Dangerous Mating (A.L.F.A., #3)(7)

The prince stepped up to the bars again. “Don’t worry, Mr. Day. I know what you are and you will give me a new outlook on life very soon. Arrangements are being made as we speak. We’ve caught one of your kind before and are prepared to kill you if you try to escape. In your weakened state, you’re no stronger than my guards, so rid yourself of any thoughts of overtaking my men.

“You’ll be part of the entertainment tonight. I will put you on display and they will all see you and know I speak the truth. You people aren’t priceless. Not at all. But no one will have you until after I get my piece. Then later, I shall take every bit of you. I can almost feel it now.”

The man’s arousal floated on the musty air. If Bryon had had anything in his stomach to vomit, he would have. He understood what the sadistic prince was saying and he’d be damned if he was just going to let anything happen to him. He would let his wolf out at that point to kill all it wanted.

The prince backed away and nodded at one of his men. The man slowly approached the bars and slid a narrow bucket into the cell. When Bryon’s wolf picked up the smell of water, it forced him to grab it. He chugged mouthfuls in desperation to hydrate his body.

The prince smiled. “Drink up, Mr. Day. I will see you soon. And I do mean all of you.”

Bryon watched as the men picked up their guy lying on the ground and headed toward the door. They placed their torture equipment on a shelf before leaving. How he would love to take the cattle prod and shove it up the bastard prince’s ass.

He shuddered and put the empty bowl on the ground. His preference did not swing that way. He knew plenty of LGBT folks, some even shifters, but he liked the ladies. No one in particular yet, unfortunately. He was still holding out on the hope of finding his true mate. But now in his midthirties, his dreams of finding that perfect one were dying.

In this last year, he felt that he clung to that hope tighter than he ever had before. Maybe because he saw it would not happen. Or he knew it was his only chance of finding real love. Could be the wolf griping at him constantly to have pups. It was ready to have a family whether or not Bryon was.

Which he was, for the most part. He wanted happiness and to share his life as much as any other person. But did he settle with someone who made him feel loved and would make a great mother even though he didn’t love her in return? Would he grow to resent her or her him because he couldn’t give his entire soul in return?

No, he couldn’t do that. That wouldn’t be fair to anyone, including his pups. His parents were mates, one of the few in those days. They were perfect for each other and the kids. He saw the love they shared in the way they looked at each other, the way Dad held Mom’s hand everywhere they went, and the physical desire—he stopped right there. The thought of his parents getting it on wasn’t something he wanted to picture in his mind.

He ran his grime-covered hands through his hair. If he got out of this alive, maybe he’d take a break. He’d been going nonstop for years. Maybe go to one of those resorts they show on TV where every female has long hair and is wearing a bikini. That wasn’t his type of girl, though. His type would more likely be found in a library cooking a cow. What the hell? Where did that come from?

He eyed the water bowl, then brought it to his nose. Fuck. There was a light smell to the water. They just played him well. He’d been so dehydrated, he didn’t stop to think they would drug him. But they had no reason to.

Goddard mentioned entertainment. What did that mean? He’d be taken from the cell certainly. That would be where he’d escape. It was damn hard to hold a shifter and an ALFA was near impossible. Unless he were drugged. His body would burn through the chemicals faster than a human, so that would be his element of surprise.

This was great news, in a way. He’d been undercover in this town for a while tracking clues to an international human trafficking ring. There was a ring organizer somewhere in this region he was trying to get in with. He thought he was probably in Liechtenstein just a few miles away, so he had a small apartment in Cloustien where there was less threat of discovery and less concern over communicating to headquarters.

So much for that thought. The leads he had were going nowhere. He was in contact with a ring member, but the guy was low on the totem pole. The contact thought something big was going down soon and he was right.

Before he was captured, he observed dignitaries and other affluent people showing up in this area. The few restaurants in town were much busier than they had been. But he couldn’t find a location big enough to hold the number of people this ring usually dealt in. Unless it was in the palace itself. His current plan didn’t include breaking into the palace. Now he was here, but on the wrong floor. They really should clean better down here. Ice cream would help.

He shook his head. He was losing to the drug. Shit. The effects were pulling on his mind. How much had they given him? They said they’d had a shifter before, so they knew what they were doing. His eyelids were too heavy. Even his wolf was out of it. Maybe he could rest for just a second until his body—





Chapter Five




Kari had the window seat and Sheldon took the aisle side of the propeller flight. After changing planes in London, they were loaded in and quickly on their way to the center of Europe. She loved staring out, watching the clouds float like pieces of cotton. Such dazzling white in the sun. Occasionally, she’d gotten glimpses of the ocean below, though now it was land only.