Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
MAVE
The stench of cigarette smoke burned my nostrils as I exited the back door of Marilynn’s Place carrying a trash bag in each hand.
As was my usual ritual when taking the trash out, I held my breath to block out both the stench of the dumpster and the stench of the smokers who loitered behind the building.
The sun had set a few minutes ago, indicating I had about three hours left on my shift. The night had crawled by slower than molasses, and every minute that ticked by, bringing me closer to leaving here with Blake to cast the Unbinding spell under the full moon, felt like five.
Whatever happens, happens, I told myself. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s not the end of the world.
I was cycling through this internal mantra for the fifth time tonight as I slammed the lid of the dumpster closed. Before I could turn around to head back inside, I felt a sharp sting on the side of my neck, and the world went black.
I came to slowly, struggling mightily to peel my eyes open. The room was dim, and I could tell I was sitting in a hard wooden chair, with my hands bound behind my back. Whatever was wrapped around my wrists and forearms was burning my flesh where it touched, and it was excruciating.
“What”—I gulped a big breath of air and blinked away the grogginess—“the fuck?”
“Oh look, sleeping beauty is awake.”
Fuck. I knew that voice.
I managed to pry my eyes fully open then, and they slowly adjusted to the low light of the room.
I could make out an old leather couch in front of me, stacks of boxes and dusty shelves off to the side of the room, and a set of stairs that lead up to what I assumed was the rest of a house. I was in a basement.
I’d been drugged, kidnapped from work, and was now in Nikka fucking Parker’s basement.
I eyed her, still feeling disoriented, but holy shit was I going to destroy her once I figured out how to untie myself.
“Nikka, you bitch,” I croaked. “What the fuck is this?”
“Are you going to let her talk to you like that, sweetie?”
Oh cool, her mom’s here too.
I felt a small but well-placed fist slam into my right cheekbone.
My head snapped to the left, and I bit my tongue on impact.
I felt the warm coppery taste of blood fill my mouth, and I slipped back into my earlier state of disorientation as the room spun.
I couldn’t help the groan that fell from my lips.
“It’s time to shut up, whore,” Nikka said, and the giddiness in her voice pissed me the fuck off. “You’re done here, and you’re going to do what we say if you don’t want your freak boyfriend to get hurt.”
Blake?
I spat a wad of bloody saliva in her direction, and she shrieked. My head was starting to clear, and I stared hard at the two women in front of me.
Nikka and Naomi loomed in front of me like a matching set of evil yoga instructors—the tight black spandex pants and pastel crop tops did not really jive with the evil kidnapper vibe they were trying to pull off.
They both stood in front of my chair with their arms crossed, looking pretty fucking smug.
Not a good sign.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “Where’s Blake?”
“You mean your mage boyfriend?” Nikka goaded me.
Shit. Shit shit shit.
“Dammit, Nikka,” I snapped. “Stop fucking gloating. You kidnapped me. From my job. People are going to notice I’m missing. Tell me what the fuck you want!”
She stepped forward and kicked me hard in the knee with her four-hundred-dollar sneaker. “Look at you. Not top bitch anymore, are you? How does it feel?”
I yanked on my restraints, and the burn against my skin only intensified. I’d come out of my drug-induced stupor fully now, and I was acutely aware that I couldn’t reach my wolf. She was there, pacing, but I couldn’t reach her to let her out.
Stuck in the cage with her was the majority of my Alpha power, which was barely a trickle when I reached for it.
“You’ve done something to me. You can’t beat me in a fair fight so you fucking cheated. Congratulations, you’re a cowardly, heinous cunt.”
“ENOUGH!” Naomi barked as Nikka slammed another punch into my jaw. It hurt, but not as much as the ropes that were currently melting the skin off of my arms.
“Listen up, girl,” Naomi began as she yanked Nikka back to her spot in front of me. “Your little boyfriend’s secret is out, and the Alpha knows. He also knows you two had some scheme cooked up to try and magic your way out of your bond with Knox.”
The locker room!
“Nikka, you bitch!” I screamed. “You’re going to get him KILLED!”
“Then calm the fuck down if you want to save him,” she snapped.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Naomi continued.
“The Alpha called in this little mage sighting to the National Shifter Council, and would you believe they’ve been offering a hefty reward for the capture of any rogue non-shifter supernaturals that may have survived all these years?
They’re even sending a team down to retrieve him tomorrow. ”
Oh no. Over my dead fucking body would anyone be taking Blake anywhere against his will. I yanked on my restraints again, and nope, still tight and still fucking burning me.
“I don’t understand you two,” I said evenly. “Why are you helping the Alpha with this? Shouldn’t you want us to break the bond so Nikka can be with Knox? You should be fucking rooting for us to succeed.”
“Wrong,” Nikka said. “We both know that even without the bond, you’re the most attractive option for Knox’s mating, fated or not, because you’re Alpha bloodline.
You need to be gone from this pack, and Mom thought you might need a little encouragement.
So you’re going to agree to our terms if you want to save your boyfriend. ”
“Nikka, I am leaving. I’m going to college. I’m not going to just stay here and fucking wait around for Knox to mate with me!”
“You’d still be a part of this pack, you dumb slut!” Nikka shrieked at me. “Your parents are here, and you’ll always be the most powerful female as long as you’re still connected to the Pack. I’m not stupid—I know he’ll always want you the most.”
I huffed out a frustrated sigh. Why did no one believe I’d never be Knox’s mate? My personal convictions about this topic never seemed to matter.
“Where. The fuck. Is Blake?” I growled between gritted teeth and a throbbing jaw.
Naomi ignored the question. “You’re going to remain here as our guest until tomorrow when you will be getting on an airplane, escorted by yours truly, and I will be taking you back to that backwater pack you came from,” she practically cooed at me.
“My husband called them earlier today on official business as top Pack beta, and he let them know you have not been behaving and that you are not fitting in here. They were not at all surprised, but they’re happy to have you return to your family and find a suitable mate there. ”
“Agree to these terms, and as soon as you’re walking onto your flight tomorrow morning, Mom will call your dad and let him know where Blake is being held before the Council arrives,” Nikka said.
“And don’t think you can try anything—your wolf is hiding from you as long as those wolfsbane-soaked ropes are touching your arms. You’re stuck here until we let you out. ”
Shit, Dad and Mom were in Dallas this weekend. Though I suspected they were speeding back this direction by now, as Ben would’ve noticed my absence from work and called them.
Obviously I was not going to be getting on a flight to Utah, so I needed to stall while I figured out how to untie myself.
Nothing was happening to Blake until tomorrow, but I suspected the Alpha was by no means making him comfortable.
At least it sounded like he needed to be turned over to the National Council in one piece if the Pack was going to collect the reward, but if he had a single hair out of place when I found them… .
The problem was that I had no clue how long I’d been out, or how long after I was taken that Ben may have noticed I was missing from the bar—and I was lucky he was even working tonight. My parents could potentially be here within the hour, or they could still be three hours away.
I was going to be in for more pain, but fuck if I was going to give either of these conniving bitches the satisfaction of my agreeing to any of their demands.
I pretended to think things over.
“Just tell me one thing, Naomi,” I said with a resigned sigh. “When you’re fucking the Alpha, do you let him call you Bianca or do you guys do some other kind of role-play?”
Her eyes widened and Nikka gasped.
“Shut your dirty lying fucking mouth!” Nikka screamed at me, stepping forward again to backhand me across the face.
The sharp crack of her hand stung against my cheek, and I groaned again.
“You hit like a fucking omega, bitch,” I spat. She screamed in frustration, then rammed her fist into my stomach.
And on it went, and I prayed to the Moon to deliver my brother to me sooner rather than later.