“It is about damn time. Girl, you had me worried. May I come in or should you bring her out to the living room?”
“I will bring her out there. Baby, you feel up to sitting up with us for a minute?”
“If I can go to the bathroom first. I started to go then I thought Zeke was in trouble. I had to call him. I had to know if he was all right.”
So, he is close enough, she is starting to feel him. I will let my people know to be on the lookout. “Was he, all right?”
“He sounded ok. I don’t know he said something about feeling better. I am not sure if he was just trying to make me feel better.”
“Did he say where he was?”
“No, should he have?”
“Maybe. I got worried about you. When the doctor couldn’t get you to wake up. I had the phone records pulled. I knew you had spoken to him the other night. I called him. I ask him if he would come here alone. I don’t know if he will or not, but I told him you were dying. That is what was happening. The Doctor said if he weren’t near you soon you would simply slip away. I am not about to let that happen. I will pay your brother to stay with us. We will be traveling off and on. He said he would think about it. I was pretty sure when it was life or death and it concerned you, that he would come. It’s whether or not he got away from the pack that I am not too sure of.”
“Max what if he couldn’t get out without them knowing, what will happen? You won’t kill them, will you? They’re my family. My pack. Max please?”
“My only concern is getting you better. I have big plans for us. My mate, you and I will have a long, happy life together. Your brother will be paid well and given a job and a place of his own to live. He will be around you often if that is what it takes to keep you alive. Now do you want me to help you to the bathroom before I take you in the living room?”
Oh God, he is going to kill my entire family and pack if I don’t do something. What can I do? Think Cara, think. I will have to act like I am going along with whatever he tells me till I can warn them somehow. “I want to see if I can do it. I need to stretch my legs. If I don’t start moving them, they are going to forget how to work.”
“All right, but I am staying by your side in case you fall. I don’t want you to break anything. I like your body the way it is, all of it. Once you get to feeling better, maybe I can teach you some more moves. Make you feel better.” I hope she will forget about her family and her pack once I have her brother. I will make sure that my people don’t kill him for now. As long as she needs him to be close by I will keep him around. Caged maybe, but around. She doesn’t have to know where he is exactly or how he is being kept. She just has to be able to feel him near her. I have plenty of places around town to keep him locked up.
I am so embarrassed he is talking about sex in front of the doctor and that woman sitting in my room. “Oh, Max not now.”
“I didn’t mean now. I said once you’re feeling better. I wouldn’t take that chance with you. Besides, we have plenty of time for love making.” He pulls the cover back and waits to see if I can move my legs off the bed or if he is going to have to carry me. I feel much better. That has to mean Zeke is close.
I get my feet over the side of the bed and I put my feet on the floor. I stand up and stay still. My head is spinning. Not normal for a wolf. Lately doesn’t seem like anything about me is normal. I take a step and his arms are out ready to catch me. I must still look pretty awful. I make it all the way to the bathroom. He waits for a minute to see if I need his help. I don’t want his help. I tell him if I need him I will call. He hesitates, but goes out, leaving the door open. I push it shut. I hear him groan.
“I left it open so I could hear you if you fell.”
“I know. You will hear me if I hit the floor. Now give me a minute.” I look at myself in the mirror. I look horrible. My skin color is way off. Not yellow, but not normal either. My hair looks like it has never seen a brush. My eyes are faded. My lips are faded. I want a shower. But then I see the tub. It’s the size of a small pool. Oh, it looks inviting. I decide I better use the bathroom. Then after the doctor looks at me, I will make it back into the tub. I will soak up as much hot water as I can.
“You ok? I don’t hear any movement.”
“I’m fine. I was just taking my time. I don’t remember being in here. This place is like an oasis.” There is a large palm tree beside the tub on each side. There are plants everywhere. It is almost like being home. I miss my woods. I miss my runs.
I hurry and head back out the door. I stumble on my way out the door and he catches me before I can fall all the way. So much for being back to myself.
“You let me carry you. Baby, I can’t tell you how it felt not being able to wake you. It was so scary. I have never wanted anyone in my life like I do you. I never felt the need for anything or anyone. Then you came along and… I can’t lose you.” He had tears in his eyes. I couldn’t believe it. I reached up and wiped one off his cheek as it was rolling down. Then I tasted it. It was terribly salty.
He sat down on the couch with me on his lap. I scooted off to sit on the couch. The phone on the counter rang and he went to answer it while the doctor checked on me.
“How are you feeling? You look a lot better with your eyes open. You had me worried. I wasn’t sure what else to do for you.”
“I feel better. I managed to walk to the bathroom. I have never seen a wolf like I am before. Is this really just because I am away from my twin and my pack?”
“I think most of it is. To you’re ready for a mate. That affects everything too. Why haven’t you mated by now?”
“You mean me and Max?”
“No, I mean you with one of your pack? I know how packs value their females. Shouldn’t your pack have fought it out by now and you have taken a mate?”
“Yeah, well they tried to force me to choose a mate. I didn’t want to be with any of them. Then the fights started, and my father told me I would be awarded to the last wolf standing. I sort of disagreed and ran off. That is when Max picked me up.”
“So, that is how he came to have you in his possession. I wondered. He has gone through humans like they were water. I have never seen him like he is with you. I have known him for many years. With you, he can’t stand to watch you when you’re not feeling well. He paced the floor till he drove me crazy. Then, when on the few occasions he had to leave your side, he couldn’t stay gone an hour or two till he was back hovering. I told him you needed to rest. He was ready to kill me because you weren’t responding to anything. I don’t want to think what would have happened if you hadn’t woken up soon. He doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way.”
“Would he have really killed you?”
“I wouldn’t be the first one he got rid of that way.”
I gasp. I had suspected he was capable of killing, but to hear it said out loud shocked me. Why, I don’t know. When I gasp, Max dropped the phone and ran to my side.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I just was talking to the good doctor and he was telling me how long I was out. I thought that lady was kidding me. He said she wasn’t, that I really have been out for three nights.”
“Yes, baby you were out for a long time. If you’re all right, I need to step out for a few minutes. I won’t be gone too long. Leon, you will stay with her till I return?”
“Yes, of course. I want her to eat for me and drink some more vitamins.”
“Will you be alright till I get back, baby?”
“Sure. In fact, I saw that pool in the bathroom and I think I will take a nice hot long swim. Do I have clothes here? I don’t remember. Why can’t I remember that?”
“Your things are in the closet all hung up and ready for you. I think maybe I should have one of the women sit with you. Just in case you fall in the bathroom.”
“No, I can manage. I’ll be just fine. I will eat and drink that stuff before I go in there. That will bust my energy?”
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“I still think it’s better to be safe than sorry. They don’t have to watch you bathe just be close in case you fall.”
“Doctor Leon will be here. If I fall, he will hear me. He can call someone to come help if needed. But I am telling you I don’t need anyone in the bathroom. Really. Now go do what you have to do. The sooner you leave the sooner you will be back.”
“Ok. But I am warning you, if you fall, I am going to tan your hide for not letting me leave someone with you. I love you. I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“I can get room service, right?”
“Anything you want.”
“That’s all I need. Thanks.”
“I will bring the phone and the menu over here, so you don’t have to get up. Leon, I am trusting you will take good care of her. Your life depends on it.”
“Max that’s not nice. He has been here watching over me for a long time. You should be grateful.”
“I am. I am, my dear. You have no idea. All right, well, I am leaving. I will hurry so I can get back to you.” He stands there not moving. He watches me like I am going to either pass out or run off. I wave my hand to shoo him on out of the room. He smiles at me, then goes and gets the phone and the menu. He sets it on my lap. He warns the doctor again before he leaves.
I wait till I am sure he has left before I move. Doctor Leon does the same. Once he thinks Max is gone, he goes to check for sure. Then comes back and sits.
“See what I said, he is worried about you. That wolf has never worried about anyone but himself before. It is really weird to watch.”
“What do you know about Max? You said you have known Max a long time.”
“Rumor has it he is a killer. I hear that a man owed him money and when the man told him he didn’t have it… well they say that man was found dead. Said his daughter found him in the backyard lying face down with his hands chewed off. Said it looked like a dog had attacked him. They say he had bite marks all over his body and his eyes were gone.”
About that time the lady who had been sitting by my bed came into the living room. I didn’t know she was still there. She had been in another part of the penthouse. “I heard he lost a bet at a racetrack. They say the horse he had bet on was found dead. Said it looked as if some dog had gotten in its stall and ripped it to pieces.”
“Yeah, but you all know how rumors are, most of them are not true. Yet, I can’t help feeling he could kill without warning. He scares me.”
“Then why are you with him? If you don’t mind my asking.”
“Leon, it is a long story. I don’t understand it either. The first time I saw him was at a mall. He was way on the other side of the building. But when our eyes met there was this feeling like I have never felt before. Like I had to get close to him. Like I had to be near him. At that time, my brothers and part of our pack were with me. They got me out of there before he could get anywhere near me. Then I didn’t see him again for a long time. But I couldn’t stop thinking about him.”
The woman who had been sitting in the bedroom asks, “So you’re… a wolf too?”
“Oh, I thought you already knew. You can’t ever speak of it with anyone. It is a death sentence if you ever talk to another human about it.”
“She knows. You’re not the first woman he has had stay here with him. I’m not even sure if you are the first female werewolf. He has a few humans working here that know what he is. They also know he would kill them or have them killed.”
“So, you do know he kills.”
“I am pretty sure of it. I just can’t prove it. No one can. Back to your story how did he get his hands on you?”
“Well, it was my fault actually. I had fought my father for months because I didn’t want to take a mate. He had finally put his foot down. He had grown tired of the wolves fighting. He told me that they would fight for the right to take me as their mate. That whatever wolf was left standing would take me as his mate, whether I liked it or not. The day I left he had forced me to watch as they tore one another apart. I grew angry and tired of watching them hurt each other so the first time he wasn’t watching me I took off. I never dreamed I would get to the road much less Max would be there. He had been watching from a distance. When he saw, me run off, he hopped in his truck and came after me. He was lucky enough to catch me at a vulnerable time.”
I stared at my hands. They were shaking. Then I felt a pain in my side. I yelped. The doctor and the lady both looked at me. Then I was dialing the phone. It was Zeke I was sure. The phone rang and rang, but Zeke didn’t answer. I knew then something was going on. But what or where I didn’t know.
“Cara, what is it?”
“My brother, something is wrong. Pain, he’s in pain.” I sat there staring into space. The doctor and the lady both sat staring at me. Then I had to wonder if that was where Max was going. Had someone called to let him know my brother wasn’t alone? Would he kill him knowing it would kill me too?
“Cara, can you see your brother or just feel him?”
“I only feel his pain. He is close by. I don’t know how close or where. Is that where Max was going? Did he tell you he called my brother and ask him to come here?”
“I suggested it to him. I am sorry I didn’t think your brother would be in danger. Not if he came alone. I know that Maxwell told him to come alone and there wouldn’t be any trouble. But from the look on your face, you already know your brother didn’t come alone.”
“I don’t know anything for sure, but my father is the Pack Master, and he was keeping tabs on my twin. He knew I would talk to Zeke the first chance I got. Father would send the pack if they knew Zeke talked to me or to Max. Oh no, oh please don’t kill him. Please don’t kill my brother.”
I didn’t know what to do or who to call. Then I decided to call the one person I didn’t want to talk to. I dialed the phone number and waited. One ring, then two, then three and a half.
“Cara?”
“Where is Zeke?” I was having a hard time breathing.
“He should be where you’re at. He hasn’t found you yet?’
“No, he is in pain. Rufus please, he needs help. What is going on?”
“You sit tight we will find you soon. We are in Vegas Princess. The whole pack is searching for you. Do you know where you are?”
“Doctor Leon, what casino is this?”
“Cara, I can’t tell you. I’m sorry he would kill me. I want to help you, but I just can’t. He would kill you too if he thought you betrayed him.”
“Cara, who is with you? What kind of doctor?”
“Hurry, Zeke is in trouble.” I hung up the phone before I got us all killed. It wasn’t two minutes till Max was storming into the room. I knew then he was somehow listening into my phone calls. It wasn’t the first time I had made a call then he was in the room.
“Baby, who was that on the phone? I heard you talking to someone when I walked in.”
“No, you didn’t, you were listening in. You already know everything. You also know I didn’t tell him where I was because no one here would help me. No one would tell me. What have you done to Zeke?” I am pretty hysterical now. I can feel Zeke’s pain. I don’t know what is happening. I just know he needs my help. I throw the phone and menu off my lap and stand up. I am going to find my brother. Max grabs hold of my arms.
“You’re not going anywhere. Your brother will be here when I am sure it is safe. Now you need to calm down.”
“He’s hurt. Why did you hurt him?”
“He isn’t hurt that I am aware of.”
“I can feel it! He is in a lot of pain. Max, please stop it. Stop hurting him. You’re killing me.” Zeke must get a hard blow to the stomach because I scream and grab my belly and go down. I am curled up on the floor in a ball screaming. Max is cussing and running out the door. He calls back over his shoulder to the doctor to help me.
Doctor Leon helps me up to the couch. I lay there in pain. I feel like my ribs have
been broken. One punctured a lung. I can’t breathe. Doctor Leon is trying to figure out what has happened and how to help me.
“Cara, I don’t know what to do. What has happened? Is it your pain or your brothers that has you so doubled over?’
“Bro th ers.” I can’t catch my breath.
“What have they done to him? I warned Maxwell if he did anything to your twin that it would affect you as well. He didn’t listen. Fool!”
He tells the lady in the room to get hot towels. She brings them in, and he lays them on my belly. The best he can anyway with me all curled up around myself. Then he feels around to see if any air is leaking out my sides as if my brother’s wound opened up my side.
I pass out. When I come to the next time I am lying in bed with Max. He is asleep right beside me. The doctor is in a chair way across the room. I can hear someone else breathing in the other room. I can smell him. It’s Zeke!
I try to jump off the bed. Next thing I know I’m screaming out in pain. I can still feel his pain. Max is up off the bed and ready to attack. Then he sees I am curled up holding my sides. He calms down and walks over to my side. He kneels and starts pushing the hair out of my face.
“I’m so sorry. I told them not to hurt him, but he tried to fight them. They had to fight back. Baby, can you hear me? I didn’t mean for him to get hurt. I didn’t want you to be hurt. They had to fight him to keep him from running off. He thought it was a trap when my men showed up to pick him up. Baby, please hear me, I would never do anything to hurt you. I love you.”
I push him away. I try again to get up. I fall off the side of the bed. I start crawling to find Zeke. Max tries again to help me. I growl at him and bite his hand till blood pours out. He yells, then growls back at me, but never touches me. I keep crawling till I find Zeke. I had to crawl out our bedroom and across the living room floor to the other bedroom. I knew I had to see Zeke and make sure he wasn’t going to die. The way it felt I was sure he was on his death bed.
Chapter 11
One Princess One Pack One Villain Page 13
