Page 12 of Racing the Storm

“I just…miss him,” Ivan said, his voice going so low, I had to read it off his lips. “I just wanted to know he survived.”

“He thrived,” I told him, then closed my eyes and leaned back. I wasn’t going to sleep, but at the very least, I could rest, and maybe that would get me through.

We were somewhere over the ocean when a meal was served. It was probably better than anything I might have been given on a commercial flight. Hell, it was better than what I’d been served in my little stone room, but the smell of processed food made my stomach churn.

Kasher hadn’t looked twice at me since we’d gotten on the plane, and his guards had done little more than keep an eye on me. My only company remained Ivan who watched me as I attempted to eat with my hands cuffed. It was humiliating—dehumanizing, which was likely what they wanted. But I could smell a faint hint of shame coming off the man again, and I wondered if he was capable of faking it.

Some humans could. Some were experts at fooling our heightened senses, but he didn’t seem like the type. I wasn’t going to give him a pass for everything he’d done—spending most of his life working to decrease our rights across the globe—but something had clearly changed his mind.

I just didn’t know how I could use that to my advantage. It was obvious Kasher had his sons by the throat. Ivan looked resigned, and Alexei looked like he thrived on it. It was strange to think that for all Misha had been put through, he was the lucky one out of the three.

“I need the bathroom,” I said just after another bout of turbulence. I’d managed a couple bottles of water and a few bites of the food, and my discomfort was making itself known.

Ivan hesitated, then he nodded and rose. When I followed suit, two of the guards rose, and Ivan held up a hand. “I’ll escort him to the bathroom.” When one of the humans narrowed his eyes, Ivan rolled his own. “What? He’s gonna jump out the window?”

After a beat, the man muttered something, but it was lost in the roar of the engine. He sat though, and I followed Ivan to the lavatory door that he propped open.

“I can’t take those off,” he said, actually sounding sorry.

I almost laughed at him, though I didn’t want to be needlessly cruel. “It’s fine. I’ve managed with worse.” That was an outright lie. For all I had survived as a Wolf, I had been sheltered and pampered most of my life. My fear had come from the unknown, but my brother and sister had formed a bubble around me that allowed me privilege to follow my passion in life.

But they had also taught me how to be strong and how to be clever. And it was that which followed me into the bathroom as I shut the door, then leaned against the wall and took a breath. I could hear quiet murmurings just outside—the humans worried about what I might try, Ivan’s heart a little faster than normal because he was afraid I was going to betray what little trust had formed between us.

And it was tempting. It was tempting to break free of these fucking cuffs, smash the mirror, and slit all their throats before they could pump me full of chemicals. Even if I didn’t survive, taking out Kasher would have been worth my life. Zane and Talia would tear the world to pieces to bring me home, but I wasn’t sure how hard any of the other Alphas would fight for me, and I was doing everything in my power not to think about Mikael right then.

With a breath, I stared at myself in the mirror for a second. The only evidence that I was in distress were the dark rings around my eyes. But my Wolf hid so much of what I was feeling. The bruising from the initial attack was gone, and I hadn’t been with them and starved long enough to lose any weight.

To anyone who saw me, they’d only see a Wolf in custody.

Turning to the toilet, I struggled to get my pants down, but eventually relieved myself and even got them zipped up and my hands washed. It was frustrating being bound, but I wasn’t going to give them any more reason to hurt me. I needed to be cognizant in order to be able to think.

I wouldn’t stay forever. I would take the first escape attempt that presented itself, but I wouldn’t be successful if they were pumping any of their shit into my veins.

I could feel the energy ramping up beyond the door, and I knew I’d been in here too long for comfort. Before Ivan could say anything—or one of the asshole guards could break down the door—I opened it and stepped out. Ivan let out a breath of relief and shot a look over his shoulder at the man a few feet behind him, then he followed me back to the seats.

“Were you considering ripping off the toilet and jumping to freedom?” he asked.

I couldn’t help my small laugh, which turned into a yelp as the plane dipped suddenly. When I realized we were going into a descent, I squeezed my hands together and breathed deep. “We can survive a lot, but in spite of what you people believe we can do, we’re not indestructible.”

“I never thought that,” Ivan said quietly, and I had a feeling he was talking about recent events.

My frustration rose, and I gave him a hard look. “I appreciate the fact that you’ve been…” I stopped because it wasn’t kind, but it was something like that. “You’ve made this journey a lot less unpleasant than it might have been,” I went on. “But we are not allies, and whatever you want forgiveness for, I won’t be the one to give it to you.”

“No,” he breathed out, then glanced over his shoulder again, this time at his father who was just sitting up and sipping on a glass of what smelled like scotch. “I’m not seeking absolution.”

I wanted to ask what it was he wanted from me—or from any of us. There was every chance he’d help me get away when the time was right, but there was also every chance that his own self-preservation would take control. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk relying on anyone but myself.

Leaning back, I closed my eyes as the plane continued to drop, and though it felt like an eternity, eventually the wheels touched down, and we came to a crawling stop. The nervous energy crackled as the guards rose and walked toward me, and I didn’t fight them as I had one on each arm, escorting me down the stairs.

Another van waited, another hard floor beneath my body as I was thrown inside, and the door slammed. I could hear another car start, and I recognized the beat of Ivan’s heart as he stood somewhere near me. It was nice to be alone, though; it was nice to feel like a proper prisoner. I didn’t want to get comfortable or complacent.

Rolling onto my back, I stared at the dark ceiling, and I wondered where the hell we were going as the van took off.

It was bumpy and a little painful, probably what they wanted for me, and I felt us take more twists and turns than on any road back home.

Chapter

Five

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