of day with that. For all I knew, it could be one in the afternoon or three in the morning. The tiny bathroom held no semblance of a window, either.

Maybe Eren’s plan was to keep me in this weird solitary confinement until my mind broke. He might be hoping I’d lose it little by little and eventually succumb to Stockholm syndrome. If that was his plan, he was in for a rude awakening.

The door was solid, not the cheap hollow core you typically found in houses. This one appeared to be solid wood. Not easy to break down, and neither was the doorknob. Without any windows, there was zero chance I was making it out of here with my physical strength alone. I’d break my shoulder before I’d break down that door.

The walls themselves were not concrete or brick. Just simple drywall. If I pressed my ear to them, I could hear the muffled murmur of voices. Nothing distinct, but it told me this room wasn’t reinforced. Not that it helped me much. I could no sooner beat down the walls than I could the door.

I had no way of knowing where I was, how big the building was, how many people were here, and I had no weapon or means of escape. The only thing I did have was magic.

“Great,” I muttered.

Magic was fantastic—if and when I could control it. That wasn’t a guarantee, though. The little shock I gave Eren earlier had surprised me almost as much as it had him. It had been a reflex. If, somehow, I could create a stronger and more powerful spell, I could easily overpower Eren and his henchmen. Recalling the soil tendrils I’d summoned to fight off being kidnapped reminded me how powerful I could truly be. Problem was, I still had a long way to go to master those skills.

With nothing left, I sat on the cot and grasped the stone around my neck. I closed my eyes and did my best to meditate or zone out. Unsure how to go about it, I dug deep, trying to access whatever mechanism in my mind or soul that controlled the magic. I needed to be able to control it. If not? Then I might actually end up as a captive of Eren.

“Please,” I muttered to the empty room, eyes still closed, “I need help. Show me the way. Nana, if you’re there, I need you. Help me control this.”

Sitting like that, I slipped into a weird state, almost hypnagogic, teetering between wakefulness and sleep. Shapes and forms pulsed across the back of my eyelids, and I continued speaking my mantra in my mind, asking for help and guidance. Being that I was a witch, there had to be something within me that could control the power inside me.

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