Free The Alpha's Heart (Wilde Creek Two) by R. E. Butler

the walls were cement block and the fourth was wallboard and a wooden door.  Her arms were stretched over her head, her wrists shackled together, and around her ankles were padlocked chains.  Her feet were on the ground, but her shoulders ached and her hands and arms tingled from being forced upright.  The wolf had been snapping and biting at her again and again.  She’d kicked out whenever he came close, but he was always faster, dodging just out of reach.  She’d lost both heels at some point in her attempt to keep him away, and her feet were now numb from the cold cement floor.
    Dropping her head back, she looked up at the unfinished ceiling and exposed pipes, wishing she were strong enough to pull down the pipe she was attached to, and take a chunk of the wolf’s hide off with it.  But she’d tried unsuccessfully to pull the pipe free.  Her wrists were bleeding and swollen from her attempts.
    A moan caught in her throat as the wolf bit her ankle, sending pain shivering up her leg.   This was how she was going to die — chained up in a basement, bleeding to death from tiny cuts.
    With a furious scream, she kicked out blindly and was surprised when she connected with the soft side of the wolf.  He yelped and she lifted her head to watch him as he growled angrily.
    “Fucking knock it off, Taylor,” a man said as he kicked the wolf.  “I told you not to hurt her too badly yet.”
    Yet.  An ominous word if she ever heard one.
    Brynn licked her dry lips.  She asked the question she’d asked several times already, whenever he or the other man came into the room.  Of the three men, this one, that the others called Rufus, appeared to be the one in charge.  She thought he looked vaguely familiar, as did the other two, which told her that they were part of Acksel’s pack.  Perhaps the ones he had banished that Mia had told her about.
    “What do you want from me?”
    Rufus looked at her, far enough away she couldn’t kick him.  The chains on her ankles didn’t give her much reach.
    “Nothing, for now.”
    The first time she’d seen him, she had bargained, bribed, begged — anything to get him to let her go.  It became clear quickly that he wasn’t going to set her free until something happened.  Whatever he was waiting for, though, he wouldn’t tell her.
    A woman strode into the room.  She was tall and blonde, and would have been pretty if not for the nasty sneer on her face.  “They found the note and mobilized the males.”
    “Good,” Rufus said.  “You have an hour.  No permanent damage to her or the pup.”
    The woman made a sound of protest.  “You said I could kill her.”
    “If he won’t step down.  When Barry meets him at the Boat House, we’ll see what he has to say when he sees her blood-stained clothing.  Get to work.”
    “Fine,” the woman hissed.  She looked down at the wolf, whose teeth were bared.  “You’ve had your fun, Taylor.  It’s my turn.”
    The wolf made a snorting sound and trotted away as the woman pulled a knife from her pocket and waved it at Brynn tauntingly.
    Brynn jerked against the chains.  “Why are you doing this?  I’m pregnant.  Please don’t hurt me or my baby!”
    The knife tapped against the top button of Brynn’s blouse and she stilled immediately.  With a flick, the button popped off and bounced on the concrete.  “I know you’re pregnant, bitch.”
    “Why are you doing this?”  Brynn repeated as the buttons of her blouse continued to fall to the floor.
    “What am I, a cartoon villain?”  The woman snorted.  “All you need to know is that you made a big mistake getting into bed with that wolf.  If you’re lucky, you’ll make it out of here alive.  I hope you aren’t lucky.”
    Brynn glared at the woman.  “Acksel’s going to skin you alive when he finds you.”
    For a second, fear flashed in the woman’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced with hatred.  “I’d worry about myself if I were you.”
    She