––––––––
My head felt as though there was a pneumatic hammer at work inside it. I had to blink several times to clear my vision. I could hear something—was it voices? My mind couldn't slot the pieces into place. My throat was dry and I felt nauseous.
“Louise? Are you okay?”
I moved my head to one side. Craven was in a padded seat which resembled a dentist's chair. His wrists and ankles were clamped by metal fastenings.
“I'm okay.” I coughed to clear my throat. When I tried to raise my hand to wipe my eyes, it wouldn't move. A quick glance told me I'd been fastened into an identical chair. “Where are we?”
“No idea.” Craven shrugged. “I haven't seen anyone since I came around.”
We were in a circular room which was empty except for the two chairs in which we were imprisoned, and a metal trolley which had a white cloth draped across the top.
“Do you think they're watching?” I nodded towards a huge window which wrapped around one quarter of the room's circumference.
“I can't tell. I haven't seen any movement.”
“What is this place?”
Craven shrugged, but I suspected he'd had the same thoughts as me. It felt like some kind of operating theatre with the observation gallery behind the windows.
“Louise. If things don't work out—”
Craven was interrupted by the sound of a door sliding open. A man-mountain, wearing what appeared to be a doctor's white coat, stepped into the room. The door slid closed behind him. Extraordinarily handsome, with a shock of blond hair, the man's face displayed no emotion.
He walked slowly, yet deliberately around my chair. His gaze wandered up and down my body, but he never once made eye contact. After a few moments, he moved across the room to Craven. Once again he made a couple of circuits of the chair—once again there was no eye contact. Finally, he walked over to the trolley which was in the very centre of the room between the two chairs. With a deliberate flourish, he pulled the cloth away, and allowed it to fall to the floor. Laid out on the trolley was all manner of surgical instruments.
“Your arrogance is breathtaking,” he said in a voice as cold as his visage. “How dare you come into our territory and kill our brethren?”
Craven strained to free his hands, but it was hopeless. The steel was much too strong. “Let her go. She's only here because of me.”
“She's going nowhere.” The man moved towards my chair. “As your mate, she should die by your side—wouldn't you agree?” I winced as his claw scraped down my bare arm. “Still, I'm a reasonable man.” He turned back to face Craven. “So I'm going to give you a choice. You can choose to watch your mate die before I kill you. Or, you can choose to die first. Which is it to be?”
“Fuck you!” Craven's face was full of hate.
“How very ungrateful.” The man managed a cold smile, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. “In that case, I will have to decide for you.”
He took a coin from his pocket, and tossed it into the air.
“Heads you die first, tails your mate does.”
He caught the coin and slapped it down onto the back of his hand. Another brief smile, and then he showed the coin to Craven. “You get to watch your mate die. Don't worry, I'll make it nice and slow so you can savour each cut.”
Craven's face was red with anger. His whole body was straining to break free. I couldn't stop trembling as I watched the man walk back towards the trolley.
“She has such beautiful eyes don't you think?” He picked up a scalpel.
“No!” Craven shouted. “Take mine!”
“That would spoil all of the fun. I want you to see everything. After I've taken out her eyes, I'll take out her tongue.”
I squeezed my hand to try to make it small enough to pull through the restraint, but it was hopeless—the metal bands were too tight. As he bent over me, I tried to move my head to one side, but he put his hand on my forehead to hold it still. The blade glinted as it came closer to my eye.
Lights flicked on in the observation gallery.
“Heston!” A voice boomed through a loudspeaker.
“Sir?” The man, scalpel still in his hand, looked up at the observation room.
“Move away from her,” the voice boomed. “I'm coming down.”
“Yes sir.”
The man with the scalpel's cool exterior had been replaced by a look of apprehension as he waited. Moments later, an older man, greying at the temples, walked into the room.
“I did not authorise this,” the older man said.
“I didn't want to trouble you.”
The older man glanced at me and then at Craven.
“Leave, Heston.”
“But Zema, they killed our brethren.”
“I said leave.”
Heston threw me a look of pure hate before walking away. Once he'd left, the older man walked across to Craven.
“You must be Craven.”
“How do you know my name?”
“Your reputation precedes you. There aren't many Alphas who abandon their pack, and live the life of a lone wolf for decades. Word soon spreads. What brings you here?”
“We're looking for a pack to join.”
“We? She's your mate? I thought you travelled alone?”
“The reason I travelled alone for all of those years was in search of her. Louise is my fated mate.”
The old man glanced at me. “To have searched for so long, you must truly be a fated pair. So, now you've found your mate, you want to challenge me?”
“No. That's not why we're here. We want to raise a family and need the security of a pack. I'm no longer an Alpha—I have no intention of challenging you. We just want acceptance into the pack.”
“You've already met Heston—my Beta. I'm not sure he would welcome you with open arms.”
“If you'll give us a chance, we'll prove ourselves worthy members of your pack. I'm no threat to Heston. He's your Beta, so he'll have my respect.”
“Even after he tried to tear out your mate's eyes?”
“Yes, unless he tries to do it again.”
Zema laughed. “After the events of today, it seems my security could do with an overhaul. Would you be prepared to oversee that?”
“Of course. I'd be happy to.”
“I've heard many stories about you Craven. Most of them good. I'm willing to give you a chance, but only one. If either of you step out of line, I'll let Heston do his worst. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly.”
*********
“I'm Tamara, and I'll be overseeing your induction into the pack,” the pretty young brunette said. She was smiling at Craven, but seemed not to notice me. Craven was head and shoulders taller than Tamara, and he could see me scowling. That only seemed to encourage him.
“How very nice to meet you Tamara.” Craven took her hand and held it to his lips. She giggled uncontrollably.
“This way,” she said.
“I'll cut your balls off,” I whispered to him as we followed.
He blew me a kiss which I brushed away.
“These are your papers. You shouldn't need them, but just in case. We wouldn't want any misunderstandings.”
She handed an ID card to each of us. “We have arranged a small apartment on the west side of the city. It isn't anything special I'm afraid, but it should meet your needs.”
“Does it have room for children?” Craven asked.
“You have children?”
“Not yet, but we plan to.” Craven put an arm around me.
Tamara's smile evaporated. “We may have to relocate you when and if that happens. She glanced at me, and then back to Craven. “It's good to have you in the pack.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Tamara scowled.
Did you have to flirt with her?” I said.
We, or rather I, had declined Tamara's offer to show us around the apartment. Instead, we took a taxi across town. Tamara had given us a temporary cash loan until Craven received his first salary.
“I didn't flirt with her,” Craven said, unable to hide a huge grin.
“She was undressing you with her eyes.”
“You can undress me with your hands once we get to our new home.”