Chapter 4: Our toy

Maddie

"Let me out, please... Please!" I cried until I fell asleep. I was cold, hungry, and exhausted from crying. How had I ended up in the hands of my enemies and abusers?

Suddenly, the door opened and another man entered. He had dark hair and looked older.

"Good morning, miss. My name is Alpha Oscar, and I’m sorry for what happened. We have many enemies, so we must be careful," the man said as he opened the door for me. Alpha Oscar... I didn´t know him, but I knew he was important.

I walked out, trembling with fear, and saw the triplets waiting for me outside. I almost wanted to run back into the interrogation room.

"There’s a room for you where you can change, rest, and eat," the man said, pointing the way, almost in a kind tone. I didn´t trust him. I didn´t trust any damned wolf. He didn’t touch me, but it was obvious that escaping wouldn’t be easy. They took me to a well-equipped room.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My dark, wavy hair was a mess, I had a bruise on my cheek, and a split lip. My freckled face and swollen eyes reflected how terrible I felt, and looked. Dominic arrived with a tray of food. He seemed both nervous and annoyed to be there. He looked me up and down, trying not to breathe, as if my scent bothered him.

"Eat... There are more clothes in the closet," he said angry, placing the tray on the table.

"I know you hate me... You don’t want me here. Why won’t you let me go?" I asked. I didn´t understand; they shouldn´t believe I was a spy.

"We can’t," he said through clenched teeth, staring at me for a moment, mostly at my face, before leaving, slamming the door behind him.

I hesitated to eat. What if they drugged me? I only ate an apple; it seemed harder to poison, though the story of Snow White suggested otherwise. I was also afraid to take a shower. What if they came in? I was their prisoner. I searched the room from top to bottom, looking for a way out. The windows were sealed, even in the bathroom. The only exit was the main door.

Later, Kurt brought lunch. I sat on the bed, hugging my knees.

"Why haven’t you eaten?" he asked, surprised, as he switched out the trays.

He seemed worried, but I moved as far from him as possible. He sighed and looked around.

"You need to eat..." he said quietly, uneasy.

"I have to get out of here."

"That’s not going to happen, Maddie..." he replied, and hearing my name on his lips made my skin crawl.

Days passed. But one evening, I noticed that an old man brought dinner. So the next night, I waited by the door, took the tray, and when he turned to leave, I jammed a small screw into the lock. The man didn’t seem to notice or care that the door didn’t close properly.

It was my chance to be free.

"This must be their pack," I thought.

I ran through the corridors, hiding in the shadows. My biggest problem now was that I had no idea how to get out.

In the distance, I saw some women—were they she-wolves? I thought they didn’t exist. I even saw children, and a woman holding hands with two men. What strange people.

I passed what seemed like soldiers and hid under a table. From there, I heard two men talking.

"Did you hear? The three dragons have a human mate..."

"The future Alphas?" said the other. Again with that topic—mates and Alphas.

"Yes, and it seems they’re not the only ones. There are several cases—wolves finding their mates, especially men."

"It sounds crazy, but maybe it makes sense," the first replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it’s no secret that there are fewer and fewer female wolves. We’ve had several cases of males going mad because they can’t find their mates."

Is that why they’re seeking human women? What an abomination! I almost wanted to stay hidden forever, but I dared to move when there was less activity.

Suddenly, I came across a woman—tall, elegant, beautiful, perhaps older, with pale skin and reddish hair.

"Are you lost, little one?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Please, I have to get out of here... help me," I said, hoping she might take pity on me.

"You’re the human... Madeleine," she said. I started to back away, but she grabbed my arm.

"Do you have any idea how important you are? The triplets must be going crazy looking for you."

"They hate me... they want to hurt me," I told her, and she laughed softly.

"Of course not! You’re their treasure!"

"I doubt they see it that way..." I whispered, struggling in her grip.

"I’m doing this for your own good. I’m the Luna of this pack, and it’s my duty to ensure everyone’s welfare," she said, holding me tighter.

"Luna? What is this? Let me go! Let me go!" I screamed.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching. When I turned, it was them.

Their eyes were dark with rage, and low growls filled the air.

"Did you run away? How dare you?" one of them snarled.

In seconds, Dominic carried me back into that hateful room and threw me onto the bed.

"Why am I here? What do you want from me? Is it this stupid mate thing?" I shouted, hearing them growl in response. Logan was shaking with anger, baring his teeth at me.

"You don’t know what you’re talking about..."

"You’re staying with us. How could you run away? You’ll learn—either the easy way or the hard way. You can’t leave," one of them said as they began to approach, and panic seized me.

As brave as I thought I was, I couldn’t handle one of them, let alone three. Kurt held my arms behind my back, Logan stood a few steps away, and Dominic gripped my face.

They seemed to struggle just to be near me. I heard their heavy breathing, saw their pupils dilate, a vein throbbing in Dominic’s forehead as he said,

"You are ours. You belong to this pack, and you’d better get used to it fast," he growled.

"You’ll do what we want."

"I don’t want to be with you! I want nothing to do with you!" I yelled.

"What are you saying, human? Any woman would be happy to be with us—and you want to reject us?" Logan barked angrily, still keeping his distance.

"I... I have a boyfriend!" I blurted out, as if that would stop them. Now their growls were so loud they made me tremble.

"Shut up!" Logan roared, while Kurt leaned close to whisper, his voice dark and cold.

"If you don’t want to see that idiot dead... I suggest you never mention him again," he said, and I felt his nose against my neck, as if he were breathing in my scent.

"Our... our mate..." I felt their breath on my skin.

"Submit... You’re too weak to fight the mate bond," Dominic whispered.

What the hell? I felt like I was losing my mind.

"Submit..." they commanded again, as if I were their puppet.

But they were so wrong.