Page 32 of Owning His Mate

Over and over I do this until the nausea starts to abate and I’m able to open my eyes again.

I have to move. I can’t sit here and wait for someone to come to me. I glance around, searching for anything that might tell me where I am or where he is. Are we still in Montana? Is this a breeding facility?

I’m not getting warm and fuzzy feelings about wherever we are. Despite looking like a hospital, it feels more like a prison. There are no windows to the outside and there’s only one door. It doesn’t scream hospitality.

A grim thought enters my mind. The Order wants to breed my kind. What if they tried while I was unconscious?

The savage twist of my belly almost makes me retch.

Did they…

A spear of terror pierces through my chest as I press a hand between my legs, feeling for any soreness there. The relief that floods me when nothing hurts almost overwhelms me. I seem to be intact, and I’m still dressed, which makes it easier to breathe.

“Fuck,” I mutter as my vision clears. If they so much as try to touch me like that, I’ll kill them—or die trying.

Focus, Apryle.

Guilt gnaws at my gut. I should have trusted Kye’s instincts. Despite my reluctance to accept him as my mate, I understand that he has only ever tried to take care of me.

Why am I always trying to prove something, even if it’s at the expense of the people around me?

This is what you do, a dry voice in the back of my mind reminds me.You always fuck up. It’s who you are, Apryle.

No, it’s who I was. I’m not that same girl. I have someone who cares about me the way I am now.

I open my eyes and my wrists are still shackled, meaning my magic is not going to help me.

I groan, my head dropping onto my chest as I suck in as much air as I can manage. These fucking bracelets are going to be the death of me.

Trying to ignore the pulsing headache building behind my eyes, I tug at them, searching for a clasp, but I can’t find one, and time is ticking away.

Starting to panic, I try to reach my wolf. Unsurprisingly, I get no response.

Now is a really bad time to be hiding,I complain.

Still nothing.

I glance around the room, this time with a more analytical eye. There’s nothing obvious that would make a good weapon, but if this is a hospital, surely there will be something sharp and pointy somewhere.

Scooting off the edge of the bed, I press my bare feet to the tiled floor and gasp.

“Fuck, that’s cold!” I hiss through my teeth.

There’s no sign of my boots or socks, so I guess I’m hotfooting it bare.

As I move across the floor, I expect someone to appear and stop me, but no one does. It’s eerily quiet, and that sets my internal alarm bells ringing. Where is everyone? Why did they bring me here just to leave me alone?

I lick my dry lips as I approach the only way in and out of the room. What the hell is on the other side of the door? Is this a trap?

Scared, I try to reach Kye through our bond once more, but he remains out of reach of me. I wish he were here, and that’s not something I thought I would ever desire.

I don’t want a mate, right?

And yet the thought that he’s in danger sends waves of fear through me. The need to get to him and protect him almost overwhelms me.

I search the room, looking for any clue as to where I am, but there is nothing in here, not so much as a chart. If this is a hospital, I don’t think it’s the kind that normal people can just wander into.

Trying not to make a sound, I tiptoe over to the door and press my ear against it, using my wolf senses to listen. Silencegreets me, but I’m still cautious. The door could be thick, metal, or any number of things that would prevent me from hearing.

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