Damien's Dilemma (Ch 23)

Damien walked her back to his house but said nothing along the way. She half expected him to yell at her for interfering, for making him appear weak, and he would have been right to do so. She didn’t know why she had interfered with the fight. The faded silver wolf had challenged Damien, and, by pack law, he had every right to kill the wolf. It hadn’t been much of a fight, and she could not condone spilling blood over a simple insult to her, a shifter who wasn’t part of the pack, a shifter who may not still be a shifter.

“Going for a run,” Damien said as she opened the door to his house.

Tess turned to apologize to him, but he was already gone. He wasn’t ready to talk to her. She sighed, then entered the house, letting the door swing shut behind her.

She hung the sweater she’d been wearing on the hook by the door. Hopefully, his run would help him clear his head about whatever was troubling him. She knew her presence was a part of what worried him. His pack didn’t want her here, and he’d nearly killed one of his own because of her. Absentmindedly, she ran her hand along the back of the sofa, trying to figure out what, if anything, she could do to help.

“You made him look weak tonight,” a male voice said from inside the house.

Tess’s eyes snapped to the door of Damien’s office. Ian.

“Leave,” she said, trying to maintain eye contact while on the inside she was cringing at the sight of him. Had she locked, or simply closed, the front door?

One by one, Ian cracked the knuckles of his right hand as he stepped forward. Each pop and crack sent a wave of terror through her. She needed to run, but her feet wouldn’t move.

“I have a right to be here. You don’t.”

“I’m Damien’s guest. Leave,” she repeated, trying to strengthen her voice.

Ian cracked his neck next. That sound reverberated down her spine. She knew that sound.

“You’re an outsider. Insignificant, and not worthy of him,” he continued.

“And I suppose you are worthy?”

“I’m one of his pack. A loyal wolf who’s proved himself, over and over. Can you say the same? No, because you’re dangerous.”

Her hackles felt as if they were rising. Except she had no hackles, no wolf springing forth despite her fear and her silent pleas to her wolf. She glanced at the furnishing. This was Damien’s home. She would not let her fears defeat her, not here. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m a shifter, the same as you.”

He chuckled. “Are you sure about that?”

Terror, sheer and utter terror, shot through her as memories of beatings, and worse, returned. Her eyes dragged over him. His stance, the slight tilt of his head, even the way his hair curled up at the base of his neck all came back to her.

His brow lifted. “Ah, you remember.”

Yes, she remembered. All of it. Ian wouldn’t let her live to tell Damien.

Right now, it was all Tess could do to keep her eyes on Ian, without flinching or curling up in a ball. She had no wolf to stand with her. She was alone, utterly alone, thanks to him.

“What do you want?” she asked, trying to remember what was laying nearby that she could use for a weapon without taking her eyes from him.

“You back in the cage where you belong.”

Tears stung her eyes at the memories. “Why?”

“Because the WSSO will come for you, eventually. And this is my pack. You’ll get us all killed, like you did your own pack.”

“My own?” The words stuck in her throat, the shock of what he was saying too great to process. Her pack. Her dad. Lily…

“Oh, that’s right. The researchers had already caged you by then. They didn’t want anyone looking for their special pet, so they wiped your pack out. You attract death, CLS24.”

CLS24. Her lab designation. For nearly a year, that had been her name to the researchers and to the monster before her. Tess rubbed the tattoo on the inside of her wrist as she called on her wolf only to remember she no longer had a wolf.

Tess made the mistake of glancing over her shoulder at the door. In less than a second, Ian pinned her to the wall. His tongue ran down her throat, as he dug his fingers into a breast. She screamed as she brought up her knee.

He deflected her knee with his arm and landed a punch to her face. “Try that again, and I’ll put some more burns on your lovely body.”

Her head was spinning from the punch. “I won’t say anything,” she lied. He wouldn’t buy it, but it was all she could think of. Time, she needed to buy time. The longer she stalled him, the better her chance of thinking of a plan.

“Damn right you won’t say anything,” Ian said as he swung her around, placing his hard body behind her. He pulled her left arm up behind her so far she cried out from the pain. “We’re going for a walk. Keep quiet, and I’ll make it quick for you.”

The hell with quick, the hell with letting her attacker drag her somewhere so he could kill her without anyone seeing or hearing. Tess yelled as loud as she could as she let her entire body drop. He could drag her out if he wanted; she wasn’t going to make abducting and killing her easy.

Ian kicked her in the ribs once, twice, and then it stopped. She heard a thunderous growl as a black wolf tackled Ian to the floor. Tess got up and ran.