at all of the toys, the food and water, and my new cage. She’s taken care of me. She’s never once been cruel. I should know better than to hope, but maybe, just maybe, I can actually trust her.
Instead of running back into my cage, I force myself to stay put. She keeps sitting down, not moving any closer just like she promised, and I relax just a little and chew the chicken still hanging out of my mouth. When her phone rings where it’s beside her on the floor, she picks it up and answers.
“Hey, Penn,” she says into the phone before her eyes dart over to me. “No, but she came out of her cage on her own, so that’s a start. Yeah, I know. I’ll try.” She rolls her eyes. “Oh, good grief. I just saw you last night!” She snorts into the phone. “Mm-hmm. Maybe I’ll come over, maybe I won’t. Guess you’ll just have to see.”
She hangs up and tosses the phone down in her lap. “Males. So demanding of your time,” she says conversationally. “You know, I’d really love a girlfriend to talk to,” she muses to me. “Having mates is exhausting. And I don’t just mean the sex. I swear, they can’t go more than ten hours without seeing me, or they get all moody.”
I listen to her in fascination as I nibble away until there’s a knock on the door, and I immediately scurry over to my cage despite the female assuring me that it’s okay.
I’m back in the safety of my cave when I hear her open the door. “Hey, Alpha.”
“Hey, kid,” I hear a masculine voice reply.
I peek out to look, seeing the same alpha as before. Even from here, I can already feel waves of power coming from him.
“How’s she doing, Addie?” he asks.
The woman—Addie—looks over at my cage. “Well, today’s the first day she ventured out of her cage by herself, but…”
I hear him sigh. “Well, I guess that’s progress.”
“Isn’t there something else we can do?” Addie asks quietly.
“Like what? You saw the way she reacted to me. She’s timid. We don’t know what happened to her.”
“What if she doesn’t remember how to shift back?” Addie asks.
I miss my human form more than anything, but the thought of shifting back fills me with terror. I haven’t shifted in a very long time. Sid made sure of that.
“I can’t force her to shift. I’m not her alpha.”
“But…”
“She has to want to shift back, Addie.”
Addie nods, though she looks sad. “I’ll see if she’s ready to leave the room tomorrow. Maybe going outside will do her some good.”
“Thanks for taking the reins on this, kid.”
“Of course, Hugo. I’m happy to help. I just wish I could do more for her.”
“Just show her what kind of pack we are. That she can trust us. Let me know if you need anything.” Alpha Hugo pats Addie on the shoulder before turning and walking out of the room.
Addie sighs slightly and turns to look over at me. “How about we try going outside?” she asks.
Outside? Mice and men, I would love to feel the sun on my face and race around the ground, but there are so many unknowns.
Despite the fact that my every instinct tells me that I can trust her, I hold back. I really want to believe what she says. I want to believe that I’m safe and that Hugo is a good alpha. But I’m terrified. I don’t want to be. I never used to be, but I am.
I used to be fierce, in my own right. I used to be strong. But captivity broke me. So much so that my rat had to take over. I don’t even recognize myself anymore. Would I even know how to be my human self if I shifted back?
Unless my old alpha is dead—which isn’t the case because I’d feel that connection sever—I’m not safe. Sid will never let me go, and sooner or later, I’ll be right back in his clutches again. It’s only a matter of time.
3
Reese
The warehouse—the huge living space Addie and the other shifters live in—is quiet. Everybody is sleeping. Addie snuck out sometime during the night, probably to be with her mate. Like always, she left my cage door open and her bedroom door cracked. I listen for any sounds, but I don’t hear any signs of movement.
It takes me an hour to gain the courage, but I slink out of my cage and scurry across the