Page 17 of Racing the Storm

Which, I realized as I sat on the edge of the bed and looked around, it probably was. Only this time, it was for Kasher and his captives, and the Wolves he’d turned into his animals. I had been blindfolded and bound before we left the plane so I didn’t get the chance to see them, but as I was led into the house, I could sense them. I could hear them—grunting and struggling against their chains. I could hear their rapid heartbeats, and I could scent the shift in them—trapped and stalled between forms.

I wanted to drop my claws and tear Kasher’s throat out there, but I knew I wouldn’t succeed. He’d only torture or kill me, and that wouldn’t do much to save anyone.

Still, I felt helpless and weak when I was released and the door locked behind me. It was a cage, just larger and a little more comfortable than before. I wasn’t sure exactly what he needed me for at this point, but I knew his methods of convincing would start soon.

Laying back, I stretched out, easing the ache from my muscles. I didn’t want to get comfortable, but I debated about sleeping because I wasn’t entirely sure how much Kasher would give me once he was settled in. I closed my eyes and breathed, then felt the gentle pulse of my brother and sister reaching for me.

I’m here. I’m alive.

I couldn’t really send them a message, but I could let them know I was all right. It was comfort enough to feel Zane coming back to himself—to know that whatever Kasher had done, Orion had managed to save him before it was too late. It allowed me to breathe easier, to renew my fight to get home to the people I loved.

And it renewed my fight to make sure that no one could ever—ever—be put through this again.

I didn’t expect sleep to come, so I jolted hard when the door opened, and someone walked in. It took me a moment to recognize the scent, but I didn’t calm much when I realized it was Ivan. The room was dark, but I had no problem seeing him hovering near the edge of the bed. His heart was thumping with fear, and it gave me a small burst of pleasure to know that unbound, in this room, I made him nervous.

“Does your father know you’re here?” I asked, pushing myself up on my elbows.

He huffed a laugh and reached along the wall until he found the switch, flooding the place with light. He looked more casual now than he had on the plane, in jeans and a sweater. He might have been attractive if I hadn’t known who he was and the things he’d done, even if he seemed repentant about them.

“He sent me. He figured you were probably hungry.”

I couldn’t help a snort as I sat all the way up, then shifted my legs off the bed and stood. I felt a little weak from lack of food and bad sleep, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. “I’m not sure I want any food here.”

“You can’t starve yourself,” Ivan argued, and I didn’t bother telling him that I could. That I’d survive a lot longer than a human would. “It’ll be easier if you just come to dinner.”

“For you or me?” I asked him, and he didn’t bother to try and hide his wince. “Did he put you in charge of me?”

Ivan glanced away from me, which was answer enough. “He’s not happy with me.”

“Because our Alpha got away?”

His eyes snapped back to me, and he dragged his tongue over his lips. “No. Alexei has the honor of that failure, but my brother’s also safe because my father needs him to do what he’s doing.”

I gripped the bed poster and drummed my fingers on the wood. “So, you helped someone else.” When he looked startled, I shrugged. “It’s obvious. It’s the only crime I think your father would punish. Who was it?”

“An Omega,” Ivan said softly. “Someone who probably wasn’t even missed.”

I opened my mouth to argue that everyone was missed—that we wouldn’t let a single body slip by us, but I realized that probably wasn’t true. We’d tracked every high-level Wolf taken, but what about the others? What about those who had gone unreported?

“Are they alive?”

Ivan stared at me for a long time before he answered. “I don’t know. I hope so, but I couldn’t stay with him if he wanted to get free.”

“So now you’re making up for it by ensuring when that man says jump, I say how high,” I said flatly.

Ivan bit his lip hard enough I could tell he was seconds away from drawing blood, then he released it. “You’re not the only one imprisoned by him.”

“No, but unlike you, I plan to fight.” I let Ivan’s heart beat in that terrified rhythm before I spoke again. “I’ll come to dinner, though. Know the enemy and all that. Your father thinks I know more than I do, but he also thinks I’m less powerful than I am. And even if he can hear us right now—which I bet he can—I don’t care. He won’t believe it, and I’ll take a lot of joy in watching the realization hit him the moment he no longer has a hold on any of us.”

Ivan didn’t confirm or deny that we were being watched, but it didn’t matter. I’d do whatever Kasher wanted to prolong my life and my health, but I wouldn’t be helping him with his experiments. I’d simply learn what he knew. I’d take whatever I could make useful for the Wolves, and then I’d make him sorry he ever strapped a single Wolf down in his lab for the rest of his short life.

Ivan walked ahead of me, down a massive corridor, and then into a formal dining room. It was almost comical in a way—Kasher sitting at the head of the table, a couple of men flanking his right and left with visible guns. I didn’t think there were bullets in them, either. Probably tranqs—enough to put me down for a while and to keep me down until I complied.

I had no intention of being under fire, but I could feel Ivan’s nerves as he gestured for me to sit at his right.

“Father,” the man said.

Kasher, who looked more peaked, his hands trembling on his wine glass, gave his son a curt nod. “Dr. Bereket. It’s nice of you to join us.”

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