45. Wynter
Wynter
A constant hum of an engine came through the fog, demanding I wake up. I was still in the hotel room. What could that noise be?
I blinked slowly, feeling disoriented. I felt a warm body underneath me and a heavy arm around me. I went to shift but my movements felt slow and sluggish. My breathing picked up and icy terror clawed at my insides.
Clutching my fists, I pushed against the body, stumbling backwards. I struggled into a sitting position, the entire room spinning and my vision swam.
The man’s face I loved so much came into focus and I blinked again.
“Bas?” I whispered, confusion swimming through me. “What-”
My mouth was dry and my body refused to listen as I scooted backwards, away from him. The vision of him was blurry and it kept moving.
“Go back to sleep, principessa.” I heard his deep voice. I fought to keep my eyes open and lost.
* * *
The next time I woke up was in a car, curled into myself, and a jacket over me. The familiar scent was all around me.
I raised my eyes and found Bas in the backseat beside me. His dark eyes sent a shiver down my spine. The problem was that I couldn’t distinguish whether it was fear or something else that wouldn’t bode well for me.
I shifted up, struggling to sit up and Basilio’s hands came to assist.
“Don’t,” I bit out, shaking his hands off my shoulder.
A driver who I recognized sat behind the wheel. Dante DiLustro and Bas’ sister. She helped her brother kidnap me? The tension was palpable, my body ached and my eyes flitted around, touching the three of them.
There was no apology, no regret in any of their dark eyes.
“What have you done?” I hissed, my voice quavering. “Take me back. Right this second.”
Bas grinned, wolf-like, his eyes filled with something dark and cruel. A look very much like his father’s , I realized with terror.
“You’ll fulfill your promise, principessa,” Bas murmured, his voice dark and full of threat as his eyes raked over me.
And just like a fool, I drowned in them, letting him pull me into the abyss.
Hate him, Wynter. Hate him.
It was my only weapon against him. Yet, my heart couldn’t find an ounce of hate for him. Stupid, traitorous heart.
The car came to a stop. I startled, my hands reached the door handle and I jumped outside. Though I instantly realized my mistake.
There was nowhere to run. I was in the middle of a desert.