Pact

Violetta

In one swift move, he picked me up and tossed me back on the bed. Wincing at the pain, I dropped my gaze. There was no escape. Choosing a different tactic, I cleared my throat. "I apologize, Alpha. How can I be of service to you?"

With a growl, he settled in the chair on the other side. It was almost comical to watch him fit his large body in the small armchair. With a frown, he picked up the crowbar and studied it before letting it fall back to the floor.

"I am not here to take what's mine, so relax," he growled.

Take what was his. I tried not to wince. It was true that I was his mate. That gave him plenty of power over me, power he'd never wielded. If he wanted to bed me, he would have done it before now. That gave me a little bit of peace, so I readjusted myself on the bed so I was more comfortable and tried not to stare at the dresser that was blocking my path.

"For three years, I've left you alone. Given you a place to live. Let you do whatever you wanted so long as you didn't try to escape or cause trouble."

"Look, what happened tonight..."

"I know exactly what happened tonight," he cut in sharply. "Don't interrupt me again."

Inside me, my wolf howled mournfully. I'd upset our mate. Closing my eyes, I tried to push her down. Try as I might, I still couldn't talk her out of this stupid mate bond. I didn't really know how wolves chose their mates, but she'd picked a terrible one. As far as I knew, there was no way to change the mating, but that didn't stop me from trying. Obviously, my wolf had lost her mind.

He didn't want an apology, so I didn't give it. I just waited to see what the hell he wanted.

"I think it's time we talk about what you owe this pack. What you owe me."

My veins ran cold, and for the first time, I met his gaze head-on. My wolf dove deep inside of me until all I could feel was her fear, but I didn't let her control me. Ferrara's words echoed another's.

My father's.

He nearly killed me. If Ferrara wanted something from me, he was going to discover that I wasn't just going to roll over and give it to him. Not this time.

"My father's crimes are not mine," I said steadfastly.

"Once again, I point out where you are. Did I not rescue you from him? I could have killed you that night. There are those who questioned my leadership for not ending your life.

Instead, I gave you a chance here."

"I earned my keep. Confections bar is your most profitable restaurant. Parker said so. Do you think he did that? He spent most of his time drinking with the customers. You think Charlie does that? He spends his days tormenting me and riling up everyone else to torment me. I came up with the new menu. I called the distributors. I marketed this place, and I'm the one who does all the paperwork. I don't get a paycheck, and now I don't get to keep my tips. I've worked from open to close every single day since you put Charlie in charge. I owe you nothing."

Ferrara raised an eyebrow, but I didn't stop. I was done being a tool. "You don't want me here? I am more than happy to leave. You want something from me? Don't play games. Just tell me."

"Parker complained relentlessly about that mouth of yours. I guess you've grown a spine."

There was that strange ache again. Odd that I would miss someone.

"I haven't grown anything. You just didn't bother to get to know anything about me before you abandoned me here. What do you want?"

"Tell me about Wisteria Wood."

The bluster went out of me, and I jerked my gaze to the floor.

Violetta, you have to run. Right now.

Shit.

"I've heard of the name...."

"Don't bullshit me, Violetta, or you'll discover just how fucking merciful I've been," he growled. "I know you disappeared from your father for six months. He left a trail of bodies trying to get you back, some of them mine. Wolves I was supposed to protect. I also know that he retrieved you from Wisteria Wood. You will tell me what you know."

Ferrara hadn't shown up because of an alarm or because of reports that I was trying to escape. He'd already been on his way here. That was the only explanation on how he'd gotten here so fast.

He'd been on his way here, at four o'clock in the morning, to wake me up and grill me on Wisteria Wood. That meant whatever Ferrara wanted from Wisteria Wood, it was damn important.

"Wisteria Wood is home to the most powerful coven in the region, the Darkwyn coven.

There are no roads big enough for vehicles. Rogue shifters call Wisteria Woods home, at least those powerful enough to survive the magic seeped into the trees and ground. The witches let them live because they make it impossible for anyone stupid enough to try to get there. My father was a killer and a liar. If he said he found me in Wisteria Wood, it was to serve his own needs."

"He's not my only source of information."

Great. So either Ferrara had been working for a while on getting as much information as he could about Wisteria Wood, or the few who knew I'd been there blabbed their mouths.

Neither of those options was good for me. The last thing I needed was every wolf to know I could get them to Wisteria Wood.

Most packs housed one solitary witch. Any more than that, and the pack became a turf war. There wasn't a huge need for witches. At least, not anymore since most of the packs were at peace. Because of that, shifters didn't bother traversing through Wisteria Wood.

Only witches wanted to get to Darkwyn coven.

The world was full of magic. Most suspected that magic to be the source of shifters themselves, but witches closely guarded magic. Some of the solitary ones were attached to packs and clans. Symbiotic protection. Some tried to disappear into the human world, but the most powerful witches were isolated in impossible-to-reach compounds.

Darkwyn coven was the only witch compound on this side of Shadowed Moon. They were reportedly incredibly powerful.

"Being alpha to the biggest pack in the region isn't good enough for you?" I asked softly.

"Greed is an excellent path to death. Just ask my father."

Ferrara was on his feet and climbing over me in an instant. My back pressed into the mattress, and I stared at him, for the first time, without fear.

He needed me.

"Snapping my neck isn't going to get the information that you want." "True, but there is only so much pain a person can take before they break. Do you know your breaking point?" He whispered.

"A lifetime of torture, and no one's found the breaking point yet." I held his gaze longer than I'd ever looked any shifter in the eye. My heart pounded in my chest, and I swallowed hard.

Heat radiated from where his hard thighs pressed against mine, but there was no fear.

Even when his golden eyes flashed.

"You want to get to Wisteria Wood. You need me, but I'm not going to tell you how I did it. I'm not that stupid. I don't get anything out of that."

"Is there something you want, Violetta?" Was it just my imagination, or was his voice wrapping around me like that of a lover?

I tried not to think about that too hard. "You take me with you, but once you're there, I'm gone. You let me go with no strings attached."

"You think I trust you enough to lead me and my men through a territory teeming with danger?"

"I think if you're stupid enough to go, you want it enough to do anything. You could torture me for the information, but I guarantee it's nothing I haven't already experienced. Hard to torture a broken wolf. You can't threaten to kill me because I've been waiting for death for years. The only thing you can offer me is freedom, and we both know you aren't going to let me go until you have what you want. If you can fight off the rogue wolves, I can handle the magic of Wisteria Wood. I can get you to the compound, and then we're done. I go somewhere no one has ever heard of me. I change my name. And we're both free."

Free of this stupid bond that was clawing into me even now.

"Just like your father. No loyalty to anyone but yourself," he snarled.

He was wrong. I had plenty of loyalty. Enough that I would kill him before I let him set foot in that witch's compound.

"If you won't see a healer, then you need to shift and heal your damn leg. Get some sleep, and pack lightly. We leave first thing Friday morning."

He eased off me and headed for the door. I sucked in a deep breath and pushed myself up.

"There's just one other thing."

With a growl, he turned. "What?"

"We have to travel as humans. My wolf will never come out around your guards."

Or you.

He snarled and shoved the dresser so hard against the wall that it splintered. I winced at the sound. "One more thing."

"Christ," he hissed.

"Charlie isn't to touch me before we leave. He, or anyone else. He has a key to my apartment. For all I know, they all do."

"Confections bar is closed for business until Friday," he grunted and turned. "But the place will be watched. If you try to leave before then, they'll take you down, Violetta. By any means necessary."