Page 20 of Pack Captive

I scrubbed myself angrily,trying not to replay his words in my mind and failing miserably.

How dare he assume that I would live with him? Maybe he'd said I wouldn't need to be his whore, but I didn't believe him for a heartbeat.

Especially after the way he kissed me, and I thought my heart might explode right then and there in my chest.

There was a voice of reason very deep inside me that whispered,it's not wrong to want a male from outside your pack.

I shoved that voice away, locking it in a box and dropping that box into a void where I would never think of it again.

It wasn't that he was from outside my pack, although that did have something to do with it.

It was because he assumed that I would live in his quarters.

He assumed that I would be happy to serve Lykos, whether I wanted to or not.

Andhe’d assumed that I would run away to save myself and leave my pack at their mercy.

I dipped the cloth in the basin, also trying not to be grateful for the hot water. It had been months since I've had anything but a quick scrub in a cold creek, and even those brief baths had vanished when the water ran dry.

The shadow wolves tended to be drawn to large fires, so in recent months we had taken to eating raw food in our wolf forms, and I had only ever lit small candle flames during the necessary lunar rituals.

Then I noticed the cake of soap he had left beside the washcloth.

I lifted it to my nose, inhaling the creamy scent of spiced honey and vanilla. It smelled so good it was actually mouthwatering.

He was bribing me.

And I didn't appreciate it one bit.

I drew back my hand to throw it to the other side of the room, then I slowly lowered it, and lathering up in the basin.

Blood was still caked on me from the shadow wolf dragging me across the ground, even blood dried into my hair. There wasn't much I could do about my torn, stained clothes, but the rest of me didn't have to feel so filthy.

And it’d be a waste of hot water to not use it.

Excuses, my voice of reason whispered.You like the attention and care.

Shut up, I silently whispered back.

By the time I was done with my makeshift bath and wringing out my hair over the basin, I almost felt like a whole new wolf. It was hard to believe what hot water and a full stomach could do for you.

And, to my credit, I'd only thought of escaping once during the entire wash. It was only the fact that I knew that Ryden hadn't made an idle threat that I didn't seriously consider attempting it. Being run down in my own valley had been bad enough.

One of the Guardian-caste wolves came in to take the basin when I was done, and brought me a plate piled with more food, and a pot of ointment.

I ignored the medicine and drew the plate closer, examining the fresh roasted meat, a chunk of bread, and even a small bowl of ripe purple berries.

It wouldn’t kill me to accept his offerings. After all, it didn’t mean I had to like him.

I ate rapidly and was actually starting to feel at ease with my circumstances, but when the same Warrior wolf came in to take the empty plate and bowl, Calian came in with him.

I knew exactly what he was there for. My dark mood returned, settling on my shoulders like a thundercloud.

I obediently held out my wrists.

Calian knelt next to me, but this time, instead of roughing me up, he gently wrapped the ropes around my wrists, and didn't put them behind my back.

“See? Good behavior earns you rewards.”

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