Forever Is Not Enough [Council Enforcers 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

formula I was supposed to have in the first place.”
    “They’ll never figure it out.” Jacqueline held her breath as she stared at Percival. She prayed he saw the truth in her eyes. “I made sure no one would ever figure out what I did. I covered my tracks well. You need me. I can do this for you.”
    Percival smiled, and Jacqueline was reminded of a cat toying with a mouse just before it killed the mouse.
    “I’m guessing there is a price.”
    “Yes. I’ll stay here and work on the formula for you. You guarantee my safety while I’m here, and once you have your proof that the formula works, I get to walk out of here unharmed with my child.” Jacqueline tried to put on a brave front, but underneath, it was all an act. Her knees were shaking so hard she was sure he could hear them knocking together.
    Instead of responding to her offer, Percival started laughing as he turned and left the room without saying anything. Jacqueline leaned her back against the wall and slid down until she was seated on the floor. She held her head in her hands and couldn’t stop herself from replaying the sound of Ben’s howl. When she had heard the howl as she stumbled through the woods behind Percival, she’d had no doubt it came from Ben. The sound had caused the hair on the back of her neck and arms to stand on end. Her eyes had immediately welled up with tears from the mournful sound, but Jacqueline had held them back, not wanting to show weakness in front of Percival.
    Now, she had nothing holding her back. Jacqueline let the hot tears flow as she sat there. The ache in her chest grew with each passing minute away from the man she loved. She also cried for the mother she had never known and the pain she had gone through.
    Jacqueline allowed herself to wallow in her grief, but only for a few moments. That was all she could spare as she wiped her face and ended her pity party. There was no way she was going to let Percival have her baby. She would fight to the bitter end to keep it safe. Jacqueline also knew Ben would come for her. He would search every inch of the earth until he found her. When he did, Jacqueline planned to be alive and waiting on him.
    She paced as she thought. Jacqueline didn’t know how long shifter pregnancies were, but based on a human, she had nine months, and if she had to, she planned on using every bit of that time to find a way to escape or at least make it easier for Ben to find her. She had no idea how long she had been pacing when the door to her cell opened.
    “I’ve been thinking about your offer,” Percival said as he strolled in with his hands laced behind his back. “You make me happy by giving me my rogues and I’ll let you live and keep your child, but you’ll stay here with me. I think I like the fact that your mate will suffer knowing you and his child are out there somewhere, yet he can’t find you. Maybe I will send him videos of you and the whelp from time to time just to let him know what he’s missing. I think that is a fitting punishment.”
    Jacqueline wondered what had happened to Percival in the past to cause him to become so sick and twisted. The man was cruel beyond belief. She forced herself not to cringe as he came near, only to scream out when he grabbed her hair and wrenched her head back.
    “Make no mistake about it. If you betray me again or do anything to the formula that I don’t approve of, I will kill you.” He hissed in her ear. “Instead of your precious mate wondering when he will receive the next video, he will fear when the next piece of your body will turn up.” Percival yanked on her hair one last time as if to drive his point home before placing his hands behind his back again and whistling as he strolled out of the room.
    Jacqueline shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She had been given a reprieve it seemed, and it wasn’t one she was going to take for granted. She would make Percival think she was working on his precious serum, but in the meantime, she was already formulating a cocktail in her mind just for him. Someone needed to rid the earth of Edmund Percival, and if that someone was her, then so be it. She deserved a little revenge for what he had done to her mother.

Chapter 15
     
    Four Months Later
     
    The phone ringing caused Ben to growl. He’d barely slept at all lately, but it seemed that, when he finally did fall asleep, there was always something to wake him right back up. Snatching the phone up, he stabbed at