Chapter 199: Awake
Rebecca’s POV
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
The first thing I heard was the loud sound of chewing, rough laughter, and noisy partying all around me. Under my body, the stone floor was ice-cold and sharp.
I tried to shift my weight, but my arms and legs wouldn’t move properly. I blinked past the haze in my mind and looked down. My hands and feet were bound tightly with thick, rough rope. I was lying flat on the hard, dirty ground.
It took only a few terrifying seconds for my memories to come crashing back—the loud blast in the hallway, the smell of burning wood, the warrior falling dead beside us, and the massive tiger shifter whose heavy fist had slammed into my face, knocking me into darkness.
My gaze lifted upward. Above me wasn’t a ceiling or a sky, but a high dome of solid gray rock. I looked around the vast space, my breath catching in my throat. We were inside a massive stone cave.
In the middle of the cavern, a high bonfire crackled, casting long, dancing shadows against the walls. Dozens of tiger shifters were gathered around the flames, eating meat, drinking out of wooden jugs, and dancing wildly. They made so much noise, shouting and laughing as if they didn’t have a single care in the world. They weren’t even worried that the loud commotion might draw attention to their hideout.
I swallowed hard, pushing through the dull ache at the back of my head, and managed to drag myself up into a sitting position against the cold cave wall.
Someone near the fire noticed me move. He nudged the man sitting beside him, pointing a grease-covered finger in my direction.
A large man stood up from the circle. He was shirtless, his broad chest covered in dark, faded tattoos and dirt. He wore only a pair of filthy blue jeans and heavy, mud-stained boots. He strode toward me, his heavy boots thudding against the stone floor.
He squatted down right in front of me. Up close, I could see the deep lines carved around his eyes and jaw—he looked to be in his late forties, his eyes sharp like a wild animal’s.
"You are finally awake," he said, his voice deep and rough.
I kept my mouth shut, staring back at him without saying a single word. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to stay still.
"We are not going to harm you, as long as you cooperate," he said, leaning a little closer. "Rule one: don’t try running away. This cave is sealed by powerful magic. No one leaves this place unless I open the way. Rule two: don’t bother screaming. No one outside these walls will ever hear you."
His eyes traveled down to the heavy silver collar locked tightly around my throat. A cruel, amused smirk spread across his face.
"And three... it seems you can’t even mind-link anyone anyway. So there’s no need to waste your energy on that."
He stood up straight, turning his head toward the fire. "Hey! Give her a meal!" he barked to a woman sitting near the flames.
A pale-faced woman nodded quickly, rising to grab a wooden bowl.
The man looked back down at me one last time. "We don’t intend to harm you. We simply need a very large ransom from your master. Once he pays up, we will release you right back to him."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked back to the loud celebration.
Tears gathered at the hot corners of my eyes, but I bit the inside of my cheek and refused to let them fall. Now was not the time to be weak. I couldn’t afford to cry.
The woman walked over and dropped a wooden bowl on the stone beside my knees. Inside was a chunk of hard, dry bread and a bowl of thick, dull vegetable and meat stew. It looked completely cold, grease congealing at the edges, and the smell was anything but appetizing.
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have touched it. But who was I to complain? There had been a time in my life when I had eaten much worse just to survive.
Most importantly, I wasn’t just feeding myself anymore.
My bound hands moved down, resting gently over my lower stomach. I have to eat for my pup, I thought, protective warmth washing over the cold fear in my chest. I have to keep my baby safe.
Holding the heavy bowl awkwardly between my bound wrists, I picked up a wooden spoon and began to eat. Slowly.
The stew was completely cold, the meat tough and chewy, but I forced every single bite down my throat.
As I chewed, my eyes drifted around the cavern. The tiger shifters kept drinking, laughing, and celebrating, completely unbothered. Why were they so confident? Why weren’t they scared that Kaden would track them down? Kaden was the Alpha King. He had endless resources, an elite army, and the fiercest trackers in the realm.
A heavy pang of worry hit my chest as I thought of him. I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Kaden was probably going insane searching for me right now. He would be tearing the territory apart just to get me.
And then I felt so sorry for Alpha Kane. His home was burned to the ground. Was he okay? How many of his people died in the attack?
Across the cavern, sitting in a dark corner, were the other prisoners from Kane’s packhouse—the servant girl and the two pregnant women. Heavy iron chokers had been locked around their necks, cutting off their ability to reach out to the pack mind-link. They sat huddled together, silent and terrified.
Hours passed slowly. The loud noise from the party gradually quieted down as the shifters got drunk and tired, falling asleep around the fire.
Sitting against the hard stone wall, my body felt heavy, completely drained of energy. My eyelids grew heavy, and despite the lingering fear, pure physical exhaustion took over. My head slumped against the wall, and I drifted off into a restless, troubled sleep.
I didn’t know how long I had been passed out.
Suddenly, a strange, uncomfortable sensation dragged me out of my sleep.
My eyes snapped open in the dim light of the dying fire. A rough, calloused hand rested heavily against my leg... then slowly began sliding up my bare thigh under my skirt.