Fin’s hand was firm on my back, but suddenly it wasn’t there anymore. I stood motionless until someone pushed me. I fell hard on my face.
“You don’t have to be such an asshole, Murphy.”
“Vera?” I gasped out her name. I wasn’t sure if she could hear me through the bag.
Murphy snorted. “You don’t have to be a cold bitch either, but you do it anyway.”
“Get out of here, dick.”
“Just get her changed and leave her. This isn’t a reunion.” Murphy’s angry voice faded away.
“Casey.” Vera pulled me up to standing and took the sack off my head. “Are you okay?”
“I think so.” I could barely speak. I couldn’t believe my sister was actually standing in front of me. Her hazel eyes were wide and full of unshed tears.
“I’m sorry.” Her words were whispered.
“It’s okay.” It wasn’t, or not completely, but at the moment, I was just glad to see her.
“I was so blinded by Murphy. He showed me what I was, what I could be.”
“You’re a bear.” I knew it already, but I wanted to hear her say it.
“Yes. And you have wings I hear.” Her voice was light, almost teasing. It reminded me of when we were kids.
“Cool black ones.”
She smiled. “I’ll have to see them sometime, but right now, you need to get changed.”
“Are you still with Murphy?” It didn’t sound like it, but I needed to know how she could be with such a jerk.
She shook her head. “Not by a long shot. Once I found out what he was really like, it was too late. You can’t just leave a clan.” She glanced over her shoulder.
“Why’d you go?”
She didn’t answer. She just ran a hand through my tangled hair.
I tried another conversation. “Fin’s here too.”
She looked away. “Yeah. If it makes you feel any better, I kicked him in the balls for you.”
“Really?” I wasn’t actually surprised. Vera was like that.
“Of course. He hurt my baby sister.”
“I’m not such a baby anymore.”
She reached around and untied the jacket. She leaned in to whisper. “Don’t try to run. I’ll get you out of here, but you have to do it carefully.”
I nodded. I’d take her word for it. Besides, in a cave that small, I wasn’t sure how I’d fight.
“Here. Change into these. That dress doesn’t look too hot.” Her expression said more. It would be easier to escape if I wasn’t in a long dress.
The bridesmaid dress was in shambles, so I accepted the clothes Vera held out. “What is this?” I took the top.
“Don’t complain. Just put it on.” She stepped forward like she was going to hug me but stopped herself. I made the move myself. Her arms wrapped around me, and the tears started. The tears were of relief of finding her but also the realization that finding her wasn’t going to miraculously change everything. Everything wasn’t just going to be okay.
Vera waited while I slipped into a pair of barely there jean shorts and a blue corset style top. “Do you really wear this stuff?”
“Bears aren’t worried about covering up. It works.” She was wearing short shorts herself, along with a tight, low-cut tank top.
I changed, uncomfortable about the amount of cleavage that spilled out of the top. Vera was more blessed in that department. I couldn’t imagine what she looked like in it. She must have had all the guys drooling over her. That wouldn’t have been very different from what it was like back home. Vera was always the kind of girl who got lots of attention from the opposite sex. She didn’t sleep around, but she definitely flirted a lot.
She suddenly hugged me again. “Casey, I’m going to do everything possible to get you out of here. I’ll find help.” Something in her tone scared me more than I already was. She’d dropped her calm façade. Vera wasn’t the type to get frightened, and that wasn’t good news for me. “You have to get out of here. We’re running out of time.”
“Find Toby Blackwell. He’s the Pteron leader of New York. If you can’t find him, get Jared Florence. He’s in charge of security for The Society.”
“You’ve been busy, little sister.”
“Yeah, well. What can I say?”
“Can you hold on? Can you be strong? I promise I’m going to come back for you.” Silent tears spilled down her face. “If I’d only known… I never knew.”
I knew she had so much to tell me, but I also knew our time alone was limited.
She stepped away from me, trying to blink away the few tears she’d spilled.
“Reunion’s over,” Murphy called. “And Casey, looking good.”
I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Don’t worry about that, sweetheart. We’ve seen a lot more than that around here.”
“I’m sorry I have to do this.” Vera held out a rope and gestured to my wrists. They were still sore from earlier, but I nodded. Fighting wasn’t going to do anything. I couldn’t take on a group of bears, especially not in a cave. Vera tied my hands.
“Let’s go,” Murphy bellowed. He pushed me out of the little enclave we were in and further down a passageway that narrowed to the point that I could barely stand upright. The cave was only lit by flickering torches placed on the cave walls.
“Oh, we forgot this.” Murphy pulled the rough sack down over my face again. I sighed. At least Vera was with me.
“Sleep well.” Murphy’s voice came from right next to me. In the next second, I felt a sharp sting in my arm.
Sleep well? What was he talking about? I struggled against him as he picked me up. He didn’t try to restrain me. Instead, he dropped me. My head smacked into the hard floor. Vera gasped, but Murphy must have held her back because she never made contact with me.
“If you’re going to fight me, have it your way.” He spit on me. “Put her in that room,” he ordered.
What felt like two sets of arms grabbed me before I fell hard against the cave ground again. Every inch of my body hurt.
“Don’t mess her up too badly. She might not be useful to the boss if she isn’t alive.”
My heart sunk just as I slipped out of consciousness.
***
I woke up in a haze. My head throbbed, and I was barely aware of several people standing around me and chanting. I shivered, but not from the cold. I tried to sit up, but things were foggy. I couldn’t move any of my limbs.