Chapter 3: Willa

There was a pounding in my head as light filtered through my eyelids. I winced but forced my eyes to open as I tried to remember what had happened. As my vision cleared and adjusted to the light, I realized I was in a strange bedroom. My heart started to pound as I pieced together the events of the night. I started to pull myself up into a sitting position when my eyes met another’s.

It was the lycan from the forest.

I jerked myself backward, hissing as my wrist was yanked hard by the sudden movement. I was chained to the bed. I moved my attention back to the stranger sitting in the chair nearby, putting my feet in a position I could start kicking if he came near me. I worked hard to steady my breathing. It was hard, with the ache in my head getting worse. But I wasn’t going to let him know I was scared.

I set my jaw and waited for him to say something.

“How is your head?” he asked, no emotion in his voice.

I didn’t respond. Instead, I looked him up and down, taking a deep breath to take in his scent. Damn, he smelled good. Like balsam wood and eucalyptus. He was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that stretched across the muscles of his chest and arms. He was gorgeous, with piercing blue eyes and dark hair.

I was reminded of what he had said in the woods before I lost consciousness.

Mate.

That couldn’t be. There’s no way I was fated to a lycan. For one, werewolves and lycans didn’t mate. Not even by choice, let alone fate. And second, I hated lycans.

“What is your name?” he spoke again, still not giving away any emotion in his words.

I remained quiet, lifting my chin in defiance.

He sighed deeply and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Okay, perhaps this will be an easier question. What were you doing in lycan territory?”

“I got lost,” I lied, the corner of my lip twitching. I didn’t really try to make it sound convincing.

Anger flashed in his blue eyes for a moment before he replaced the mask. He sat back in the chair again, crossing his arms over his chest. He regarded me from his perch for a long while. I needed to change positions. My fingers were starting to go numb from straining against the cuffs, and the muscles in my back were aching from holding myself upright. At least the throbbing in my head had started to subside. He must have noticed me fidgeting because he started to speak.

“The cuffs won’t come off until I get my answers.”

I let out a low chuckle. “Look, if you’re going to kill me, just get it over with. There’s nothing you need to know.”

His cold expression finally broke as confusion covered his face along with something else. Was that pain I saw in his eyes? I looked away as his gaze became too intense. I shifted on the bed, pushing myself up against the headboard, pulling my knees up to my chest.

“I have no intention of killing you,” he said. “But I also can’t just let you go.”

“What do you want with me?”

He stood and moved the chair closer to the bed, sitting back down and meeting my eyes again. “You answer my questions, and I’ll answer yours.”

I scoffed. Like I would believe anything he said. But something in his eyes, his proximity to me, his scent filling my nostrils, sobered me. What other option did I have? I looked up and nodded once. He tipped his head, indicating I could go first.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked.

“Because you are my mate,” he stated. “Because you were bleeding and unconscious. And because I need to know why you were here.”

He allowed his answer to settle in for a moment.

“How is your head?” he finally asked.

My eyes shot up to his before I could cover my surprise. “It’s fine,” I replied stiffly. “So if I’m your mate, why am I chained up?”

I noticed the muscles of his jaw flex for a moment. “Because you are an alpha.”

My brow furrowed. “What the hell does that ha…” He cut me off with a look. It wasn’t my turn. But his answer had me on edge, even more than before. How could he even tell I was an alpha? Or, rather, that I used to be. I had lived outside a pack for too long. There shouldn’t be much of that aura left in me.

“What is your name?”

“Willa,” I replied. The corner of his lips rose slightly for a moment. I didn’t like how the sight made my stomach flip. “Why does it matter that I’m an alpha?”

The shadow of a smile faded, and what I thought was a pained look returned to his face. “That is something I regretfully can’t tell you. Although, it would possibly make all this easier if I could.”

“That’s not an answer,” I blurted out.

“Just because it isn’t the one you want or one you like, doesn’t mean it isn’t an answer.”

I snorted, biting my lip to stop the nasty response. He wanted to play it that way, did he?

“Why were you in lycan territory?”

I looked him dead in the eye. “I got lost.”

“Willa,” his voice was full of warning.

“Just because it’s not the answer you want doesn’t mean it’s not an answer.” I threw his words back at him.

I could see his anger rise again. “At least my answer was an honest one.”

“Says you.”

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it quickly, closing his eyes and taking a few steady breaths. “Willa, why were you in lycan territory?”

I sat up straight again. I was done with this game. It didn’t matter why he brought me here or why he hadn’t killed me yet. He would eventually. That’s what they do to my kind. Mate or not. And I was done talking.

He rubbed a hand down his face and looked out the window. He tapped the arm of the chair absently before he stood. He took two steps forward, closing the distance between the chair and the edge of the bed. I pressed harder against the headboard, the bars stinging into my back. His hand moved toward me. It paused for a second when I failed to hide a flinch as if he had thought better of the action for a moment. But then it continued until he was cupping my cheek gently.

Our eyes caught as tingles erupted from his touch. I was breathing heavily, and I tried to break eye contact, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to. I felt my own hand start to move up to cover his but pulled myself back to reality, dropping it beside me and tearing my eyes from his. I turned my head away and balled my hands into fists.

I heard him breathe deeply as he pulled away. “I have to go. I’ll be back tonight when it’s dark. Someone will bring you something to eat soon.”

He walked towards the door.

“You said the cuffs would come off if I answered your questions,” I called after him.

He stopped. “I said they’d come off when I got my answers. I haven’t gotten them all yet.”

He opened the door and was gone, the sound of the lock clicking echoing through the room.

I screamed in frustration, yanking at the metal that bound my wrist and hitting the pillows with my free hand. “Bastard,” I yelled into the air. I heaved a few angry breaths before the tears began to form, and a sob escaped my lips.

I stifled it, pushing back the lump in my throat and blinking back the tears. Now was not the time to break down. I looked around the bed for something I could use to get the cuffs off. If I could get free, I could figure out where I was and how to get out. I scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, opening the drawers of the nightstand that was next to it. I cursed under my breath to find them all empty, not even a pen or pad of paper. I examined the objects on top – a decorative resin piece with a butterfly preserved inside. It had a hefty weight to it, but I doubted it would do much in breaking the metal restraints. There was a clock and a lamp. I picked up the lamp to see if anything jumped out at me as something I could break off, but there was nothing.

I awkwardly squatted to the floor and tried running my hand along the floor, hoping someone hadn’t cleaned under there in a while. Still no luck. I huffed, throwing my head back and closing my eyes for a few moments. When I opened them again, I noticed the walls were heavily decorated. If there wasn’t a painting or a sconce or some other decorative knick-knack, there was a tapestry, like the one that hung above the headboard. I climbed back on the bed and ran my hand along the edge to the corner. I gave it a tug, but it was well secured to the wall. I pulled at the corner, trying to see how it was secured, and sure enough, there was a nail.

I smiled and started to tug on the fabric, careful to work the nail out and not just rip the tapestry off it. I was working it out of the drywall, which was a bit awkward at the angle I was at when I heard keys in the door. I threw myself back down on the bed just as the heavy wooden door creaked open. I looked up to see another male lycan walk in with a tray in his hand.

He eyed me as he walked to the bed, setting the tray that held breakfast food on the blankets where I could reach it. I didn’t recognize his face, but something about his smell was familiar.

“I’m Damen,” I said to me. “If you need anything, just yell. I’ll be just outside the door.”

I gave him a confused look but didn’t answer him. He gave me a small nod before turning to leave. That’s when it hit me.

“You’re the asshole who knocked me out,” I blurted out.

He stopped in his tracks. An amused and then worried look appeared on his face. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Yeah, sorry about that. I was just protecting my…” he stopped and considered his next word, “friend.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Because he is often attacked by strange females he stalks through the woods?”

He chuckled quietly. “No, you would definitely be the first.” He shook his head and moved to leave.

I sighed. “Thank you,” I called behind him. “For the food.” I may not like the arrogant jerks, but I still had manners.