Page 14 of Connected

“No, I won’t say anything—I swear. Zak, I can’t believe that I didn’t see it because it seems so obvious now. His skin is always so cold, but I just thought… Oh fuck, what the hell have I done?”

“I don’t know, but if you really didn’t know. Then maybe Darius should’ve told you. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to—”

“It’s not your fault and I think, I think maybe he wanted to when he told me about Isabella. He took me to see Marco, and I think maybe he was gonna tell me then. I guess he changed his mind. Shit…” she wipes her hand over her face as it flushes with pain. She feels humiliated, almost violated that he never told her something so important.

Was it? Was it important?Would it really have mattered?She’d wanted him so much. But then did she, or was that on him too? Maybe he’d tricked her—a mind-fuck—that was a vampire thing, taking control of someone’s thoughts. Kat had read about it—hell, her grandmother had even told her it.

She sighs and closes her eyes. Taking deep slow breaths, she thinks about how he made her feel—what Zak told her—she wonders if it will change things between them. How will she feel when she sees him again,ifshe sees him again? She wonders that too.Will she and Zak ever get away from here?

Slumped back against the bars, she loses herself to her thoughts, but rubbing her arm brings her back to reality—it’s so sore but at least it’s stopped bleeding. Then opening her eyes wide, she checks the rest of her body—cut, bruised, bloodied, and dirty—and again, she wonders if they will ever get out.

“You okay?” Zak asks.

“Mm-hm, yeah. Yeah, I was just thinking about things.”

“Head-fuck, right?”

“Mm-hm, yeah kinda,” she nods slowly as her head slumps forward. Accidentally she catches her hand on the back of her neck—the half-inch wide silver band catches her palm, and she squeals in pain. The metal burns a bright red mark across her hand, and she catches her breath. “Fuck… Zak we need to get out of here.”

Sitting up, she yanks and rattles at the thick bars on the door to the cage. Crying and screaming with frustration, she yells to no avail. Exhausting herself, she falls into a slumped heap, and drawing her knees to her chest, she sits in silence.

“Wait, do you hear that? Sounds like someone is crying.”

Zak hears it and sitting forward he peers through the bars into the gloomy red darkness. “Yeah, I can hear something. Sounds like it’s coming from over there—at the back, behind the cage with the gray wolf.”

Pressed tighter against each other, they continue to stare out—searching for the source of the sad cry.

“Hey, are you there?” Kat calls. It’s quiet, but she can hear a muffled sound of sniffing. Someone is crying. “Hey… can you hear me?”

“Si,” the quiet, shaky voice returns an answer. “Si—yes, I can hear you.”

Kat’s face squishes to the metal and flinches each time the collar snags her skin. “Hey, who are you? Do you know why we’re here? How long have you been here? Do you know what’s going on?”

“Kat, slow down,” Zak frowns at the speed of her questions. “Hey, can you hear me? My name’s Zak—this is Kat. What’s your name?”

There’s a silence, then from the murky gloom, a small face appears. Her dark brown eyes are hardly noticeable as she stares at them from her caged prison on the other side of the room.

“Sophia—I’m Sophia,” she sobs, nervously afraid she might be overheard.

“Sophia, it’s okay… We’re gonna get out of here,” Zak tries to offer some reassurance. “Kat, do you recognize her?”

Kat again stares but the darkness makes it difficult to see her clearly. “It’s the pregnant woman—from the village. What the hell is she doing here? Hey, can you tell us why you’re here?”

“I-I… don’t know. Some men took me—kidnap me. I been here… I don’t know. I sorry, they said they would let me go if I trap you. Sorry… sorry.”

“It’s okay—this is not your fault. We’re gonna get out of here, Sophia, do you hear that?” Zak offers optimistically as Kat glares at him—wondering if he genuinely believes it.

“Sophia, can I ask you something and it might sound a little odd if you’re not. But… Are you a wolf?” she asks hesitantly.

There’s a hushed silence, and the woman doesn’t respond. Zak looks at Kat, wondering if she’s gone mad asking that.

“Hey, it’s okay if you are—we are too. Sophia, can you still hear me?”

There’s a long pause of silence and then she speaks, “Si… Si, I am Lupa.”

“Okay, that’s good,” Kat sits back on her heels, her head spins trying to make sense of the whirl going on in her head.

“So, what does that mean?” Zak questions. “I don’t understand. Why did she not shift like the others? Do you think they’re only taking pregnant wolves? Sophia, were you pregnant before you got here?”

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