Page 100 of Alpha Chase

I must’ve been drugged because my limbs feel like lead weights. I grit my teeth as I struggle to move them, only to discover that my efforts are in vain because I’m bound to this damn chair. My head feels too heavy for my neck and I let it fall forward, eyes catching on the dark red blood soaking through my uniform shirt around my midsection.

Fuck, I’m losing a lot of blood. Too much blood.

It’s no wonder I’m so out of it- my blood is pooling on the chair beneath me and hitting the floor in a steady drip. I sink my teeth into my lower lip and try to shift around on the chair to see if there’s any way I can wriggle free of my bonds, only to realize that even the slightest movement sends a spear of pain radiating from my belly. I shudder as it burns through me, a pained whine escaping my lips.

My chest tightens in fear as heavy footfalls make their way toward me, a putrid stench assaulting my nostrils before my captor comes into view. His face is shrouded in a black hood, but as he draws closer, he tosses it back, revealing his face to me. His eyes are narrowed menacingly, my own widening in recognition.

The rogue.It’s the same man from the lodge weeks ago- the one who has been stalking the territory for nearly a month now. The foul stench of him makes me retch, bile rushing up my throat and spewing out of my mouth onto the floor below. I spit and lift my gaze to him again, his lips curling into a sickening grin when I meet his eyes.

“What do you want?” I choke, my voice faltering on every syllable.

He just keeps smiling maniacally, wordlessly watching me wince and struggle against my bonds.

Okay, this is seriously fucked.

My memories flicker in like a strobe light, twisting my guts and making me retch again. The creep doesn’t even flinch when my vomit splashes his boots- he just keeps grinning at me like a fucking psycho as a sudden rush of memories rips my heart to shreds.

I was on cloud nine when I walked into the lodge; I was so distracted that I let my guard down and didn’t even realize I was walking into a trap. I remember seeing a lifeless body lying face down in a pool of blood, my heart squeezing painfully as I recall Char’s distinctive auburn hair. A sob tears from my throat as the realization sinks in- the bubbly, clumsy waitress that I’ve become friendly with over the past few months, snuffed out in the blink of an eye. I remember a gunshot, the bullet tearing through my flesh, the pain taking my legs out from under me. Then everything went dark.

“Why?” I ask, my throat painfully tight, like I’ve swallowed razor blades and they’re lodged in my vocal cords.

I hear movement to my left, snapping my head sideways in the direction of the sound. My jaw goes slack and all the air leaves my lungs on a wail when my eyes land on two bodies on the ground, surrounded by a sickening puddle of blood. Serena is horrifyingly still, but Fallon rolls onto her side, groaning as she tries to push up on an elbow. The rogue grunts in irritation, stomping away from me and toward my friends.

“No!” I scream, writhing against my bonds as pain lances through my abdomen. “Don’t hurt them!”

Before Fallon can push herself up, the rogue leans over her, drawing back a fist and delivering a hard punch to the side of her head. It connects with a loudthwackand she drops back to the floor limply, out cold.

The plastic zip-ties around my wrists and ankles slice into my skin as I struggle against them harder, tears cutting lines down my face as they start to flow freely. “What do you want?!” I cry, the searing pain in my abdomen nearly blinding me with every movement. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it! Just let them go!”

The rogue goes rigid as I hear the purr of an engine, signaling the approach of a vehicle out front. Gravel crunches under the tires as it comes to a stop, hope blooming in my chest.

Chase.Somehow I know it’s him- it has to be. Judging by the way he tore Clint to shreds this morning, there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll rain hell on anyone who tries to hurt me. This rogue doesn’t even know how much he just fucked up. I’ve seen the wrath of Chase Walker up close and personal, and it isn’t pretty. Watching him dispose of this creepy fucker is going to be a real treat.

The rogue stomps to the window, peeling back the curtain an inch and peering outside. I’m fighting a smug grin, expecting him to panic that he’s caught, but the glimmer of hope inside of me dies when I hear him chuckle lowly. He turns back to me with a sinister smile that makes me shudder, and that’s when I realize that he was expecting someone, and I’m the one who’s fucked.

“Right on time,” he remarks, his voice cold and monotone. His eyes flicker silver, brimming with madness. “Now the real fun can begin.”

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Chase

Ithrowupaprayer to fate that I’m not too late when I arrive at the cabin, fueled by adrenaline and fear as I tumble out of my truck and race for the front door.

Please don’t let her die.

If she dies here, I may as well die too, because I won’t survive losing her.

My gaze catches on the number 12 carved crudely into the post beside the front door, the numbers practically mocking me as that chant starts in my brain again.

‘Cabin 12. Come alone or she dies.’

Well asshole, I came alone, so she’d better be alive…

My heart’s in my throat as I wrap my hand around the knob and push, the door swinging open to reveal the interior of the cabin. As soon as it comes into view, the click of a gun’s hammer steals my breath and my eyes collide with Vienna’s. She’s bound to a chair, just as she was in the picture, and there’s a man standing behind her, hovering over her with a filthy hand wound in her hair yanking her head back. He’s got a gun in his other hand, the barrel pressed tightly to her temple and his finger on the trigger.

“Come inside and close the door,” he instructs, his deep, chilling voice setting off a riot inside me. The only thing stopping me from lunging for this guy and tearing out his throat right now is the fear in my girl’s eyes and the barrel of that gun pressed to her head, capable of stealing her life in an instant. No honorable wolf would wield a gun- we fight with teeth and claws and our brute strength, not the cowardly weapons of humans. This shifter is a scourge to our kind, a fucking disgraceful shit. Probably what led to him being cast away to become a rogue in the first place.

“Chase, no,” Vienna whispers pleadingly, and I suddenly realize that the fear in her eyes isn’t for herself- it’s for me. Those big brown eyes shine at me with so much concern, but the sight of her bound and bleeding twists my insides and has me instantly giving into this sick fuck’s demands without question, my movements jerky and robotic as I take a step inside and push the door shut behind me. I hear it snick closed and blow out a steady breath.

---