Chapter 1 The Escape

   THERE ARE TRIGGER WARNINGS IN THIS BOOK. THE WEREWOLVES IN THIS SERIES ARE VERY ANIMALISTIC. READ WITH CAUTION. THANK YOU

"Get up," the beast man yells at us.

  We all scramble to our feet in hopes of not aggitating him. He spits, kicks, and hits if we don't move fast enough. On multiple occasions he has also drug one of us away for the night. 

  "Buyers are coming tonight. I expect each of you to be on your best behavior," he snarls, and my head falls. 

   Matted dirty hair brushes my cheek as I try to be invisible. Not once has he touched me, but I don't think it is due to my luck. I think it is due to the chain on my wrist. The gleaming gold chain that he eyes everytime he comes into the room. None of the other girls have one, and it was placed on me the night I was stolen from my room. 

"Shakira will sort you," he growls out before finally leaving our dungeon. 

***

   "Shakira, who is Shakira," one of the more beaten girls asks as she looks around the room. 

   I shrug. Most of us have been here for four days, and the only monster we have seen is him. 

  "So there is a woman here also," she sneers, and many of the others shush her. 

   I move back to my place against the wall. I don't like her rebellious personality at all. Fighting back I understand but she is mouthy for no reason. She constantly back talks our captor, but never fights back in any other ways. Not that I can really talk. I am probably the biggest coward here. I would never try to physically fight against him...he is a monster and I am weaker than an average teenager.

  As far as strength goes, we are all weak though. When he stole me from my home, he was in his other form and he tossed me around like a ragdoll. I learned then that he wasn't a man with average strength. Plus any girl who has fought against him here hasn't even drawn blood. No.... Fighting won't save us....if we can even be saved. We need to outsmart him and we need to do it now. 

   "Furnace," I whisper, and the girl next to me looks around confused. 

   "I'm going to build up the furnace's pressure. I have been thinking about it. It's the only thing we have," I whisper, and her eyes widen as she begins to understand what I am saying to her.  

  "Do you know how," she asks, and I nod while pressing a finger to my lips.

  "I need a couple minutes. The room will get extremely hot, but trust me," I whisper, and she nods. 

  I learned the second day I was here that the monster has good hearing. Better than mine, that's for sure.  I also learned that the girl next to me is one of the sweetest people in the world. She has tried to save every girl he has taken. Even if he hits her or kicks her....she tries. Bravery like that deserves to be saved. 

  I quickly wedge my thin frame underneath the old iron furnace, and she moves to sit cross-legged in front of it. I take deep breathes as I focus all my brainpower on remembering which dial does what. I haven't seen one of these in years, but luckily for all of us, I asked quite a few questions when the repairman was working on my father's. 

  I twist the steam faucet completely closed and raise the temperature before hurrying back out. 

  "Did you do it," she whispers, and I nod quickly. 

  "Should we move," she asks, and again, I nod. 

   "Towards the window," I whisper, and she nods before moving quickly. 

  "What about the others," she asks, and a cold feeling churns my stomach. 

  "I'm not sure if we will even survive," I admit, and she nods while her eyes get a determined glaze. 

  "You gave us a chance. That's all that matters," she whispers before lacing her hand with mine. 

   As the seconds tick by and the heat in the room becomes stifling, the door to our personal hell swings open again. But instead of a woman, our eyes meet a muscular man with a scar on his chin. 

  His eyes slide over us all before they land on my wrist. He smirks as the gold chain practically calls out to him. The girl holding my hand immediately stands up, and panic punches me in the stomach.  I glance at the pressure gauge on the furnace just as the needle hits the red. 

   "Who are you," my prison buddy asks, pulling my attention back to our visitor. 

  "No one that concerns you," he answers in a voice similar to what I think a male model would sound like. 

   He steps towards us, and time seems to slow down. I look at the gauge just as one of the pipes bursts. My buddy grabs me and shields me just as the furnace explodes. The man roars, and the other girls scream. Glass shatters behind us, and my buddy acts faster than my brain can think. She shoves me through the window quickly before following right behind me. 

  "Run, don't stop! Run," she screams, and I immediately follow her orders. 

   My ears pick up on the angry shouts and horrified screams coming from the dungeon-like basement, but there isn't anything we can do for them. All we can do is run. 

  "Head for that truck," she yells, and my eyes locate the old beat-up Ford. 

   I get to the passenger door and yank. It swings open just as she climbs into the driver's seat. 

  "Please, please," she mumbles while searching the cab for the keys. 

  I reach for the sun visor above the steering wheel. As soon as I pull it down, the keys fall, and we both practically cry with happiness. 

  "Thank you, Lord," my escape buddy yells as she starts the truck and rips it into reverse. 

  She maneuvers the truck like a seasoned wheel girl as she gets us to the gravel road. Just as my panic begins to dim, the old house containing our kidnappers explodes, and I scream. 

  "It's okay," she says, and I frantically look between her and the old two-story house in the middle of nowhere. 

  "No one else escaped," I cry, and she nods. 

  "I know, but we did," she replies, and my tears begin to fall for the other girls.  

  "What was I thinking," I mumble before glancing back at the inferno to see our kidnapper watching us drive away. 

  "He survived," I yell while pointing out the back window. 

  She hits the gas, and the tires spray gravel as we speed away from him. He doesn't move, and I don't turn back around until we are miles away. 

  *****

"My name is Amber, by the way," I whisper before glancing at the girl driving. 

  "Really, mine too," she says, and my mouth falls open. 

   "What are the odds of that," I ask, and she laughs before coughing. 

    "Hey, are you okay," I ask, and she gives me a weak smile. 

   "I think I have a cracked rib, to be honest," she answers, and my eyes widen. 

   "I have my learners permit. You can pull over, and I can take over," I reply, and she nods before pulling off onto the shoulder. 

   I get out, and she scoots across the bench seat. My eyes quickly take in our surroundings before I jump back in the cab. I take a deep breath and ease back on the road at a much slower pace. 

  "Well, distract me, other Amber....how old are you," Amber asks as she tries to get comfortable in the passenger seat. 

  "I just turned sixteen. Umm, I live with my dad...and I liked dogs up until I met the guy who turns into a big one," I joke, and she laughs before wincing. 

  "I'm 18. I've been on my own for years. I still like dogs," she says, and I give her a small smile. 

  "Where do you think we are," I ask after a moment of silence, and she shrugs. 

  "I'm not sure. I was at a bus stop in Kansas when I was snatched," Amber says, and my eyes widen again. 

   "I was in my room in South Carolina. My father is a congressman," I admit, and Amber whistles. 

  "Well, your face should be on the news. Let's find a town. Hospitals and police stations are easy to spot," Amber says while offering me a small smile. 

  I smile back. I like other Amber. 

*******

  "Amber wake up," I say as I pull into the first gas station we have seen. 

   She groans, but her eyes flutter as she comes to. 

  "Wake up. Do you have any money," I ask as she begins to become more alert. 

  "Umm. No, I dont. Did you see a sign? Where are we," she asks as she begins to look around? 

   "Honestly, I haven't. I have been trying to keep my eyes open mostly," I admit, and she nods. 

  "Go use the phone. Let the cashier know you have been kidnapped," Amber says, and I nod before getting out. 

  She shoots me a thumbs up as I walk past the front of the truck, and I smile. I honestly dont know who is going to believe our story, but I am so happy to have escaped with her. 

  The doorbell chimes as I enter, and the older man behind the register looks me over with concerned eyes as I approach him. 

  "Hey, I was wondering if I could use your phone to call the police...my friend and I just escaped from a kidnapper," I explain as plainly as I can while trying not to sound crazy. 

  "Oh my lord, are you okay," he asks as he comes around the counter with a cordless phone in his hand. 

  "For the most part. My friend is hurt, though," I say, and he nods while dialing nine-one-one. 

  He hands me the phone, and I offer him a small smile before looking out the window at where I parked the truck. But the image that meets my eyes makes my blood run cold. Two huge men are holding Amber by her arms while a third man is holding a gun to the back off her head. 

   "9-1-1, what's your emergency," the operator answers as tears begin to fall down my face. 

  "My name is Amber Gavens. I am Senator Gavens, daughter. I have been kidnapped," I whisper before hanging up and running. 

   I barely hear the phone fall or the older gentlemen yelling for me to stop. Every instinct I possess is telling me to get outside. To get to Amber. To stop them before they kill her. 

  "Please don't," I scream as soon as I am outside and in front of them. 

  The huge man with the gun grins before tilting his head to the side and pulling the trigger. The other two drop Amber like she is nothing before advancing on me and I just stand there frozen........ Staring at the growing puddle of blood.