my feet, then tie up the laces. “Is she having breakfast at the tavern?”
“No,” he answers abruptly. “She’s safe.”
My head jerks up. “What does that mean?” A shiver races down my spine, and I’m on my feet.
“My guards have taken her to a secure location. Three of my strongest will ensure nothing happens to her until we all return in one piece.” His intentions are clear. He doesn’t trust that I won’t ditch them, or worse yet, set them up for failure.
My heart no longer thumps like a drum. Instead, it’s squeezing like someone is trying to wring out the last drops of blood.
“That wasn’t part of our deal,” I say loudly, raising my head higher to stare Ragnar right in those pale blue eyes that look ghostly against his dark hair.
“What exactly did you think your payment was for us risking our lives and traveling into the South to find your sisters?”
I stiffen, and my shoulders curve forward. “You only found one sister, so already the deal is incomplete. Plus, you initially said I was only to ensure safe travel for you into the Poisonous Woods, not back out again. Now you’re holding my sister hostage to ensure I deliver more than we bargained for.”
He raises an eyebrow as if I’ve spoken out of line. “You have a wickedly sharp tongue, Narah, and now you want to renegotiate our deal? That’s fine, but you may not like the outcome.”
A quiver grips my spine, and I hold myself still, refusing to back down.
He steps toward me and seizes my hand quickly, his hold solid. The rational part of my brain tells me to step back and not let him invade my space, but instead I lose myself in his gaze, in the tingle that starts in the pit of my gut and rouses my wolf at Ragnar’s touch.
I’ve been disciplined to smile, to go along with Alphas and not show them my real intention until I am out of harm’s way, but I suspect if I show weakness to this wolf, he’ll rip my throat out.
My voice comes out clear and crisp, even if my nerves are jumping under my skin. “You don’t scare me.”
I draw my hand from his and move away from him, knowing I shouldn’t turn my back to a predator. But I want him to see my bravery, despite the vulnerability twisting my insides into knots.
Suddenly, the warmth of his breath ghosts over my shoulder and ear. “Are you sure of that?”
His arm skates around the front of my shoulders, pulling me backward to collide into his solid chest, leaving me breathless. I frantically grab at his arm, my fingernails digging into flesh, but he doesn’t so much as flinch. “We can do this your way. Your sister’s freedom for yours. How does that sound? We release your sister now, she’s free from my men, but you become mine forever. And to show I can be kind, I will send my men to keep searching for Kaira, after which we will free her too, if she’s still alive.”
My veins turn to ice as my mind chokes on the fear of Jae being alone. And what if he’d been right about Kaira the first time and she isn’t alive? A shutter coils around my heart because I’m not ready to accept such a fate. She’s not dead. No, I refuse to believe it until I see it with my own eyes. And he wants to own me? Fuck that.
“I promise to take very good care of you,” he whispers.
“No.” My voice comes out shaky.
Just as quickly, he releases me, and I stumble to catch my footing, my hand reaching for the bed to keep from falling. He turns his back on me and strides out into the hallway, throwing his words over his shoulder. “That’s what I thought. Get your stuff. We’re leaving.”
I’m shaking.
Bastard.
My heart is close to exploding as a feeling of doom cloaks me. “Fucking bastard,” I mumble under my breath, furious that he just took Jae without letting me give her a farewell. Now more than ever, I am determined to find a way back to my sister. Then we’ll find Kaira. I pray with everything that Ragnar’s insistence on this insane mission is something I won’t regret.
It seems every Alpha I meet always finds a way to destroy things for me, and the single thought of Martell brings with it a deep, wrenching sting under my breastbone, one where my pulse pounds loudly