Alphas on the Prowl (52 page)

Chapter Six

Rough hands gripped her arms, and she flailed instinctively before reaching for her pistol, but it was too late. Two big, lumbering men had grabbed her. She hadn’t even heard them coming. How could that be?

A third man had her horse by the reins. They shoved her in the direction of the camp. “How did you get here, boy?”

Charlotte was relieved that was what they thought. “I’m on my way to Fort Walters. Just taking a nap on my trip. What’s the meaning of this?” She didn’t want them to suspect she’d followed them. The more innocent she seemed, maybe the more they’d think about letting her go. Her only hope was that the boy would ride fast and arrive in good time with the sheriff.

Although, she knew not to count on that, but at least she’d be getting a good look at their camp. Maybe that’d be helpful.

“All right, boy. Come on.” One of the men who had grabbed her shoved her forward faster. “You don’t seem like a threat, but we’ll have to pass you by our boss.”

“Your boss?” she asked. Maybe they’d give more information.

“Yeah, William H. Carver. He’s the head of Carver Mining Company. Out here digging silver.” The other guy elbowed him in the ribs hard enough for him to gasp. “Hey, what the hell?”

“Just give the full history, why don’t you?” The second guy glared at her, not happy they’d actually found someone on their patrol. “Shut your mouth until we’ve gotten the okay.”

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they finally passed through the gate.

Tension ratcheted up inside Charlotte. She wasn’t sure how she’d get out of this. Was Joe even here? What if he was? Would he still be the man she’d loved? Would he be upset with her for getting herself into this trouble? She had no answers and way too many questions.

Chapter Seven

Joe’s eyes snapped open.

The rest of the men were still asleep in their beds, but a feeling called to him, warning him, telling him something wasn’t right. He didn’t know what his instincts were trying to say -- all he knew was he didn’t feel right all of a sudden.

Outside the moon glowed dimly, shedding some light on the camp but not a lot. He eased up from the bed and peeked out the window to see a few shapes heading toward the building he knew as the boss’s. The boss preferred not to be bothered with the dirty business of the mine, so he wasn’t contacted much.

Joe had never seen the man, and that was fine with him. Anyone who could treat his workers like this…? He clenched his teeth.

He didn’t recognize the figure they had with them. It looked like a boy, but from the hips, it might’ve even been… a woman? If he hadn’t been in this building, he would’ve tried to scent the person, but it wouldn’t do him any good. His wolf powers were weakened from malnutrition, low energy, and the collar.

He lay back in bed. Could the newcomer be the person he’d glimpsed on the outskirts of the camp earlier? Or was it someone else? Someone they’d brought back during their trip to town for the new werewolf? He’d have to find out in the morning. For now, he was too tired to keep his eyes open much longer. From the loud snores of the men around him, he knew he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

* * *

The boss hadn’t wanted to be bothered so late, so he’d pushed off their meeting. Charlotte had stayed in one of the guest cabins. Although, if this was a guest cabin, she’d hate to see what the workers stayed in. The cabin was very rustic, but at least they hadn’t treated her too poorly.

Two of the men had sat outside her door all night. That much she knew from their endless bantering while she’d tried to sleep. But being in a bed, however uncomfortable, had been so much better than sitting on the back of her horse. She’d ended up falling asleep without too much problem.

A sharp knock on the door brought her into an upright position and looking for her guns, which she remembered were with the men. They’d taken them away from her last night, saying they needed to make sure she wasn’t a threat to them.

It was smart of them but also disappointing. Maybe she hadn’t looked as innocent as she’d tried, or maybe they were really paranoid.

“Yes?” she called, grabbing her boots and slipping them on her feet.

The door opened to reveal one of the men. He jerked his head, signaling for her to leave the cabin. “Time to see the boss.” He shut the door again without so much as waiting for her to respond.

Charlotte crossed the small cabin and opened the door. On the other side of the complex, the miners gathered, preparing to head toward the mine entrance. As she left the cabin, their gazes turned to her, watching her. Sudden unease drifted through her. One of the men in particular acted intense about her presence, and that was when she recognized him.

Joe.

Her heart soared into her throat. It was all she could do to keep from running for him as fast as she could. He shoved the guy next to him out of the way and started in her direction. One of the other men grabbed him, and so did another. They pulled him back into line, trying to stop him from going to her.

She both loved and hated that. She loved that he wanted to greet her, and she hated that they couldn’t be together even with so little distance between them now. Her heart warmed, and yet she turned her gaze away from him, looking back at the men as they prodded her toward the boss’s elaborate cabin.

Charlotte heard a loud commotion and glanced back to see Joe struggling to reach her. One of the men who held him back whispered into Joe’s ear. Joe eased his struggle. She didn’t know what to think, but she was grateful to the man since she found it hard to not look suspicious with Joe acting that way.

The boss’s cabin loomed in front of her, and she followed her captors to it. They knocked on the door, and after a quick, gruff acknowledgement, they went inside.

She hadn’t been sure what to expect, but the elegance this place possessed wasn’t it. Her guest cabin looked primitive compared to this. A man in a fancy black suit and top hat stood with his back to her. He turned once the door behind her closed.

Carver looked at her, his gaze pinning her to the spot. “You can do away with the charade, miss.”

She blinked and looked at the men on either side of her.

“No, it seems they were blissfully unaware. Probably fortunate, though. Who knows what they would’ve done,” Carver said, as if she’d spoken her question out loud.

Charlotte froze in place. The beginnings of fear laced through her veins. From the confident look on his face, it was already too late. He grinned smugly and then his face switched to neutral. “No, I didn’t read your mind. You’re quite transparent. If you’re trying to spy on me, the least you could do is handle yourself better. I’m quite disappointed.”

“Who are you?” And what did he know about her?

“I’m sure my men already told you my name. I believe you want to know
what
I am more than
who
, but then again, I’m pretty sure you already know that, too.” Carver held out a hand toward the door.

She looked to see what he was pointing at, but there was nothing there.

Carver shook his head and sighed. “You really are dense. I don’t care much for density.” He waved his hand. “Take her back to the cabin. Don’t hurt her. She might be worth something.”

“What? That’s it?” Charlotte jerked away from the man who tried to grab her arm. “Get away from me.” Her gaze shot back to Carver, but the men kept coming at her with a single-minded desire to do what their boss wanted.

He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, assessing her. His gaze was sharp and piercing. “Wait.” His voice came in a single, sharp command. The men immediately stopped trying to grab her. “Come closer. Sit.” Carver held out his hand to one of the plush chairs, and yet he spoke like he was talking to a dog.

Indignation roared through her, but she wouldn’t give in when she’d finally gained his ear. She needed to make sure he didn’t do anything rash. Joe was fine -- well, relatively speaking -- and she would be too if she handled herself right.

She sat in the chair, and he seated himself opposite her. She wasn’t too happy being this close to him, but he didn’t seem like one to play many games. If he wanted to be done with her, he’d have sent her off. He wouldn’t keep her around.

Charlotte folded her hands in her lap, partially so she wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with them. She wouldn’t fidget in front of this man… beast. That’s what he really was. Only a beast would force innocent people to work in mines for him.

“Now then,” he said, signaling his men off with a flick of his wrist. “Where were we? Right. Your name would be?” He crossed his legs in a gentlemanly manner and focused his full attention on her.

She didn’t like having his full attention. “Charlotte.”

“Okay, Miss Charlotte. Who do you work for? What are you after?” He smoothed his hands over his suit pants. “I’m a businessman. I don’t like to hurt women. So if we can get this dealt with, I’ll let you walk away from here. Understand?”

Her eyes widened, and she nodded. She needed to keep her cool.

He smiled as if he knew something she didn’t. “Answer my questions.”

How did he expect her to answer? If she told the truth, he might not believe her, but he could also decide to just kill her. But if she lied, there was always the possibility he could catch her in the lie. That would be even worse. “I don’t work for anyone. You took someone from me.”

He steepled his fingers and pressed them to his lips. “Hmm… I see. Who did I take from you?”

“My fiancé.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I think you’re mistaken.” He leaned back, as if relieved their situation had been resolved.

“I’m not mistaken. I recognized your men, and I’ve seen my betrothed here.” How could he deny her claims?

Carver narrowed his eyes. “You are betrothed to a werewolf?” His words dripped with disdain, and even a hint of anger. “Why would a nice girl like you be that stupid?” He stood in a blur of motion and stared down at her. “I’ve been cursed with this, and I know werewolves and humans should not mingle. There’s no room for it. Werewolves are beasts. That’s what all of these men are, and they’re doing a job fit for beasts.” He walked over to an ornate fireplace and placed his hand against the mantle.

There was a long silence, and she could see him visibly trying to compose himself. Finally, he straightened and glanced over at her. “You should never have come here.” A sense of dread washed through her. “Stupid, stupid girl. You’re going to regret your decision to become close with a beast. You’ll experience exactly what a werewolf can do.”

Carver appeared before her, and she hadn’t even seen him move. He snatched her arm and rushed toward the door, moving as fast as her legs could carry her. He signaled for his men, who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

They grabbed her by the arms.

“Take her back to the guest cabin, make sure she doesn’t leave, and prepare the cage,” Carver said.

Charlotte grimaced. Pain shot up her arms from the men’s tight grip. She bucked and kicked, trying to get away from them. The cage? What was going to happen there? How could she have been so stupid to think she could reason with him? She wouldn’t scream. She wouldn’t. She sure as heck would fight her way out of this. If only they hadn’t taken her pistols. She was in no shape for a fistfight against these two big guys, but if she had to do it, then… she’d have to figure out a good time for it.

They half-dragged her back toward the guest cabin. Her feet scraped the ground when she wasn’t kicking at them with her boots. They barely seemed to notice her kicking. Big lugs.

The sound of men talking got her attention. She looked up to see the werewolves with collars closer to the mine entrance getting ready to go inside. A group of other men stood a little away from them. They were dressed similarly to her two guards.

One of the men carrying her paused and shouted to another fellow. “Boss says get the cage ready. Be quick with it.”

“The cage? Are you sure?” the man called back.

“Sure am. Enough questions. Get to it.” Then they were back to the fast jaunt to the guest cabin.

She could see the werewolf men looking around at each other, confused. Out of the crowd, Joe’s face became visible. He looked downright distraught, horror written on his face. She so wished she could kiss that look away. Instead, she was shoved into the guest cabin hard enough she fell to the dirty floor.

The solid click of the lock slamming into place behind her signified her doom. She got to her feet and stared at the door. Dread weakened her knees, and sadness sank to the pit of her stomach. Slumping onto the bed, she pulled her knees up and pressed her face against her legs. What had she gotten herself into? She knew she shouldn’t feel this way. She’d trained hard to swoop in and rescue Joe, but right now, she felt helpless.

How was she going to get out of this mess?

Chapter Eight

Joe watched as Charlotte was carried back to one of the cabins where they were keeping her. Anger ripped through him at how they handled her, but when the word “cage” came into play, that’s when terror had its turn. The cage wasn’t brought out much, but when it was, it always ended up horribly violent. People were dropped in and ripped apart. It was the way they dealt with trespassers.

He’d dreamed of seeing Charlotte for these past few months, yet now he wished he could keep his thoughts of her from their last night together instead of seeing her ripped limb from limb. Fury built within his chest. He had to keep his self-control; if he didn’t, he’d end up shapeshifting and killing himself.

“C’mon, George. These men need to get to work, or the boss might decide to throw us into the cage, too,” one of the humans said.

Joe wanted to rip those foul men to shreds.

“We’ll have to pick out some stinkin’ wolves to put in there.” George, the man who had lashed the kid the other night, propped his hands on his plump sides. He looked through the crowd as if searching, and when his eyes meet Joe’s, a glint sparked in them. “You there, you will be one of the wolves.” He looked around and picked out two other guys Joe didn’t know well. One man was large and muscled, and the other was scrawny.

He knew why the large man had been picked. George had picked him in hopes that Joe and the other guy would get ripped apart in the feeding frenzy. Regardless, Joe felt a little hope. Maybe he would be able to protect Charlotte. At least he’d die trying.

Joe and the other two werewolves were brought away from the group. They hauled the cage from where it was kept. It was made with silver, so the werewolves had to work very carefully, but the human men were too lazy to do it themselves.

The cage was large, and it took almost all their strength to move the heavy structure. It took them an hour with a few pauses, but they got it done. Then they were each thrown into solitary confinement without food until they were needed that evening when the moon was up and their beasts were less controllable.

During any other time, if a werewolf had been trained to control his beast, he could handle himself. With the way the men were treated and with how hungry they were, being put in the cage was more of a treat than a chore. It meant a hearty meal for them.

Only a couple men had survived the cage, and they’d eaten their fill on those nights. Then again, it evened out since they were made to work harder for the next couple days to work off their “excess energy.”

The boss knew how to handle them. Joe suspected the boss was a werewolf, but he couldn’t be sure. Either way, he knew the man had issues with werewolves.

Joe tossed down the rope and took a deep breath. He looked up at the imposing cage and then caught a glance of the other two men. One looked smug, like he was in for a nice treat, and the other man looked terrified. If only he could gain the assistance of the frightened man, maybe he’d have a better chance of saving Charlotte, and he wouldn’t be forced to kill both wolves. But with the torment to come, he could only hope to keep himself from killing Charlotte.