Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,58

able to do that with us.”

Before I knew it, I’d finished my drink. A comfortable lassitude was settling in my bones. My eyes started to close.

“Oh, look at you.” Mona clicked her tongue disapprovingly. “You’re even more tired than I thought. Come on. Lie down and get some rest.”

It was very easy to obey her. She covered me with a soft, thick blanket and I closed my eyes to her petting my hair. It was nice, almost motherly, and it reminded me of home, of something I’d thought lost and forgotten. The pleasant sensation followed me in my dreams. I felt like I was floating, but not in the air – on the water. Indistinct images danced around me, but it wasn’t scary.

“You do have a wolf soul,” an unfamiliar voice whispered. “All you have to do is believe it.”

I wanted to. God, I wanted to, if only because it meant I could go back to the Woodward brothers. But the Redwoods had already pointed out that my lovers couldn’t be trusted. And Jax himself had said his family didn’t want me in the pack.

“Finding your way to the right pack is a journey. You walk through a thorny path, child of humans. But that doesn’t mean you can’t reach your destination.”

I didn’t understand who was talking to me and I didn’t get the chance to find out. The mysterious voice vanished, replaced by someone I actually recognized.

“We’re ready for her,” Milton said. “Everything prepared here?”

“Of course, Alpha,” Mona answered. Distantly, it occurred to me that she sounded different from earlier – more deferential, humble, almost scared.

The jarring thought was enough to wake me up completely. I cracked my eyes open, just in time to see several of the Redwoods looming over me.

“Looks like she’s awake,” Milton said. “Perfect. Osmond, Ford, take her.”

Strong hands picked me up from the bed, and I tried to figure out what was going on.

“Wha… Where… W-Where are we going?”

The men didn’t answer, but Callie and Mona were right behind us.

“Hush now, Isabel,” Callie said. “We told you, didn’t we? You belong here with us. This is just a way to make sure that never changes.”

That sounded very ominous. I opened my mouth to ask her what she meant, but my vocal cords refused to work again. A memory of the tea I’d drunk earlier flashed through my mind. Oh God. How could I have been so stupid? They must have put something in my drink. But why? What did they want with me? They could have hurt me at any time since they’d found me, but they hadn’t. What was their purpose here?

It didn’t take me long to get my answer – one that filled me with terror.

Osmond and Ford carried me to the lake side. There was a pyre waiting there, with a large wooden pole in its middle. Through the haze that had settled over me, I could see countless wolf shifters gathering on the shore. They all let out howls of triumph as Osmond and Ford approached. Even if they were still in their human forms, they sounded more animalistic than the Woodward brothers had ever been.

“The Pale One’s gift!”

“The offering!”

“She is here!”

Osmond and Ford deposited me on the pyre and tied me to the pole. I was almost thankful for the bindings because I couldn’t stand on my own. The pole and the ropes were the only things keeping me upright. Of course, that also meant I had a direct view at the moment Milton and Callie approached, both of them holding torches.

“We’ve received an unexpected gift, Redwoods. A human claimed by the Woodwards has come to us. Tonight, we will spill her blood and her ashes will rise to bless us, to make our pack prosper, to make our bitches fertile and our pups healthy.”

“The Pale One guides us on this path,” Callie continued, “and through her power, we will grow stronger. We will become greater. We will take on the humans and win.”

If I hadn’t been terrified out of my mind, I might have laughed. How hadn’t I seen it sooner? Things that seemed too good to be true usually were, and a werewolf pack had no reason to help a stupid, lost human.

One by one, more werewolves approached. All of them were carrying lit torches.

“The Pale One,” they chanted. “The Pale One. The Pale One.”

I stared at the fire, still unable to believe this was happening to me. Shadows danced over the faces of the werewolves, making