Page 27 of Connected

He makes a beeline for Alvarez, where he lies on the ground and then kicks him hard. Grabbing him by the binding around his wrists, he yanks him in one swift move to his feet. “Where the fuck is it?”

“Where what?” Alvarez grins smugly. Zak can see the bruises already forming on his face from where he’s connected—several times—with Digby’s fist.

“You do know you’re gonna die, right? And that it’s gonna be very, very slow and excruciatingly painful. Maybe we could speed that up for you—but only if you tell us where that damn key is.”

“Zak, what the hell’s goin’ on?” Darius frowns. “A key? A key to what?”

“A key to this—”

Still hidden in the dense foliage, Digby’s voice can be heard not far away. “Thisthing—he put on Kat.”

Everyone turns around watching as eventually, Digby leads a bedraggle, blood-covered, and semi-naked Kat from the jungle. The feeling of relief can be felt in the air, and as they see her returned, they immediately abandon their tasks and rush forward as a pack to welcome her back.

Their emotional response combined with their strong masculine scent overwhelms Kat’s newly restored sense of smell and as the heady wall of musk hits her, she wobbles unsteadily on her feet. Feeling dizzy, she takes a breath and grabs at Digby.

Immediately he throws his arm under her legs and scooping her up, carries her the rest of the way back to camp. “Hey, make some room. Bud, go grab some water and get her somethin’ to eat.”

“Digby, will you put me down, I don’t need you to fuss. Just give me a little water and I’ll be fine.”

Darius folds his arms and towering over them, he stares. “So, you survived then?”

“Mm-hm… Yeah, I’m good.” Her lip curls into a snarl as she averts her gaze—reluctant to look at him for fear of what she might now see—and immediately it becomes clear she’s blanking him.

“So, what’s been goin’ on, and what’s with that thing around your neck? Kat, what the hell happened to you?”

“That fuckin asshole—that’s what happened to her,” Digby growls, gesturing his finger at Alvarez. “He’s the one to blame for this. Zak said he put thatthingon her. What’d he call it… Asubmission ring? You know what one of them is? It’s made from some special silver and that’s why it’s burnin’ her skin so bad.”

“What the hell… I mean, yeah sure I’ve heard of them but one for a wolf is extremely rare, I thought they were mostly made-up stories—wolf-lore, tall tales… that kinda thing. So how the fuck did a little shifter asshole like him get his hands on something like that?”

“He didn’t,” Zak interrupts. “Whoever’s behind this whole shebang—whoever ordered her capture—they’re the ones who gave it to him. He said they were, well they’re…” Zak scratches his head awkwardly, and averts his gaze from Darius as he stares at Digby. “Well supposedly, it’s a… a vamp-cartel—somethin’ like that.”

Darius frowns, questioning with more urgency. “Are you sure about that? I mean vamp cartels; they haven’t been around in a long time.”

“I don’ know—not for sure—I’m just goin’ by what Alvarez said. I have no idea if it’s true or not. But whatever it is, thatthingis the real deal. The problem we have is we can’t get it off. Diggs and me, we couldn’t break it. Darius, it burns so bad—like it’s made from the fires of hell.”

Kat’s head drops. She can’t face them, and the continual stare from their piercing eyes feels like precision lasers. The atmosphere is strained and with apprehension, Kat quickly flickers a gaze towards Darius. Immediately looking away, it’s obvious there’s an uncomfortable tension between them that—despite his usual moody behavior—has never been there before.

“Kat, are you sure you’re okay?” Digby asks.

“Mm-hm, yeah I told you, I just need some water and a little less fuss. You know I’m not some damsel-in-fuckin-distress, so I just wish you’d all stop looking at me like I am.”

“Kat, no one’s—”

“Digby just leave me the hell alone. And could someone please find my damn kit… I need some clothes and where’s the fuckin’ water I asked for?” she snaps angrily.

Her hands shake and she takes a deep breath—trying to keep her feelings in check. Shutting herself off from the guys, she calms down. The pain in her neck is making her cranky, and she knows it. She’s tired, drained of her strength, but as much as she tries, she can’t do anything to stop her narky attitude.

All she wants is for her wolf to return and everything to go back to normal.

“Please, will someone just point me to my kit and medi-bag?” She stands up. “I need to treat my arm and I need some supplies—Zak, maybe I should look at you and check those wounds, you don’t want them getting infected out here. They’re silver-burns and they’re going to take a lot longer than normal to heal.”

“Hey… will you just sit the hell down?” Darius places his hand on her shoulder—seating her again. “Kat, no one thinks you’re a damsel-in-distress, but you do need to rest—so do just that. The guys will get whatever you need. And yes, I’d say that to anyone, not just you. Zak, you can sit the hell down too.” Darius snaps his fingers, clicking them. “QT get on it. Make sure that she gets what she needs. Bud, you get that food on the go and hurry it up. I imagine everyone’s hungry by now. Oh, and bring Kat some water, right now.” he demands, gesturing and pointing everyone in different directions. “We’ll rest up for a while, eat first and then decide what we’re goin’ to do with this asshole—before we move out.”

“We’ll all rest up, andeat,will we?” Kat stares directly at him, her head tilted to one side as she awaits his reply. “So, you’re gonnaeatwith us, right?”

Darius frowns and Zak nervously shrugs. Digby looks up confused he can feel the tension between the pair, and he interrupts. “So, what you wan’ me to do with them?” he kicks hard into Alvarez’s ribs, followed by a kick to the guy lying next to him.

Still puzzled by Kat’s attitude, Darius continues to stare as he issues more orders, “Um… uh, yeah, just… round them up and uh… sit them over there where we can keep an eye on them. They’re night-shifters, so we’re gonna need to take care of them before the sun goes down. Yeah, you hear me Alvarez… there’s gonna be no getting away this time, asshole.”

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