3. Kidnappers
1661 Words
AVERY
His grip was strong but not cruel. I could feel him holding back. He could’ve hurt me. He didn’t.
His eyes widened as he looked down at me, our bodies pressed close. My breasts rose against his, and his legs tangled with mine, and for one breathless moment, neither of us moved.
Goddess, I felt everything.
A shock of heat licked up my spine, curling around my ribcage, setting my skin alight with a strange, pulsing awareness. My nerves tingled beneath my bruises, not from fear, but something else. Something darker. Something I didn’t want to name.
This was insane.
His body was solid, and mine fit against his like we’d done this before in another lifetime. And the way he looked at me—eyes flicking to my mouth, lingering there, then dragging back up—like he wasn’t just seeing me but… tasting me with his eyes.
I licked my lips as my stomach clenched. With need and desire. It felt like lust. It had been a long time since I felt this burning need for a man. I hadn't felt this, not even for Kylen, in a while.
This wasn’t right. This was stupid and unacceptable. I shouldn’t be feeling this.
Not now. Not after everything I had gone through, not when this man was here to kidnap me.
But his scent, oh, his scent... It wasn’t like Kylen’s. It wasn’t cloying, suffocating. No, it was wild. Cold rain and pine. Smoke and thunder. It wrapped around me, thick and raw, and for one delirious second, I wanted to drown in it.
And it was stupid. I knew that.
He blinked, jaw tightening like he felt it too.
I could hear his breath. Heavy. Rushed.
Like mine.
His eyes darkened. Filled with something heady. And then my hips shifted against him, and I felt him. He was so f*****g hard. His pupils flared, his grip on my shoulders tightening for just a heartbeat before he let go.
“f**k,” he said, jumping away from me like I had burned him. Then he whistled, low and sharp, and a woman and a man jumped out of the trees, as if they were waiting for his cue.
“Take her to the car," he said, looking away from me, his hands curled into fists.
I hated how my body trembled even after he had moved away--this was not right, was it? I hated the way my skin still burned from his touch, the way his presence filled the air.
Everything about him was… strangely familiar, yet wrong.
He was wrong. This was wrong.
But everything I’d left behind was way worse than this.
I didn’t know what he wanted anymore. I didn’t know what I wanted anymore.
He could have killed me back there in that room. Easily. And yet he hadn’t. Why didn’t he? What exactly did he want from me if not my death?
“What the hell do you want?” I whispered, finally finding my voice as the woman pulled me from the ground.
I glanced between the blonde woman and the bored-looking man flanking me, as they dragged me toward the car.
The woman was beautiful, and her hair was cut to her chin. Her light brown eyes were too kind as she looked at me, like she wasn’t currently kidnapping me. The man on the other side had cropped blond hair, and he looked tired.
“Revenge,” said my kidnapper without blinking his eyes. “Kylen must pay for his crimes.”
What the hell did Kylen do now? The bastard was worse than I thought.
I blinked, confused. “So? Let me get this straight. You’re kidnapping me to hurt Kylen?” I said with a frown, shaking my head. This didn’t make sense.
The woman nodded. “Yes. Kylen is a piece of s**t, but…” she trailed off, eyes narrowed.
That made my entire body go slack for a second. It shouldn’t have comforted me, knowing this man wasn’t taking me away because of Kylen’s orders, but it did.
Kylen hadn’t planned this. Maybe he didn’t even know. And that was everything. The fight left my body in a wave of relief.
Oh, thank the Goddess.
“Courtney, we aren’t here to chit-chat with her,” my kidnapper said.
“Oh, come on, Shade. This is a stupid plan, and you know it. She didn’t do anything. It is f*****g messed up to do this when…”
Shade growled, cutting her off.
“So… your name is Shade?” I said, glaring at him. “It fits.”
“What does that mean?” he asked with a growl, and I gave him a flippant shrug.
I rather preferred my kidnappers to my mate anyway, so I had stopped resisting.
Shade yanked open the passenger door, lifted me from the ground, and shoved me inside with too much ease.
“I tried being nice,” he muttered, slamming the door behind me. “Didn’t take.”
“You’re a rude, uncouth bastard. Do you know that, Shade?” I gave him a smile. He gave me a withering glare before slamming the door closed. Courtney and the other man opened the back door and entered inside, as Shade started the engine.
I crossed my arms, leaning against the rich brown leather with a sigh.
“What day is it?” I asked, closing my eyes.
“Why?” he grumbled.
“Just tell me. What is the date?”
“Twenty fifth, Saturday,” Courtney said, and I counted in my head. It felt like too long, but it had only been a week since that night I caught Kylen with Jessa and Lyra. A week. A week without Ember, a week of Wolfsbane.
“Thanks,” I said, and much to my displeasure, my stomach growled. I hadn’t eaten anything yesterday or today.
“Here,” Courtney said, handing me a bottle of water and a pack of biscuits.
I took it from her with a thank you, and scarfed through the biscuits like my life depended on it. Oh, it did. It had been too long since I had eaten anything nice, tasty, and not poisoned. I emptied the whole bottle of water before turning to Shade.
“So, where are you taking me?” I asked. “And what’s the plan?”
Shade glanced at me with a look of pure exasperation. “God, why is she so talkative?”
Maybe because I was locked in a goddamn room for seven days, I thought with a frown. I had longed for a normal conversation, and without my wolf to keep me sane, it was even harder.
Even though they were literally abducting me right now, I would rather not be silent.
“Show a little humanity, Shade. She deserves to know at least that,” Courtney snapped, and Shade growled from next to me.
“You growl too much,” I said to Shade, before turning to look at Courtney. “So, why are you doing this?”
“Well, I was roped into this by this i***t,” she said, glaring at Shade. “I’m the pack’s strategist. And, before you ask, no, I didn’t vote to kidnap you.” She shot Shade a look sharp enough to slice skin. “This was all his idea.”
“It was all of our idea,” the man next to her said. “And she… they deserve it.”
“What did Kylen do?” I asked, frowning, the exhaustion making my voice hoarse. I wanted to go to sleep. It had been a while since I felt like sleeping, but now I wanted to.
Shade’s head snapped toward me, his knuckles whitening on the wheel. “Like you don’t f*****g know,” he snarled, his glare burning into me like acid. “Don’t play dumb.”
I sighed.
“I don’t…” I started, but then stopped.
Trying to explain wouldn’t do anything but waste breath. No one here wanted to hear about betrayal or manipulation. Not from the Luna of Elkmoon. Not from Kylen’s chosen mate
Fine. Let them think what they wanted. I didn’t care anyway. I was beyond caring right about now.
To be honest, rotting inside that pack house—starved, drugged, silenced—was worse than this.
Being kidnapped by a brooding stranger with too many muscles and a sharp jaw shouldn’t have felt like freedom… but somehow, it did. I let out a long breath. For the first time in weeks, the air didn’t smell like mold or cold metal. It didn’t taste like poison.
I closed my eyes again, sinking deeper into the warm seat. The SUV’s engine hummed under me like a lullaby. The darkness didn’t feel too overwhelming. It was warm, and soft.
A yawn escaped me. I was so close to falling asleep when I felt a flicker of warmth in my chest. Startled, I sat upright.
Ember.
“Ember,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my heart, my body trembling with hope. Maybe she had come back.
“Hi.” Her voice was still weak. Still barely there, but there.
“Oh, thank Goddess. I thought… I thought you were gone,” I whispered. "F.uck. I was so scared."
A long pause. I wondered if I had hallucinated her in my head.
“No. I won't leave you alone.”
My lips lifted into a smile. She wasn’t strong yet, but she was alive, and that was enough. She was coming back to me. And for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel alone.
The car sped on. Trees thinned. Miles passed. The conversation died. The warmth from the heater and the low rumble of tires lulled me.
My body sagged, and my eyes fell closed.
Feeling safe for the first time in a while, I let myself fall asleep.
___
- Writer
