Shattered Soul

Chapter 7: New Prison

Riley

Twenty-four hours later, I was being released from the hospital and into the care of my new captures. Kade was there, standing only inches from me as the nurse wheeled me out to his car. Just as he had promised, he never left my room or Wade was there watching me until I was discharged. I was given a prescription of pain medication and instructions on care for my injuries. Apparently, I can't get my cast wet which is annoying. When asked how I would pay for my stay, Kade told them to bill him. I didn’t know how much money my apparent five-day stay cost, but that couldn’t be cheap, but now staring at his car, I could tell money wasn’t an issue. There was a pretty blue two-door muscle car sitting in the pickup zone of the hospital. I didn't know a lot about cars, especially how to tell what brand, but other than the color, this one I have seen on TV a lot in movies. Kade clicked the button on his key fob and I heard the locks in the car move.

“Ready sweetheart?” I growled as he called me that annoying nickname.

“Don't call me that.” I snapped. He simply chuckled.

“Fine then. Ry.” He said with a grin as he just used another, and similarly annoying nickname.

“Thanks,” I muttered, taking that one over sweetheart, as I quickly stood up from the silly wheelchair and very carefully climbed into the pretty car. I was doing so to be careful of my injuries, but also to ensure I don’t somehow scratch the smooth black leather, or nick the shiny blue paint. Hell, I might somehow trip and rip off the damn side view mirror and then cause the car to burst into flames, and no matter how irritating Kade was, this car didn’t deserve that.

“This is a, um, nice car,” I commented as Kade settled into his seat and started the pretty thing. It purred to life with a low rumble. He looked back at me and grinned before reaching into the back seat and handing me what he had pulled from it.

“I believe this is yours.” He said dropping my torn bag into my hands. I looked at him open-mouthed.

“You had my bag this entire time!” I gripped my bag tighter as I felt my face flush in anger. Kade had done something to the handle between us, then pressed his foot down on the petal and we began to move forward.

“Well, yeah. Only for a bit.” He almost sounded sheepish.

“What for?” I snapped. He glanced at me a smiled.

“I swear, I only grabbed some of your clothes to check for your size so I could get you some new ones. They had to cut up the ones you were wearing when you came in.” I quickly opened my bag and checked everything. I had wondered where he had gotten me clothes that fit so well. My money looked like it was all there, and so was my picture and the only clothes I had. I look up at Kade, still upset that he took my things.

“I didn’t take anything.” He swore when his eyes found mine. I refused to respond and instead just looked out the window.

“I won’t go through your things again Riley, I promise,” Kade said. His voice took an odd turn. It was almost desperate, pleading with me to believe him. I looked back at him and that was the worst idea. His eyes were boring into mine, wide and innocent, begging me to forgive him for rummaging through my things. All my anger vanished, and I couldn’t help but stare into the swirling colors of browns and greens.

“Thank you.” I said suddenly before feeling my cheeks flush and quickly turning away to look back out the window. I was careful to watch the road and counted how long we were on each before turns while also discreetly watching Kade as he drove. I never drove a car before. I was never allowed to. It was just one more thing I could use to escape. I was also usually blindfolded and bound in the back or trunk.

I need to watch how to operate a car. It seemed simple enough. The key goes into the ignition and gets turned forward until you hear the car’s engine level out. I can’t see the peddles very well but the one closest to me must be the gas and the one next to that must be the brake. My concern was the stick in the middle and the third peddle his left foot would press. I couldn’t figure out the rhyme or reason for the use of the stick or peddle. I concluded that they were connected somehow. Anytime he would move the stick to a new position he would press that peddle. I could hear changes in how the engine sounded, but nothing that would help me as to how it’s used. I don’t remember any of Garrett’s cars making that sound in particular or him having to move a stick the few times my blindfold had slipped.

“Everyone at the Ranch has been informed of your arrival. No one knows who you are, only that you’ll be staying there as a guest of mine.” I looked up into Kade’s eyes which were still firmly on the winding road.

“Thank you.” I whispered again. His full lips twitched into a smile.

“My guards know the truth so they can keep an eye out for any trespassers, but that’s it.” He informed me. I pressed my lips together. That was understandable. Uncomfortable and made it more difficult if I ever needed to leave. With others on the lookout for trespassers, someone slipping out of the pack’s territory would be spotted far more easily. I’ll have to watch for scouting patterns.

“I had some of the girls set up a room for you and you’ll have free reign of the house. I’d advise you to stay out of my office. And probably the barn until the horses get used to your scent. It took us a long time to get them used to werewolves and I really don’t want to have to start from scratch with that.” My eyes widened at the sound of that. I’ve always wanted to see a horse. Garrett loved westerns and those animals always seemed so majestic.

“You have horses?” I asked quickly and with far too much enthusiasm in my voice. Kade looked at me with a grin.

“Yes. You like horses?” He asked. I quickly adjusted my face and plastered on my careful facade of nonchalance.

“I always thought they were a very serene animal,” I admitted. Kade chuckled.

“They can be.” As he said that he motioned toward my window. I turned and followed his gaze. There was a massive clearing, at least 30 acres of a beautiful rolling meadow gently caressed by a forest of pines. The road we were on drove right up to a large house sitting closer to the edge of the meadow. The house, if you could really call it that, was massive.

The edge of the meadow where it sat was on an incline leading down the mountain. The bottom of the house was built into the side and came out so there was access to the first floor. Large pillars of river rock and stone lined the house on all sides, supporting a wraparound porch on the second floor and shielding a large stone patio below it from the elements. The main section of the second floor’s wall extended up to the third floor and was comprised of five pained windows, the kind where wood divides separate panes of glass into squares. The two at the bottom were large spanning more than half the way up and the top was made up of three smaller ones. The whole house was a dark wood color with dark grey metal roofing. It was a perfect mesh of rustic with modern and comfort.

Off to the right of the house was a large garage with three double car doors the same color as the house while the walls were the same tan and brown as the river stone pillars.

I felt my jaw hanging wide open, but I couldn’t help but stare at the enchanting house. Kade started chuckling next to me.

“Welcome home.” He said. My head whipped around to him as a strange tightening in my chest started, but he was already climbing out of the car before he noticed. Home? No one’s ever said that to me. Not once in my life was I welcomed home. Not once have I ever had a home.

My eyes started to sting and I angrily removed the stupid tears that were threatening to spill over at a silly phrase. I quickly shoved the door open before Kade could attempt to assist me and slung my bag over my shoulder.

Kade was halfway to my door and frowned at my refusal to accept his politeness, but I brushed him off as I glanced up at the house.

“Lead the way Alpha.” I snapped. His frown never left his face as he studied me for a long moment before shrugging and turning on his heel to head inside to the lower floor. He waved his hand over his shoulder to signal me to follow him without missing a step or even looking back at me. I quickly followed him. I was careful to make sure I applied the correct amount of force when I walked so my thighs wouldn’t burn and maintained the correct position of my torso so my still cracked ribs wouldn’t ache more than they were.

Kade opened two French doors on the lower floor and we walked into what looked like an entertainment room. Most of the lower section of the house was one big room. There was a large TV mounted on the wall off to our left with every gaming system imaginable attached to it and sitting in front of a large black leather semi-circle couch. Behind that was an air hockey table and two arcade games with images of spaceships and pixilated creatures and cartoon fighters on the other. To our right was a pool table sitting in front of a bar. A fully stocked bar.

One with so much alcohol that Bentley would be in a drunken bliss as he would swing a pool stick at me while Maverick watched. When he had his fill of beating me Maverick would probably slam me against the bar, push my pants down and-

“Riley?” Kade’s large hand gently touched my chin as his fingers curled just under my jaw to tilt my head toward him. The movement was too like Garrett. It was too much like when he was angry. He would grab my chin and make me look at him before bringing a fist into my face, but mostly, the touch was warming and causing a tingaling in one localized point at my chin. His rough fingers sent a shock through me where his skin touched mine.

I growled as I smacked Kade’s hand away from me.

“Don’t touch me.” I warned. Kade’s face stayed composed but his eyes… his eyes were full of pity and that only angered me further.

“I’m sorry. You just froze for a second.” He glanced at the bar, then back at me.

“Does something over there bring back something?” I set my jaw and tilted my chin up slightly as I held his gaze.

“No.” I lied smoothly, already settling my heart rate and calming myself enough that no one looking would notice I even cracked like that. Kade stared at me as he lifted his eyebrow. He didn’t believe me for one second.

“Can we add one more rule?” My eyes narrowed.

“No.” I snapped. He smiled at me.

“It’ll be a mutual one. You still don’t have to tell me anything, but please don’t lie.”

“What does it matter if I lie? If I have no intention of telling you then a simple no should suffice.” Kade sighed.

“Because. You don’t have to tell me why something is causing you pain or bad memories, but if you at least tell me that it does, I can help avoid those things for you. Like touching you, or I can move whatever over there frightened you until you leave.” My body relaxed without me wanting to at the caring gesture. I didn’t know how to respond to that but I wanted to touch his face. My hand suddenly itched to stroke his cheek. Was the skin just above his stubble as silky as it looked?

What the f**k are you thinking Riley! You can’t trust him. You can’t let him in. It took me until I was lightheaded to realize I had stopped breathing. I sucked in a deep breath, breaking me from his intense gaze and those dangerously seductive eyes. I quickly looked away so I could think.

“I’ll think about it.” I told him. “Are we going to continue?” I pressed. Kade sighed as he gestured to the stairs.

“Right this way. This here is the basement. We actually came in the back door there. This is pretty much the entertainment room.” I took one more look around the room, avoiding the bar, before following him up the stairs.

“This is the main entrance.” He said as we came up to a gorgeous dark wood door with cut glass that threw the light in different fractal patterns all over the slate floor.

“Back that way is the kitchen, the living room is that way, and the dining room there.” He motioned towards the different sections. Behind us at the end of the hall were those massive windows stretching the entire wall to high vaulted ceilings. I could see the edge of a bar stool at the end where the kitchen must be. “That room is a secondary office and a sunroom at the back. Up here are the bedrooms.” He made his way up another set of stairs and into a brightly lit hall filled with natural light from the skylight above us.

“There aren’t many that live here though my friend Rea and Wade both have rooms and occasionally stay over. My siblings’ rooms, you’ll meet them later, Miss Colder, our cook and housekeeper and her daughter’s room and yours.” Kade stopped at a set of double doors and smiled at me. I looked at him before gently turning the knob and pushing the door open. I really shouldn’t have been surprised with how magnificent the rest of the house was but my room topped it off. My room was huge. There was a balcony with a set of French doors leading out to a small patio and sitting area. I had a TV, a desk with a very expensive computer set up and there were three other doors, two were double doors.

“That is your closet,” Kade said pointing to the one opposite the large King sized bed, the only single door. “Then the one next to it is your bathroom. Both are fully stocked. If there is anything that you don’t like let me know and I’ll order something else. That door leads to my room.” He pointed to the one closest to my bed.

I spun on him; eyes wide.

“What?” He froze and carefully looked over my face for a second.

“It locks from your side. This is the master bedroom and next door was set up as a nursery when us kids were little. It had been my personal gym but I had the guys move that stuff into the basement and turn it into a spare bedroom. This is actually my room.” I looked around, there was nothing in here that hinted that a guy lived in here.

“All my things were moved over.” He informed me with a smile as if he read my mind. “I wanted you close in case you needed me and this is the only room that has a connecting room, plus I wanted to make sure you had your own bathroom, so you never had to worry about anyone walking in on you so my room it was.” I couldn’t look at him. It was such a thoughtful gesture. All of this was just too much. I’ve barely been here fifteen minutes and he’s already given me so much more than I’ve ever had before. I simply stared at this room. Even though it was really his, it was mine for even a short time.

I felt something stir deep in my chest. I prayed it wasn’t my heart.