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Chapter 4

I am jolted awake by the sounds of footsteps hitting the cement floors. I push myself from the cold, hard ground and yawn. My body aches and my bones are chilled. It was like sleeping in a freezer. A dusty, potent freezer meant to hold dead bodies. This entire building feels like a death chamber.

I glance at the other girl in the cell. She seems to still be sleeping.

My hands run down my face, and when I look at my palms, there are thin streaks of dirt on them. I am thirsty. My mouth is like a dessert that has not seen rain in years. I wonder what Grandmother is doing and what she is thinking. If she is panicking, hopefully, she does not have a heart attack. I just need to get back to her.

The footsteps grow louder until the man from yesterday stops in front of the bars of the cell. A glare hardens on my face as he opens the door and motions for me to go with him. It would not be smart of me to refuse. I glance back at the girl. I do not want to leave her, but I will find a way to get her out too. I struggle to my feet with a sore back and trudge towards the man. He shuts and locks the door after I am out.

“Do I have to drag you, or can you obediently follow? Well, if you try to run, I will have to kill you,” he says.

I nervously nod my head and follow him out of the brick building. When the sun hits me, I am blinded. My eyes burn from the sudden light. I rub them until it does not sting to have them open.

“This way,” the man orders.

I trail behind him as we walk from the brick building and towards the houses in the distance. The closer we get, the more I study them. There are about three houses in a row, much farther in the distance.

The three homes are vast, but the one in the middle is mesmerizing. It is white on the outside with accents of gray stone. We hurry to the front steps, and I feel a little on edge when the man knocks on the two grand, white doors.

It does not take long before a handsome, young guy opens one of them.

“What ya got, Andrew?” he asks the man, excited just from this small encounter.

I can tell he is an overall happy person.

All of a sudden, a dog of some breed comes running out the door and straight towards me. I have never seen a dog in person before.

“Bruiser! Get back here!”

I immediately crouch down and start to pet the sweet thing. I have always wanted a dog, but Grandma said if I can barely take care of myself, I cannot take care of an animal, though I was a child when she told me that.

“Hey there. Aren’t you just a big sweetheart?” I coo at the slobbering dog.

His stubby tail wags like crazy. He jumps up at me, placing his paws on my shoulders and starts to lick my face. I let out a giggle, returning to some other version of myself who still wishes for pets.

“You’re silly, aren’t you?”

I peer up at the two people, and their expressions are full of surprise. I pat the dog on his head and stand up, remembering my position.

“Um, okay, come on in. He’s in his office.” The guy at the door welcomes us, and the man, whose name is Andrew, leads me into the house.

Andrew grabs my arm and pulls me down a long hallway. Portraits hang in between the windows that have silky curtains framing them like white waterfalls. They pool on the wooden floor. As we venture further into the lovely looking house, my heart starts to beat faster as if something is calling me to come closer.

All I want is to get back home to Grandmother so I can get on my knees and beg for forgiveness. I miss her terribly, and I bet she is panicking like a child who cannot find their mother.

We near two large gray doors, and I can tell that whatever is behind them is the thing calling me, whispering for me to burst through. An irresistible aroma floods the air. It is woodsy, fresh, and very masculine. I never want not to smell it as the particular scent has my knees wobbling. I start to breathe heavy as the temperature in this house begins to rise.

“What’s happening?” I ask my wolf, in need of an explanation.

“Mate.” She sounds different, and she is being affected by this hypnotic trance also.

We reach the doors, and my wolf is utterly restless, not being able to calm down. Andrew chooses one of the two and knocks on it, and seconds later, I hear a low “Come in.”

My heart thumps hard.

Andrew slowly pushes the door open, and it takes a second but feels like an hour-long ordeal. My eyes dart into the room. Bookshelves line two opposite walls, and they are filled with hundreds of books. The walls are a dark gray, and the floor is clean dark wood. There are two comfortable looking seats placed in front of a grand wooden desk.

Sitting behind the desk is a man.

He has neat, deep brown hair, and it suits him well. Even though he is sitting down, I can tell he is well-built. The stranger’s fierce, dark green eyes glide up from the papers scattered on the desk as soon as I step in. I suck in a breath and stare at his addictive, handsome face. It is unreal, inconceivable.

This creature set before me is something I could not fathom even in my wildest imagination. The scent took over my brain the second the door opened, and now I feel the intense need to breathe it in. His gaze burns through me, and unlike any time before, I worry about how I look. Dust and dirt from the cell cover my face, and I must look monstrous. His eyes roam my body, making me feel naked. He must be the alpha. Does he have this effect on everyone?

“I brought the rogue,” Andrew says, reminding me of where I am.

I do not realize I am holding my breath until the man behind the desk stands up, making me breathe out. The stranger is like a mighty statue of a warrior from long ago, and like the man beside me, he intimidates me so easily. My body slightly shakes under his harsh gaze, my knees grow weak, and my palms feel clammy. I force myself to look away, averting my eyes to my feet, as I cannot look at him any longer without realizing the truth.

“Very well, you can leave.” His voice sends a shiver down my spine, and I have goosebumps on my arms.

Inside, I cannot help but hope the order was for me, but it was not. I hear Andrew’s retreating footsteps as he flees the room. The sound of the door closing taunts me, but my gaze stays strictly glued to the floor.

“Look up.”

This time, his voice sounds smoother like a melody in my ears.

“Look at me.”

My breath hitches in my throat as he steps closer to me. I cannot bear to look at him. I cannot admit to the inevitable effect he has on me.

“I said look up,” he repeats, sounding more serious like I am a child and he is scolding me.

I start to panic.

“Please, I didn’t k-know that I crossed into your…territory. I don’t even know what’s happening,” I ramble.

Where is my wolf when I need her?

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