Page 25 of Gabe's Lone Wolf

I held back my bile, afraid I’d choke on it, and as much as I wanted to avoid the promise in Cam’s words, I wanted to get back to Gabe more. Whatever I endured. Whatever it took. I would find my way back to my mate. That was the vow I held onto as the drug took me under.

* * * *

I woke with a scream, my head on fire as I was jerked into the air by my hair. I hit the ground hard, my left leg taking the brunt of it while my hands fought to keep those hard fingers from scalping me.

“Glad to see you’ve rejoined the party,” Cam bellowed. “We’re about to have some fun.”

It took all I had to get my feet under me, so he wasn’t dragging me along the ground. His hands were hard, rough. He kept one fist in my hair but the other pinched and slapped at any part of me he could reach. My side, my neck, my nipple, my stomach, hip, thigh. No part of me was off limits to him. He threw me into a clearing, and I slammed into the ground, my palms and legs scraping along the rocks and debris.

I glanced around, trying to take in the area, searching for the men who’d been with us earlier, searching for any means of escape. I had to get out of here, to get back to Gabe.

“I don’t know what I want more,” Cam jeered. “To fuck that tight body of yours or to choke the life out of you. You fucked up everything.”

I tried to protect myself or at least the most vulnerable parts of myself that were way too exposed in my naked state, but Cam’s attention was only half on me. The rest of him was focused on building the rage evident on his face.

“Do you know what you’ve cost me? Do you?”

He kicked at me, his steel-toed boot catching me in the thigh. I tried to hold back my cry, but it filled the air anyway. That kick hurt. I knew I’d bear a boot-shaped bruise from the impact. My thigh was on fire, the ache building and spreading as I tried to ease myself back, aiming to get out of his reach.

“Everything. I lost everything because of you.”

I shook my head. “I’ve done nothing to you.”

“Bastion James issued an order!” He screamed the words at me, verbally slapping me with his rising anger. “Anyone caught trying to help me take you will be declared an enemy to his pack and dealt with accordingly.”

“You did that when you stole me from my mate,” I roared back at him.

“My men are gone. They left as soon as they got word. They’re not dying for a piece of ass.” His hands clenched tightly at his sides as his body appeared to vibrate with rage. “A piece of ass, Eliza. That’s all you are now.”

“Let me go, Cam. Let me walk away. I’ll tell them you did.”

It wouldn’t make a bit of difference, though, and by Cam’s face, I could see he knew that. He thought Bas’ words were what had changed things, but Cam had sealed his fate the moment he’d taken me away from Gabe. My mate would kill him. Unless I managed to beat him to it.

“You think I’m going to let you go?” He laughed. “You belong to me, Eliza. You have since the day I took you in. Gave you shelter, fed you, clothed you. And how did you repay me?”

“Fed me? Clothed me? Gave me shelter?”

Each question left my mouth like the crack of a whip as I rose to my feet. My leg trembled, but I held steady.

“You took me from my home while I was still grieving my mother’s death. Grieving so hard I didn’t realize what was going on until I was already moved in.”

“You expected the alpha to leave you in a home with a drunk?”

“I expected to be with my father. So we could work through our grief together. Be there for one another. You took that from us. From me. I lost my mother and my father in the same breath. One to death, and one because of you. And you expect me to be grateful to you?”

“I took you in!” he roared. “Offered you the world as my mate.”

“I was fourteen years old!” I screamed at him, no longer backing away but charging toward him. “I needed my father. Not a fucking mate!”

“You need what I say you need.” He grasped my shoulders hard and jerked me against him, reminding me that I was completely naked.

“No.” My voice was strong, clear.

“You don’t have a say.”

Spittle flew as he snarled the words at me, and for once in my life, I was no longer afraid of him. Maybe, it was meeting my mate and his pack and seeing what real alpha males were. Strong, fierce, and protective of those they loved. Of their pack. I was one of them now. A member of the James Pack. And I was done running.

“Get your hands off me.”

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