Claiming Their Mate by Morganna Williams Page A

she bounced hard on the unforgiving ground at her feet with a snarl. “You took everything from me! Even my pack!”
    Madison struggled to sit up painfully; between her head and the jarring impact of the ground when Selena threw her down, she was not in great shape. Her tender bottom didn’t care for the rough ground either. She tried to scoot the short skirt of her dress underneath her to cover her bottom; this was not the ideal situation in which to be sans panties.
    “Selena, I’m sure if we go to Jared together…”
    “Don’t even try to negotiate with me; you have nothing I want except your suffering.”
    Madison felt the blood drain from her face at Selena’s bald statement. Unable to even respond, she listened as her captor continued talking.
    “It’s too late for me, I know it and you know it. If Jared and Ethan don’t kill me it will be Winter’s mates, but you’ll go first.” Selena’s smile chilled Madison’s blood. “He’ll be left with nothing; I might not be part of the pack anymore but Jared will never forget me. Not after I’m finished with you.”
    Selena grinned and reached down to grasp the hem of Madison’s dress, then ripped the entire thing from her body.
    Madison gasped and tried to cover herself with her arms from where she crouched on the ground at the base of a large tree. As she cowered she heard the sound of fabric ripping.
    “This will work just fine,” Selena said under her breath. Then she lifted Madison to her feet and tied a long strip of fabric that had once been a part of her dress around one wrist.
    “No, please, Selena… you don’t have to do this…” Madison cried as she found one hand tied over her head to a branch.
    Selena laughed. “I know I don’t have to, silly, I want to. There’s a big difference between the two.”
    In very little time Selena had both Madison’s hands secured over her head and her legs attached to the base of the tree in a position that spread her completely open. Her ankles were spread wide and tied with a strip of fabric running around the bottom of the tree.
    Madison struggled against her bonds, trying to ignore the rough bark of the tree biting into the tender flesh of her back and buttocks.
    She tried to twist her torso away from Selena when the other woman grabbed hold of her bra. Selena ignored her struggles and ripped the flimsy garment from her, leaving her naked against the tree.
    Madison watched Selena nervously as she pulled a small package from her pocket. The woman grinned at her once more as she unwrapped the package to show four long silver nail tips.
    Madison shuddered in horror as she watched Selena slip them on the end of all the fingers of one hand and realized the silver nails were sharp needle-like knives.
    Selena walked toward her and lightly scraped the tips of the deadly nails over her breasts and down the center of her torso. “Better be still, human. You don’t want me to nick you accidently.”
    Madison tried to hold very still and bit back a gasp when she felt a very sharp pain in the fleshy part of her upper arm. Looking down, she saw a thin weal of blood spring up in a long line.
    “How many little cuts do you think it will take before you start to get weak and bleed out?” Selena asked conversationally.
    Madison closed her eyes and braced herself for the next stinging slice. She didn’t have long to wait; this one fell above her left breast.
    “We’ll know by the end of the night,” Selena assured her. “Soon you’ll scream for me.”
     
    * * *
     
    Jared and Ethan left Simon in the care of Jordan and her mates; he needed care they could not provide and they had to find their mate. It was obvious Simon was not an alpha and had been chosen as Gage’s second because he would be easily controlled.
    Simon’s guilt was understandable but there was no way he could have gone against the power of an alpha. Gage had victimized both Simon and his mate, instead of protecting them and every other