The Price They Paid: Imprinted Mates Series

of this place. “Bob” was about to pay.
Alec helped me strap the asshole in before I picked up the drill and held it to his knee. I glanced at Alec and he opened the wallet of our victim.
“Michael Sims.”
I turned on the drill and let it destroy the skin before starting in on the bone. The screaming began immediately, and I tuned it out until I heard the level of desperation I was waiting for. I didn’t bother with small talk either. Time was wasting.
“Who sent you, and what potion did you slip my mate?”
Alec tilted his head in curiosity. I’d spoken not two words to him since we’d left the scene of the accident. I needed the name of the potion to get Alice started on the antidote or I’d never be able to save my little vixen.
“Potion? What potion? I don’t know anything about a potion! I gave her a pill!” Michael begged with his cries of pain. Blood poured from his knee on to the floor.
“It was a capsule, dipshit. There was a potion on the inside. When you dropped it in her drink, it dissolved. What … was … it?” I started the drill again and let it do the asking.
“Ida … Ida! She told me to give it to her and she’d do the rest. I just joined this group of hunters, and they do things differently. They said that if I wanted to be somebody I needed to ask fewer questions and just do what they said.”
“What group!?!” I roared.
“They call themselves The Firm.”
My eyes widened. It was the same group that set out to get my mother, but how? I’d killed them all. They targeted the potential female mates of shifters because it drew in their males. My mother was an advocate fighting to ban the use of meds to quiet The Calling. It’s the call from your mate summoning you to claim them. The meds prevented knowing who your mate was and silenced the need to find them. My mother was totally against it. She’d spoken out freely on it several times, but it was allowed by the nation’s leader. The benefits outweighed the cons, and so it was still used. Hell, I’ve taken it since puberty, and she hated it. I’d never forget the name of the potion they used to kill her, and Alice could get me the remedy, but it came at a cost. We had the time that my mother didn’t on our side.
The healer. The one that fled. She was the reason. She had to be. Someone had shown her mercy, but I wouldn’t. She wouldn’t see it this time and neither would this fucker. I sent a quick message to Alice so that she could get started. While she was doing that, I prayed to the gods that my mate would hold on, and then I took fate of a different kind into my own hands. Michael’s torture would be agonizing, and I would enjoy it as I sought revenge for my vixen. All mine.

Justice
Between fits of Consciousness, I saw and heard things. There was a doctor … well, there were many doctors, but there was one that made me feel safe. He smiled at me when I could actually see his face. He gave me the meds that made me sleep and feel better. The stuff that the nurses gave me didn’t compare. The beeping agitated me during the day but at night, after the doctor came in, nothing bothered me.
He brought in a nurse and told me that she would take diligent care of me. This happened after I mumbled on about being in pain during the day. Her name was Alice, and I swear she never went home.
When the doctor asked me questions, I didn’t always remember the answers that I’d provided. I hoped that I was telling him what I needed to, or at least that I was being truthful. The medication was so strong sometimes that I couldn’t tell if I was coming or going. His expression only conveyed that I’d said something wrong once. The shadow of something that I couldn’t place washed over his features for only a second before his face found his dashing smile again.
As the days carried on, I began to feel better. I still hadn’t left the bed, but I felt stronger. My skin no longer felt like it was on fire, and I didn’t feel alone. My head was still heavy as lead, but it didn’t hurt as badly to breathe. My eyes didn’t hurt when I opened them longer than a few blinks. And nurse Alice brought ice chips in for me. It was becoming my favorite part of the day. I did miss the doctor, though. As I got stronger, I saw less and less of him. Maybe that was why I was dreaming of him now.
The doctor talked to me. I learned that his name was Seuss. He promised that everything would be just fine, and I trusted him. He’d helped me to feel better, and that had to count for something. That didn’t change the fact that I still slept all the time in the deepest slumber.
“If you can hear me, please stay asleep, or at least keep your eyes closed.” The voice belonged to Alice, and she sounded panicked.
I didn’t move. I heard the door open to the room, and several pairs of footsteps entered. I slowed my breathing to appear as much asleep as possible. I fought the pull of the medication to focus on whatever was happening. What was going on?
“When she’s awake can you give us a call?” a man asked.
“I sure will.” That was definitely Alice. “How serious is this?”
“Ms. Everette was driving on the wrong side of the highway. She caused several accidents, and even some fatalities.”
“I thought that the deaths resulted from the semi-truck losing control.” I could hear Alice’s concern.
“Had she not been driving on the wrong side of