Page 11 of The Hidden
I splash water between my thighs dampening the now dry curls there. I’ve never been self-conscious of my body. Growing up around shifters, nudity is common place and not at all taboo or socially unacceptable. But right now in this moment, with these two watching my every move, their hands and gazes running over my naked body, I feel more vulnerable than I ever have in my life. A shiver runs up my back. The cool night air works to steal the warmth of the water from my body, and I’m filled with conflicting emotions.
The skin is filled up and mixed one last time, and Ryn and Zeph make quick work of my legs and feet. Ryn acts like we’re done, and I open my mouth to ask about my wings.It has everything to do with not wanting to repeat this whole forced bathing situation and nothing to do with the desire to have his hands on me again, I tell myself adamantly...multiple times. Zeph presses his hand at the base of my spine, and he slowly traces up my vertebrae, stopping at the base of my wings. He applies a slight pressure between my shoulder blades, and a moan forms in my throat at the tingling sensation his touch starts in my back. My wings make a snapping noise, and then all of a sudden, the weight of them is gone from my back and shoulders.
I spin like a dog chasing its tail, looking over my shoulder to confirm that they’re gone. I look up at Zeph, shocked. “How did you do that?” I ask in awe.
He just glares at me with obvious disdain, and I try not to shrink under his hateful gaze.What the fuck is that for?
“In the water,” Ryn commands.
He moves away from me to grab a handful of the moss he set on a rock by the pool, and I pull my gaze away from Zeph’s loathsome stare and watch Ryn. I suddenly realize that I’m transfixed and practically drooling over his ass as he bends over, and I quickly tear my eyes away from his glutes and look out toward the trees with intense longing. A deep growl starts next to me, and Zeph makes his warning clear. I turn to meet his eyes again, thefuck youclear in my gaze and square off with him for a minute.
I tell myself tojust get this over with. Once they know I’m telling the truth, I can go home and all of this will just be some confusing jumble of hot-as-fuck-fantasy mixed with confusing nightmare. I narrow my eyes at Zeph and move past him to step back into the pool. I would go for the aggressive shoulder slam as I walk past him, but I’m pretty sure that would do more damage to me than it ever would to his gargantuan ass.
The water once again stings my skin, too warm for my cold, numb limbs, but I grit my teeth against it and look up just in time to see Zeph untying the strings of his pants.
“Those will stay on,” I growl at him, and he looks from me to the water, down to his pants like I’m crazy for suggesting such a thing. “It’s bad enough that you’re putting me through all this, but I refuse to be in here with either one of you naked,” I demand.
“We won’t hurt you,” Ryn defends, and I turn to see that he was also unlacing his leather pants.
“I don’t know shit about you or what you might or might not do. I’m not just going to take your word for it,” I snap and swim back further into the pool. I tell myself that if things start to go bad, I will at least buy myself some time to escape if they have to get their pants off before they can hurt me. Besides, the last thing I need right now is to deal with their dicks and any effecttheymight have on my already conflicting desires.
Zeph and Ryn stare at each other for a second, and then Ryn shrugs and Zeph rolls his eyes. He grumbles something that I can’t make out and steps into the pool with his pants on. I get that Zeph thinks I’m some kind of spy for who the fuck only knows, but I have to wonder if he’s this much of a prick all the time or if this surly shit is just for me. Ryn follows him into the water, and I take a deep measured breath to prepare myself for round two oflet’s fuck with Falon’s hormones.
“Drink this,” Ryn orders me as he walks toward me and extends his hand. He’s holding a small clear glass vial with light pink liquid in it.
I stare at him, making no effort to take it. “Right, I’m just going to down that with no questions, being that I’m all for giving you fuckers the benefit of the doubt,” I tell him, my nose scrunching up with distaste.
Ryn rolls his eyes at me now. “This just encourages the truth,” he tells me and then presses the vial closer. I lean away from it automatically, and Ryn lets out an irritated huff. He brings the vial to his lips and takes a sip. “See, it’s not poison or anything that’s going to hurt you,” he reassures once again, and I watch him warily for any signs that he’s lying.
I reach out and take the vial and bring it up to my nose and sniff. It smells like yellow cake, and I drop it to my lips and tilt my head back to drink the whole thing like a shot. A cool sensation spreads out inside of me, and I lick my lips as I hand the vial back to Ryn.
“What did it taste like to you?” he asks me oddly.
“Like yellow cake,” I answer, and I don’t miss the look that Ryn gives to Zeph who moves to my right. “Motherfuckers!” I shout at them and splash them both with water as I turn and try to swim away. Of course, their giant selves can fucking walk in this pool, and they stride toward me faster than I can swim away. “If you fucking roofied me, I’m going to kill you both. I don’t care if you’re the size of a mountain. I will find a bulldozer or a stick of dynamite or something. Not even mountains withstand that shit!”
I fight against the big hands that wrap around my waist and pull me backwards. I kick and flail, splashing around like a hooked shark desperate for escape. “I will go full House of Tyrell Sand Snake on your mountain asses, and you’ll be the ones getting your heads crushed. I will fucking crush your heads!” I screech as my back slams into the warm wet chest of either Zeph or Ryn. My threats become unintelligible as I battle to get out of my captor’s grip and curse them to hell and back.
I’m not sure how long I struggle or how long they just stand there and let me. I realize that it’s Zeph who’s holding me tightly to him like he’s trying to swaddle me with his body in order to get me to calm down, and I hate that it’s working. Tears prick my eyes again as I uselessly try to get away and he exerts very little effort to keep me right where I am. I stop screaming at them and breathe hard, trying to keep the feeling of helplessness and vulnerability from drowning me.
“You useless fucking pigeon,” I shout at my gryphon, turning my rage on her. “Iwishyou were a wolf instead of a rotisserie chicken, you worthless buffalo wing!” I jibe, hoping for some kind of response.Anykind of response, but nothing stirs inside of me.
Ryn’s eyes widen with surprise as I turn my impotent rage on my animal instead of them, cursing her and threatening her. I even fucking try bribery, but nothing. I feel fucking nothing inside where she should clearly be.
As a teenager, I had to come to terms with being latent when I realized I couldn’t shift, but I always felt what I thought was a wolf inside of me. The connection with my animal was there even if I couldn’t unlock her. I had the heightened smell and hearing, the strength and dominance. I always felt her. But now I’ve shifted into some winged fucking monster, and suddenly I’m empty inside. If this whole being held captive thing isn’t enough to scare the shit out of me, the loneliness I now feel in my chest trumps that fear a million fold.
Where are you?
I plead with my gryphon, but it’s met with stillness and silence inside of me, my desperation clearly not enough to make anything happen. The bitch has abandoned me, and I hate her for it.
7
Igive up and go still in Zeph’s hold. I pant through my desolation and meet Ryn’s gaze with defeat in my eyes. He almost looks sorry.
“If you’re done now, I’ll just scrub you, and then we’ll ask some questions,” he tells me, his tone a little softer, and I don’t bother to wipe at the tear that streaks down my cheek. Another follows in its tracks, unchecked, and I look away from him and stare out into the darkening forest.
I don’t say or do anything as Ryn scrubs my face, neck and shoulders with soft moss that smells like hopelessness. I don’t fight Zeph as he loosens his hold and lifts my arms or when he spins me around so that Ryn can scrub my back when he’s done with the front of me. I don’t look at Zeph. Don’t give him a peek of the desolation coursing through my every cell, but I can feel his honey gaze on me the whole time. They say nothing as they scrub me down quickly and efficiently, and the silence constricts around us even tighter as no one says or does anything for a minute after it’s clear Ryn is done.
Zeph slowly spins me around, my back against his chest again. “What is your name?” he asks me eventually, his deep tone snaking its way unwelcomingly through me and leaving warmth in its wake.
