5
1390 Words
I'm being followed.
I hadn't been sure at first, but the shuffling behind me has been going on for more than half an hour, even when I've diverted routes, tried doubling back, even stopped once to listen.
There are two footsteps. Maybe three. Goddess.
I don't break my stride, fingers tightening around the hilt of my butter knife. It's a pathetic weapon, but I grip it like a lifeline. My heart pounds as I step over another fallen tree.
Light flickers in the distance—streetlights. The road must be close by. My ears perk at the sound of a car speeding past in the distance. If I could get on the—
Something thuds behind me.
I whirl, wild-eyed, panting.
Something flashes in the dark. A pair of glowing eyes.
I break into a run, tripping over roots, branches slicing my skin.
A dark laugh echoes, sending ice down my spine. I sprint, tripping over roots, branches slicing my skin. My lungs burn and my heart pounds harder.
The shuffling feet close in, taunting whistles instilling fear inside me. I push past the panic, making it just shy of the pavement before a hand yanks me back by my bag, ripping it off me.
I veer, twisting to face them. My chest heaves. There are two of them, nearly twice my size, bulky enough to snap me in half if they wanted.
I retreat a single step back.
The taller one of the two with gaunt cheeks and pitch black eyes smiles so wide, his eyes crinkle shut. "The Luna sends her regards." I have barely enough time to process his words before he tilts his head towards his partner. "Get her."
I don't think. I swing the knife, slashing wildly. It cuts through flesh and there's a roar of pain.
My fist slashes again but a hand grabs my arm. I shriek, jerking and my elbow smashes into something solid. A nose? A jaw? A pained grunt tells me I hit something, and then I thrash like a wild animal.
The knife slices again and someone stumbles back, cursing. I lurch forward, snarling as I drive my knee up. Bone meets bone and a painful howl splits the air.
I wrench free, only to get backhanded so hard, the world blotches temporarily. "Stupid bitch."
A brutal punch to my ribs seizes my breath completely. Another to my stomach and pain splinters through my torso. I gasp, knees buckling. Before I can fall, another blow comes and I only have enough strength to shield my stomach before it lands.
A boot connects with my wrist and I scream at the pain. But I don't let go, digging my nails deeper into my skin as I hang on tighter, as if I can protect my child with sheer will.
I try to lurch away but my movements are too slow and I am caught by a hand in my hair that yanks me backward. Agony. I barely register the sharp pain in my neck before a punch crashes into my temple. My ears ring. The world tilts.
Blood fills my mouth.
Another hit lands on my lower back and I cry out as agony tightens my stomach. A worse pain, deeper, sharper, rends me in half. Something wet trickles between my legs.
No.
Gods, no. Please...
A low, amused voice murmurs, "Persistent little thing, isn't she?"
A vicious hand cracks against my jaw. I trip, my foot catching on a jagged stone, and suddenly, I'm falling.
Something solid smashes against my skull and I hear a sickening crack.
My vision bursts white, then black. My body stops feeling like my own.
"s**t," someone curses, but the sound is distant.
Then everything goes quiet.
CHAPTER 3
SOREN
I
can still smell her.
Sweat, smoke and something feminine underneath. It pissed me off. Everything about the maid infuriated me. She was nothing at all like I expected.
Since the engagement was finalized months ago, to my f*****g dismay, I had been keeping tabs on the woman. It was my duty, after all, to know the woman who my cousin's fiancée was f*****g on the side. I had imagined her another of Ronan's many whores who only cared that they had an Alpha's affections. And the benefits and wealth that came with bedding one.
But being in the same room with her, running an eye along the washed out black dress she wore, the worn boots with holes in them, the old, rusted necklace that hung from an elegant neck like it was a prized possession told me everything I needed to know. It definitely wasn't about the money.
It was...perplexing and my confusion only grew when I watched her smile at him, watched her look after him in confusion when he ignored her.
And it slapped me right in the face.
She loved him.
And then, I asked myself the very obvious question. Was she daft? Or possibly naive, falling in love with a betrothed man? Or did she just lack sense of self preservation?
Approaching her had been out of mere curiosity and it quickly rid me of every possible assumption I made of who I thought she was.
She was witty. And irritatingly arrogant in a way Omegas weren't. And somehow, it made me excited. It made Kaelin, my wolf, giddy. It was a rather terrible combination and before I knew it, I was touching her hair and talking s**t.
And now, all I can think about is the devastation I'd caught on her face in the hallway, the rage that had been directed at me. Don't touch me. As if I wanted to. My body kept doing the weird s**t around her.
One moment, she was falling, and it would have been satisfying watching her fall on her ass after talking to me like I was a f*****g nobody—not even Eric talks to me like that. And the next, I was helping her. And what did I get in return? Screamed at.
Still, it didn't halt the realization that she hadn't known Tova and Ronan have been engaged for months, the union agreed upon by the council of Alphas. She was another victim of Ronan's, much like Tova.
"I swear I was patrolling and in the next I know, I'm in their dungeons..."
Eric is beginning to sound like a f*****g drone these days, whining on and on, swearing that he had been kidnapped by the Alpha pup.
Had he not been my brother, I would have let Ronan kill him. It was after all, his lack of awareness that got us here.
That being said, I really need to sort through better choices for Betas. Eric has more penchant for trouble than a petulant kid. Still, I could count the number of people I trusted on three fingers and Eric fit into the three. It continues to remain his saving grace.
"We'll get her back," Eric promises, the weight of his guilt stealing the air in the car and my lips curl up in annoyance.
I had no choice. Trading Tova in marriage for Eric's life and the illusion of a truce was a necessary exchange. But something about it chafes. Maybe it's the way her eyes lit up like a Solstice tree, or the way I could scent her arousal whenever Ronan was in the room. She's in love with the fool, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something crucial.
"She loves him," I state coolly, watching the trees blur past the window. "She'll despise us if we take her from him."
Eric's gaze burns into the side of my face, his green eyes a shade lighter than mine. "Since when has that ever stopped you?"
He's right. I've killed to protect what's mine. Kidnapping Tova and saving her from her own emotions would be far from the worst thing I've done. But she made me promise to respect her choice.
I exhale slowly. Parenting is f*****g hard.
The car jolts to a stop, tires screeching. My gaze snaps to Ken in the rearview mirror. "What?"
He nods toward the sidewalk. "Someone's bleeding out."
"Unless it's one of ours, don't waste my time."
But Eric is already peering out the window, his voice edged with something like disgust.
"It's Ronan's bitch."
- Writer
