Chapter 2

I don't know how long I was looking at the door before it was pushed open. The force behind it almost causing it to fall from its hinges.

Jayson looked pissed off. I'm not talking pissed off in that he wants to smash up a few trees, I am talking pissed off in that he wants to rip heads from bodies. Not that I could blame him, I am sure it was Blake's job to begin the torture, but instead he's demanding my release.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Jayson shouted, his eyes moving to Blake who was still eyeing me like I was the most wonderful thing in the world. If I didn't have a set of silver handcuffs around my wrists at this moment, I would have shifted and probably killed him.

“You wouldn't have done that though because I wouldn't have allowed you to touch him.” My wolf voicing her opinion, her unwelcome opinion which wasn't going to change what I thought of Blake.

"Funny story. Turns out your Beta is my mate. Hilarious, right?" I found myself laughing as the words left my mouth but it would appear Jayson didn't have a sense of humour since he just glared at me. I swear, if looks could kill, then I would be dead right now.

"You kill my men. I couldn't care less if you were my mate, there's no way in hell I am releasing you," Jayson snapped.

"You know, given the choice between freedom in your pack and torture, torture wins every single time." I shrugged, my eyes never leaving the blue ones of the asshole who called himself an Alpha. His previously blue ones were slowly turning an impressive shade of black, but that still wasn't enough to scare me.

I had met and fought bigger Alphas than himself. Sure, he ruled over the second biggest and powerful pack in the country, but there were Alphas out there who were just as feared as he was; he would be an idiot to think otherwise.

Take Alpha Eric Jones for example. He is the Alpha of the Dark Rise pack and has shed just about as much blood as Jayson has in his reign, despite the fact Eric's pack is one the smallest in the country. Still, I fought him and he released me under the promise that I wouldn't cross his borders again - a promise I kept, other than the time I deliberately caught myself caught so that I could ask Eric for help.

But that's a story for another time. A story which is best time when a more appropriate time called for it to be told.

"You will speak. Even if I have to drag you to the point of death to make you speak," Jayson retorted. I could tell that he was doing everything within his power not to shift which is why I was having this much fun.

"You should try something different. Alpha Parker and Alpha David already did that to me." I chuckled, the amusement covering my face and I wasn't even attempting to hide it.

"You are really pushing your luck," Jayson replied.

"Seriously? I am only just doing that? I must be slacking," I said, the sarcasm dripping for every single word I spoke.

“If he kills us, I am coming back, and I will kill you again.” My wolf was pretty much growling in annoyance at me now. I am sure if it was a real person then it would have slapped sense into me by now but, since it was trapped under the surface, I could continue to ignore its advice.

"I want you to leave, Blake," Jayson said through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving my own.

"Yeah, Blake. Jayson would like a friendly word with me about my reasons for killing eighty of his men," I stated humorlessly as I threw my leg across my knee and folded my arms the best that I could, showing him that he didn't really scare me all that much.

"You know, sixty-five of those men had mates and thirty of them had pups. I find it hard to believe that you don't care about that." Jayson smiled.

Damn. Give the man a medal. He actually managed to smile, though it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"I'm a rogue. I will kill without thought. I don't have the time to care and I certainly don't have the time to pretend I actually have a heart." I shrugged carelessly.

"What I would like to know is how the hell you managed to overpower some of the best trained fighters, without any help?" Jayson mused and I took a moment to look across at Blake.

He was probably only an inch or two taller than I was, his dirty blond hair was all over the place from the number of times he had run his hands through it while we were waiting for Jayson to arrive and I would be lying if I said his muscles didn't look impressive in the shirt he was wearing.

He literally looked like he was ready to attack Jayson the moment he put a finger on any part of my body. His gaze following every single movement Jayson made, if I didn't hate him and kind of want him dead, then I probably would have appreciated his protection a little more.

"Who says I took them down without any help?" I returned the question without hesitation.

"There's not a man out there is stupid enough to help a rogue. They especially wouldn't dare help a rogue who was residing so close to the border of another territory," Jayson replied with confidence.

"If that's the case then I guess I took them all down on my own. Me, a week she-wolf who has been living the life of a rogue for ten years, single handedly killed eighty of your best fighters. Men who had been trained from the age of twelve to fight." I grinned at the simple fact.

Jayson stalked across the room to where I was sitting and I could feel the anger radiating off him with each step he dared to take towards me. I almost welcomed the violence which he was about to use only, the second he raised his hand, Blake was already in front of me and had taken the hit for himself.

"Don't touch her." I heard Blake growl. I looked between the two men and I was sure Jayson would win in a fight, but then Blake was pissed because he had dared to touch me, so I wouldn't put it past him to be able to kick Jayson's ass right now.

"Leave," Jayson stated.

"I want her released," Blake demanded, his hands clenching into fists at his sides, like he was just about ready to punch Jayson for demanding that he leave.

“This is your fault. You should have kept your mouth shut.” My wolf reprimanded me and I simply shook my head, but I knew that wasn't going to be enough for her, not when Blake was in danger and she could feel the things he could feel.

This whole mate thing was really fucked up. I didn't want to feel his pain or know that he cared about me the moment he laid eyes upon me in this room. I didn't even want to belong to this man, but there was something inside me which was preventing me from fully rejecting him as my mate.

Perhaps it was the knowledge that I wouldn't get a second chance at this and it would be pointless to waste it now I knew who the hell he was or perhaps it was because part of me knew what was coming and knew he was going to suffer the very same as I was or perhaps I was just intrigued enough to hang on to a little bit of hope for the two of us.

Whatever the reason was, full-blown rejection wasn't even an option. Not now that I had seen him for the first time because a connection had been formed, I simply wasn't going to act on the connection in the way people expected me to act.

"There's no way in hell that's going to happen. I want information from her and then she can spend the rest of her days locked down here, like the rest of the scum we capture," Jayson's voice was so full of hatred and venom that I was surprised he didn't kill me right now.

"Scum? That's a new one. Not heard that before," I spoke up to remind the two of them that I was still here while they were having a battle of egos with each other.

"If you even think of touching her, I will kill you Jayson. That's not even a threat, that's a damn promise," Blake managed to say. I was impressed to see that he was brave enough to take a step closer to the man who had the power to banish him if he continued to speak out of term.

"I do like a good murder. Can I have front row tickets?"

“Will you keep that mouth of yours shut. You're being childish and petty now.” I was getting more and more pissed off with the words of my wolf. Just because I couldn't shift didn't mean she had the right to comment on every little thing about me.

"The only person who will be dying is you," Jayson finally pushed Blake away with such force that when Blake hit the wall behind him, a new dent appeared and I must admit I did like a man with strength.

"Either kill me or stop threatening to do it. It's just boring now," I replied. I didn't have the time to register what was happening before I felt Jayson's hand around my throat, his strength pinning me against the wall as grip tightened and I struggled for breath.

I could see black dots appearing in the corner of my eyes as tears blurred what little vision I actually had left. I was amazed it had taken this long for Jayson to lose his temper, but I was impressed at his tolerance level for my sarcasm.

I was sure he continued to tighten his grip and the black dots soon vanished. I was greeted with the welcoming sense of darkness and I didn't bother fighting against it. For the first time since I formulated my revenge plan, I didn't bother fighting against the inevitable.