Much to her sister’s dismay, she’d managed one small act of rebellion. She’d gone downstairs to eat dinner in her jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy boots.

She glanced at the window. The sun was going down. The guards made sure now that she didn’t get close to a window. Her father’s orders, no doubt, after he’d caught her eavesdropping on Rhett.

She scanned the dining room and counted three guards. There was no escaping them. At least she hadn’t been forced to endure Rhett’s company today.

She groaned. Speak of the devil. He strode into the room, dressed in his tuxedo, wearing a white silk scarf around his shoulders and an obnoxious smirk on his face.

He stopped in front of her. “I have a surprise for you.”

Her eyes widened. “You have dog mange?”

Nearby guests chuckled, and his smirk twisted with anger.

He seized her arm. “Come with me.”

As he dragged her from the dining room, she glanced back and saw the guards following. Would they defend her if she was attacked, or stand by and applaud?

Rhett pushed her out the back door, making her stumble forward onto the empty patio. He grabbed her once again and pulled her close.

“You will show me respect in public,” he growled softly.

“Then I can be rude in private?”

His hands tightened painfully on her arms, and she winced. There would be bruises tomorrow. How fortunate her wedding dress had long sleeves.

“You don’t want to know what we’ll do in private,” he hissed. He whipped the white silk scarf off his shoulders and spun her around.

She lunged forward to escape, but the three guards blocked her. Suddenly, the silk scarf covered her eyes. She gasped and felt a tug at the back of her head. The scarf had been knotted.

She reached up to pull the scarf down but her hands were grabbed by a pair of tight fists.

“Come with me.” Rhett pulled her forward.

Her heart raced. She heard the guards following behind, but she doubted they would help her. “What are you doing? If you harm me, my father will kill you.”

Rhett chuckled. “Harm you? I plan to marry you, you nitwit. Now two steps down.” He held on to her hands and guided her into the backyard.

“Where are you taking me?” she demanded.

“I told you. I have a surprise for you.” Rhett wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her to the left. “It took all night and all day for me and my men to pull off this feat. You’ll be very impressed.”

“Only if you all managed to castrate yourselves,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “I like the way you resist. It will make your final submission so much sweeter.”

The air was chilly against her cheeks. The temperature was dropping, a sure sign that the sun had set. Would Phineas come looking for her?

She strained her ears and could hear the soft thud of footsteps behind her. The guards were still following. Up ahead, she heard voices. Something about ropes? Tying something down? She swallowed hard.

Images of her last assault flitted through her mind, and her heart thundered in her ears. No! She pushed the memories aside. She wouldn’t panic. She would be brave.

Rhett stopped her and placed her hands on a horizontal wooden beam. It was the horse pen. She dug her fingers into the wood.

Rhett whispered, his mouth close to the white silk covering her ear. “Your sister told me what you admired the most in the world. I’m giving it to you as a sign of my devotion.”

He whipped the scarf off her head, and she gasped.

Her heart lurched, and tears instantly sprang to her eyes.

The wild white stallion was imprisoned inside the pen. It pawed the ground furiously. Its eyes rolled about in fear and rage. Three ropes had been tied around its neck and secured to the fenced enclosure. The horse strained to move, its neck already red with welts as the ropes cut into its white coat.

“You’re hurting him,” she whispered. You’re killing him. You’re killing me. She could almost feel the ropes around her own neck, squeezing tighter and tighter.

“It’s the only way to contain him,” Rhett said. “Damned horse put up quite a fight.”

She noted the dried blood on the horse’s flank. “Let him go.”

Rhett scoffed. “Are you kidding? Do you know how much trouble we—” He looked at her. “Are you crying?”

She wiped the tears off her face, and jutted out her chin. “Let him go.”

He leaned on the fence, studying her. “I’ll let him go if you’ll be my willing bride.”

Her heart skipped a beat as it plummeted into her stomach. A feeling of doom sucked her down. Submission, the way of the Lycan world.

She gazed at the wild white stallion, and more tears stung her eyes. If she agreed, at least one of them would be free.

Chapter Twenty-four

Phineas nearly fell out of the tree when he teleported there. Was that Brynley? Blindfolded? Rhett Bleddyn was leading her across the backyard. Three guards followed close behind. They appeared to be headed toward the stable.

Maybe he could teleport to her and grab her before Rhett or the three guards reacted. Might be difficult since Rhett had an arm around her. He needed backup.

After waking in Nate Carson’s basement, he’d been so anxious to return here and watch for Brynley that he’d guzzled down a bottle and teleported straight here with Phil. He’d left the werewolf in his favorite tree in the front. Zoltan and Jack were supposed to follow.

He texted a message to Zoltan. Go to stable roof now!

He pocketed the cell phone and glanced at Brynley. Rhett had taken her to the horse pen.

His breath caught. Gleaming white under the full moon, the wild white stallion strained at its ropes.

Shock quickly gave way to anger. The bastards. They’d found the perfect way to hurt Brynley. This was no slap on the face. It was a wound inflicted upon her soul.

He teleported to Phil, and before Phil could ask a question, he’d landed the two of them on the stable roof.

Zoltan materialized with Jack.

Phineas pointed toward the horse pen and whispered, “Brynley.” As he stretched out on his stomach to peer over the ridge of the roof, the others did the same.

Phil hissed in a breath. “Bastards.”

“Go get her.” Zoltan nudged Phineas with his elbow. “Jack and I will keep the guards busy.”

“No,” he whispered back. “I want you and Jack to teleport into the pen. You’ll use your mojo to calm down the stallion while Jack cuts the ropes. Then you teleport the horse out. While you’re—”

“The horse is too heavy,” Zoltan interrupted.

“You can do it together.”

Jack shook his head. “We could end up ripping it in two.”

“Then connect your minds so you’ll land together at the cabin. You can do it. And while they’re freaking out over the horse, I’ll swoop in and grab Brynley. We’ll all meet at the cabin.”

“Except me,” Phil muttered. “But you guys go ahead. Have all the fun.”

“Sorry, dude,” Phineas said.

Phil snorted. “I was kidding. I want you to get Bryn out. I’ll stay here. I’m worried about the rest of my family, too.”

Phineas removed the knife from his boot and handed it to Jack. “Can you do it?”

He accepted the knife. “It’s a crazy idea, but I like it.”

“Ready?” Zoltan asked. “On the count of three. One, two, three.”

Jack and Zoltan teleported. Jack zoomed around the horse at vampire speed, cutting the three ropes, while Zoltan faced the horse. The stallion grew still.

Rhett’s men hollered and jumped into the pen. Rhett let go of Brynley and shouted orders to his men, and her guards moved aside to watch.

Phineas teleported beside her and grabbed her. She gasped, looking at him in shock. He had a glimpse of Zoltan and Jack vanishing with the horse, then he teleported, taking Brynley with him.

They landed inside the cabin.

“Phineas!” She threw her arms around him and laughed.

He grinned. “I got you. You’re safe.”

She leaned back, beaming at him, then her expression morphed into panic. “The wild white stallion! We have to rescue him!”

“Brynley—”

“They’re torturing him!” Her eyes glinted with tears. “We have to save him.”

“I know. You can’t bear to be free if he’s not free.”

“Exactly.”

“Come with me.” He led her onto the front porch.

She gasped.

The stallion reared up on its hind legs. Jack and Zoltan jumped back.

“You saved him,” she whispered. She pressed a hand against her chest, then turned to Phineas. A tear rolled down her cheek. “You saved him.”

With a smile, he brushed the tear away. “I know how you feel about him.”

“Whoa,” Zoltan murmured to the horse. “Calm down. Let us get the ropes off you.”

The stallion pawed at the ground, then went still.

Jack approached slowly, then slid his knife under the ropes and cut through.

The ropes fell to the ground, and the stallion tossed its head.

Brynley’s gaze shifted back to Phineas, and more tears glimmered in her eyes. “You saved me. You saved the stallion. You beautiful, beautiful man.”

Zoltan exchanged a look with Jack. “I thought we did all the work.”

Phineas kissed her brow. “As long as I live, I’ll fight anyone who tries to capture the wild horse. And I’ll never let anyone destroy your beautiful wild spirit.”

With a choked sob, she threw her arms around him. “I love you. I was so afraid I’d never get the chance to tell you.” She placed her hands on his cheeks. “I really do love you.”

He laughed and swung her around in a circle.

“I’m starting to feel a bit unnecessary again,” Jack muttered.

“Come on, Casanova.” Zoltan motioned for him to follow. “We have another job to do.”

They walked into the stable.

“Alone at last.” Phineas kissed Brynley, and she laughed against his mouth.

“Not entirely.” She motioned with her head toward the wild white stallion. It was regarding them curiously.

“Peeping Tom.” Phineas pulled Brynley close. “Get your own girl.”

“That can be arranged.” Zoltan led Molly from the stable. “Go on, girl. Get your man.”

Jack chuckled. “Nothing like amore.”

Molly shook her head and snorted. The wild stallion reared up, then trotted toward her.

“They’re necking,” Brynley whispered.

“Good idea.” Phineas nuzzled her neck.

“I want you.” She kissed his cheek and rubbed a hand over his chest. “I want to kiss you all over. Now.”

His vision turned pink.

“What do you think, Zoltan?” Jack said in a loud voice. “It’s a nice evening. Shall we stand guard for a little while? About five minutes?”

Zoltan snorted. “Ten at least. He is the Love Doctor, after all.”

Phineas teleported Brynley down into the basement.

Brynley ripped his shirt open. “Hurry.”

It felt as if all the frustration and anger and fear she’d endured over the last few days had been poured into a hot cauldron, and it was now bubbling over to make her frantic. She attacked his belt with trembling fingers.

“I was so worried about you.” He unbuttoned her shirt.

“I don’t want to think about it.” She unzipped his jeans and pulled them down. She’d come so close to being forced into a marriage with a man she despised, forced into a life of submission that would have killed her slowly and painfully, choking her, humiliating her, diminishing her until there was nothing left of her.

She had to live. She had to be free. Inside, her wolf howled with joy.

She shoved Phineas back onto the bed and yanked his boots off.

He sat up. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She pulled off his jeans and underwear.

He frowned. “They didn’t hurt you?”

She didn’t want to talk about how desperate and helpless she’d felt. She wanted to feel strong. In control. Empowered. She shoved him back and straddled him. “Let me do this. I need to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Whatever the hell I feel like.” Her heart swelled when his eyes turned red. No wonder she loved him. He loved her when she was strong.

She leaned forward to kiss him, to explore him with her tongue. His hands slipped inside her open shirt, and he kneaded her breasts, then unclasped her bra.

She sat up, flung her shirt and bra aside, then leaned down again to rub herself against him.

He tossed her onto her back and with vampire speed, he removed her boots, jeans, and underwear. When he climbed on top of her, she laughed and pushed him onto his back.

“I’m in charge,” she told him, and smoothed a hand down his chest.

He attempted to sit up. “You think—”

“Stay.” She pushed him back down.

His mouth twitched. “You think I’m a dog?”

“I think you’re mine.” She curled a hand around his erection. “All mine.”

His eyes glowed a rich bloodred.

She leaned over to tease him with her tongue. Yes. She was in charge. Full of power. Bursting with freedom. She took him into her mouth and delighted at the moans she wrenched from him. Moisture pooled between her legs.

She glanced up at him and smiled. “Shall I take you now? Ride you like a cowboy?”

He smiled back. “Will you be gentle with me?”