Forbidden Bonds

The Warehouse Rescue

Shammah’s POV

I couldn't sleep that night. I kept thinking about what Solomon said. About blood types, about the lie.

At six in the morning, I gave up on sleep and went for a run in my wolf form. Running always helped me think.

I was deep in the forest when I smelled something wrong.

Rogue wolves.

Rogues were wolves without a pack. Dangerous and mean. They attacked anyone they saw.

I tried to run back home, but three of them surrounded me.

The biggest one growled. "Look what we have here. A little she-wolf all alone."

I shifted back to human form. "I don't want trouble."

"Too bad," he laughed. "We haven't had fun in weeks."

They moved closer. I looked for an escape, but there wasn't one.

I was about to shift and fight when a massive wolf jumped between us.

It was the biggest wolf I'd ever seen. Dark gray with silver eyes.

A Lycan.

The rogue wolves took one look and ran away. Lycans were way stronger than regular wolves. They didn't want to fight one.

The big wolf shifted.

It was David.

He was breathing hard. Angry. "What are you doing out here alone?"

"I was just running," I said. "I couldn't sleep."

"These woods aren't safe!" He grabbed my shoulders. "You could have been killed!"

"I'm fine. You saved me."

He pulled me into a hug. "Don't scare me like that again."

His arms felt so warm and safe. I hugged him back.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

He pulled back, looking embarrassed. "I've been... keeping an eye on you after the news story to make sure you're safe."

"You've been following me?"

"Protecting you," he corrected. "There's a difference."

Before I could respond, his phone rang.

His face went pale as he answered. "What? When? I'll be right there."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's Esther," he said. "She's been kidnapped."

At David's house, police were everywhere. Esther's mother was crying.

"Who would take her?" I asked.

"I have many enemies," David said grimly. "I'm a powerful Lycan. People want to hurt me."

A detective came over. "Mr. Khai, we found this note."

David read it, and his face went hard as stone. He showed it to me.

"We have your daughter. If you want her back alive, bring us the girl who works for you. Shammah Rowland, come alone to the old warehouse on Fifth Street tonight at midnight. No police, or Esther dies."

My blood went cold.

"They want me?" I whispered. "Why?"

"I don't know," David said. "But you're not going."

"But Esther…"

"I'll find another way to save her," he said firmly. "I'm not trading your life for hers."

"She's your daughter!"

"And you're…" He stopped. Looked away.

"I'm what?" I asked.

"You're under my protection," he finished. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

But I couldn't let Esther die because of me. Even if she was mean, even if she was marrying Solomon.

That night, I snuck out of my house and left a note for my parents saying I was staying at Ivy's.

Then I went to the warehouse. It was dark and scary, with broken windows and graffiti on the walls.

"Hello?" I called out.

Someone grabbed me from behind. Put a cloth over my mouth and nose.

It smelled weird and sweet. My head got fuzzy.

"Sleep well, little wolf," a voice said.

Everything went black.

When I woke up, I was tied to a chair. My head hurt really bad.

"Finally awake," someone said.

I looked up. There was a man I didn't know. He was tall with a scar on his face.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Where's Esther?"

He laughed. "There is no Esther. Well, she's safe at home. We never kidn*pped her."

"What? But the note…"

"Was fake," he said. "We made it up to get you here. David would never come for just anyone, but he'd come for you."

"Why do you want me?"

"We don't," the man said. "We want David, and you're going to help us get him."

"I won't help you!"

"Oh, you will." He held up his phone. "Because if you don't, we'll send pictures of you tied up here to every news station in the country. We'll say David kidn*pped you and that he's been hurting you. His reputation will be destroyed."

My heart sank. "You're lying about everything. Even the kidnapping."

"Smart girl." He smiled meanly. "So here's what's going to happen. You are going to call David. Tell him you're in trouble, get him to come here alone, and when he does, we'll kill him."

"Never," I said.

He pulled out a knife and pressed it against my arm, not cutting deep, but enough to hurt.

I bit my lip to keep from screaming.

"Call him," the man said. "Or the next cut will be deeper."

Tears ran down my face. I didn't know what to do.

If I called David, he'd die.

If I didn't, this man would hurt me. Maybe kill me.

"Fine," I whispered. "I'll call."

The man smiled and handed me his phone.

My hands shook as I dialed David's number.

He answered on the first ring. "Shammah? Where are you? I've been looking everywhere!"

"David," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I need help."

"Tell me where you are. I'll come right now."

The man with the scar nodded. Pointed the knife at me again.

I took a deep breath.

This was it. The moment that would change everything.

"I'm at…"

Suddenly, glass shattered. The window exploded inward.

Wolves burst into the room. Big ones. Lycans.

The man with the scar dropped his phone and knife. He tried to run, but the wolves caught him.

More people ran in. Police, David's security team.

Then David himself.

He ran straight to me, cut the ropes, and pulled me into his arms.

"You're okay," he said, over and over. "You're okay."

"How did you find me?" I asked, crying now.

"Your friend Ivy saw you leaving. She called me." He pulled back to look at me. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"The note. About Esther …"

"I know. It was fake. I figured that out an hour ago when Esther called me from a party," he said. "I've been searching for you ever since."

The man with the scar was being dragged away by police.

"Who is he?" I asked.

David's face went dark. "Someone from my past. Someone who wants revenge."

"For what?"

He looked at me for a long time. "That's a story for another day. Right now, let's just get you home and safe."

As we walked out of the warehouse, I realized something.

David had saved me. Again.

And the way he looked at me... it wasn't how you look at an employee.

It wasn't even how you look at a fake daughter.

It was something else. Something deeper.

Something that scared me and excited me at the same time.

What was really happening between us?

And how long could we keep pretending it was nothing?