“Remember, the house is irrelevant to us,” I reminded them, trying and failing to keep the bite out of my voice. It wouldn’t be productive to threaten them with testicular removal if any of them fucked this up. “The prisoners are on the grounds.”
I had already assigned Seff and Levi to release the other prisoners, with Brently’s help. Oren, Hiram, and I would focus on securing our mate. I didn’t much care either way about anyone else’s freedom, but we had promised this to Ffion in exchange for her help, and a dragon was nothing if not honorable.
Time crawled by as we waited, alternating between squinting at the vague shapes beyond the barrier and watching the faces of the fae as they sensed their mate’s emotions through the bond. Occasionally they winced like she was in pain, but it never lasted long. She didn’t appear to be under attack. Yet.
Eventually, there was a stretching sound like fabric being pulled too tight, before a popping noise like a burst bubble split the air, revealing the elaborate mansion and manicured grounds beyond.
“Wow, your girl came through, huh?” Hiram asked no one in particular as the fae rushed forward on foot and our wings sprung free.
We kicked off into the air, gliding over the group of fae running below us as we followed the draw towards our mate’s location.
“Seff! Levi! Check the other caves!” I bellowed over the sound of rushing wind.
The draw to my mate pulled me into the center of a forested area, a network of paths connecting what were clearly individual caves being used as prison cells. My dragon rose to the surface, ready for me to shift and burn this fucking nightmare to the ground.
I couldn’t risk my mate’s safety like that, though. And a simple property fire wouldn’t be adequate punishment, anyway. Once our mate was secured in the den, we could figure out how to extract the maximum amount of blood and pain possible from the fae that had kept her here.
After she was safe. After I’d secured her at her home, where she would never need to leave again.
Chapter 3
Something was happening. I scrambled off the hard bed and flattened my back against the cave wall, probably smearing my tattered gray dress in paint from the wet mural I was leaning against. It wasn't the best defensive position, but with my shackled ankles it was the best I could manage.
Fucking Glendower. He couldn't have left me a knife or something for emergencies. I wouldn't have stabbed him with it. Well, I probably wouldn't.
My veins turned to ice as my mind slowly caught up to what my body already knew. The heavy tug in my limbs urging me away from the wall. Gritting my teeth against the instinct, I dug my bare heels into the dirt.
They were here.
I should have known. Of course, they would come for me, they would never let this go. Let me go.
The enormous boulder that blocked the entrance to the cave was ripped away entirely, flooding the space with more light than I'd seen in years. I squinted against the harsh brightness, annoyed that I couldn't see them as well as they could see me. As my eyes adjusted, I made out three hulking figures cramming themselves into the cave in front of me. The already small space felt suffocating under the weight of their presence.
"We are here, mate," a deliciously low voice soothed, and I felt my body respond to the tenor of his voice in spite of myself. "You are safe now."
"They fucking shackled her ankles," another masculine voice spat. By the gods, this was a beautiful disaster. The three males in front of me were huge, towering over my underfed frame. The one closest could only be the Alpha — a foot taller than the others and a great deal more commanding. He crouched on one knee at my feet, partially shifting his hand into a dragon's claw, as black as the night. With ease, the claw sliced through the metal ring encasing my ankle. He didn't hesitate before slashing the other one.
The abruptness of my freedom had me frozen in place.
My ankles felt unusually light, unchained for the first time in… I didn’t even know how long. This was not how I imagined escaping. Gods, what was I supposed to do now? Should I run? I'd never get past them. I didn't much like the idea of leaving them without an explanation either, even if it was just temporary. I'd explain the situation to them and they'd let me go, we could do this whole mate thing another time.
Without a word, the Alpha lifted me into his arms and strode out of the cave. The moment he put his arms around me, some of the heaviness in my limbs lifted. It felt like my body had set its goal of finding its mates and needed confirmation by touch that I’d found one.
“Excuse me,” I spluttered, my voice raspy from under-use and a dry throat. “Put me down.”
Gods, what was wrong with me? I’d never been so flustered in my entire cursed life.
He looked down at me adoringly, and it took my breath away. His face was fierce, the consummate warrior. His dark blonde hair was cut close to his head, and he was clean-shaven, showing off the sharp lines of his jaw. He was all harsh lines and masculinity. There was evidence of old scars on his sun-tanned skin, nothing alarming, but enough to make the dragon in me stir ever so slightly. Healing the flight was one of my most important jobs. Instinctively I felt like I’d failed him already.
“You are so beautiful,” he murmured softly, his soothing voice and tender dark blue eyes so at odds with his domineering actions. With horror, I realized what I must look like. Since they had brought me here at age sixteen, I’d washed sporadically in my bowl of water and combed my hair with my fingers. My dress was ragged, torn from years of wear and growth.
I was not beautiful. I was humiliated. I didn’t want anyone to see me this way.
“Put me down,” I repeated, more forcefully this time.
"No," he replied simply.
"What's your name, mate?" one of the males behind us called gently.
"Where are you taking me?" I snapped, ignoring his question as my wits slowly returned to me. We were following a dirt path through a forest, I couldn’t see a soul around for miles. My head swiveled around rapidly as I tried to take it all in. Is this where I’d been living the whole time? It was quite pretty, outside of the cave walls.
"Home," the Alpha replied. “To our den.”
“Put me down. I can’t go to your den,” I insisted, squirming pointlessly in his tight grip. Gods, his arms felt as strong as the shackles that had chained me to the wall all those years. Unyielding.
Restrictive.
No, no, not again. I wouldn’t be shifted between prisons again. I swore the first time they had sold me that the next time someone tried to give me to a new owner, I would escape. This was my opportunity. I was blowing it.
“Let me go!” I tried to shout, though it came out as a wheeze.
"Shhhhh, mate," he crooned, squeezing me in a way that he probably thought was comforting. "We will take care of you. Relax."
Relax? Relax? These males were delusional. The gods had cursed me with delusional mates.
I sensed a fourth mate joining our group, walking behind us. The tingling weightiness in my arms and legs made me want to climb out of the Alpha’s arms and inspect the others, but the Alpha’s grip was unyielding, keeping me in place despite my wriggling. There was a fifth male around here somewhere, I could feel it.