Page 42 of Vicious Wolf Mate

“I can’t believe it.” I continue to pace across our cell. My mind is racing. I can’t focus.

The biggest shock of it all is how much Mckenna has managed to hurt me. I never thought anyone would be able to make me feel like this. There is a pit in my stomach and my heart is racing. It’s not racing in a pleasant way, like when she kissed me for the first time. Instead, it’s racing like a fight or flight response. It’s only serving to build up anxiety in me.

I fooled myself into thinking we had a future together. I wanted more from her. I thought she wanted more from me too. Turns out it was all a lie and I don’t know what to believe anymore.

The worst part is, I still want her. I still find myself, even here in this cell, craving her touch. Imaging a future with her. I’d settle for still being able to hear her breathing.

“I’m such a fucking idiot.” I lean against the back wall of the cell and slink to the floor. “I really let myself get hung up on this girl. We met when I kidnapped her. Her father isRovas Grayson. How did I ever think that’d work?”

“You’re not an idiot,” Drario says. “You just fell hard and fast. That type of emotion can be blinding, we’ve all been there.”

“I even let my wolf side get caught up in her. It kept whispering to me. Telling me that she wasimportant.”

Drario looks over at Jax. “Did your’s ever say that about Natalie?”

Jax rolls over on the cot. “No, but I didn’t think it needed to. I felt it in my gut that what we had was real. I thought we’d be together forever.”

“You aren’t alone there, buddy,” I assure him. “I really let myself believe that she was my mate. Likemy mate.”

“Again,” Drario says. He walks over to me and crouches down, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “We’ve all been there. Believe me, I have stories I could tell. You’ll get over her, eventually. It’ll hurt for a while, a long while. But one day you’ll wake up and not even think about her. You’ll be fine.” He looks at Jax. “You both will.”

He offers me a hand and I take it. He pulls me to my feet and quickly wraps me in a hug. I hug him back. Fuck, I’ve missed Drario.

“But,” he says, pulling away from the hug. “Neither of you will get the chance to get over your heart break if we die in here. Got a plan?”

Drario is right, all this complaining and moping around will be pointless if I don’t even survive the day. But how do we get out of here? I’ve got nothing.

Jax stands up from his cot. “I’ve got it. We wait for a guard to come grab one of us and we kill them. Then just slip out.”

“I wish it would be that simple,” I say. “But if we kill anyone, alarms will go off. And we have no way to shut them off.

Jax perks up again. “What if wealmostkill a guard. Then slip out?”

“You really have a one-track mind don’t you,” Drario says with a chuckle.

I ponder Jax’s plan for a moment. It’s a bit simple but we have nothing else. We don’t know anything about this facility, so there is no point in planning too far ahead. Jax’s plan is the only option.

“Okay, I agree with Jax.” Both Jax and Drario seem surprised I like the plan. “Eventually, some guard will show up to torture us or integrate us or something. The three of us can overpower them easily. Once we’re out of the cell, we improvise along the way as we find out what’s ahead of us. Does that sound like a… well does it sound likesome kind ofa plan?”

They both nod in agreement. Good, then we’re on the same page. As long as we work in tandem, I don’t think there is any obstacle they can throw at us we can’t face. Now all there is left to do is wait.

That is until I hear a grunt. My ears perk up and I look around. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“What is it, Mace?”

I hear another grunt, this one clearly pained and weirdly familiar. I search around us but see nothing. No one is in any of the cells we can see from here. Where is that coming from and why do I recognize it?

The grunt comes a third time, now I’m ready for it. My wolf instincts kick in. In the corner of our cell on the wall is an air vent. I race over to it. Jax and Drario follow. My wolf instincts also instantly told me who it is. I’d never forget a member of my clan.

I get my face as close to the vent as possible. With every fiber of my being, I yell, “Gnash? Is that you?”

30

MCKENNA

“Mace? Mace, can you hear me?” Nothing. I can hear Mace, Jax, and Drario in the cell next door through the vents. But I don’t think they can hear me. My hands also are tied behind my back, so I can’t bang on the wall to get their attention.

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