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“No!” I wailed, violently thrashing against the chains restraining me. Tears of horror raced down my face.
Robert finally released me. I jerked my head up, my eyes instantly falling on Mitchell’s unmoving body on the floor. The sight made me sob harder.
Mr. Callahan stepped in front of me, blocking my view of my father. “Miss Kennicott,” he said. “Miss Kennicott, look at me.”
Miss Kennicott. That was what he called me at school. ?For a moment, I was back in his classroom, sitting at my desk, learning about chemical bonds while Ace tried to distract me.
The man in front of me wasn’t the monster who just murdered my father but my harmless science teacher who I planned on begging to let me retake the midterm after class.
It was enough to snap me out of my hysteria. I blinked through my tears, peering up at Mr. Callahan.
“I didn’t kill your father,” he stated. “Although, I might have been doing you a favor if I had. He’s just unconscious. So, you can stop your weeping.” He spoke like I was a child throwing a tantrum.
I looked back down at Mitchell, noticing the steady rise and fall of his chest for the first time. The dread in my stomach dissipated, and I could breathe again.
Mr. Callahan grabbed my chin and jerked my head to the side. I groaned through my teeth.
I knew he was looking at the spot on my neck where Ace had bitten me. The bruise had probably faded but was clearly still visible.
Mr. Callahan rubbed his thumb over the small bump between my shoulder and neck.
I gasped and jerked away from him, my body reacting the same way it had when Mr. Stoll touched the bump a few weeks ago—as if someone had poured scorching hot lava on my throat and down my spine.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to endure for too long. He pulled his hand away a moment later and stepped back, peering down at me with a troubled expression.
“She’s not mated,” he said in a low tone.
“What?” Robert demanded.
“She’s not mated. Her mating gland is unpierced. The alpha—Ace, I mean—hasn’t completed the mating process with her yet.”
“But you said—”
“I was wrong.”
There was a lengthy pause, filled with tension.
“Are you sure?” Robert asked.
“Pretty damn sure. Any werewolf could lay claim on her right now.”
“Well.” Robert grinned down at me. “Well, that changes things.”
After ominously stating that he had to make a phone call, Robert left the basement.
The older man went with him, leaving me alone with Elias, Mr. Callahan, and my unconscious birth father.
The two men looked at me, probably wondering what to do with me now that their boss was gone.
Elias was the one to suggest that I be temporarily released from my restraints and allowed to use the bathroom.
“Why?” Mr. Callahan snapped.
“Because she might need to take a leak?”
Elias was right. My bladder felt like it was about to burst.
Mr. Callahan stiffened, his eyes on me for a moment, but then he turned away as if he couldn’t stand to look at me for too long.
I wondered if he’d just viewed me as human for the first time since my kidnapping and it was making him uncomfortable.
Good. I hope he feels guilty.
“Fine,” my teacher grunted. “Just be quick.”
After removing the heavy silver chains, Elias put a cuff around my ankle and locked it with a key from his pocket.
The cuff was connected to a different chain that was wrapped around a load-bearing pole nearby, secured with a padlock.
I felt like a fucking zoo animal…but at least I could move.
“Where…you…?”
I snapped my head up, searching for the person who had just spoken.
Elias was still messing with the lock at my ankle, and Mr. Callahan was busy glowering down at Mitchell.
I frowned. The voice couldn’t have belonged to either of the men in the room. It was too quiet and muffled, like someone speaking from the other side of the thick basement walls.
It’s probably Robert talking upstairs.
But then, why did it sound like Ace?
Wishful thinking.
“Come on,” Elias said.
He offered me a hand, but I ignored it and stood on my own. My legs wobbled, and the room spun. I stumbled a bit but managed to right myself before I toppled over.
Elias tried to usher me forward, but I halted, noticing Mr. Callahan kick Mitchell’s head, forcing it to the side. He glowered at my birth father.
“Don’t hurt him,” I said.
Mr. Callahan raised his head and narrowed his eyes menacingly. “I’ll do whatever I want,” he shot back.
I took a step toward him, ready to fight for my pathetic excuse of a father. “I—”
Elias put a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll make sure Cormac doesn’t hurt your dad. If you don’t go to the bathroom now, you might not get another chance. Robert is coming back soon.”
I looked at him. His expression was genuine. Gentle.
Was he trying to help me? It made no sense. Where was this warmth when he poisoned my little brothers and watched Robert punch me so hard he broke my nose?
Maybe watching me get literally tortured a few minutes ago brought some of his humanity back?!
With one last worried glance at Mitchell, I nodded at Elias. “Okay.”
I thought he was going to pass me a bucket to pee in, but instead, he led me forward.
I hadn’t seen it before, having faced the other side of the room, but there was a small, unfinished bathroom. It had concrete walls and was covered in a layer of dust and grime.
Tiles covered only half the floor, a single, flickering light bulb hung in front of the mirror, and there was no faucet or handles in the tub. It must’ve been a project that someone forgot about.
I wondered how long it had been since the last time someone had used it. Years, it looked like.
Even so, it was way better than a bucket.
Elias let me use the toilet with the door mostly closed, leaving only a small crack for my chain to run through.