Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen

Saffron came to with a groan, her head pounding incessantly. Without checking, she could feel a lump at the back of her head.

What had happened? Why did she feel like she had been hit by a truck or her body had gone through a grinder?

She let out another loud groan when she moved her arms, only to feel her hands secured tightly behind her back.

“Wha… what?” she slurred, still feeling groggy as she tugged at her binds sluggishly. How had this happened?

Where was she? Why were her hands tied behind her back? What was going on?

Ivan!

The thought sent a shot of panic through her system, making her body lock up in fear.

“Top of the morning to you. Sleep well?”

She heard a voice say, startling her to full wakefulness.

“Who are you?” she croaked, cringing inwardly when she heard the croakiness in her voice.

“I ask the questions here, girl,” he stated, stepping into her line of sight.

She inhaled a sharp breath as she took him in—the sharpness of his mouth and the jagged line that went right from his temple down to his cheeks and disappearing into the neck of his sweatshirt.

She had no idea what she was more terrified of: the fact that she was bound and at the mercy of this guy or the fact that she had no idea what the Alpha was going to do to her now that it was clear he knew that she had seen what she wasn’t supposed to have seen.

Now, more than ever, she hated her stupid, crazy impulsive, curious self, for staying and listening in, even when the voice had warned her against it. And even when she knew that she was putting herself directly in harm’s way, she had still stayed.

If only she had chosen to listen to the voice for once and went on her way, then she wouldn’t be here, and her life wouldn’t be at stake.

No one knew where she was, so the thought of having someone come for her flew out of her mind.

Besides, there was actually no one to come after her.

Not for the first time, she was alone and at the mercy of someone who could very well kill her.

But, it was the first time that she was well and truly scared. From the manic gleam in the eyes of her captor, Saffron knew that her death was not going to be easy or painless.

No, she could imagine all the horrible things this man would do to her before her body succumbed into the arms of death itself.

Bound and helpless, Saffron realized just how little she had valued her life and how careless she had been acting since she had been taken from her home against her will and brought to the island.

She had been so angry at her father, the Alpha, his men, and generally everyone on the island who had treated her badly.

That anger had clouded her judgment and made her act irrationally. And now, even the voice was so angry at her that it wouldn’t even talk to her and reassure her that she wasn’t going to die.

Or perhaps, it was still reeling from the aftereffects of seeing the guy they were both infatuated with seek release from somewhere else, all while she had been standing and watching the scene like it was a movie.

And the asshole had just stood there, daring her to join them or leave. But she had done neither, until the very last minute. And that had cost her a lot, as evidenced by her bounded form and the silence in her head.

But it didn’t matter anyway. The Alpha would have found ways to get to her, even if she had been within the confines of the slave quarters, since he basically owned the island and everyone within it.

“The name's Alaric, Alaric Vaughn,” her captor introduced with a charming smile, cutting into her thoughts. “A pleasure to meet you. Now, a little bird told me that you went sniffing where you weren’t allowed. Is that true?”

Saffron inhaled a sharp breath, her heartbeat accelerating.

She was well and truly screwed.

She had thought that the Alpha and his men were scary. But this man, the way he smiled at her, made all of her alarm bells tingle with clear signs of danger, warning her away from him. But there was nowhere to go.

She began to frantically search for a way out, but it came back fruitless. She was being held in a warehouse of sorts, which from the looks of it, only had one exit.

She would have to get through her captive and his companions—if he had any—outside. And not to forget Ivan, the person who had knocked her out and likely the one who had brought her here…wherever here was.

Even if she had not been bound to the chair, Saffron knew that there was no way she could make it out of here while Alaric was still with her. And coupled with the unknown factors of where she was and who else was here with them, Saffron knew that she couldn’t be impulsive.

She had to play it safe until she had all the facts. Only then would she make her grand escape.

‘Happy birthday to me,’ she thought with a grimace.

With a resigned sigh, she raised her chin up to stare into the eyes of her captor with a sense of bravado she most certainly was not feeling at that moment. But hey, as the saying went, fake it till you make it.

She was going to act like she wasn’t terrified of her situation until she was able to find out how to escape.

“Where am I? And why am I here?” she asked, licking her dry lips.

“Wrong question, girl,” Alaric hissed, shaking his head.

“What do you want from me?” she tried again, hoping that this time around he would deign to answer her question.

“What did you see?” he asked, arranging his expression into seriousness.

“Noth…”

“Think carefully before you lie to me, dear girl,” Alaric threatened, interrupting her, all hint of playfulness dropping from his expression. “I know you were at the cabin earlier today and eavesdropped on a conversation you had no business listening in. So I ask you again, what did you hear?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” she denied, shaking her head profusely. “I didn’t hear or see anything.”

Alaric shook his head in disappointment as he advanced toward her.

This time around, his nostrils flared, his eyes heating up with raw anger. “Tell me what you heard, and I might just be inclined to let you go.”

“I told you,” Saffron gritted her teeth, staring him down with faux bravado. “I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn’t hear or see anything.”

Alaric let out a furious breath as he raised his hand and slapped her hard across her right cheek.

Saffron let out a howl as the pain blossomed against her cheek with a burning sensation.

“What did you hear?” he asked again, through her howls, grabbing a fistful of her hair painfully. “Tell me, what did you hear?”

Saffron whimpered, tears pooling from her eyes and rolling down her cheeks as he pulled at the growing lump on her scalp.

Oh, why had she decided to eavesdrop on that conversation?

She flinched when he raised a hand to hit her again, releasing a sigh of relief when someone shouted for him to stop.

Saffron gasped for breath when he released her from his punishing grip and took a step back.

Ivan came into view just then.

And the sight of him sent chills down her spine.

He stared down at her scornfully, before he gestured at Alaric to follow him out.

Without a word or another glance at her, both men walked out of the warehouse, leaving her alone to stew in her pain and thoughts.

Slowly breathing in and out, Saffron began to talk herself into relaxing through the pain, tugging at the binds which held her captive to the metal chair.

If only she could find something to cut whatever it was that bound her arms, she could make her escape before they returned.

She had no idea what they were willing to do to her, just to find out what she had heard which wasn’t much.

She didn’t let her mind dwell on the fact that she had no idea where she was or how she would be able to escape without being caught by either man.

All that mattered at the moment was getting out of her bindings. The rest she would figure out later when she was as far away from this warehouse as was physically possible.