“What happened after the others took you in?” he asked, taking her into the bedroom. He sat on the bed, pulling her between his legs. There was no room for her to fight. Thinking back over her time, Mary remembered her first turning. The way they’d chained her up, injecting her with some tranquilizers to help with the pain. A lot of her memories were fuzzy. She couldn’t remember everything that happened to her.
“I took some time off work. I don’t have a lot of time off as I don’t need it. For the next two weeks they helped me to gain control. For several months after I had to visit them in order to take my shots and turn into a wolf.” The shots had burned her flesh, or at least it felt like they’d burned her flesh. Had they burned her flesh? Once again her memories were jumbled up. A few months ago they’d stopped injecting her.
“Tell me about your time after the turning.” His fingers were caressing her thighs underneath the towel.
“What exactly do you want to know?” she asked, not understanding why he wanted her to repeat her experience.
“Jane, the woman you met last night, she didn’t have any problem with the change. Max bit her, and after the initial fever she was fine.”
“Lucky her.” Mary wouldn’t repeat the experience ever again. The pain alone made her terrified of turning anyone, not that she’d ever turn anyone against their will.
“What were the injections?” he asked.
“I don’t know. You’d be best asking Jessica. I don’t know.”
Zeke stood, his fingers sliding into her hair. He turned her head to the side, exposing her neck. She heard him inhale deeply.
“You don’t smell like her,” he said.
Frowning, she looked down at him. She couldn’t pull away. Zeke was too strong for her to overpower. When he leaned back his eyes were glowing amber.
Her wolf slammed against her flesh. Mary screamed as she felt the impact from inside. Stumbling into his arms, she fell to her knees. The pain intensified as her wolf threatened to claw out.
“Enough!” Zeke shouted the word, and yet her wolf wasn’t listening. Collapsing to the floor, Mary grabbed her head as the pain exploded sending fire into every part of her body.
The door crashed open to the bedroom.
Her wolf growled, wanting out of her body. Mary had always felt one with her wolf, but in that instant she felt like they were two different beings. It was like her wolf had been trapped somehow, and now it was finally breaking free from whatever held onto it.
“Help me,” she asked, screaming.
Mary’s words were cut off as she felt her arm breaking, getting ready for the change.
No, she wouldn’t survive this. It wasn’t the full moon, and she’d been told many times that if she ever changed without the moon she would die.
Taking deep breaths, she shrieked as her thigh twisted of its own accord at an odd angle. The pain was unlike anything she’d ever felt. What was going on with her wolf?
You’re going to kill me.
Mary whimpered as her leg was flung at another angle. She heard the other pack around her yelling orders. Someone pulled her close. They were too hot. The towel she’d worn was torn off her body. Glancing down, she saw her stomach rippling as if her wolf was about to tear out of her stomach.
We’re trapped no more.
Panicking, Mary cried out, screaming for help.
“Enough!” Zeke yelled the word once again. Jerking at the sound, Mary looked into his eyes seeing the glowing Alpha depths.
Mate. Alpha.
The wolf inside her purred and slowly, silenced. Her body tore at an odd angle going back in their sockets. She screamed once more before darkness claimed her.
****
Zeke felt her slump and was thankful for that. Jane handed him the towel, which he laid over her body, giving her some dignity. Running a hand over his face, he stared down into her open face.
“What the f**k was that?” Jane asked, sitting back.
Max and several of his men were looking at the woman, who was pale. Her skin was covered in a layer of sweat and not from the hot shower they’d shared. Holy f**k, he’d never been so terrified in his life. The way she’d fallen to her knees screaming as her wolf hit out. Her wolf hadn’t responded straight away. It was like she’d never run free. Zeke had sensed the desperation within the wolf inside Mary. The wolf was trapped in a cage begging to be let out.
“I don’t know. I need to talk to Jessica. Actually, I need to go and have a look at the pack’s hiding place. I’m starting to feel something went f**ked up over there, and Mary is one of those wolves.”
She was the woman he’d bitten. Zeke was sure of it even though she didn’t smell like his woman. Everything she described of that night was true to what he remembered. The following day when he’d gone back to find her Mary hadn’t been anywhere in sight. He didn’t know her name or any way in which to find her. Fuck, something was going on, and he needed to find out.
“Fuck, Zeke. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Max said.
Jane was kneeling on the floor stroking her hair. Mary was shaking and muttering in her sleep.
“She mentioned something about injections. When I asked you last night to find out whatever you could about her, I don’t want that anymore. We’re going back to the pack’s house. I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Whatever Roger and Dani were planning, it wasn’t going to be pretty.” Holding Mary in his arms, Zeke felt his heart pounding. Glancing at all of his men, he stared at the sympathy in all of their eyes.
“For a half breed, she’s strong,” Jane said. “I’ve never known anyone to hold off the change.”
Zeke agreed. “I don’t think she’ll survive the next change unless we find out what happened to her in the other pack’s care.”
“You don’t think they were experimenting, do you?” Jane asked.
Frozen, Zeke looked at the other woman. “What?”
“I’ve heard rumors that some packs are using half breeds as experiments to try to strengthen their packs. If Mary was receiving injections, how do you know Roger and Dani weren’t trying something?” Jane asked.
Zeke looked at Max, who nodded.
“One of the packs close to us offered to pay money for Jane,” Max said. “I killed the man who tried to pay for my woman. There are packs out there experimenting, Zeke.”
Stroking her hair, Zeke wondered what the f**k had happened to her after he bit her. “I need to go and f**king find something out.” Looking at Jane, he saw the concern in the other woman’s eyes. “Can I leave her with you?”