tied to a desk chair in front of the couch. Sadie pulled the shirt away and Ari saw it was smeared with blood from her lip. "Recognize that? How's she smell? Good and afraid, I'll bet."
It was true. Ari could smell the stink of Dale's sweat and fear.
"Don't hurt her. What do you want?"
Sadie said, "What we told you in the kitchen. You're going to do in one night what it would take us weeks to do. You see, I'm just the leader of this particular pack. We have someone we answer to. And she has a... hm. Let's just call it an employee of the month program. Whoever makes her happy during the month gets a bonus. And I like my bonuses, Ariadne, but they're so difficult to get. Because there's a certain amount of risk involved. The greater the risk, the greater the reward.
"But now I don't have to worry about the risk. You're going to be taking the risk for me." She smiled. "Beck, Pen and I will reap the benefits. And you'll get your friend back unharmed. So everybody wins." She reached out and casually adjusted Ari's collar. "You're going to get us five hundred thousand dollars."
Ari scoffed.
Sadie raised an eyebrow. "Is your friend's life not worth that? I'm surprised."
"How do you think I'm going to get that much money?"
"That's not my problem. Rob a bank. Steal cars. Rob a mansion. Get creative, because I'd love to know what you would come up with. You're such a clever little wolf." She slapped Ari's cheek. "I want the money tomorrow night. We'll be in touch with the details. In the meantime, Dale Frye will stay here with us. And we promise, we'll be perfectly proper ladies with her. We won't gain her trust through false pretenses and then fuck her." Sadie's nostrils flared, her eyes getting darker with anger.
Ari stared back. "If I do this, and Dale ends up hurt, I'll kill you all."
"Then let the games begin." She grabbed the back of Ari's head and pulled her forward for a particularly brutal kiss. When she pulled back, she gasped and shook her head. "It's a shame. You really were a great lay."
Sadie straightened and motioned for Pen and Beck to untie Ari. "Tomorrow night at nine. Either have the five hundred grand, or we'll let you watch Dale's first transformation live and in person. I wouldn't eat a heavy lunch if I were you, just in case. I promise it won't be pretty."
Pen grabbed the back of Ari's collar and hauled her to her feet. She was half-carried and mostly dragged through the kitchen and sunroom, and Pen hurled her onto the dirt of the backyard. Ari pushed herself up, digging her fingers in the dirt as she contemplated fighting.
"I wouldn't." Pen had anticipated her attack. "I give the signal, Sadie goes down to the basement and bites Dale. You think you can get there fast enough to keep it from happening? Just remember, Ari. You did this. You're the one who wormed your way into our group, you're the one who endangered your partner. None of this would be happening without you."
Ari spit into the dirt under her head, eyes closed.
"Clock's ticking. Get the hell out of here, you mutt."
Ari got to her feet and walked to the fence. She paused before going through, turning to face Pen while standing upright and untied. "If anything happens to her, it'll come back on you. Count on that."
Pen flipped her off.
Ari went out to her car, aches starting to make themselves known as she slipped behind the wheel of her car. Her first thought was what she was going to do, but that was a dumb question. Dale's life was at stake; she was going to do exactly what they told her to do. She rolled her shoulders and pinched the bridge of her nose. Five hundred thousand dollars. She didn't even know where to begin to find that kind of money.
For Dale.
Dale's face rose in her mind's eye, her easy smile and her laugh.
Ari would move heaven and earth for Dale. She started the car and pulled away from the house with renewed determination. If Sadie, Beck and Pen wanted to play games, fine. But Ari was going to play by her own rules.
#
Milhous smiled brightly when she came down the stairs. "Hey, Ari. Got anymore cigs you want me to take off your hands?"
"Yep. Here you go." She tossed the pack and it fell just