Page 45 of The Alpha's Surrogate

Those cords. There was something about them. After Klaus had pulled her out of the wreckage, Garry had moved fast to wrap the vine-looking ropes around her wrists, ankles, and knees.

It had felt like a thick blanket had been tossed on top of her, secured at each end with heavy rocks. She’d gasped for air, bared her teeth and hissed like an angry tomcat. She had tried to transform, to rip the ropes to shreds and take on the two bears even if it meant her death.

But nothing had happened. It was almost as if her wolf had been disconnected from her, the age-old bond between them severed brutally. Even now, she strained to hear the wolf, and its fear mingled with hers in riotous symphony.

While her injuries were far from life-threatening, she still bled from cuts and felt the sting of several bruises. Whatever Klaus had bound her with, it disrupted her healing as well. She could also feel it dampening her mana, and that terrified her.

Earlier, she’d been afraid for the baby, but she still felt it strongly inside her, although its mana signature was low. Whatever that rope was, it worked hard against mana. She wondered what would happen when she told Klaus about the child. She had no way of knowing what the unpredictable man would do, but she was bang out of options.

Garry mumbled something to Klaus and he turned to look at Josie, smiling for the first time since they’d hit the road. She felt her heartbeat quicken. For some reason, the image of Klaus smiling was more chilling than his cold visage.

Nobody’s going to come looking for me. The thought came out of nowhere, and the truth of it hit her with so much force she gasped painfully. There was no one coming to save her. She was stuck in a bad situation, and no one in the world knew where she was.

She’d run off like a petty criminal and disappeared while Callahan was asleep. The were-bears would be long gone by the time the wrecked car was discovered, and it would be an eternity before the car was traced back to Callahan.

He’d probably discovered by now that she’d disappeared. When he found his favorite car missing, he would realize she’d run away. Would he bother looking for her? He would be blameless if he decided not to, after everything she’d put him through. However, she realized that she desperately wanted him to come running after her.

She laughed suddenly. The irony was so ridiculous and unprecedented that she cackled with helpless amusement. She’d fled from him and landed in a bear trap, literally.

And now, she wanted nothing more than for him to come chasing? She could have stayed back and saved herself the trouble. And yet, she knew the trouble was just the thing she needed to finally have some much needed perspective.

“What, you think this is funny, don’t you?” Garry asked gruffly. He’d spun around in shock when her laughter had rippled through the truck, shattering the cold silence like a pickaxe on thin ice. “You won’t find it so hilarious in just a bit, I assure you.” His lips curled up in a wicked grin.

There was something evil in his eyes that assured Josie that this was not an idle laugh. It terrified her, but not enough to stop her from giggling on—despite the pain in her sides from the effort—at her own stupidity.

***

The prison in the mountains was the same one from her dreams. It was in a cave at the base of a mountain. Off to the west, the mountain range spread further, several peaks disappearing into thick, white clouds.

Garry dragged her not too gently from the back of the truck and made a face as he eyed her critically. “You look like shit.” He spat into the snow.

Josie frowned at him. “Maybe next time don’t run into me with a truck.”

He grinned. “It’s nice to see you still have a sense of humor.” He shook his head regretfully and his voice was lower than a whisper when he spoke again, almost mournful. “It won’t last, you see. You think you’re so strong, but you’re not. You will break eventually…”

He pulled out a dagger and brandished it in front of Josie who recoiled backward frightfully. He laughed a wicked laugh and shook his head at her. He crouched and with two sure strokes, he snapped the cords around her legs. “Oh, you will break…you all do.” The humor vanished from his face and his voice hardened. “Walk.”

From behind her, Josie heard Klaus chuckle. He was enjoying this, she realized. How long had they been waiting for this moment? How thoroughly had they been looking forward to doing this to her? She was completely at their mercy now, and they didn’t hesitate to show it.

Garry nudged her hard and she staggered forward. She had a slight limp from the accident and the tightness of the cords around her legs. Her shoes were not made for walking in the snow and soon they were soaked through. She shivered uncontrollably, and for the first time in her life, she realized she was truly cold.

Two sentries sat by the entrance to the cavern, playing cards on a squat table. They looked up at the approaching group and spared Josie one indifferent glance before turning back to their game.

This is nothing new to them, she realized. Just another day at the office. She felt a chill run down her spine, and she had a feeling it had nothing to do with the cold wind howling through the mountains. She was anonymous, another girl snatched from her family by a murderous crime ring. Only she didn’t really have any family, did she?

Klaus led the way through the cave. White light from fluorescent lamps above bathed the rough walls cut into the heart of the mountain. They wound through winding corridors, her shoes making a squishy sound on the hard floor.

Two levels down, they arrived at a nondescript door. Klaus pushed the door open and Garry shoved Josie into a small room with a swinging bulb overhead.

There was a threadbare couch against one wall and a television across from it. Two men dressed in black furs lounged comfortably in the chairs, watching a documentary on the TV.

They jumped to their feet at the sight of Klaus, but he ignored them and walked to a second door inside the small room. The door opened into a larger room and this room was more furnished than the one they had just passed through.

This was an office of sorts, with a massive desk and several uncomfortable-looking chairs. There was a work table on the far side of the room, and a lamp hung over the table, illuminating the clutter on it with a pale, blue light.

Josie noted with some interest that it was different from the room her mother had been held in. Her mother had been held in a sort of prison a few levels lower. She was curious but also uneasy. Whatever this was about, she doubted she was going to like it much.

Klaus strode across the room and sat in the chair behind the desk. He gestured to one of the chairs for Josie to sit and when she was reluctant, Garry placed a firm hand on her shoulder and forced her down into the proffered seat.

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