The Girl He Marked by Laila Callaway novel Chapter 4

Paige's POV.

When I wake, it is dark. The sun has long set, and night has fallen. I can feel that the temperature has dropped dramatically, but my body is so hot. If you put water on me right now, it would probably turn to steam.

I groan and manage to sit upon the forest floor.

Everything hurts.

I reach for my handbag, which is lying next to me. Some of my things have fallen out and I put them back into it.

I pull my handbag under my head and lay back, so my head is resting on it.

I can barely move my arms, but I manage to pull the pieces of leaf and twig out of my hair. I brush down my clothes and check myself with my phone torch. Any cuts are already healing. I look surprisingly good for someone who just took the quick route down a hill.

Pain floods through me again and I shove my phone back in my bag. I lay back and close my eyes, hoping to sleep this off.

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'Oi, wake up.'

A gruff voice disturbs my sleep. I scrunch up my eyes as sunlight invades my sight. I roll over and peer at the two blurry faces leaning over me.

'State your name,' one of them orders.

'Paige Moretti,' I mumble and rub my eyes.

'State your intentions on the Ash Mountain pack's land.'

I wince and slowly sit up.

'I thought this was No Man's land,' I reply.

I glance up at the two men standing over me, and the one watching from against a tree. They're wearing matching navy uniforms and hard expressions.

'Our territory starts at the bottom of this hill. You are trespassing.'

I groan and slowly get to my feet. All three of them tense up, anticipating an attack.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I fell down that stupid hill,' I tell them.

I stretch my arms above my head and pick up my handbag.

'You're coming with us,' the patrol guard closest to me, snaps aggressively.

I protest as he grabs my handbag from my hands. Another yanks my arms behind my back and clips handcuffs onto them.

'This isn't necessary, it was a simple mistake! I'm sorry,' I blurt out.

One of the guards carries my handbag. The three of them ignore me and lead me through the trees. They threaten to gag me, so I stop protesting.

I can't believe that I'm in the same situation that my twin was in two weeks ago. I guess lives are linked more closely than we think.

We reach the pack grounds. They march me past the pack house, where curious pack members stare at me. They head straight for the prison cells.

'You will meet with the Alpha this afternoon and you can plead your case,' a guard tells me as he shoves me into a cell.

They check my handbag to ensure I don't have any weapons, and then throw it into the cell with me.

'Please, let me out!' I shout after them, but they disappear down the corridor.

I look around and see that the other cells are either empty or are holding people that I definitely do not want to associate with.

I turn around and look at the cell. It's actually not that bad. There's a cot—bed, a sink and a basic toilet tucked into an alcove. There's no door, but at least there's some privacy.

Feeling desperate, I quickly use the toilet. I sip some of my water and check my phone, no signal. I find a cereal bar in my handbag and eat it.

I take my book out of my bag and try to pass the time by reading.

I need to warn the guards about my heat, but something tells me that this is not going to go well.

After a while, I feel myself becoming hot and bothered again.

I don't want to embarrass myself by begging one of the guards to have sex with me, so I decide to take a nap instead.

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When I wake up, my body temperature has raised again. I'm glad I'm only in a vest and shorts. I feel too hot in them, but I'm not about to strip with all these prisoners around me.

I spot a tray with a sandwich on it, they must have put it in my cell when I was sleeping. I eagerly eat the food.

I wash my face after eating, trying to cool myself down.

I'm meant to see their Alpha soon, but this is dangerous. My heat is probably going to be worse in the afternoon. Already, I can feel that my thong is wet for no apparent reason. Totally inappropriate and awful timing.

Another hour passes and I have to lie down on the bed, clutching my stomach. I bite down hard on my bottom lip to stop myself from screaming out in pain.

'What's wrong with her' I hear two of the guards discussing me at the gate.

'Fuck, can you smell that She's in heat.'

'Shit, she can't see the Alpha like this.' I watch as they open my gate. 'We need to get her into the air—tight cell.'

They grab my arms and I wail in pain as they drag me to my feet. They lead me out of my cell and down the corridor. We walk past other cells, filled with rogues and trespassers. The male ones growl and snarl, grabbing their bars as I walk past.

It's not their fault or mine. My pheromones are driving them crazy.

'Wait, that rogue is in there,' one of the guards says as we stop outside the vaulted door.

'It's okay, he's in silver chains. He can't break out,' the other guard replies.

'No! If there's someone in there, you can't put me in with them. It's not safe!' I plead with them, but they ignore me and punch in the code to open the door.

There isn't even a window in the door, I can't see what's inside.

The thick door swings open, revealing a cell similar to mine, only slightly bigger. The walls are thicker and painted white.

In the far corner, there is a giant of a man.

He's on his knees, his head bowed. His wrists are chained with huge, silver chains that are drilled into the wall. They chink and clink when he moves.

The guards push me inside and then throw in my bag. I stumble into the room, my eyes on the prisoner.

What is he in here for

I'm glad he is chained up; his sheer size terrifies me.

'Please, don't leave me in here with him!' I shout.

The guards ignore me. The door swings closed, and silence descends on us.

Apparently, this room is both airtight and soundproof. The only light is coming from a small window in the ceiling.

I hesitantly walk over to the cot and sit down on it. The rogue slowly lifts his head. He pins me with his black eyes. I quickly look away; he looks dangerous as hell.

I can feel his gaze on me as I pull my knees up to my chest.

This timing couldn't be any worse.

Why couldn't I have just stayed home today But then, my pheromones might have permeated the walls in my flat. I don't know if there are any shifters in my building, but if they're unmated, I would have found out.

It's times like these that you need to be part of a pack. They should always have one of these cells just in case a shifter randomly experiences heat.

I just wish I was alone in here. This would be the perfect, safe environment for me to get through this. But no. I'm not alone. There's a terrifying man chained in the corner.

He's twice my size and glaring at me.

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