Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(6)

Holden’s eyes widened a fraction, betraying his surprise at her words. “Drink the water and soothe your throat. We have a lot of shit to talk about, and you *-footing around isn’t helping.”

“Don’t say *-footing. It's degrading to women.” Dear, God. She needed to shut up before he killed her for being annoying.

Holden snorted then shook his head. “You’re right. Considering the women I know can kill most men with just one claw, I should stop saying that. Habit. Now drink the motherf*cking water.”

Her throat ached so she opened her mouth and let him press the glass to her lips. He tilted it slightly so she could drink without choking. The water instantly cooled the burning ache, and she greedily gulped more before he pulled it away. Her chest lifted quickly, her breathing back under control.

“More?” he asked, and she shook her head. She hadn’t had a decent meal or drink in who knew how long, and while she craved it, she didn’t want to hurt herself more by doing too much, too fast.

He nodded and put the glass on the table. “We have a lot to talk about.”

They did, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it. “You didn’t answer my first question. Who are you?”

He folded his arms over his chest, making him look even scarier. “I’m Holden Carter, Alpha of the River Pack.”

So he was a shifter. “I’ve never heard of the River Pack. I thought all of you lived in SAU compounds.”

Holden lifted a lip in a snarl. “The Shifter Accommodation Unit labeled our compounds. This one is Canine Compound G. But we have our own names, our own traditions. We are the River Pack.”

Canine. That meant he was a wolf. The freaking Alpha wolf, leader of all the others in the compound, or Pack—whatever he wanted to call them. All she knew were the stories of shifters she’d been told since she’d been born. At twenty-five, her birth had come at the end of the Verona virus outbreak, and she’d never met a shifter. At least she didn’t think so. The animals had been put in their compounds during her first few months of life. Looking at the man in front of her, though, she internally winced at the word animal. He looked so…human. Maybe using that degrading word put her in the same camp as the so-called SAU humans who had cut her open to watch her bleed.

Bile once again rose in her throat and she closed her eyes, the nausea receding slowly.

“Your scent is off,” Holden said, bringing her out of the memories of screams and blood. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” she lied.

“You’re lying, but we will deal with that later as long as you are physically okay.” He narrowed his eyes but she didn’t look away. She had a feeling if she did, he’d feel as if he’d won. Why she thought that, she had no idea. Maybe the doctors had messed with her brain when they’d been slicing up everything else.

“Why did I find you on the perimeter of the compound, broken and bleeding?” he asked, bringing her to the present.

“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to sit up. Only then did she look down at herself and gasp. “Where are my clothes?” She might be wearing a sheet, but that was it. Why am I covered in dried blood? Where are my cuts? Why do I have so many old scars?

Holden cursed and knelt down by the bed so he was at eye level with her. “Tell me you aren’t a plant. Tell me you had nothing to do with what happened to you, and you’re an innocent bystander in all this.”

Her hands shook, and she pulled the sheet closer. “Why am I here?”

“Answering questions with questions will get us nowhere.”

She glared. “Well, you’re doing it, too.”

He gave a curt nod and let out a sigh. “You need to answer me, woman. I don’t even know your name, and you are in my territory. I need to know if you will harm my people. Then I can work on what you need, but I can’t do that if I don’t know where we stand.”

“My name is Ariel,” she said, knowing that much she could give away. Of course, she didn’t have many secrets to hide anyway. She still didn’t know why the humans had taken her to study in the first place. For some reason, she had a feeling this Holden would tell her more than the SAU ever did, but she’d have to be careful. She wanted to go home, get clean, and forget the sound of her screams. Only she didn’t think that would be an option anymore—not when she found herself in the middle of a wolf Pack with no memory of how she’d gotten there.

Holden’s eyes darkened a moment, and he let out a breath. “Ariel. Like the mermaid.”

“It was big around the time I was born,” she bit out.

“You’re a baby then,” he murmured.

“I’m old enough.” For what, she didn’t know. And now they were getting off track. “As for where you found me, I don’t know how I got there.” She swallowed hard, knowing she might be making the biggest mistake of her life. “The SAU took me from my home and into their compound. It was like a hospital of sorts. I don’t know how long I was there, but they…”—she took a deep breath—“...they studied me. Cut me up. Watched me bleed. Called me Test Subject A. I don’t know what they wanted or why I was there, but I didn’t have anything to do with it. The last thing I remember was screaming because they were cutting into my stomach and didn’t use any anesthesia. Knowing the way the bastards work, they probably just dumped my body here to blame you.”