Hers From The Start: A Collection of First In Series Reverse Harem Page 9

  Jitters filled my stomach as I waited for my wolves to return. Logically, I knew they were only inside the cell next to me, and that it would only take thirty seconds or so for me to get to them, but for some reason, that wasn't much of a reassurance at this point. Something had me on edge, and I wasn't sure exactly what it was. Maybe it was just the whole creepy atmosphere surrounding us all. The history of the building was enough to make anyone with magic nervous. The witch hunters had been notorious in their cruelty.

  The hairs on the nape of my neck rose to attention at the sound of someone breathing behind me. Not wanting to spook whoever it was, I turned slowly, trying to make my movements appear natural and not done out of fear. None of the wolves would do that, it wouldn't make any sense for them to. Which meant it must be someone else.

  All that loomed behind me were more doors to more cells. All of them closed. Presumably empty too, assuming that Mika and Jacob had already checked them. If not, we still had a lot still to check. Maybe I should help out by looking in through the windows and seeing if I could spot anyone. Once the men were back out again, they could then help anyone that needed it.

  No. I couldn't do that. I promised I'd stand out here, and we didn't know who might stumble across us anyway. If it was a foe...I dreaded to think.

  "Ahhh," I screamed out as a hand clasped over my mouth, pulling me backwards. I hoped it was loud enough for my wolves to hear.

  The man's other hand tightened around my stomach, crushing it a little painfully as he pulled me back into him hard.

  Shit. This wasn't good in the slightest.

  I squirmed in the man's hold as his heavy breathing assailed my ears. His rancid breath hit my cheeks and I tried my best not to wince.

  "Get off me," I shouted into his hand, only to have the sound muffled.

  He ignored me, as unsurprising as that was. I'd have ignored me too in his position. I could be annoying at times.

  Magic warmed my hands, the apparent threat enough to draw it to the surface unbidden. Good magic. Now all I needed to do was touch the man's skin. Maybe he'd end up going the same way as Ruairidh, even if I still had no clue how I'd managed it the first time.

  I wiggled again, trying to grab hold of him.

  "I don't think so, Princess," he sneered as he snapped something cold and hard around my left wrist.

  My magic disappeared instantly.

  Double shit.

  This just went from bad to worse. I hoped one of the wolves would leave the room, even if it was just used as a distraction while I got this stupid manacle that was blocking my powers off. I hadn't even thought these things existed until this second. Maybe it was a witch hunter invention. It seemed like their kind of thing. A way to stop anyone from doing anything to stop them dominating the world and ridding it of magic.

  Alright, that was a little over dramatic. It was only witches they'd had a problem with. Though that logic made no sense to me at all.

  "You might experience some discomfort at first, but you'll get used to it," the man promised. "They all do."

  Well that explained the lack of magic from the other men. My guess was that if we went back and looked at their wrists, we'd find similar contraptions to the one I was wearing.

  I struggled against him again, determined to knock him off and get free.

  Where the fuck were the wolves? This was becoming ridiculous. The whole point of the mating bond was so I never had to be alone and facing shit like this. So why had they suddenly decided not to answer my calls?

  Logically, I knew it was just because of whatever they were dealing with in the cell was more important than me. And whoever or whatever was in there deserved their attention. Plus, I could get out of this. I just needed to figure out how. I had basic hand to hand skills if I managed to loosen his hold. It was just figuring out how to manage that. And then how to get the stupid manacle off. At least it wasn't burning my skin. They must have only designed them to incapacitate rather than torture. Not as reassuring as it should be.

  An idea formed in my mind and I relaxed every muscle I had as much as I could without passing out. The dead weight shocked the man behind me and his grip loosened. Halfway to the floor, I twisted around, breaking his hold completely.

  I didn't wait for him to catch on to what was happening and screamed loudly while aiming a kick at his stomach.

  He flew backwards the moment my foot connected with the soft flesh, but he was already picking himself back up again before I could do anything about the bracelet on my arm. Hopefully it'd be as easy as just finding a catch on the outside, but somehow, I doubted it. There was probably some kind of key. Which meant I needed to incapacitate my captor and search his pockets. Great, just what I needed.

  I readied myself, trying to avoid the nerves assailing me as I noticed his hands start to glow. Just my luck. I got someone without one of the stupid manacles.

  Never mind, I'd manage. Somehow. I had no idea exactly how yet, but I'd work it out.

  The man rushed at me and I ducked, just missing his arm as he lashed out. Hooking my leg around, I tried to sweep him off his feet, and ended up getting nowhere. He jumped, too quick for my movements.

  A flash of fur flew past me and knocked the man to the floor. The wolf snarled in the man's face.

  "Go, Charlie, go," I muttered, recognising the colour of his pelt and feeling somewhat proud of myself for that. I liked the idea of me knowing the differences between my men in their animal forms.

  I got to my feet and dusted myself off, prowling towards the pair. The man sneered at me, despite being busy with a wolf on his front. Not the best position to be getting smug in, at least, not as far as I was concerned.

  "Good luck, Princess," the man sneered. Wait, what? That made no sense, why was he telling me good luck?

  He crunched down on something and foam bubbled up around the corners of his mouth. Shit, what had he done? His eyes rolled back into his head and his body began to convulse as contractions took over.

  Great. He'd taken some kind of drug, though it'd have had to be a really strong dose in order to have the effect it was. Normally paranormals could deal with anything they imbued easily, especially those of us with magic. We could just decide not to let it affect us. It was a neat trick, and one I'd used many times while partying at uni. I hated being in a vulnerable position, so drinking to get drunk wasn't for me. But I loved to dance, making that the perfect combination. Izzy had loved the buzz of being drunk though, so often chose to let it affect her. I'd always been fine with that but had to take care of her more than once.

  Charlie whined and jumped off the man, dragging my thoughts back to the events at hand. I really shouldn't let myself get so distracted in moments like this.

  The man's convulsions had slowed down but were still going. If I had my magic I might have been able to do something, but then again, why should I? He'd tried to attack me and had blocked my magic, neither of which were particularly endearing things for me.

  I glanced back at Charlie, surprised to discover he'd shifted back to human form already without me noticing. He was as fun to look at as Zeke had been at least. I could get used to the attractive men all around me.

  "What happened?" I could feel the nerves coming from him as he asked. That was new. Interesting.

  "He took me by surprise," I answered gingerly, hating to admit it was my own fault but knowing I should.

  "Why weren't you using your magic sword?" he asked, glancing back at the man at our feet.

  The foam was coming out much faster than it had before, but the convulsions had stopped. I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, and probably never would. Without knowing what he took, I'd be working completely blind.

  Instead of answering Charlie's question aloud, I held up the wrist restrained by the heavy manacle.

  "What the fuck is that?" he demanded.

  "I wish I knew, but the moment he put it on, my magic stopped working."

  A horrified look crossed his fac
e and I longed to do something to make it better. Anything even. Maybe a kiss would work on one of the other three, but I didn't think Charlie would be so obliging.

  "How do we get it off?"

  I studied it, unsurprised to find a small keyhole hidden on the underside of it.

  "A key." I sighed. "I guess that means it's time to check our friend's pocket." I shrugged as if it didn't bother me, when in reality, I really didn't want to be touching someone dead.

  Charlie nodded and approached the left-hand side of the now still man. At least we didn't have to fight the convulsions to search now.

  I crouched down on the right-hand side. With a shaking hand, I began to look through his jacket, trying to find what I was sure would be a tiny metal key in the last place the two of us looked for it. Expecting different would be futile.

  "Got it." Charlie's triumphant voice made me jump.

  I relaxed a little once his words had processed and got to my feet. Charlie stepped over the man's body and I tried not to let my gaze travel too far south. That could come at a later time.

  He cupped my face in his hand, taking me by surprise. I hadn't expected him to do that. Not with the tender look in his eyes.

  "Are you okay?" he whispered.

  I nodded. "I'm fine," I assured him.

  He looked like he wanted to say more but didn't.

  "Show me where the key needs to go."

  I took his hand away from my cheek and lowered it to the manacle, feeling around for the keyhole with my own fingers as I did.

  "It's here."

  "Okay." He turned my wrist gently, and I marvelled at the intimacy of the moment. He might just be releasing me from the metal thing's bond, but he was so close, and I could feel the heat of his body next to mine. I wanted him closer. I wanted to feel his skin against mine and feel him inside me....

  Heat rose to my cheeks as I realised the direction my thoughts had taken. Suddenly, I was very grateful they lacked mind reading ability. It really would be awkward if he knew what I was thinking about him. Then again, maybe he'd react to me doing that.

  There was a soft click and a strange relief flooding through me as the manacle let me out of its hold. Magic flowed through my veins again and I knew I could call on it at a moment's notice now. Certainly reassuring.

  "I thought we lost you." Charlie's voice was hoarse, almost as if he'd been crying or shouting a lot.

  "I'm sorry," I replied, at a loss for what else I could possibly say to that.

  "When you screamed..." The look in his eyes said it all. He'd actually been terrified that it'd be the end of me. Though that was likely because it would mean the end of him too. It was a little cruel for mates to only live as long as each other if one of their lives was cut short. Then again, the thought of losing any of my wolves wasn't something I wanted to face. I wouldn't want to go on.

  "I'm sorry," I repeated.

  "Rhianna..." The emotion in his eyes intensified as he gazed down at me.

  I wet my lips, anticipating what was to come. If this was anyone else, I'd have made the first move, but with Charlie, I knew I needed to wait for him. The bond was at a stalemate because of his feelings, I couldn't, and shouldn't, rush him on that. Not when he had a good reason.

  He didn't wait for long, and warm strong lips pressed against mine. My eyes fluttered closed and I leaned into him more. Our bodies becoming one. Or as one as they could be considering I was fully clothed.

  My magic crackled around me and I felt the barrier between the bond and I collapse as he accepted it.

  Pulling back, I laughed a little.

  "What?"

  "Look." I pointed around us so he'd see the carpet of golden leaves which had filled the corridor. That hadn't happened when I'd kissed Mika or Zeke. Maybe it was to do with the bond being sealed? While I hadn't kissed Jacob yet, I knew he accepted what we were.

  "It's beautiful."

  "Thank you," I murmured. "But maybe we shouldn't be standing around kissing when there might still be people wanting to kill us about," I pointed out.

  "There isn't," he countered.

  "What do you mean?"

  "There isn't anyone else trying to kill us. The nine people we've already encountered were all that ran this place."

  "How do you know that?" I hadn't even known that and I'd spent two weeks here.

  "One of the prisoners told us," he said, an uneasy note creeping into his voice.

  "One of?"

  "There's three. One we don't think will be able to make it." He glanced away, a guilty look in his eyes.

  "And you left for me?" I demanded.

  "I needed to. You screamed. We can't ignore our mate being in danger," he pointed out.

  Ah. Yes. I had to give him that. It was understandable that any of us would drop what we were doing in order to help one of our own. That was how it worked.

  "Well what are we waiting for now? Let's go help them."

  "It means going into one of the cells," he pointed out.

  "I know. But the alternative is being left here alone." I shuddered slightly at the thought. As much as the cells scared me still, being out here on my own seemed a little bit more of a risk.

  "There's no one else here..."

  "Let's not argue about this," I countered. "Take me to where the others are."

  "Demanding, aren't you?"

  "Only sometimes."

  A smirk formed at the corner of his mouth. "I see you're going to be a handful, Rhianna."

  "Good job you have three packmates to help share that handful with."

  He laughed. "I'm grateful for that. But I also don't want to share with them all the time."

  "I will always be shared in my heart. But I'm sure we can find some alone time," I ran a finger down the centre of his chest as I spoke, trying not to think about alone time with him too much.

  "I can live with that," he replied, before leaning down and kissing me again.

  I hummed in satisfaction. As much as I was enjoying the kisses, I needed to get the rest of this situation sorted. I pulled away. "Take me to the others?" I asked.

  "Okay," he replied.

  Chapter Ten

  The cell door loomed up in front of me, but this time I knew I was going to go through it, even if I didn't want to. My wolves were through there and they might well need my help, especially if there were three prisoners. Former. I had to remember they were now free.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped through. The relief I felt was surprising. I knew I wouldn't be harmed if I stepped through the door, but it didn't seem to matter. Not in my mind. Not at the moment.

  Even so, I'd done it. I'd made my way through there and into the room where my wolves waited. Charlie walked beside me, surprisingly silent given the circumstances. Maybe he knew this was a struggle for me. Or maybe he was busy thinking about our kiss and the implications of it. There was no denying it had unlocked the bond which he'd forced to a stop.

  "They're just around this corner," he told me.

  I nodded, taking in the room. It wasn't a cell as I'd suspected, but almost like a lab of some kind. My stomach twisted itself into knots over the implications of that. Even if I did know the original owners had been the ones who made it look this way, I wasn't even going to pretend that the people who'd overtaken the place hadn't used it for exactly the same. I was lucky they hadn't decided to use this place on me too.

  Turning the corner, I gasped at the sight in front of me. Charlie hadn't been exaggerating when he said one of the prisoners was near death. The woman was curled up in a ball rocking back and forth, murmuring things I couldn't hear. From the look on Zeke's face, I'd say he didn't understand them either.

  "You're okay." Jacob breathed a sigh of relief as he looked up at me.

  He didn't move from his spot cradling the woman's head to greet me. While that caused a small stab of jealousy within me, it was quickly replaced with a warm fuzzy feeling as I realised it was just showing how much he valued life.

&nb
sp; "I'm fine," I responded quickly, before Charlie could tell them anything about what had happened. There were more important things to focus on right now than what had happened to me. Like the three women who'd been held prisoners here.

  I looked at the other two, trying to determine how they were holding up in the situation. One was huddled on the floor, holding her knees, but clearly well aware of the situation. Her eyes were following everyone's movements and I could tell from the set of her shoulders that it wasn't stress that had her huddled, it was exhaustion.

  The other woman was a different story. The only thing she had in common with the other two was that she wore one of the evil manacles. It was a good job we hadn't gotten rid of the key, but then Charlie had probably thought about that when we'd turned to come back. The woman was angry. No, furious. And beautiful.

  She was everything any woman wanted to be. Fierce, beautiful, strong...and an elf, if the peak of pointy ears through her hair was anything to go by. Though she could easily be a hybrid paranormal. I wasn't too sure.

  "Hi," I said lamely, even going as far as waving my hand. "I'm Rhianna," I added.

  "Arwen," she replied, her voice lyrical and enchanting. Most definitely an elf then. I'd never met any other race whose voice was like that. The only ones I could think of who might be able to challenge the elvish voices were the merfolk, but I'd never met any of them. I wasn't likely to either given the state of the seas.

  "Are you okay?" What a stupid question. Why was I even bothering?

  "As I can be," she replied, a small smirk lifting the side of her mouth. The only person I'd ever seen so unaffected by their own abduction was me, and even I knew I was suppressing my feelings more than I should. "This is Scarlet," she pointed to the woman huddled next to her.

  "Hi Scarlet." I made an awkward little half wave again, completely ignoring my wolves as they tried to help the woman on the floor.

  "And Jenny." Arwen pulled a face.

  "What happened to her?" I asked softly.

  "We don't know, she was brought back like this." She shrugged as if it was a regular occurrence for people to be brought here in this state.