Her lips curled into a fake smile. “Well, until then I’m going to have to lock you up with the other dogs. I can’t risk you getting away again.” She winked. I suppressed a growl at her use of the term dogs. She gestured to Prudence. “It’s a shame. She was very good.”

Then Layla turned to one of the other vampires. “Find me another witch.”

Her strawberry-blonde hair was curled, she had on layers and layers of make-up, and her clothes were fancy. “Going somewhere?” I asked casually as they walked me down a hall. I was scanning door numbers, signs, anything. We were in some kind of underground bunker. Would make sunlight a non-issue and no one would hear screams.

Layla laughed. “I have my first couple coming to do a surrogate transplant.” She rubbed her hands together in glee as my heart hammered in my chest. So then maybe that meant none of the girls were pregnant yet but they would be soon if I didn’t stop this.

We reached a door. “Sorry about taking out your heroin supply,” I spat at her. Screw playing nice, this bitch was evil. The big steel door opened.

She gave me an evil glare. “Sorry for burning down Safe Haven,” she said and threw me inside, shutting the door behind me.

What? No!

I didn’t even have time to process her comment. The room I had just been thrown into was full of female werewolves. I lay on my hands and knees, looking up at them. The room was made up of four solid cement walls. Looking behind me I saw that the thick steel door was shut and I heard it lock. Shit. We were trapped.

I scanned the females who lay on bunk beds or sat on the floor as they stared at me with a mixture of pity and curiosity.

Movement to my right caused me to turn. I was happy to see it was Sadie approaching me. Never thought I would be glad to see my husband’s ex-girlfriend.

“How nice of you to join us,” Sadie joked and reached out a hand to help me up. Her normally olive ethnic skin looked ashy and reddish. Her hair was messy and her eyes looked haunted. What the hell were they doing to these girls?

“I figured you might be getting bored by now. Thought I could keep you company,” I said, grabbing her hand and giving her a sly smile.

Taking another look at all of the wolves, I saw now that most looked terrified. They were all wearing white doctors’ scrubs but at least looked clean and well fed.

“Everyone, this is Aurora. She is the reason you’re here and also, probably the only one who can break us out of here.”

I rolled my eyes at her introduction. Way to make them hate me right off. Sadie was too good at being a bitch sometimes. “I killed the black witch,” I announced to everyone. “Your pack bonds should be working now. Try to contact your Alphas and mates.”

Sadie’s eyes widened at my declaration, then a concentrated look fell over her face. She began laughing and tears rolled down her cheeks. “I can hear Brett!” she said. The others began smiling, clearly lost in their own mental conversations.

I nodded. Prudence had messed with their bonds. Now that she was dead, her magic was dead too. A thought came to me.

‘Kai, I’m inside. All of the girls are fine. I killed Prudence. Have Sylvia try to find me now. A finder spell should work. The magic has been broken.’ I didn’t tell him about Tara being tortured, best to keep that quiet for now.

‘You killed Prudence?’

Surprise went through the mate bond. Well, technically I think the Devi killed her, I don’t think I was that much of a badass on my own.

Then I thought of what Layla had said before tossing me in this room. With dread, I asked Kai about it. ‘How’s Safe Haven? Layla said she burned it down? Tell me it’s a lie.’

She might have just said that to piss me off. Safe Haven was everything to me. It took me years to start it up and get enough donations to keep it running. It was my one good thing to offer this world.

He was silent and I saw that all of the girls were engrossed in their own mental conversations.

‘Kai?’ My stomach knotted with apprehension. If it was true, I couldn’t handle it.

‘Yes, they burned it down an hour ago. Right after you were taken. I just got the call.’

No! I sagged to my knees.

‘Was anyone hurt?’

‘Almost everyone got out.’ Kai’s answer was cryptic.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, ‘Almost?’ I needed to know, I needed to hear it.

Kai was silent. ‘A mother died saving her two children.’

Anger flooded my body as mist leaked from my skin and the ground began to rumble. The cement floor cracked and the crack raced up the wall reaching for the ceiling.

“Hey! Do you want to bury us alive, stop that!” Sadie screamed at me, snapping me out of it.

A TV on the wall flared to life and Tara screamed. She was lying down in some type of plexi-glass cage. Thousands of small silver needles shot into her skin as a vampire stood over her pushing buttons on the plexi-glass coffin.

I ceased the shaking immediately, calling back the mist and calming my magic. My hand flew to my mouth as the needles retracted and Tara was left panting, eyes rolling in her head.

Sadie shook my shoulders. “Get your shit together. You can’t do that stuff here. If you fight them, they hurt her,” Sadie told me.

Oh shit, what was I thinking?

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

Safe Haven, everything I worked for, gone. A mother’s life, gone. I would have to deal with it later. I stuffed it all down in my deep, dark place and promised to deal with it when I had a chance.