Alpha Protector (Shadow Sentinels World #3)

Chapter 3

S hannon

I squeezed my eyes shut as what I’d just done hit me. It didn’t matter that the mattress was soft underneath me, a downy pillow cradled my heavy head, or that soft covers enveloped me. None of it made me feel any better, only worse, as I wondered if Ava had a soft bed or if she was even alive to feel little luxuries like that.

The softness of that cover touched every part of my sweaty body, sticking to my damp skin, and as I moved, a stale stink wafted up from under it. At the same time, as I wrinkled my nose, it hit me that I was naked. I shouldn’t be confused or shocked. Not really. Stone had always been unpredictable and an utterly infuriating arsehole. The fact that he’d stripped me bare while there was nothing I could do about it had me digging my nails into my palms.

Embarrassment wasn’t something I ever felt, not with anyone else. But he’d always unsettled me and my wolf. It was like he could see into my damaged soul and found me lacking. The thought of his gorgeous eyes seeing me and judging my skinny body while I was vulnerable did something to me, and it wasn’t pleasant. My cheeks burned, and for the first time since I’d been a naive fourteen-year-old, I was ashamed of how I looked. Shifters stripped to become one with their animal, and I hadn’t been fazed by being naked in front of anyone for years, but then again, I’d never looked as awful as I did right now.

Eyes burning, I slapped the bedclothes with my open palms. Shit, no way was I going down that road. It didn’t matter what Stoney-boy thought of my skinny arse, tiny tits, or boney hips. Connor’s third in command was definitely not for the likes of me. He’d also made it clear that he wasn’t interested, so I’d done what I needed to do—forced my attraction to him deep, deep down and turned it into anger, hate, even. It was easier than letting the fact that he was a potential mate and had rejected that bond sharpen my already jagged soul.

Being marked by the Mother Wolf as ideal mate material meant nothing to him, so I’d made sure it didn’t to me either. The result? A constant enmity that crippled Connor’s attempts to make us work together. Stone barely tolerated me most of the time, and I dealt with his churlish arse the way I did anyone else who pissed me off. I sassed him or ignored him and fell into my other distractions whenever possible. Life had become so much easier to deal with behind a fog of booze and a post-orgasmic high.

My stomach grumbled and churned. I had no idea if I was starving or about to throw up. Since I’d gone to Hope to be with Ava, eating had gone way down my priority list. Not that starving myself had been a conscious decision; I’d just been distracted.

Lying here wouldn’t get Ava back, so I turned my head and glanced around the room, trying to stop panic from dragging me under. Beautifully carved, blue wood furniture adorned the room. Huge velvet curtains were draped around the windows that framed the winter wonderland outside, and pretty ice crystals formed around the edge of the glass panes.

Shit, I should have known he’d take me somewhere I couldn’t escape from without a damned portal. How could he do this to me when my sister was missing? I’d kill him! The selfish bastard. He knew I’d want to help, and he brought me here anyway!

Kicking off the gloriously warm but sticky covers, I sat bolt upright. My head swam, and dizziness washed over me. I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths until it passed. When I felt able to move without throwing up, I glanced over the surfaces searching for my phone.

There!

It was on a chest of drawers near the door. Maybe it would still work. Walker, the exiled king of Faery, had set up a communications system to keep our phones connected through the barrier between worlds. I could call Ember. She’d help me if she knew I’d been taken against my will.

I pushed up from the soft mattress and forced my shaking legs to get me across the room. Panting and sweaty, I slammed my palm over my phone and picked it up.

“Thank the fucking Mother.”

But my relief was soon dashed. It was dead. Completely and utterly useless. Holding it anyway, I paced the room, looking for my clothes. They were nowhere to be found.

Heart racing, I padded over the thick carpet to the door. It was a beautifully carved piece, the sort of thing you never forgot once you’d seen it. My heart sank. I’d stayed in a room like this before a few years ago. I’d loved being a guest in the Winter King’s palace. Faery was stunning and magical, and the awareness that it was dangerous if you didn’t respect it somehow made everything much more vibrant.

Even when I was trying to hide my feelings, it had been hard not to constantly stare at Stone, who, to me, had become even more gorgeous; a stunning silver-haired warrior whose edge of power and danger only seemed amplified by being in the magical world of his birth. He’d been busy with Connor and B’nar most of the time but had made me promise not to wander outside the palace grounds alone. After all the meetings and discussions about using Fae technology and weaponry in the war with the Mades were done, he’d taken all of us to the nearby winter forests to shift, explaining about the hidden dangers before we did. That shift had been the easiest of my life. It was as if the power of the land itself augmented my own. Stone had not left my side as we’d run through the snow and ice-laced landscape.

I exhaled and closed my eyes for a moment. Those moments were seared in my memory because away from the shifter compound, the expectations of me as a protector and my role as a warrior in the war with the vampires disappeared. I’d trusted him to take care of me, to watch my back, and it had been the safest, the most free I’d ever felt. This time, something told me my stay would be completely different. And far less pleasurable.

I pressed my lips together. Our previous visit here hadn’t just been to solidify the treaty between the shifters and the Prince Regent of the Fae. It had also been so Ember and I could spend time with Blue, a human woman cursed with a demon enchantment that made her sleep unless the moon was out and full. Everything, even time, moved differently here. Though, in Faery the curse was less effective and the power of their moons meant she at least woke up for a week or so every moon cycle.

Blue had dealt drugs between Faery and Earth. Because of that, B’nar had claimed her life as his. She was as much a prisoner of B’nar as I was Stone’s. Only she’d not let anyone down. No, even though she was a Fae prisoner, Blue had helped rescue all of us from the demon lord my father had sold his soul to. That was why B’nar had let her live.

My fingers shook as I reached out and pressed down the handle of the beautifully carved door. Nothing. It wouldn’t open. Stone had locked me in here like some kind of criminal. I’d fucked up, I knew that, but anyone could oversleep, and he knew my sister needed me.

“Ahhh!” I screamed and threw my useless phone across the room. It smashed against the far wall next to the huge window before the broken pieces thudded to the floor.

I stared at them, then launched myself across the room on wobbly legs. My knees didn’t make a sound on the thick carpet as I dropped down next to the broken pieces. “No, no, no.” My heart raced, my breath coming in shallow pants as tears burned my eyes. That phone was my lifeline to Ava. I needed to know what was happening. I stifled a sob, forcing the sound into a growl instead. I didn’t care what Stone or even Rawson said. Ava was my sister. I’d had her in my life a damn sight longer than either of those fuckers, and I would help find her.

Yes, but you’re the one who got her kidnapped. You fucked up, and now she’s gone. She doesn’t need you; she never has…she left you behind years ago. You should just forget about her…

I sat down with a bump and stared at the metal and glass pieces that had been my phone. That voice in my head was so fucking annoying at times. But it was right.

Shaking my head, I rubbed my arms, shivering despite the room’s warmth. My stomach cramped, and I sank back against the wall, wondering again if I was hungry or about to throw up. There was no manual for this, and I had no idea what to do. My brain wouldn’t work, and the foul, stale taste in my mouth made me wonder how long I’d been passed out. What I needed was a drink. Not only did my mouth taste like something had died in it, but I was parched. Any drink would do, but I really needed a gallon of water, and then I needed to get hold of some food. Hunger wasn’t really something I acknowledged. I ignored my rumbling stomach most of the time, but I couldn't remember the last time I’d actually eaten, and if I wanted to find a way out of here, I needed to keep my strength up. First, I needed to find a bathroom. My bladder was going to explode if I didn’t.

Across the room was another door. I hoped to the Mother it was a toilet and it wasn’t fucking locked. If it was, the corner of this room was about to get wet. No matter how beautiful and expensive it looked, a girl had to pee.

I made my way across the room, sighing when the door opened. It was indeed a bathroom. A luxurious one.

“Thank fuck.” I exhaled and plonked myself on the toilet seat, grateful that Faery was a progressive world with decent plumbing. Who was I kidding? Its technology, weaponry, and energy production, not to mention the way the Fae looked after and protected their world, far surpassed Earth.

A sigh escaped me as I peed. Exhausted, even though I’d only just woken up, I sat there trying to piece together fragments of my recent memories, but my thoughts remained foggy, as they often were when I woke up from an alcohol-induced sleep.

I remembered leaving the Black Orchid with that male, but beyond that, I had nothing until I’d woken up and realised I was late for Ava. Had I promised Rawson I’d be there to look after her? I didn’t think so, but recently there were often gaps in my memories. Some big, some small.

I frowned. I remembered being bound by magic and then thrown over Stone’s broad shoulder while Rawson glared daggers at me. Then what? A portal. There was a vague recollection of being upside down and my head pounding until it wasn’t. Stone’s cold eyes had been staring down at me as it settled, but I’d been so tired and completely unable to deal with the emptiness inside me, let alone his accusing stare.

“Shit,” I muttered as fragments of memory returned. My wolf had been ripped from my body, but I’d been so warm, so safe, I’d ignored that void and let exhaustion suck me under.

How was it possible to feel so helpless yet so safe that I didn’t even want to escape my captor? I shook my head. I’d been too wasted and tired to fight him or to attempt to drag my wolf back to me. That was all. I crossed my arms. Sweat was cooling on my skin, and I couldn’t stop shivering as I contemplated the gold taps on the bath, more fragments of my memory returning. B’nar. B’nar had been with us. Fuck, if the decor didn’t give away the whereabouts of my luxury prison, he did. That meant the chances of me getting home were zero. B’nar was the only one besides the exiled Faery king who could form a portal between worlds. And the chances of him helping me escape Stone were nonexistent.

My shoulders slumped. And, though I hated it, I couldn’t fight the wave of despair that hit me. That meant I really was Stone’s prisoner. My breath came in heavy pants as I tried to control the burn of tears. He wouldn’t do this to me, not after everything we’d been through together. Except, I knew he would. Our twisted relationship wasn’t friendship; it wasn’t hate; it was something else. I couldn’t name it, not really. We’d had chemistry, but that was a long time ago. Pushing him away had effectively killed all that.

My blood ran cold as I registered the locked door—and what it meant. Not again. I wouldn’t let anyone lock me away again. My father had been a judgemental, controlling arsehole. He’d taken pleasure in stripping me of my free will, and I’d had enough of that power play and manipulation to last a lifetime. But Stone wasn’t like my father. He’d never hurt me before, and even though he was a controlling, overbearing prick, he’d been a part of my life for years. He was one of the only people I could rely on, even if he was a constant pain in my arse.

My heart sank. Because he was right. Not only had I fucked up my sister’s life, I’d put her baby at risk.

After flushing, I noticed a jar of some kind of paste with a brush on its lid sitting on the back of the sink. It all looked unused, so I picked it up. Unscrewing the jar, I took a sniff. The smell of mint was so much better than the acrid taste coating my mouth, and it was definitely an improvement over the stink of my breath. Vigorously, I cleaned my mouth and worked the green bile stain off my tongue. I didn’t remember being sick, but that didn’t mean anything.

I grimaced when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. Dark circles framed my eyes, my skin was almost translucent, and my cheekbones stood out far too sharply like they might carve right through my skin. In short, I looked like I’d spent weeks being starved. Which I supposed I had.

When I moved, the stink of sweat and alcohol was disgusting. I eyed the shower, longing to feel burning hot water pummeling the tension from my neck and shoulders, but in the end, I settled for splashing my face, too exhausted to bother. When done, I gulped down some cold water and made my way back into the room, wondering what the fuck I should do now.