Forced By the Alpha (Sparkle Hollow Wolves #7)

Chapter 19 - Sienna

In spite of the exhaustion from doing such difficult spell work, it had taken me hours to fall asleep last night. The shackles were cold and uncomfortable, the couch was lumpy, and my anger was at an all-time high.

I was furious with Franco for betraying me and taking away my freedom, of course. But mostly, I was angry that he didn’t trust me to know my own limits. There was no doubt that the magic I had attempted to use was advanced, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t do it. All I had wanted to do was break the curse. It was the very thing he had brought me to his pack to do. My entire purpose here. But instead of allowing me to do it, he had locked me up like an animal.

“He’s the animal,” I mumbled to myself as I did my best to pour myself a glass of water. The weight of the chains made managing tasks difficult, and I had already broken two glasses when I tried to get them out of the cabinet.

“Did you say something?” Franco asked.

I hadn’t heard him open the front door, and his appearance startled me into dropping my water. The glass shattered at my feet, drenching me in liquid.

“Dammit!” I screamed.

He hurried over and grabbed a towel from the counter to mop up the spill. “Don’t move, I’ll grab the glass so you don’t cut your feet,” he said.

“How kind,” I said sarcastically. “While you’re at it, you can sweep up the glass from the other cups I broke.”

Franco didn’t say anything. He just grabbed the broom and began cleaning up my messes. Once it was done and I was free to move again, I shuffled over to the couch and sat down. After three failed attempts, I was admitting defeat. Maybe if I died of dehydration, he would see the error of his ways.

But of course, he wouldn’t allow that. He put on a pot of coffee to brew and then brought me a plastic cup of water.

“Here,” he said. His tone was kind and apologetic. Maybe I could work with that.

“Thank you,” I said. “Are you ready to take these chains off now?”

“No.”

“Franco, please,” I said quietly. “I can’t even get a drink when I’m tied up like this. Do you know how hard it is to use the bathroom? You’re being silly.”

“I’m keeping you safe,” he said in an even tone.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe. I can make my own choices.”

“Obviously, you can’t,” he snapped. “I’ll be back to check on you later. The coffee will be done soon, and I left a Styrofoam cup on the counter so you don’t break any more glass.”

Without another word, he left. Obviously, he had just been making sure I hadn’t broken free of his manacles yet.

I’ll show him.

There had to be a way to free myself. Magic was out of the question, but maybe I could pick the lock. Once I did, I would prove to Franco that I could handle the spell and any of the ramifications that came with it.

I shuffled to the kitchen and opened a drawer, looking for anything small enough to fit in the keyhole. There wasn’t much to choose from, but I found a carving fork that just might do the trick. I placed one of the tines on the edge of the counter and pressed down as hard as I could to bend it at a ninety-degree angle. It took some effort, but once I was pleased with it, I took it back to the couch with me. I figured that I might as well settle in, since this could take a while.

By holding the fork facing toward me, I managed to get the bent tine into the keyhole and began twisting it around to locate the pins.

The door burst open, and I nearly dropped it, thinking Franco had been spying on me and was about to take away my means of escape. Instead, the room filled with a group of men. Their appearance startled me even more, and I jumped to my feet, ready to fight with my makeshift lock pick. It was then that I recognized one of the men.

“Killian?” I asked in amazement.

“Sienna! Thank the wolf god we found you,” he said with a sigh of relief. “When we heard you didn’t get back to Sparkle Hollow, we tracked your route. I recognized Franco’s scent, but it took a while to find his pack. I can explain it all, but we need to get out of here.”

If he had shown up yesterday, I might have argued, but now I truly was a prisoner. I still wanted to help Franco and his pack, but if he wouldn’t let me do magic, then my presence here was useless.

I followed Killian and his men out of the cabin, and we bolted for the forest. Once there, they uncovered a service vehicle, and we climbed inside. Leah was waiting in the driver’s seat, and she threw it into gear before the door slid shut behind us.

“Sienna! They found you!” Leah exclaimed. “Killian, take over driving, would you?”

Killian slid behind Leah into the driver’s seat and took over the controls while she shimmied out of the front and joined me in the rear of the van. The seats had been removed, so we all sat in a huddle as Killian drove at a breakneck pace through a field and back to the highway.

One of the men brought out a bolt cutter and removed the lock, allowing me to slip out of my restraints. As soon as my arms were free, Leah launched herself at me, wrapping me in a long-awaited hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. “You are okay, right? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m not hurt,” I assured her, carefully skirting around the fact that I had, in fact, been hurt when Franco marked me as his mate.

“I’m so sorry for bringing you into this whole mess,” Leah said. “We should have known that Franco would try to take revenge on Killian again. He’s such a piece of work. I just had no idea that he would target you.”

“It wasn’t because of Killian. And he isn’t all bad. You don’t even know him.”

Leah looked shocked at my outburst, but I couldn’t take it back. He may have done horrible things in the past, but no one was perfect. He wanted to make amends, but if we didn’t find a way to break the curse, I feared that would never happen.

“Okay…” Leah replied uncomfortably.

“I didn’t mean to sound harsh,” I said with a sigh.

“It’s fine, you’ve been through a lot. I’m just glad we got you out of there.”

“How did you do that, anyway? Didn’t the pack’s guards stop you?”

I hadn’t considered until now that they may have injured or killed some of the pack to get me out. My stomach felt uneasy as I awaited her reply.

“No, we were quick. Simple in-and-out rescue mission, and we left right away,” Leah explained. “I doubt they even know you’ve been rescued yet.”

I breathed a silent sigh of relief, knowing that everyone in the Forsaken Shadows pack was safe. The rest of the car ride back to Sparkle Hollow was silent. The adrenaline had passed through our systems, and we all dozed off until Killian announced we had arrived.

“Can you drop me off at my dad’s?” I asked.

Now that I had the chance, I wanted to confront him about Franco’s claims. If my father put the curse on his pack, I needed to know. Even if it wasn’t true, he could still be the key to helping me access the power I would need to lift it.

“You don’t want to go to your place?” Leah asked, and I shook my head.

Leah knew all about the falling out I had with my dad. Her confusion at me wanting to see him right away was fully justifiable, but I didn’t think I was ready to tell her—or anyone—the whole story about what I had learned from Franco. Not until my dad had a chance to explain himself.

The van pulled up into the driveway of my childhood home. Killian opened the door for me to get out.

“I’m going to go to the pack house and see if Alpha Lex can put my guys up in guest rooms for the day,” he said. “I don’t think any of us have the energy for a drive back to Pinedale today. But I’ll come back to check on you in a little while.”

“Thanks, Killian,” I said.

He squeezed my shoulder gently, and I was reminded of my oldest brother, Sebastian. They were both men of few words, but when it truly counted, they were always there for me.

With a pang, I realized that I hadn’t seen my siblings in far too long. We used to be so close, but everyone had grown up and moved on. Once all of this was over, I vowed to reunite our family.

The lights were all off inside the house, so I grabbed the spare key from underneath the mailbox and unlocked the door.

“Dad?” I called loudly as I went inside.

All was quiet as I closed the door behind me and flipped on a light switch. I walked from room to room, calling for my father, but the house was empty. Upstairs, I was rifling through his desk to see if I could find a clue to his whereabouts when I heard the front door open and close.

“Dad?” I shouted again, scurrying down the stairs.

“Sorry, Sienna, it’s just me,” Killian said. “Evander isn’t here?”

I was surprised he had remembered my father’s name, given that I hadn’t mentioned it more than once.

“No,” I replied. “I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess.”

“Want me to take you home?” he asked.

“I’m going to stay here,” I said. “He’ll come back eventually, and we really need to talk.”

“Whatever you need,” he said. “I’ll let Leah know. She’s worried sick about you. We all have been.”

“I’m alright,” I assured him.

“You’re strong,” he agreed. “But I feel terrible that you had to go through all of that. I’m furious at Franco for taking you. I don’t want to pry, but I overheard what you told Leah in the car. What did you mean when you said Franco didn’t kidnap you because of me?”

“That’s actually why I need to talk to my dad so badly.”

“What does this have to do with him?” Killian asked.

“You’d better sit down,” I sighed. “It’s a long story.”