Chapter 11

Sorin awoke, surrounded by a sea of blood. He forced himself upright, his body screaming in protest, his head throbbing. The remnants of his wild frenzy were scattered around him—animal carcasses, torn apart in his desperate attempt to exhaust himself.

The melted snow was the worst part. He’d hoped for at least two days, but they’d have to leave as soon as he got back. He’d be slowed down by her, unable to bring her along in his wolf form.

With aching legs, Sorin pushed himself to his feet and trudged back to his cabin.

Colette was waiting for him. She sat in the middle of the living room floor, looking unsettled, restless. She looked like she hadn’t slept all night. “Hi,” she murmured as he walked in, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

He didn’t want to discuss the events of the previous day. He nodded in response to her greeting, but headed straight for the bedroom. He was covered in blood and bruises, but there was no time for a shower. He could hear Colette’s light footsteps, hurrying to keep up with him.

“Where are you going, Sorin?” she asked, her voice hesitant. It reminded him of how she’d said his name the day before.

“~We~,” he corrected her, starting to pack a bag. His bag was far less prepared than his mate’s. Hers was ready for any kind of emergency.

She waited for him to say more. When he didn’t, she asked again, using his correction. “Where are ~we~ going?”

Sorin wasn’t sure if he should tell her the truth. If he did, she might refuse to go and fight him every step of the way. If he lied, which he wasn’t even sure what the lie would be, Colette would be furious when they arrived.

He could tell her he was taking her home, but her home was probably a few hours in the opposite direction, not a two-day journey into the mountains.

“Sorin.” She reached out to touch his arm. “Are you taking me home?”

“No,” he confessed. “I told you. Now that you’ve seen me, I can’t let you go home.”

She let go of his arm, a soft whimper escaping her lips. “Sorin, I saw…” she began quietly.

He tensed.

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise,” she vowed, her voice filled with hope.

“They might decide to let you go,” he said softly.

“Who might let me go?” she asked, moving to stand directly in front of him, her icy eyes filled with determination.

“I’m bound.” He sighed heavily, running a hand down his face. “By pack law.”

“Nobody knows. Y-you…you killed him, didn’t you? The white wolf who bit me?” Her voice wavered.

The thought of never going home made her head spin. She was supposed to see Giselle next weekend, tell her nephew that she hadn’t seen a wolf yet…

His head dropped, his forehead resting against hers. “Yes,” he said, his voice devoid of sympathy. “But I never meant for you to find out. It’s a law. I can’t go against it. It’s against my nature to disobey my alpha.”

“Then go against your nature,” she demanded, stomping her foot like a petulant child.

“I ~can’t~,” he said through gritted teeth. “It physically hurts to go against my alpha.” It was a burning pain. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to obey. He felt like he was tearing apart at the seams.

“I want to go home, Sorin. Please,” she pleaded. “I have a life. You can’t just take that away because I saw…” She let the words hang in the air between them, refusing to name his wolf.

“You ~will~ come with me to my pack, Colette,” he said firmly, his hands resting on either side of her, on the surface of his dresser.

Fear flashed across her face. Her beautiful lip trembled as she fought back tears. “I don’t know you, Sorin. We’re strangers,” she sobbed.

“You will ~get~ to know me,” he said through clenched teeth, letting her pull away from him. “Go. Get something to eat and be angry if you want, but don’t try to run. I will find you, and you will regret it,” he warned.

Colette shivered at his words. They held a threatening promise.

She fled from the room, ending up in the basement, the room furthest from him. It was cold and damp, filled with water-damaged cardboard boxes and old furniture that smelled of mildew.

Maybe in a few weeks, Giselle would call her for the tenth time and notice she didn’t answer. Unfortunately for Colette, she worked as a freelance writer, meaning no boss. No one to call around for her.

She was such a recluse, there was no one she could think of who would worry about her. Except for Giselle, but she was a full-time mother. How many days would Giselle think Colette was just too busy to get to the phone?

She was trapped. Here, with this man. She didn’t even know his last name or his job. All she knew was his first name and his naked body.

She was mortified, thinking of telling her parents. They were incredibly religious. What would they think of her? All she’d come to learn of this man was sexual.

She heard Sorin’s heavy footsteps as he ran about the first floor in a hurry. She didn’t want to go to his “pack.” She didn’t want to leave Devidat. She didn’t want any of this.

It was all for her nephew. All he wanted was a picture of a wolf. Well, she found his wolf. The only problem was that it was actually a man.

“Colette,” Sorin called, “we’re leaving now. Get your things together,” he ordered, his deep voice echoing through the walls of the cabin. “Colette,” he called again.

She moved further into the basement, trying to hide among the boxes. She knew it wasn’t a permanent solution, but she just wanted to delay the inevitable.

If Colette tried to run, he’d surely catch her. If she attempted to hide, he’d find her. Her only hope was to wait it out, praying that Giselle would find her in time.

“Colette,” Sorin’s voice echoed, a low growl that filled the upstairs.

Her plan was simple: keep him here. If she could stall him, maybe Giselle would find her. But if Sorin took her into the mountains, the likelihood of Giselle ever finding her again would be next to none.

She emerged from her hiding place, making her way back up the stairs with a newfound clarity. Sorin was in the kitchen, a bag open at his feet. He was busily stuffing it with cans of food.

As she approached, he glanced over his shoulder. “Get dressed,” he commanded, noting that she was still in her long-sleeve shirt and underwear.

Colette remained silent, her mind still churning with the thoughts she’d been wrestling with in the basement. She was unsure of how to keep Sorin here, how to divert him from his mission to return to his ~pack.~