Page 4 of Alpha Chained
The SUV finally slows as we enter a wide, empty field. My heart sinks as I spot the helicopter waiting, blades already lazily spinning. Of course, they’d have air transport ready.
Shit!
They could be taking me anywhere.
“Out,” Parker barks, shoving the muzzle harder into my side. I wince but comply, sliding across the seat and stumbling out onto unsteady feet. The wind whips my hair into my face as I’m roughly pushed toward the chopper.
Parker leans in close, his hot breath on my neck making me shudder. “Don’t try anything funny,” he hisses. “I won’t hesitate to throw you out if you cause me any trouble.”
I swallow hard, trying not to let the fear show on my face as I’m bundled into the helicopter. The engines roar to life, the downdraft from the blades flattening the tall grass. As we lift off, I catch one last glimpse of the road that led us here. The road that would take me back to Steel Lakes…
There’s no way I’m getting out of this chopper until we touch down. And then, who knows where we’ll be.
The towns whiz by below us, smokestacks and warehouses bleeding into a monotonous sprawl. I scan each one desperately, hoping to pick out something – anything – familiar. But it’s no use. I’ve never ventured this far from Steel Lakes before.
As the urban landscape gives way to smaller towns and winding highways, I try to memorize every twist and turn, every landmark. A towering water tower here, a crumbling old barn there. Anything to give me some sense of where we’re headed. But the further we go, the more alien and unfamiliar our surroundings become.
The patchwork fields and dense forests slowly morph into something rougher, more rugged. Towering mountains rise in the distance, their peaks dusted with snow. My breath catches in my throat as I realize just how far from home I truly am.
“Where are we going?” I ask, unable to keep the tremor from my voice.
Parker ignores me, too busy muttering with the pilot. I strain my ears, catching snippets of their conversation over the roar of the engines.
“…rendezvous at the Enclave…”
“…Consortium will be pleased with this one…”
My brow furrows. Enclave? Consortium? The words mean nothing to me, but they drip with menace all the same. I have a sinking feeling that I’m being dragged into something far bigger and more sinister than I could have imagined.
Clutching the door frame, I peer out at the sea of green rolling by beneath us. Dense forest broken only by jagged rock faces and winding mountain streams. The helicopter banks hard, swinging us around the peak of a massive ridge.
That’s when I see it.
Cut into the very heart of the mountain itself, a vast complex of concrete and steel. Runways and helipads spider out from the central structure, which seems to bore straight into the rocky face. I suck in a sharp breath as the terrible realization dawns.
There’s no way in hell I’m getting out of this place.
The helicopter touches down with a bone-jarring thud, kicking up swirls of dust and loose gravel. Before I can even catch my breath, Parker is hauling me out by my arm, his iron grip biting into my flesh.
“Welcome to your new home,” he says, shoving me forward. I dig my heels into the ground, straining against his vice-like hold.
“Let me go!” I snarl, thrashing wildly. My elbow connects with his ribs, and he grunts in pain, shoving me away with enough force to send me staggering.
“You little bitch,” he wheezes, clutching his side. His face is red with rage, lips curled back in a snarl of his own. In a whirl of movement, he lunges forward and backhands me across the face with a force that stuns me.
White-hot pain explodes through my cheek, and I crumple to the ground, ears ringing. I can taste copper on my split lip as I struggle to blink away the stars swimming in my vision. A firm kick to my ribs knocks what little breath I have left out of my lungs.
“That’s enough from you,” Parker growls, looming over me. His foot presses down on my chest, pinning me to the ground. I claw at his leg, fangs bared, but he simply grinds his heel harder into my ribs. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep that mouth shut.”
Suddenly, I’m looking down the barrel of the gun again, another reminder of the power he wields over me. It’s a completely unfamiliar sensation. I’ve always felt so secure in my shifter strength – but I’ve never had to use it. Now, I wish I’d learned. Why didn’t I spend at least a little time with the training teams instead of focusing all my energy down in the village? Running the boutiques, arranging exhibits. Like my life could be normal.
God, I’m so useless.
Parker hauls me up by my hair, dragging me toward the imposing entrance carved into the mountainside. Up close, the sheer size of the facility is staggering, the heavy steel doors disappearing into the rock face like the jaws of some great beast. I renew my struggles with increased desperation as the gravity of my situation sinks in.
Once I’m through those doors, there will be no way out. No chance of escape or rescue. My life – my freedom – will be over.
“Please,” I plead, digging my nails into Parker’s arm until I draw blood. He backhands me again, and I taste blood once more. “Let me go!” I scream.