by Trim, Brenda
Garrett chuckles at that. “Ah, well that’s not how things work for my kind. It’s far more nuanced than that. And, it depends on what we are marking,” the alpha explains with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Now, where did you move here from?”
“Near Salt Lake City, Utah,” Selene interjects.
Nodding, Garrett remains focused on Harper. “Why did you move here?”
Harper lowers her head and wrings her hands together in front of her chest. That doesn’t look good. What did she leave out when talking to me? “What haven’t you told me? If you don’t tell us I will put you over my knee, kitten,” I promise. All eyes in the room go to me and I don’t regret my words.
“Oh look, you’re delusional again,” she deadpans then turns to Garrett, leaving me gaping at her while deeper respect for her and…something more burrows in my soul. “I left because I didn’t want to marry the guy my parents were pushing on me. I’ve always done what they said. I went to the college they chose for me and lived in the dorms the entire time, then returned home after graduation like expected. When they tried to force Steve on me, I found a job here and moved.”
My hand lands on her shoulder, and I have to force myself to be gentle. The rage burning through my system makes me want to hunt her parents down and slaughter them. I grew up during times when arranged marriages were common, but that hasn’t been the case for a very long time.
How could parents try to force their child to tie herself to a man she doesn’t want? That is one thing I have never understood. That leads to a lifetime of unhappiness. It’s the major reason so many married women sought out sex with those other than their husbands.
“Why did your parents want you to marry Steve?” Selene asks.
“They’re religious and wanted me to marry someone in the same church,” Harper replies with a shrug of her shoulders.
Garrett growls then clears his throat. “I’ll look into packs near Salt Lake and see if any shifters there came here looking for you for some reason.”
“But I never knew about vampires or shifters until coming here,” Harper says.
I grip her shoulder and squeeze, letting my hand linger for several seconds. “We have to look into every possibility. Chances are slim there’s a connection, but right now it’s our only lead.”
“Liam’s right. I’ll let you guys know if I find anything. In the meantime, I’m going to have someone watch your place tomorrow to see if anyone shows up. The danger might have passed already. If these are rogues, then they won’t linger with the force the vamps used at the club. They’ll realize this territory isn’t up for grabs.”
“Can I go home soon?”
Garrett looks at Lucius then back at Harper. “I can’t say for sure right now, but if I find out these were rogues and they’ve moved on then you’ll no longer be in danger.”
My heart twists in my chest when I hear those words. I’m torn between wanting Harper out of my life before I lose myself in her completely and not wanting her to go anywhere. Ever.
It’s a fucked-up situation, and this only tells me I am going to have a hard time letting Harper go when the time comes.
Chapter 10
Harper
I cannot miss work. No one told me I have to stay inside the house when I headed to bed after being told I couldn’t go home yet. Work wasn’t my apartment, so after a night of fitful sleep, I climb out of bed and head to the shower when I realize I don’t have a car or any way to leave.
Pulling out my phone, I use Google maps to determine my location and order an Uber to pick me up in ten minutes. I haven’t lived here long enough to know the different parts of the city, but driving in last night I noticed we were heading toward the foothills.
After that I shoot a group text to let my friends know I’ll see them at work. I should have reached out sooner, but the past few days had been crazy. I want to set up another girl’s night, but have no idea how long I will be at the Vampire King’s house, so I leave that for later. I’d need their help getting over Liam. Or, maybe not if my memories are erased.
Setting my phone down, I grab a change of clothes and head into the attached bathroom. Marble surrounds me in the most luxurious bathroom I’ve ever seen. The size of the bedroom and this room is as big as my entire shabby apartment.
The nightclub business must be lucrative, I think for the hundredth time since arriving the night before. Although, I know it’s not just the club. Liam told me Lucius is centuries old. If you live that long, you no doubt have time to accumulate the wealth the size of small countries.
Turning on the shower, butterflies take flight in my stomach. Am I making a mistake? Should I stay where I’m safe? Refusing to allow fear to rule me, I shove my doubts aside and ignore the worry gnawing a hole in my gut.
I haven’t worked at the college long and taking days off while the vampires figure out if I am in fact being hunted by shifters is not a risk that I am willing to take. My bank account is abysmal. There’s not enough money to pay next month’s rent. I need this job to survive and remain here where I make my own decisions and control my own life.
Hurrying through a quick shower, I mentally prepare for the day. My papers are graded, but I need to enter them in the computer before handing them back to students. Good thing I finished them during my office hours Friday and left them there. Otherwise I’d have to risk going home for them.
To my surprise, the towel is warm when I grab it. Wrapping the fluffy cotton around my body, I fight the urge to burrow into the softness. The car will be here soon to take me to work.
I’m dressed with my makeup done in a matter of minutes. My morning ritual is simple, unlike some of my friends. One of my college roommates used to take an hour to get ready. I would watch her smear on layers of creams, foundation and other substances. Her eyeliner alone took ten minutes to get just right.
Moisturizer with sunscreen is the only thing I apply to my face. A little eyeshadow and mascara followed by lip gloss and I’m done. Perhaps I need to rethink my approach to makeup. Guys seem to like women all dolled up.
Glancing in the mirror, I really look at my face. My skin is clear, and my cheeks bright. I’ve never thought I was anything special, but Liam picked me from a club full of women far prettier than me. That is all the proof I need to tell me not to change my appearance.
Liam isn’t going to be in your life anymore, I remind myself and shrug. That’s right, but if he is attracted to me then I’m more than I thought. I walk out of the room with a bounce in my step and a smile on my face.
My life may have taken a sharp left turn, but I’ve never felt better about myself. I’ve accomplished what only thirteen percent of the population in America has and earned an advanced college degree. I have a good job and am taking care of myself with no debt. And, I’m no longer a virgin.
In my mind, that’s the biggest event over the last few days. A sexy vampire introduced me to intimacy and not just intimacy, but bondage and toys and more pleasure than I ever imagined.
It’s liberating to embrace the part of me that flourished under Liam’s dominance. Yes, I allowed my heart to get involved and become far too connected to the guy; but I know so much more about myself now, and I wouldn’t trade that to erase the hurt.
Worth it, my mind shouts. And, I know a place I can go after this is all over to explore more. What else will I enjoy? When Liam told me that he’d put me over his knee, my inner vixen screamed yes, please! while my pussy clenched, and desire flooded my panties.
This vampire bad boy has changed me on a fundamental level, I suddenly realize as I see a text informing me that my ride is here. Before, just thinking about my desire would have made me blush and start thinking about anything else to distract myself.
Now, I imagine Liam using the glass butt plug on me while vibrating my clit with another toy. The blush that stains my cheeks is all about my arousal and makes me wish vampires were available during the day.
I walk down Lucius’s driveway and
see the Uber waiting outside the massive gate. I don’t have to wonder how I will get out as a guard opens it before I get there. I wave and climb into the vehicle.
“Pima Community College, correct?” The driver asks.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Which campus?”
“West, please.” I watch the foothills give way to the houses. My mind refuses to be distracted from naughty thoughts about what I want Liam to do to me, and worse. My heart keeps bringing up images of how Liam offered me comfort last night.
By the time I arrive at work, I’m so wound up I fear I will explode. And not in the way I want. My body is aroused and on edge while my heart keeps grasping at hope for a future with Liam. My rational mind knows better and keeps reprimanding both. It’s a battle I have no idea how to win.
I’m so distracted by the inner chaos that I don’t notice I’m being followed until something hits me from behind and shoves me into my office before I can even tug the keys from the knob.
As I stumble forward, I try to catch myself on my desk, but all I manage to do is push my papers off the surface along with an organizer of supplies. The graded assignments cascade to the ground along with my office supplies, but I can’t stop my momentum. The side of my face smacks into the corner of the desk a second later.
My head snaps back yet I continue forward. My left shoulder hits the floor first then my head. My vision blurs and pain assaults my skull. Sharp needles of agony stab my brain and a groan falls from my lips.
Rolling to the side, I blink several times, but can’t seem to focus on who is behind me. All I can see are blurry outlines of three men. Three large men, I note.
“About fucking time that you leave the vampires,” a masculine voice snarls. It sounds like the guy who strangled me the other night, but I can’t be sure.
“Wh…why?” I manage to choke out. My knowing clangs loudly in my mind, but it’s too late now. I never should have blocked that part of me off. It might have warned me before I ended up in a heap on the floor of my office.
“Because you belong to our alpha and we’re taking you to him,” the shifter snarls. My vision clears and I see him standing over me with rage blazing in his green eyes. The two guys standing behind him are bigger than he is with muscles bulging out of tight t-shirts.
I scramble to my backside and scoot as far away from them as I can get. When my back hits the opposite wall, I stop and bring my knees to my chest. The movement sends sharp shooters blazing through my frontal cortex.
My hand flies to my temple where I feel wetness. Gingerly probing the area, I try to hide my wince. A sob escapes me when my fingers come away stained red with blood.
“I don’t know your alpha,” I insist, trying to buy time for another professor to arrive in the building and call for help. “You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
“We don’t make mistakes, bitch. You cannot run from your destiny. It’s best if you come quietly, but I won’t complain if you don’t,” the guy says with a creepy smile.
“Tony,” one of the others snaps, making me remember the name from the other night. “This is not the place for you to argue with her. We need to get her to the van and get out of here.”
“No!” I shout as loud as I can. It’s early in the morning, but there should be someone around. “Help!” I cannot let them get me to their car, otherwise I’m toast.
“Shut her the hell up,” the last guy blurts when I scream.
Tony stalks toward me with malice in his eyes. I crab crawl away from him, skirting behind my chair. Without hesitation, I push the rolling seat toward Tony with all my force.
My head snaps forward after something hard smacks the back of my skull and hits the side of the chair a second later when Tony kicks the seat back toward me. “Unh,” I cry out as hard plastic meets skin and bone.
The sharp pain tells me it hit the same spot I smacked on the desk moments ago. This time I feel warm wetness trickle down the side of my face. I don’t have to touch my face to know I am bleeding.
Before I can turn my head, my back is shoved forward and I’m bent over my legs. Someone presses my face to the concrete floor.
The pressure on my neck threatens to snap it while slicing my injured temple more at the same time. That’s how it feels anyway. I have no way of knowing if what he’s doing is actually cutting me, but I’d bet my last hundred bucks my skin is splitting under the pressure.
“Please,” I beg. “You’re hurting me.”
“Then you shouldn’t have tried to escape. There’s no one coming to your rescue now, bitch,” Tony spat as he stands above me.
“You’ll never get me across campus without being seen,” I tell them. Begging isn’t working, so I try for veiled threats.
They all laugh at that and Tony grabs a fist full of my hair and pulls me off the ground. Hair follicles cry out as they’re yanked from my sore scalp and I scream again. Tears stream down my face, but none of them seem to care.
Tony wraps an arm around my waist and holds me by his side while trapping my arms in his hold. “Call Brian and tell him we are heading out with her now.”
I start squirming and kicking my feet as Tony lifts me off the floor and heads around my desk. I throw my head back and realize that was a mistake when everything spins, and bile makes my stomach lurch and my mouth water. It doesn’t help that the steel band around my waist puts pressure in the exact place to make matters worse.
My foot catches the bookcase and I twist it trying to grab hold and make it harder for them to capture me. I just need a few minutes for someone to arrive and stop them from taking me.
“Fuck,” Tony curses as I manage to make him stumble. He loses his hold on me, but I don’t make any headway as one of the other guys grabs me. I pissed Tony off with this move because a second later he plows his fist into my side.
My breath leaves in a whoosh and I double over from the force. An arm wraps around my neck and I struggle to move as they drag me out of my office. My mouth opens and closes in an imitation of a fish out of water as I try to suck in air.
The sun is bright and blinds me the second we leave the building. I can’t suck in a breath to really scream, but I open my mouth ready to give everything I have to cry for help. Surely there has to be someone around even if it’s early in the morning.
Before more than a squeak emerges a sweaty palm wraps around my face, cutting off the noise. “I don’t think so, bitch,” Tony snarls in my ear.
My vision starts fraying at the edges and my kicks slow. I can’t let them take me, but I can’t breathe. My hands stop clawing at the arm around my neck and fall limply at my sides.
I hope they have to drag me across campus. Someone is bound to see and call for help. A van heads toward us on the sidewalk, renewing my desire to fight. Unfortunately, it’s not help and my kidnappers don’t have to carry me very far when the vehicle stops and the doors fly open. How the heck did they manage to drive that on campus where no vehicles belong?
Using all my strength, I thrash and kick and try to get free of the hold around my neck. Someone grabs my legs, making it impossible to kick anymore. The hold around my neck tightens and black dots dance in my line of sight. My eyes slip closed and blackness takes me under.
The last thought I have before I know no more is that perhaps they’ll break my neck and end my suffering now.
* * *
Harper
Knives slice through my brain in at least a dozen locations as if trying to pound their way through my skull. Why the hell do I feel like I’ve been run over, I wonder. I shift and something sharp pokes me in the back.
With a groan, I peel my eyes open. A gasp leaves my throat as I sit up in a rush. The attack in my office plays through my mind as I register the fact that I am in a cave. At least it looks like a cave, I think.
The camping lantern is the only source of light in the place, but I am able to see the dirt floor and a couple rock walls. I think there’s an opening to my left, but
I can’t be sure. I guess it could be a dungeon. Although if it is I would expect to see manacles attached to chains embedded in the wall and some kind of torture devices.
“She’s coming around,” Tony calls out and steps from the shadows along the far wall.
Palming the side of my head, I take several deep breaths. I squint and try to look around and determine if anyone else is here with me. How long have I been out? I wonder.
If night has fallen Liam and Lucius will hunt me down and find me. I just need to stay alive long enough to give them time to get to me. The scowl on Tony’s face tells me I don’t have very long.
It takes nearly all of my energy to push up to my hands and knees. There’s no way I can get to my feet, so I collapse like a bag of bones and sit on my ass. Movement in the direction I thought was an opening makes me look that way.
When the guy steps through into the dim light of the lantern, my mouth goes slack and hangs open. The absolute last person I expected to see walks in and crouches in front of me. Dirty blond hair falls over his forehead as I stare at the guy I moved to get away from.
My ex-fiancé, Steve, looks at me with malicious glee. I left Utah leaving him the message that I had no desire to marry him. Why is he here now? Why send these shifters after me? There’s no way this will make me want to get back together with him. His piercing brown eyes narrow on me as if he heard my thoughts.
“What are you doing here?”
Steve smiles at me and wraps his hand in my hair. “I’m here for you, of course,” he says in a calm voice. “It took me a long time to find you, Harper.” With that he yanks my hair painfully, tilting my head back so I am looking up at him.
My scalp already hurts from my earlier hair loss and this only makes the pain worse. I open my mouth to tell him I don’t understand, but he backhands me first; splitting my lip open and making me taste blood.
“That’s for fighting my men and going off with a vampire,” he snarls and runs his nose up the column of my neck.
