A Mate For Christmas

Chapter 16

The city was beautiful in the winter sunlight. Snow covered the streets, and Christmas decorations still hung in shop windows even though the holiday had passed. Evie walked down a busy shopping street, trying to look relaxed and carefree.

Inside, her heart was pounding.

She wore a simple coat and jeans, her hair loose around her shoulders. The silver bracelet Gideon had given her felt heavy on her wrist. A reminder that help was one panic button away.

But she was supposed to look vulnerable. Alone. An easy target.

Delilah walked about half a block ahead, pretending to window shop. Behind Evie, Julian browsed a bookstore across the street. More guards were hidden on rooftops, in alleys, in parked cars.

But to anyone watching, Evie appeared to be alone.

She went into a dress shop, browsing through formal gowns like Victoria had instructed. The council hearing required formal attire. It was the perfect excuse to be out shopping.

An hour passed. Then two. Nothing happened.

Maybe Raphael had not taken the bait. Maybe his spies had seen through the trap.

Evie was starting to think this was a waste of time when she felt it. A prickle on the back of her neck. The sensation of being watched.

She glanced around casually. The shop was mostly empty. An older woman browsed scarves in the corner. A young couple looked at jewelry near the entrance.

But something felt wrong.

Evie moved deeper into the shop, toward the back where evening gowns hung in neat rows. She pretended to examine a blue dress while watching the mirrors on the walls.

The young couple from earlier had followed her. They were not looking at each other anymore. They were looking at her.

Evie's pulse quickened. She touched the bracelet on her wrist, ready to press the panic button.

Then the lights went out.

The entire shop plunged into darkness. Evie heard screams, confusion. Hands grabbed her from behind, clamping over her mouth before she could yell.

She struggled, trying to remember Jayden's training. She stomped down hard on her attacker's foot and jabbed her elbow backward. The person grunted but did not let go.

More hands grabbed her arms, her legs. She was being carried now, moved fast through the darkness.

Evie tried to press the panic button but someone grabbed her wrist, yanking the bracelet off. It clattered to the floor, lost in the chaos.

No. No, no, no.

They were taking her. The trap had failed. She was being kidn*pped.

Evie opened her mouth to scream, but something was shoved over her face. A cloth, sweet smelling and chemical. Her vision swam.

The last thing she heard before darkness took her was Delilah shouting her name.

Evie woke to cold. Bone deep, aching cold that made her shiver violently. Her head pounded and her mouth tasted like chemicals.

She tried to move and realized her hands were tied behind her back. Her ankles were bound too. She was sitting on a concrete floor in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Moonlight streamed through broken windows high above.

"She is waking up."

Evie's head snapped toward the voice. Three people stood nearby. The young couple from the dress shop, plus a third person she did not recognize. All three had wolf eyes. Rogues.

"Good," the woman said. She walked over and grabbed Evie's chin, forcing her to look up. "The boss wants her awake for this part."

"For what part?" Evie asked. Her voice came out hoarse.

"The part where we send proof to your precious Alpha that we have you," the woman said with a cruel smile.

The man pulled out a phone and started recording. "Say hello to Gideon."

"No," Evie said.

The woman slapped her, hard. Evie's head snapped to the side, pain exploding across her cheek.

"Say hello," the woman repeated.

Evie spat blood on the floor. "No."

Another slap. This one made her ears ring.

"You are going to make this difficult?" the woman asked. "Fine. We have all night."

But before she could hit Evie again, a phone rang. The third rogue answered it, listened, then said, "He wants to talk to her."

The woman grabbed Evie's hair and held the phone to her ear. A familiar smooth voice came through.

"Hello, Evie. I do hope my wolves are treating you well."

Raphael.

"Not particularly," Evie said.

Raphael laughed. "Such spirit. I can see why Gideon is so taken with you. Unfortunately, that spirit will not save you now."

"What do you want?"

"I want Gideon to surrender his territory and his pack to me," Raphael said pleasantly. "And you are going to help me convince him."

"He will never surrender," Evie said.

"We will see," Raphael said. "I am sending him a little video message shortly. You, beaten and bleeding, begging him to give up. It should be quite motivating."

"I will never beg," Evie said.

"Again, we will see," Raphael said. "My wolves have very creative ways of encouraging cooperation. By the time they are done with you, you will say whatever I want you to say."

The line went dead.

The woman smiled and handed the phone back. "You heard the boss. Let us get creative."

Evie tried to prepare herself for pain. But before the wolves could move, the warehouse doors exploded inward.

Gideon stood there in wolf form, massive and terrifying. Behind him, at least twenty more wolves poured through the opening.

The rogues barely had time to react. Gideon hit the woman so hard she flew across the warehouse, slamming into a concrete pillar. The two men tried to fight back but were quickly overwhelmed by pack wolves.

Within seconds, all three rogues were dead or unconscious.

Gideon shifted back to human form and ran to Evie. He pulled a knife from somewhere and cut through the ropes binding her.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his hands running over her frantically.

"I am okay," Evie said. Her cheek throbbed where she had been slapped, and her wrists were raw from the ropes, but she was alive. "How did you find me?"

"The tracker in your bracelet," Gideon said. "When they pulled it off you, it activated a secondary tracker embedded in the shop floor. We followed it here."

He pulled her against him, holding her so tight she could barely breathe. Through the bond, she felt his terror, his rage, his relief.

"I thought I lost you," he whispered. "When they took you, when we lost the signal for those few minutes, I thought I lost you."

"I am here," Evie said. "I am safe."

Jayden approached, carrying Evie's silver bracelet. "Found this in the rubble. The rogues tried to destroy it but the casing held."

"Good," Gideon said. He took the bracelet and put it back on Evie's wrist. "This does not leave you again."

"Did we capture any alive?" Maxwell asked, walking over.

"One," Julian reported, dragging an unconscious male rogue. "The other two are dead."

"Wake him up," Gideon ordered. "I have questions."

Julian slapped the rogue awake. The man's eyes widened when he saw Gideon looming over him.

"Where is Raphael?" Gideon demanded.

"I do not know," the rogue said.

Gideon's eyes flashed gold. "Wrong answer."

"I swear! He does not tell us where he is. We just follow orders through phone calls."

"What were your orders?"

"Kidnap the girl. Beat her until she begs on camera. Send the video to you." The rogue's eyes darted around, looking for escape. "That is all I know."

"Not good enough," Gideon said. His hand shot out, grabbing the rogue by the throat. "Who else is working with Raphael? What other packs have allied with him?"

"I do not know names," the rogue gasped. "But I heard there is a meeting. Tomorrow night. All the allied Alphas gathering to plan the final attack on your pack."

"Where?"

"The old cathedral," the rogue said. "The same place as before. Neutral ground."

Gideon released him. The rogue collapsed, coughing.

"We need to intercept that meeting," Maxwell said. "Find out who has betrayed us."

"Agreed," Gideon said. He turned to Jayden. "Take this one to the cells. I want him questioned thoroughly. Find out everything he knows."

Jayden nodded and dragged the rogue away.

Gideon turned back to Evie. "Can you walk?"

"Yes," Evie said, though her legs felt shaky.

Gideon did not care. He picked her up anyway, carrying her like she weighed nothing. "Let us go home."

The ride back to the estate was quiet. Evie sat pressed against Gideon's side, his arm around her protectively. The other pack members filled two more cars behind them.

When they arrived, Victoria was waiting in the entry hall. She took one look at Evie's bruised face and her expression went cold with rage.

"Who did this?" Victoria demanded.

"Raphael's rogues," Gideon said. "They are dead now."

"Not dead enough," Victoria muttered. She turned to Evie. "Come, child. Let me tend to those wounds."

But Evie did not want to be tended to right now. She wanted answers.

"What happens tomorrow night?" she asked. "At the cathedral meeting?"

"We crash it," Gideon said simply. "We find out which packs have allied against us. And we make them regret betraying us."

"Can I come?" Evie asked.

"Absolutely not," Gideon and Victoria said at the same time.

"You were just kidn*pped and beaten," Gideon continued. "You are staying here where it is safe."

"I am tired of staying safe," Evie said. "I want to see this through."

"No," Gideon said firmly. "This is not up for discussion, Evie. You are not going."

Evie wanted to argue more, but exhaustion was pulling at her. Her body hurt, her head ached, and she just wanted to sleep.

"Fine," she said quietly.

Gideon's eyes narrowed, like he knew she was planning something. But he did not call her out on it.

Victoria took Evie upstairs and cleaned her wounds. The slaps had left bruises on her face, and the ropes had rubbed her wrists raw. But nothing was broken or permanently damaged.

"You did well today," Victoria said as she applied salve to Evie's wrists. "You did not break. Did not beg. That takes strength."

"I was terrified," Evie admitted.

"Bravery is not the absence of fear," Victoria said. "It is acting despite it. You have more bravery than most wolves I know."

Coming from Victoria, that was high praise.

After Victoria left, Evie lay in bed but could not sleep. Tomorrow, Gideon and the pack would confront Raphael and his allies. It would be dangerous. Possibly deadly.

And Evie would not be there to help.

Unless she found a way to be there anyway.

She knew it was stupid. Knew Gideon would be furious. But she could not just sit here while he walked into danger.

Through the bond, she felt his presence downstairs. He was meeting with his advisors, planning for tomorrow.

Evie closed her eyes and made a decision.

Tomorrow night, she was going to that cathedral. Whether Gideon liked it or not.