My head is pounding. My muscles are screaming and as hard as I try to pry my eyes open, they won't budge. I can feel Basil's body slumped against mine, warm and alive, albeit unconscious, and that's just enough to keep me from entirely losing my mind.

What the hell have we done?

No, what the hell has Basil done? Maddox and I both fucking told him not to answer the door to anyone. I don't know what's gotten into him since the last time I saw him and I don't like this side of him one bit.

As soon as I get us out of this safely, I'm going to kick his ass.

Slowly, and with a lot of effort, I'm finally able to crack my eyes open even though they feel like they're coated in a layer of sand. It's nearly pitch-black, but I can tell we're in the back of a van and I can see the faint features of Basil's sleeping figure next to me.

I try to reach over and shake him, to wake him up, but my wrists are bound together and tied by a long rope connected to my ankles. I'm surprised to find that my mouth isn't gagged, not that I'd willingly make a noise and alert my captors to my consciousness.

I turn myself as slowly and silently as possible to get a good look at what I'm up against as my eyes finally adjust to the darkness. There's a large man sitting in the seat directly behind where I'm sitting and one in the driver's seat.

I can't see who's sitting in the passenger's seat, but I can vaguely sense the presence of another witch through my still-drugged senses and I know immediately it's the girl from the cabin. I tilt my head just an inch to peer around the headrest of the seat I'm leaning against to get a better look at who's driving.

What I see only confirms my worst fears and suspicions. The driver is one of the guys from the diner, the one that slipped us the address, so I can only assume the guy behind me is his asshole sidekick.

I can't bring myself to be scared anymore- we knew we'd have to face this sooner or later and it seems Aiden has run out of patience. I only wish Maddox was here with me. We were supposed to be in this together, but as I try to reach out to him one more time through our bond, I feel the same wall between us.

That's not going to work.

The delicate voice in my head is not my own and I almost let out a yelp at the sound.

How the fuck are you doing that?

The witch up front isn't part of my pack or my coven. She shouldn't be able to mind link me, and yet...

It would be in your very best interest to go back to sleep now, or at least pretend to. I won't drug you again, but Bryant and Donovan won't be very kind if they see you're awake.

So Bryant and Donovan are the names of Aiden's two meathead messengers. That could be useful, if I could actually get through this weird mental block long enough to tell someone.

Are we going to that address Aiden gave us?

Go to sleep.

She doesn't answer after that, but honestly I'm still in shock that she could even reach out to me like that. I take her advice though and settle back into a more comfortable position, closing my eyes and focusing on evening out my breathing.

I'm too wired to actually fall back into a sleep but I'm too scared of what Bryant and Donovan might do if I don't.

"Where the fuck is this place again?" The driver growls.

"Who the fuck knows anymore? I lost track after the first three hideouts. That paranoid bastard could at least find something a little less out in the middle of nowhere next time. I'm tired of having to drive hours away just to get a decent fucking meal," The guy behind me responds.

"You know Alpha Aiden is just trying to keep us safe," The witch laughs. "Besides, he'd just tell you to shift and hunt rabbits like he does."

"That's just fucking barbaric. Just because we're half wolf doesn't mean we can't enjoy the modern day amenities humans have to offer."

"Yeah, sometimes a guy just wants to have a nice, hot meal prepared for him and served to him by a pretty young blonde," the driver chimes in again, clearly over his earlier frustration of being lost.

"You know, women aren't just here to serve you, Donovan," the girl laughs again, but this time there's a nervous edge to her voice.

"You're right, Clover. That's what we have you witches here for. Need we remind you exactly where your place is, witch?" The driver, Donovan it would seem, sneers.

The other guy, Bryant, just chuckles darkly.

"No. I'm sorry."

Bile rises to my throat. These wolves were the exact barbarians they accused Aiden of being. Sexist monsters who not only thought of women as their personal servants, but who treated witches as some sub-species unworthy of their sympathies.

Were they this disgusting before their mates rejected them, or had their souls been completely lost, a shell of what they used to be? And is Clover just as lost as they are? She drugged us, yes, but there was a part of her that was looking out for me- she didn't want me to suffer at the hands of Donovan and Bryant, so what is her role in all of this?

Basil starts to stir beside me, his eyes fluttering open slowly. He spends a moment taking in his surroundings, adjusting the way I did and testing his restraints before his eyes finally land on me.

They widen in fear as realization sets in and he opens his mouth like he's about to scream. I reach up awkwardly, stretching my ties to their limits so that I can clamp my hand down around his mouth.

I shake my head at him and nod subtly to the people behind us. He relaxes slightly, but I can feel him trembling against me. I wish I could reach out to him through the mind link, at least just to tell him it will all be okay, but the best I can do is hope Clover connects with him to tell him what she told me.

When I'm sure he won't scream or try anything stupid, I pull my hand away and lay back down. Basil follows suit and snuggles into me as comfortably as he can given his bindings while I pray to Hecate that Bryant and Donovan are too distracted to notice our erratic heartbeats.