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he was grasping at straws.
If you speak out against me, it will look like you ve taken the
side of your mate over your pack.
To his horror, Preston realized Grayson was right.
Elias here will not speak of what happened, will you, little one?
No, my mate. I would never defy you in anything.
Of course not. That s why you are my perfect mate. Grayson
patted his leg affectionately. It was as if the tension between them, the
absolute fear that Grayson had instilled in him, was suddenly
forgotten. Preston didn t understand their relationship at all. Reach
into the back and find yourself something to wear.
There was a space behind the seats where all of Preston s
purchases were.
But first, find something to tie Preston up with.
Preston considered the door next to him. If he opened it he could
jump out, but at the speed Grayson was going, he wouldn t survive
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the landing.
Elias fished around under the shopping bags and found a length of
nylon rope. Will this work, my mate?
Grayson nodded.
Preston considered using the phone Dylan had given him, but he
thought it was wiser to keep it hidden. If they were going to lock him
up somewhere, it might be his only link to the outside world.
Foolishly, he realized that by telling Grayson he could no longer twin
souls he d made himself fairly useless to the pack except for them to
continue to pump his trust fund for money. But they didn t need him
cognizant to do that. The right combination of drugs would make him
easy to direct and utterly harmless.
There was only one last card he had to play. Preston screamed out
to Dylan as loud as he could. He had called out to him earlier on the
road, but apparently, Elias had blocked that. Preston hoped his fear
amplified his range, but he had no time to wonder if Dylan caught his
message because in the next instant he was out.
When Preston woke up he was bound, blindfolded, and oblivious
as to where exactly he was. When he breathed deep, he smelled old
sour earth. The ground beneath him was moist. He was freezing cold,
and his head hurt. He wasn t certain, but he was pretty sure Elias had
bashed him in the back of the head with something. Moreover, he felt
woozy and realized they d drugged him with something.
Had Dylan heard either of his frantic calls, or had Elias and the
other betas blocked them?
Preston reached out to Dylan, but he heard nothing but static in
his head. He guessed if all the betas could amplify one another, they
could all gang up to block another packmate, too.
With his hands bound behind his back, Preston wasn t able to feel
around and discover what kind of a space he was in. By rubbing his
shoulder up against his head, he was eventually able to remove the
blindfold.
Utter blackness greeted him. Why blindfold him if they were
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going to toss him into the dark anyway? Looking up, Preston thought
he saw light far above him. It was glittering or twinkling like A
star.
Preston was outside in one of the old wells. He panicked. The
nighttime temperatures had been dipping into the single digits.
Without some kind of protection, he d be dead of exposure by
morning.
Dead, he d create a terrible mess for Grayson and the pack. As
he d said earlier, there would be an inquest, and ugly questions would
be raised.
Not so much.
Preston looked up at the opening of the well. It was Elias, bundled
up in a down coat that looked plenty toasty.
You re making a terrible mistake. Preston kept his voice even.
Yelling would only make Elias leave.
No, you did, with your big, ugly mouth. Elias tossed something
down into the well, but Preston couldn t tell what it was.
There will be an inquest. The truth about my trust will come to
light.
No, it won t because Grayson already went to the police.
What? Preston was flabbergasted.
It was sad how you bought all those new things and then
disappeared at the mall. We were certain you d run off to go to your
new boyfriend.
Even from this distance, Preston could see Elias s huge grin.
They ve already contacted the police department over in Twin
Pines. It doesn t look good for Dylan.
What do you mean?
Well, a big guy like that with a reputation for being a
homophobe... Elias trailed off and gave a long pause so the
implications could sink in. When your battered body is found with
his DNA all over it... Elias shrugged. It s hard to believe the
authorities will look at us rather than at Dylan.
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Grayson can t seriously be
Grayson doesn t know about that part. The wind whipped away
Elias s voice, but Preston still heard him. The you-ending-up-dead
part. Grayson thinks we re just going to keep you contained and
docile so that you won t be any problem for him.
Preston tried mentally calling out for Grayson, but again, all he
heard was static.
That s not going to work, I m afraid. Elias peered down. You
know about being afraid, don t you, Preston? Have you ever been so
terrified that you wet yourself?
Preston said nothing, but the truth was there had been only one
time when he d been that afraid. He d been cornered by bullies in
high school. They were bigger boys and they were going to penetrate
his bottom, so Preston wet himself. They stopped. And they never
bothered him again. Preston had to walk home with wet clothing, but
he didn t regret what he d done. He d saved himself for Dylan by
doing something so foul and shocking the older boys had let him go.
And Preston s father never knew because Preston had cleaned up and
he had done the laundry before his father came home. Just like the
times when Preston s dreams became too much and he climaxed
against his sheets. Dad never knew because Preston took care to hide
his shame. Preston had always been careful enough to hide the truth.
Frankly, a lot of his life had been spent cleaning up so he could hide.
I have been so terrified I wet myself. Elias kept his voice even,
and it carried right down into the well. Twice, actually. Both times it
was Grayson who instilled that response in me. You were there the
second time, in the truck. The first time was when he claimed me.
Elias shivered and drew the collar of his coat around his face.
Grayson was so strong and so abrupt that I was terrified of him. I
know now that what I perceived as force was merely passion. But at
that moment, Grayson alarmed me, and I wet all over our soul-
bonding bed. Do you know what Grayson did?
Preston kept his mouth closed. Elias, much like Grayson, simply
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adored the sound of his own voice. As to why Elias was telling
Preston all of this, Preston suspected that Elias had always wanted to
tell someone, but couldn t. And that s what convinced Preston he
really was going to die. Elias spilled out his heart and soul because he
knew the information would be safe with a man who would soon be
dead.
When Grayson saw what I had done, Grayson lifted me up from
the bed, and tenderly, I mean so tenderly you would have thought I
was crafted from spun sugar, he carried me into the bathroom. There,
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