Page 54 of Mated

I don’t want to be rude to Cain’s brother. I know I’ve caused so much trouble here. I need to fit in so that Cain can trust me, and so that I can trust myself.

“What kind of traditional sweet?”

“I think you’ll like it,” he smiles. He has such big, white, intimidating teeth, and he is looming over me in a way I am sure he does not mean to.

I take the sweet and I unwrap it. It smells a little like licorice, and something else I can’t quite put my finger on. Aniseed? I wouldn’t ever eat this on my own, but Abel is looking at me with expectation, and I want to be polite.

So I put it into my mouth. It doesn’t taste great. There’s some sweetness, but there is also a lot of bitterness. The flavor is very strong, and it spreads over my tongue and through my mouthalmost immediately. I couldn’t spit it out if I wanted to because it has melted, kind of like a wafer.

I reach for water to wash the taste out of my mouth, but my hand never makes it to the cup. The world goes fuzzy. Furry.

Someone tries to touch me. It’s not Abel. I taste familiar flesh. Isabella.

“Ow! Help me get her under control.”

I have no intention of being controlled. I shift, panicked and drugged and ready to lash out at anyone or anything who comes close to me. The next time I bite her, it won’t be with blunt human teeth. I will rip her open with my wolf jaws, and I will enjoy every moment of it.

My animal form is still under the influence of whatever the hell I was given, but I still acquit myself well. I jump and I bite and I knock tables of breakfast foods over as the others try to get me under control.

The problem is, both Abel and Isabella have their own beast forms, and they take them in short order. Abel is a massive black toned wolf, and though Isabella is smaller, she is as vicious in her animal incarnation as she is in her human form.

They take me down, Isabella biting underneath my neck and belly, Abel launching himself on top of me, pinning me down beneath the bulk of his body. I writhe and fight, doing all I can to make my escape. If I can just get to a window, I will throw myself out it.

But I can’t. The drugs are seeping through my system, making me weak, and those who are holding me have clearly done this before. I whine and I yap, calling for my mate. But he is not here.I am alone in what has unexpectedly become enemy territory, and there is no telling what they are going to do to me.

Smack!

“Wake up!” A harsh female voice accompanies a painful slap across my face.

I open my eyes to find myself tied up on a bench of some kind. I’m lying face down, but the bench itself is tilted up enough to allow my tormentor to look at me. I am naked because the shift ripped all my clothes. Tactical error. My ankles and wrists are manacled in place, my back legs spread wide around the bench. This is a lewd and unseemly position. I don’t think she did it to be sexual. I think she did it to disrespect and humiliate me.

What the hell is happening? Abel sedated me, and now I’m in some kind of… dungeon? The walls are stone and lit by flickering lights. Isabella slaps me again, the other cheek this time, a satisfied look on her naturally cruel features.

“Look at me, you little bitch.”

I look at her, confused and annoyed. I should probably be scared, but I think whatever I was given is taking the edge off my fear.

“You don’t belong here,” she says. “We all know it. You knew it too. That’s why you left. You should have stayed away.”

“Why are you so afraid of me?” I am groggy enough to ask the first question that comes to mind.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“You stink of fear,” I say.

Abel laughs, apparently enjoying the way I am speaking to Isabella. He is standing behind her, his arms folded over his chest. He has an interesting expression on his face, somewhat grim, and somewhat resigned, as if he doesn’t like this, but feels like it is necessary.

“I knew there was something wrong with you. I knew you were wrong,” she hisses at me. “Now I know what you are.”

“I know you are, but what am I?”

I mumble the question back at her, stupidly. She hates me because she’s always wanted to fuck Cain. She’s jealous that he’s my mate and not hers, and now she’s done something so fucking stupid, he’s probably going to kill her.

“Why are you here, Abel? Cain’s going to kill you.”

“Cain’s coming,” he says. “We’ve done this for him. He knows what you are. I’d be surprised if you survived.”

What the actual fuck.

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