Chapter4.

I must have fainted from shock or exhaustion from being upside down for so long because, when I woke up, I was lying on a soft, fragrant sofa.

What was that smell?

It was so masculine.

Wait, where was I?

Everything came flooding back to me: Paul on top of me, his erection pressing against me; the blood afterward; that sarcastic smile; the threatening, confident eyes.

I opened my eyes just in time to see the man putting a blanket over my lifted skirt!

Our eyes met for a few seconds. My first reaction was to kick him in the face with all my strength.

The man fell behind the sofa, looking surprised. I jumped off the couch, grabbed the first thing I saw—a very heavy book—and prepared to throw it at him, just as I had with the rock.

"You despicable pervert! I will not be your sex slave! If you try to touch me again, you will regret it!" I threatened.

The wolf stood up and wiped his bleeding nose. I also noticed that he was now wearing worn jeans and an equally worn, dark blue T-shirt.

He looked at me with a cold, silent stare.

Seconds later, he repeated incredulously, "Sex slave? Is that what you thought?"

"Why else would you have dragged me here?" My voice trembled as I spoke.

He took a deep breath and stared at me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. His appraising expression made me cringe.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, female. You don't meet the requirements to be my sex slave."

"Oh, and what would those be?" I have no idea why I asked, but it seemed important at the time.

He looked at me again with that smug, appraising expression. This time, I puffed out my chest, and he seemed to notice, even if only for a second.

"The first is to be beautiful," he said, turning his back and walking away to another room.

"What? Did you just call me ugly?" I shouted.

The man stopped and turned slowly.

"Is that important?"

"Of course it is!

First of all, you're wrong. I'm not ugly, and I meet all the requirements for a sex slave!"

"By the goddess, what was I saying?"

Marius looked at me, visibly confused. Finally, he asked, "Why does it seem like you're applying?"

I could see how confused it made him.

I swallowed hard.

How stupid of me!

"I'm not.

I just meant that you shouldn't call people ugly,” I said too quickly.

The man crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side as if thinking about what I had said.

Then, he turned and entered another room.

I quickly looked around. I was in a relatively large, well-maintained cabin with a large, dark sofa and an area where I assumed he cooked. However, I didn't see a stove or any sign of electricity. There were candles and a lamp in one corner, wooden cabinets, and a door. Yes, a door. I knew it was my way out, so I ran toward it. Just then, the door through which Marius had disappeared seconds before opened.

He realized where I was going at the same time, but he didn't move.

I grabbed the doorknob, turned it hard, and used my body weight to force the door open, but it didn't budge.

I sighed in frustration when I realized it was locked.

I turned and looked back at Marius, who had sat down on the arm of the sofa.

When our eyes met, he pulled a cord from around his neck. From it hung the damn key.

I gritted my teeth in anger.

"If you're not going to kill me and you say I won't be your sex slave, why are you keeping me prisoner?

Why did you kidnap me?" I blurted out.

"How old are you, female?"

"My name is Jane!" I growled.

He crossed his arms.

"Just Jane?"

"I'm an orphan."

He nodded, looking uncomfortable for the first time.

Marius cleared his throat and said, "I'm Marius Blaine."

"I know," I said without thinking.

"Of course you know. You're the mad wolf who slaughtered his own pack in a fit of madness,” he said bitterly.

I could see how much it bothered him.

"Why did you kidnap me?"

He sighed.

"How old are you?"

"What does it matter? I want to leave! Clearly, you don't want to kill me; otherwise, you would have done it by now.”

I turned to the door and started kicking and punching it, letting my emotions take over. There was no way I was going to be held prisoner by a mad wolf like him.

“I want to leave! Help!” I shouted desperately, and soon, I felt hands pulling me by the hair and dragging me forcefully to the sofa. I looked into his dark eyes and saw that he wasn't using even one percent of his strength. He held me by the hair with one hand while he joined my two hands together at the wrists like handcuffs with the other.

"No one will hear you here. We're miles away from any road or city, and no one knows this part of the forest. You are completely alone here with me, Jane."

Marius pushed me onto the sofa and forced me to sit down.

I struggled against him, but he had let go of my hair.

His hand was still closed around my wrists like handcuffs. I tried to kick his hand away, but he put one of his big, heavy legs over mine, immobilizing me.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Stop fighting, you crazy woman. Don't you know I could snap your neck without effort? Aren't you afraid?" he growled.

I was afraid, but I was also overcome with rage.

"What do you want from me? Why did you kidnap me?" I gasped, almost breathless from trying to escape his clutches.

When I finally gave up, I realized how close we were. I could feel the heat radiating from Marius.

His masculine face and threatening eyes stared at me.

"When will you turn eighteen?"

"In a year. I just turned seventeen.”

Marius sighed deeply, loosening his grip on my wrists while keeping his leg on top of mine. After a long pause during which he stared at me with his deep, enigmatic eyes, he said, "You will stay with me until you receive your wolf."